You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
adventurous
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Goofy and Juvenile.
A young girl wants to join the Army to get citizenship. Ok, I dig it. Lot’s of armies, from Rome to the the USA offer paths to citizenship in return for service. More specifically, she wants to become a squire and eventually a knight, the glorious elite force of the imperial army.
She turns out to be a member of a recently conquered ethnic group that is mistrusted and discriminated against by the dominant society. Though the oppression isn’t so bad that her parents are worried about sending a pubescent girl to hawk valuable (there’s a famine going and one of the stereotype of her ethnic group is that they are hoarding food) foodstuffs alone at a market miles from home. She does get some pretty mild bullying and general rudeness, but it doesn’t seem all that bad.
After seeing a procession and a slick recruiting poster she goes home to tell her folks that she will be signing up (good to go at 13, no parental signature required kids!). They hate the idea, but come around awfully quickly. The give their blessing after making her promise to cover up the tattoo, which is the rivalry identifier of her ethnic group and without which they can easily blend into the larger society.
- Why wasn’t she covering this up in the market when she was being bullied/having a hard time selling food despite an ongoing famine?
I felt like the story went south once she arrives at the training camp for squires. It seems a lot more like junior high than a military camp. She meets other trainees from other ethnicities within the empire, though hers seems to be the only one that faces general discrimination. This animosity is due to the ongoing war between the empire and her people.
The training begins and things fall apart further. It turns out that there is a limit on how ong you can try to become a squire. Fail two tests and its off to the infantry with you. Infantry life is described as a variable period of misery followed by almost certain death on “the front lines.” Statistics aren’t available, but the pass rate is really low and it seems like most of the class is going to the infantry. Once this is revealed it seems like most of the supporting characters knew it all along, which begs the question”why did they sign up?” And “why isn’t anyone deserting?”
Predictably, she befriends the janitor who is a once real knight who was wrongly condemned to a life of mopping up after refusing to omit war crimes. He gruffly, but lovingly trains her to be one of the best fighters in her cohort of trainees despite being one of the smallest and having no previous military experience.
She is thwarted along the way by her wicked commander who despite being one of the only adults in the training camp has time to read everyone’s letters home, consort with the enemy, and have the occasional heart to heart with the trainees.
It ends with our girl saying the day, being outed as a member of the enemy’s ethnic group, being promoted to squire, losing her youthful illusions, and leading a revolt of the trainees where she bests her evil commander then runs off to oppose the oppressive empire she wanted to join just a few months before.
The art is good, and the dialogue is ok (within the frame of it’s goofy plot).
A young girl wants to join the Army to get citizenship. Ok, I dig it. Lot’s of armies, from Rome to the the USA offer paths to citizenship in return for service. More specifically, she wants to become a squire and eventually a knight, the glorious elite force of the imperial army.
She turns out to be a member of a recently conquered ethnic group that is mistrusted and discriminated against by the dominant society. Though the oppression isn’t so bad that her parents are worried about sending a pubescent girl to hawk valuable (there’s a famine going and one of the stereotype of her ethnic group is that they are hoarding food) foodstuffs alone at a market miles from home. She does get some pretty mild bullying and general rudeness, but it doesn’t seem all that bad.
After seeing a procession and a slick recruiting poster she goes home to tell her folks that she will be signing up (good to go at 13, no parental signature required kids!). They hate the idea, but come around awfully quickly. The give their blessing after making her promise to cover up the tattoo, which is the rivalry identifier of her ethnic group and without which they can easily blend into the larger society.
- Why wasn’t she covering this up in the market when she was being bullied/having a hard time selling food despite an ongoing famine?
I felt like the story went south once she arrives at the training camp for squires. It seems a lot more like junior high than a military camp. She meets other trainees from other ethnicities within the empire, though hers seems to be the only one that faces general discrimination. This animosity is due to the ongoing war between the empire and her people.
The training begins and things fall apart further. It turns out that there is a limit on how ong you can try to become a squire. Fail two tests and its off to the infantry with you. Infantry life is described as a variable period of misery followed by almost certain death on “the front lines.” Statistics aren’t available, but the pass rate is really low and it seems like most of the class is going to the infantry. Once this is revealed it seems like most of the supporting characters knew it all along, which begs the question”why did they sign up?” And “why isn’t anyone deserting?”
Predictably, she befriends the janitor who is a once real knight who was wrongly condemned to a life of mopping up after refusing to omit war crimes. He gruffly, but lovingly trains her to be one of the best fighters in her cohort of trainees despite being one of the smallest and having no previous military experience.
She is thwarted along the way by her wicked commander who despite being one of the only adults in the training camp has time to read everyone’s letters home, consort with the enemy, and have the occasional heart to heart with the trainees.
It ends with our girl saying the day, being outed as a member of the enemy’s ethnic group, being promoted to squire, losing her youthful illusions, and leading a revolt of the trainees where she bests her evil commander then runs off to oppose the oppressive empire she wanted to join just a few months before.
The art is good, and the dialogue is ok (within the frame of it’s goofy plot).
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
hadn’t read a graphic novel in a hot minute and i loved this one !!!! girls w swords and daggers and fighting!!!! swana culture dripping from the illustrations!!!!! love it love love love!!!
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
inspiring
reflective
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Staying sat in my graphic novel era. "Recommended by a Library Worker" for book bingo. Art was really pretty, and I was pleasantly surprised by the depth this book went into on critiques of the military and complex conversations about race. I think it's really good to be sharing those ideas with young adults in a really accessible format. I wanted a little bit more out of the climax of the book, it felt like it wrapped up really fast.
adventurous
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced