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thematinee's review
5.0
Gorgeous writing.
Gorgeous artwork.
Beautiful blend of kids struggling to find themselves and a team struggling to find its rhythm.
Is it basketball season yet?
Gorgeous artwork.
Beautiful blend of kids struggling to find themselves and a team struggling to find its rhythm.
Is it basketball season yet?
saidtheraina's review
4.0
I'm so excited to read what Sloane Leong does next.
This is a beautiful story about the members of a basketball team and their intersectional hardships, relationships, and realities. Leong's color work is inventive - the book is stunning to flip through, but as you read the story, the changing colorscapes don't take you out of the story.
Honestly, it felt a little like [a: Tillie Walden|13560692|Tillie Walden|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1525905931p2/13560692.jpg] did a take on Orange is the New Black, although Leong's figure drawings are a lot more variable than Waldens. There were a few places where I lost track of the character stories - I kept mixing up a couple of the members of the team in my mind, but that's the kind of thing that will polish up as this creator makes more graphic novels.
Love.
This is a beautiful story about the members of a basketball team and their intersectional hardships, relationships, and realities. Leong's color work is inventive - the book is stunning to flip through, but as you read the story, the changing colorscapes don't take you out of the story.
Honestly, it felt a little like [a: Tillie Walden|13560692|Tillie Walden|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1525905931p2/13560692.jpg] did a take on Orange is the New Black, although Leong's figure drawings are a lot more variable than Waldens. There were a few places where I lost track of the character stories - I kept mixing up a couple of the members of the team in my mind, but that's the kind of thing that will polish up as this creator makes more graphic novels.
Love.
allsmile's review against another edition
3.0
To get the obvious out of the way, this book is freaking beautiful. I liked getting to know these girls and seeing them grow together. I wish the ending could have been a little more satisfying - this was probably more realistic but I would have liked to see more of the serious issues addressed (self-harm, abuse, etc). And most of the basketball action sequences were totally lost on me. I couldn’t tell who was who and which team was which.
lattelibrarian's review
3.0
Ren and Luna meet at a basketball one evening, and the two become fast friends until Luna returns to Hawaii unexpectedly and Ren's texts go unanswered...until Luna returns years later. Luna has no problem picking up where they left off, but Ren has felt the hurt of loss and betrayal before--besides, she has better things to do, like shoot hoops. It isn't until her school tries to kickstart a girls' basketball team that the two begin to work together once more alongside some other misfits. Some friends, some not. Together, they learn that with some hard work, some struggle, and a little persistence, their efforts are rewarding.
With a vibrant color palette (though at times strangely chosen) and a storyline that follows the five girls, A Map to the Sun comments on the difficulties of friendship, family, and a family member's addiction.
An entertaining read, definitely one for a lazy summer afternoon.
With a vibrant color palette (though at times strangely chosen) and a storyline that follows the five girls, A Map to the Sun comments on the difficulties of friendship, family, and a family member's addiction.
An entertaining read, definitely one for a lazy summer afternoon.
helecturas's review
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
himalaya's review
4.0
I thought this was really good! great use of colour.
I did find some of the narrative/pacing to be a bit all over the place, though. From the beginning I thought it was deeply following one MC but then it started flipping around a bit and it took me a minute to reorient myself
I did find some of the narrative/pacing to be a bit all over the place, though. From the beginning I thought it was deeply following one MC but then it started flipping around a bit and it took me a minute to reorient myself
eviecook0708's review
4.25
I devoured this! Checked it out from the library because of the gorgeous colors (and the coloring is one of the best things about it, because it is really so beautiful), and then I ended up really loving the story. The characters feel so real, and so does the world. This story isn't actually all that long, but it feels really expansive. This is one of those where the characters continue to live even while you're not reading. Check trigger warnings if you need to, but I definitely recommend this.
awesomejen2's review
emotional
medium-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
5.0
melbsreads's review
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Trigger warnings: self harm, body shaming, fatphobia, teacher/student relationship, death of a parent, drug addiction, theft
Hmm. I liked that this dealt with teenage girls playing sport and bonding as a team. I HATED the constantly changing colour palate because it made it legitimately hard to identify most of the characters to the point where when a teacher/student relationship is revealed, I thought it was a relationship between the two coaches and was confused af for half a dozen pages.
I also felt like there were so many complex plotlines going on at home for all of the girls that jumping between the five of them meant that none of their stories was done in sufficient detail. Like, one of them is self harming. And it's literally shown once and then never mentioned again. Why show it at all if you're just going to move onto something equally difficult and then not discuss THAT in any detail either?!
Ultimately, I enjoyed the basketball aspects of the story. But the art didn't work for me and there was too much going on.
Hmm. I liked that this dealt with teenage girls playing sport and bonding as a team. I HATED the constantly changing colour palate because it made it legitimately hard to identify most of the characters to the point where when a teacher/student relationship is revealed, I thought it was a relationship between the two coaches and was confused af for half a dozen pages.
I also felt like there were so many complex plotlines going on at home for all of the girls that jumping between the five of them meant that none of their stories was done in sufficient detail. Like, one of them is self harming. And it's literally shown once and then never mentioned again. Why show it at all if you're just going to move onto something equally difficult and then not discuss THAT in any detail either?!
Ultimately, I enjoyed the basketball aspects of the story. But the art didn't work for me and there was too much going on.