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youraveragedave's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Emil Ferris is such a talent. In this book we met a girl who feels more comfortable as a monster (werewolf), Karen lives in Chicago in the mid 60s with her mom and brother and a cast of strange people in her building. She's navigating friendships, first love, family strife, sickness, and the murder of her neighbor. This is all conveyed not only through words, but also through drawings.
This graphic novel is a great feast your eyes. The cross hatched drawings are gorgeous, using mostly blue, black, and red ink presented on ruled spiral notebook paper. From drawing the world around, to copying masterworks from the Chicago Museum of Art, to cartoony pieces to show where Karen is emotionally, Emil is just fantastic.
Plus we get this heavy backstory of the murdered neighbor who was a Holocaust survivor.
There's an excellent exploration of grief when Karen's mother gets sick and her brother Deeze also has a traumatic past that shapws his character.
It kind of ends on a cliffhanger, but the sequel is coming out May 2024 (so glad I didn't have to wait 7 years like some people).
This graphic novel is a great feast your eyes. The cross hatched drawings are gorgeous, using mostly blue, black, and red ink presented on ruled spiral notebook paper. From drawing the world around, to copying masterworks from the Chicago Museum of Art, to cartoony pieces to show where Karen is emotionally, Emil is just fantastic.
Plus we get this heavy backstory of the murdered neighbor who was a Holocaust survivor.
There's an excellent exploration of grief when Karen's mother gets sick and her brother Deeze also has a traumatic past that shapws his character.
It kind of ends on a cliffhanger, but the sequel is coming out May 2024 (so glad I didn't have to wait 7 years like some people).
rebelliousflare's review against another edition
3.0
God... now this one is hard to review honestly. The art is the best I've ever seen and to think she replicated actual art pieces with nothing but ballpoint pens?????! Fucking talented.
The story...now that's a whole other can of worms...
The story...now that's a whole other can of worms...
charismae_reads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
eazz18's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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
willdriveforsnacks's review against another edition
3.0
I wish I could say I loved this book as much as the majority of the reviewers. I think it was just a bit too slow for me? I found it really hard to get into the book, and subsequently even more difficult to want to pick it up later on.
buer's review against another edition
The art style is cool but way more sex than I thought I was signing up for when I read that the book was narrated by a ten year old.
I was ready for a murder mystery and a girl who loves monsters - I was not ready for all the nudity and sex scenes. Maybe if I’d had different expectations I could have made it all the way through, but it’s due back at the library anyways so I figure I’ll just quit while I’m ahead.
I was ready for a murder mystery and a girl who loves monsters - I was not ready for all the nudity and sex scenes. Maybe if I’d had different expectations I could have made it all the way through, but it’s due back at the library anyways so I figure I’ll just quit while I’m ahead.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Murder and Racism
librisaddictus's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Sexual violence, Violence, and Bullying
talkscaredpod's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- 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
4.75