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sapphicfog's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Police brutality
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Domestic abuse
koiketto's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Literally everything about this book was so fucking cool (except for one kinda-small thing, which I will be getting into later). I don't usually read a lot of superhero fiction nowadays, but I saw this in the library and I immediately had to grab it. I was super obsessed with everything Wonder Woman and DC all throughout elementary school, so of course I'd heard of Nubia, but I had never actually seen her featured in any modern media DC was producing. But I know that if I read this when I was ten, everyone I knew would have never heard the end of it. The only real black female superhero I had growing up was Bumblebee, so adding Nubia to the mix quite literally would have been mind-blowing for me.
To put it simply, I loved almost everything about this book. The coloring, the story, the characters, the themes. Literally everything was amazing. The entire book has this kind of pinkish tone to it, which just makes the whole thing seem like so much fun?? Like??? I'm not even kidding look at this:
Don't even lie to me; the colors are actually amazing. Literally on the floor. I love it so much.
Also Nubia is quite literally just the coolest bitch. She invented superhero-ing when she did her hair up in cornrows and put on her protest gear and Amazonian bracelets. I'm sorry but nothing is ever gonna top that. She's just that bitch.
And on top of that she had amazing friends and amazing moms, and an amazing coming of age - literally everything about this book was gold-star. 10/10, with one small thing hindering my enjoyment and keeping me from giving it five stars.
The only thing in the book I'm not a huge fan of is the in-your-face, over-the-top racism. I've never been a fan of posturing racism as this big, almost cartoonish villain. There were some hints of a bigger picture: the conflicts with police as a black girl trying to be a superhero were especially heart-wrenching to me, and there were some real, important, gut-wrenching conversations being had.
But there was this one character Wayland who I just?? Didn't like at all??? And not just because he was an obvious asshole. He was this cartoonishly overt racist where everything was in your face and he was the one starting all the problems, which really felt like it undermined a lot of the messages.
Wayland was the main source of conflict in this book, and I really wish he wasn't because the book usually defers to him being this complete asshat instead of giving an actual look at racism in society. The novel slowly leans less towards societal racism and more towards "omg look at Wayland! Look at this dude! He calls Nubia a monkey and purposefully escalates a conflict with police and shoots up a school and says they're all ghetto and beats women to put them in their place and omg he's literally the worst!!!"
I was just. Not a fan of that. At all. Wayland was kind of the face of this whole over-the-top racism message, but there were some other instances that just really seemed back-to-back black trauma (another thing I'm not a fan of). Really, the whole intense racism thing I just did not vibe with, which is really what dropped this rating down from five stars to four.
But other than that, this book was it. Hoping and praying that DC does something with Nubia because quite literally how can you let this gem go to waste. L.L. McKinney I owe you my life; read this book if you wanna be a cool bitch.
Graphic: Sexual harassment and Police brutality
Moderate: Mass/school shootings and Racial slurs
zombiezami's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Racism, Racial slurs, Gun violence, and Police brutality
Moderate: Alcohol, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Medical content, and Physical abuse
Minor: Stalking, Cursing, and Kidnapping
pucksandpaperbacks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
I really enjoyed reading the origin story of Nubia. I didn't know her prior to reading this and I learned a lot! I loved the friend group she had and her trying to come to terms with her power and ultimately, trying to make a decision that felt right for her when it comes to heroism. There's a lot of important conversations in this graphic novel. However, do look at the trigger warnings before reading because it is a heavy read!
Graphic: Gun violence, Police brutality, Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Racism, Mass/school shootings, and Blood
jularcido's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Police brutality, Racism, Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, Bullying, Gun violence, Hate crime, and Homophobia
robinks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Violence, Homophobia, Blood, Body shaming, Alcohol, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racism, and Transphobia
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Hate crime and Murder
alexruinspaperbacks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Sexual harassment and Hate crime
Moderate: Racism and Mass/school shootings
sapphic_in_the_stacks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I think this book provided fantastic commentary on how society treats similar people differently based solely on race. The story is captivating, and grapples with difficult subjects including sexual harassment, white male entitlement and privilege, police brutality, and school shootings. When I first read this, I thought it was a little dark for teenage readers, before realizing that it's dark because it's mirroring actual teenage experience in the present day. School shootings, racism, and police brutality are all topics that many kids, specifically black kids, have to learn about at far too young an age, just to keep themselves safe. It made me remember how when I graduated high school, it was partially a sigh of relief for my parents to know I had made it out of school without a shooting at my own school. Difficult but necessary topics covered in a beautifully designed comic that was also fun and lighthearted at times made for an amazing read.
Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Sexual harassment, and Racism
Moderate: Police brutality, Racial slurs, Homophobia, and Child death
marsonmars's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Bullying, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Violence