Reviews

I had been meaning to revisit the full novel but was glad to find a graphic novel version existed. I would definitely recommend anyone new to the series reading the original novel first, but this is still an excellent and still incredibly moving adaptation. The art style is also unlike anything I’ve seen out of a graphic novel like this. The scratchiness, the painterly textures, the expressions and designs of the characters; all really really outstanding and perfectly fitting an emotional and thoughtful story. God is Change‼️

mslizardo14's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional informative fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

hannahgarstang's review

Go to review page

Learning about Earthseed through the characters dialogue was quite comforting, despite the dystopian world this is set in. The dialouge felt like transcriptions of real conversations.

The graphic art was chef's kiss and the story had a good pace.

Lauren is the most observant, insightful and wise protagonists I've ever read. She is so practical and knows how to read a room.
The age gap relationship was uncomfortable though when you remember she's only 18 years old at that point.

This dystopian forewarning felt relevant and reflective of issues we face today. Climate change, unregulate exploitative industry, state sanctafied systemic racism and the patriarchy are real risks for people's wellbeing currently. I couldn't help but reflect on the examples of modern day slavery. The reflection of police brutality or the harrowing statistics of child abuse, drug abuse and sexual assault. And then on top of all of that, the fact that climate change disproportionately negatively impacts those of lower socioeconomic communities, generally BIPOC communities. The emphasis on struggling to access fresh potable water sources felt especially relevant as climate change has a general rule of the dry get drier and the wet get wetter. Meaning drought prone areas are genearlly going to be especially vulnerable as the climate continues to warm. I've heard predictions that instead of fighting wars over oil we will start fighting wars over water one day. The colour selection of red and orange felt very appropriate given this context.

The message was pretty clear to me. Work together with your communities to prepare for change because change is inevitable. Prepare for climate change with both mitigation and adaptation. Prepare for natural disasters like earthquakes(my community lives on a fault line), floods (the tragedy that was the flooding up north in Hawkes Bay last year), unprecedented forest fires (I won't be forgetting the horror that was the 2020 forest fires in Australia), and more. And address the very clear inequalities that currently exist.

Content Warnings