Scan barcode
readingrobin's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 rating
Giants Days has to be one of the funniest comics I have ever read. The stories are always amusingly outlandish and the wit is lovingly sharp, but most laughs come from the overexaggerated facial expressions. Naturally, I was a little worried that this story wouldn't hold up as well being in a less visual medium. I was half right.
This book is better for people who have already read the comics. I wouldn't give it to someone as an introduction to the series, as it doesn't too much of setting up and introducing the characters. The comic does something similar, but I'm a little more forgiving of that seeing as that usually happens within that medium.
Other than that, it's very faithful to the characters and tone. No one seemed out of character and nothing seemed too far-fetched. Once you've started with the comic, be sure to give this one a read.
Giants Days has to be one of the funniest comics I have ever read. The stories are always amusingly outlandish and the wit is lovingly sharp, but most laughs come from the overexaggerated facial expressions. Naturally, I was a little worried that this story wouldn't hold up as well being in a less visual medium. I was half right.
This book is better for people who have already read the comics. I wouldn't give it to someone as an introduction to the series, as it doesn't too much of setting up and introducing the characters. The comic does something similar, but I'm a little more forgiving of that seeing as that usually happens within that medium.
Other than that, it's very faithful to the characters and tone. No one seemed out of character and nothing seemed too far-fetched. Once you've started with the comic, be sure to give this one a read.
hasi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
luanam's review against another edition
4.0
As with any novelisation of a beloved graphic novel I entered this read worried that it would not do it justice - I needn't have been. It utterly did justice to the three university friends; Daisy (in all her sweet authenticity, earnestness and nascent queerness), Susan (bluntly caustic, practical and ready to rumble for her sense of justice), and Esther (happy goth literary beauty with a flair for drama and for skipping lectures and reading requirements). It not only gave them a whole new adventure as university first years but also fleshed out their characters in a way that detracted nothing from their graphic novel versions and added new insights to their backstories and internal worlds. Susan Ptolemy's backstory involving hunky McGraw and also her somewhat nefarious past was especially a bonus there.
In the meanwhile tension was kept in the foreground with emotional stakes levered as they all find themselves chasing situations while we the reader can see the potential shark fins. This is especially so for Daisy who gets caught up in a manipulative yogic cult and to a lesser degree, but still vexingly 'oh dear no, back away now' situation, Esther's pursuit of Vectra's friendship. What the book does really well is how it balances the emotional tenseness found in the various storylines with wit, humour and a genuine warmth and lightness - this deft alignment of all these diverse components makes it obvious why the author was shortlisted and longlisted for quite a few literary prizes with her previous novel 'Trouble'.
While Susan's character might be my favourite, in this novel Daisy also won me over right from the beginning. She was utterly adorable and had, with Susan and Esther, some delightfully funny scenes as in a few examples below:
From the Halloween party scene - ..."You're missing the point. Sexy's fine, but it should be a choice not a rule. I mean look..." Susan pointed through the door to the front room. "Sexy witch, sexy car mechanic, sexy sentient tree, sexy crayon, sexy mobile phone...sexy tin of beans. But the boys...gross zombie, gross swamp monster, gross monk, gross rugby player..."
"Hey!" The boy whom Susan had non-too-subtly pointed out last took offense. "I've just come from the rugby social. I'm not in costume."
"Even more horrific." Susan shooed him off.
....
"My point is: Why are the men fully clothed and the women in their underwear?" When Susan failed to get any response from Esther, she turned to Daisy. "You're with me on this, right?"
"Umm..." Daisy's attention was bouncing around the room like a pinball. "Many bras. So objectionable. Much patriarchy."
"Daisy!"
The extract Daisy from the 32 social clubs she signed up for at the activity fair scene - "The plan was going well, and, between them Esther and Susan had successfully extracted Daisy from almost every society she'd signed up for. ...Esther's shameless ability to make a spectacle of herself was working out well. There were few people one could rely upon to willfully misunderstand the ethos of the Paper Clip Fanciers by loudly declaring a sexual attraction to stationary and rubbing herself up against a display of pastel-coloured bulldog clips, moaning sensuously and shouting, "Daisy! Thank you so much for enabling my erotic predilections by inviting me to this orgy!"
Daisy had been ejected from the club, and an email with Esther's photo attached had been sent out to every stationary store in Sheffield warning employees not to let her in.
...Susan favored overly competitive involvement and anarchy. She'd entered and opening game of the Snap Soc meeting with such aggression that she'd broken someone's finger and started a bar fight, ..
(To be continued)
In the meanwhile tension was kept in the foreground with emotional stakes levered as they all find themselves chasing situations while we the reader can see the potential shark fins. This is especially so for Daisy who gets caught up in a manipulative yogic cult and to a lesser degree, but still vexingly 'oh dear no, back away now' situation, Esther's pursuit of Vectra's friendship. What the book does really well is how it balances the emotional tenseness found in the various storylines with wit, humour and a genuine warmth and lightness - this deft alignment of all these diverse components makes it obvious why the author was shortlisted and longlisted for quite a few literary prizes with her previous novel 'Trouble'.
While Susan's character might be my favourite, in this novel Daisy also won me over right from the beginning. She was utterly adorable and had, with Susan and Esther, some delightfully funny scenes as in a few examples below:
From the Halloween party scene - ..."You're missing the point. Sexy's fine, but it should be a choice not a rule. I mean look..." Susan pointed through the door to the front room. "Sexy witch, sexy car mechanic, sexy sentient tree, sexy crayon, sexy mobile phone...sexy tin of beans. But the boys...gross zombie, gross swamp monster, gross monk, gross rugby player..."
"Hey!" The boy whom Susan had non-too-subtly pointed out last took offense. "I've just come from the rugby social. I'm not in costume."
"Even more horrific." Susan shooed him off.
....
"My point is: Why are the men fully clothed and the women in their underwear?" When Susan failed to get any response from Esther, she turned to Daisy. "You're with me on this, right?"
"Umm..." Daisy's attention was bouncing around the room like a pinball. "Many bras. So objectionable. Much patriarchy."
"Daisy!"
The extract Daisy from the 32 social clubs she signed up for at the activity fair scene - "The plan was going well, and, between them Esther and Susan had successfully extracted Daisy from almost every society she'd signed up for. ...Esther's shameless ability to make a spectacle of herself was working out well. There were few people one could rely upon to willfully misunderstand the ethos of the Paper Clip Fanciers by loudly declaring a sexual attraction to stationary and rubbing herself up against a display of pastel-coloured bulldog clips, moaning sensuously and shouting, "Daisy! Thank you so much for enabling my erotic predilections by inviting me to this orgy!"
Daisy had been ejected from the club, and an email with Esther's photo attached had been sent out to every stationary store in Sheffield warning employees not to let her in.
...Susan favored overly competitive involvement and anarchy. She'd entered and opening game of the Snap Soc meeting with such aggression that she'd broken someone's finger and started a bar fight, ..
(To be continued)
olivia_eberli's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
samwlabb's review against another edition
4.0
Though I had never read the graphic novels upon which this book is based, I was still all in from the very first page. As soon as I was introduced to these three ladies, I knew I wanted to know them better.
• Pro: This book was pure fun. I couldn't keep the smile off my face as I read it. Giant Days combined great characters, snappy banter, and pitch perfect tone to produce a fabulous reading experience for me.
• Pro: I loved how different each of the women were, yet how well they complimented each other. There was a great synergy, when they were together, and I loved watching this friendship take shape.
• Pro: Non Pratt captured those early days at university so well. The feeling of being out of place, being a little lost, missing your home and your old life. All of this plus academic demands can be quite stressful, and I thought that came across really well in the book.
• Pro: The whole Yogic Brethren plot was sort of hilarious. I couldn't help but think of the Scoobies during those scenes, which just added to the fun.
• Pro: There was a ton of satire in here, which delighted me to no end. Well done!
• Pro: This book had the three Hs: humor, hijinks, and heart, which always makes this girl happy.
Overall: A fun and entertaining look at the lives of first years, which does a fantastic job capturing the highs and lows of university life. I hope we get to explore more Giant Days with Daisy, Susan, and Esther.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
BLOG | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS
• Pro: This book was pure fun. I couldn't keep the smile off my face as I read it. Giant Days combined great characters, snappy banter, and pitch perfect tone to produce a fabulous reading experience for me.
• Pro: I loved how different each of the women were, yet how well they complimented each other. There was a great synergy, when they were together, and I loved watching this friendship take shape.
• Pro: Non Pratt captured those early days at university so well. The feeling of being out of place, being a little lost, missing your home and your old life. All of this plus academic demands can be quite stressful, and I thought that came across really well in the book.
• Pro: The whole Yogic Brethren plot was sort of hilarious. I couldn't help but think of the Scoobies during those scenes, which just added to the fun.
• Pro: There was a ton of satire in here, which delighted me to no end. Well done!
• Pro: This book had the three Hs: humor, hijinks, and heart, which always makes this girl happy.
Overall: A fun and entertaining look at the lives of first years, which does a fantastic job capturing the highs and lows of university life. I hope we get to explore more Giant Days with Daisy, Susan, and Esther.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
BLOG | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS
azyef's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
laurenjamesauthor's review against another edition
[Gifted]
I am a HUGE fan of the graphic novels, so I nearly died of excitement when I found out that one of my favourite authors was writing a prequel to the series. It lived up to all my expectations: funny, sweet, action-packed and quirky.
I am a HUGE fan of the graphic novels, so I nearly died of excitement when I found out that one of my favourite authors was writing a prequel to the series. It lived up to all my expectations: funny, sweet, action-packed and quirky.
stephanieisreading's review against another edition
3.0
*Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the Digital Review Copy!*
The biggest problem with the comic novelizations is that when you fall in love with characters in the comic book medium, it's hard to really adjust to them outside of that medium. Especially when the writers that taking on the characters are not the same as the comic book writers. I've been reading Giant Days for some time, and I love, love, LOVE the comics. Esther, Susan, and Daisy are absolutely my BFFs and I love going with them on their adventures. So of course I was beyond excited for the book! Another opportunity to introduce the world at large to my faves? YES PLEASE.
Overall, Non Pratt handled the world and the characters fairly well. Much like in the comics, there were some laugh out loud moments, and excellent descriptions that lent themselves very well to comic narratives. The prose was very readable, and the mystery of the strange yoga cult was definitely intriguing (DAISY JUST DON'T DO IT).
There were some definite weaknesses to the novel. While Susan and Daisy came off the page fairly well, Esther (who is my absolute favorite)--didn't quite work for me. And as a result, much of her story didn't work. (Honestly, if I think rather critically about Susan's depiction, I start feeling like that wasn't perfect either, but I'm trying not to think about it because it bothers me in different ways that I'm not sure I'm okay with dealing with).
I'd give the book 3.5 Stars. If you're a casual fan of Giant Days and wanna see these characters in other mediums, it's worth a read. If you like YA novels that at their core are about friendship, this book is certainly worth a read. The book definitely made me want to look more into Non Pratt's original writing, so it was definitely worthwhile.
Just beware: just like any other adaptation in a new media--it's far from perfect. As long as you keep that in mind, there's a chance you'll enjoy this.
The biggest problem with the comic novelizations is that when you fall in love with characters in the comic book medium, it's hard to really adjust to them outside of that medium. Especially when the writers that taking on the characters are not the same as the comic book writers. I've been reading Giant Days for some time, and I love, love, LOVE the comics. Esther, Susan, and Daisy are absolutely my BFFs and I love going with them on their adventures. So of course I was beyond excited for the book! Another opportunity to introduce the world at large to my faves? YES PLEASE.
Overall, Non Pratt handled the world and the characters fairly well. Much like in the comics, there were some laugh out loud moments, and excellent descriptions that lent themselves very well to comic narratives. The prose was very readable, and the mystery of the strange yoga cult was definitely intriguing (DAISY JUST DON'T DO IT).
There were some definite weaknesses to the novel. While Susan and Daisy came off the page fairly well, Esther (who is my absolute favorite)--didn't quite work for me. And as a result, much of her story didn't work. (Honestly, if I think rather critically about Susan's depiction, I start feeling like that wasn't perfect either, but I'm trying not to think about it because it bothers me in different ways that I'm not sure I'm okay with dealing with).
I'd give the book 3.5 Stars. If you're a casual fan of Giant Days and wanna see these characters in other mediums, it's worth a read. If you like YA novels that at their core are about friendship, this book is certainly worth a read. The book definitely made me want to look more into Non Pratt's original writing, so it was definitely worthwhile.
Just beware: just like any other adaptation in a new media--it's far from perfect. As long as you keep that in mind, there's a chance you'll enjoy this.