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annida's review against another edition
3.0
Thanks netgally & the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review
The moral lesson is simply good! It told us that sometimes parents also make mistakes. I love this, but not to the point where I'll hype this more. I mean, the book was nice, but there's something about it that made me feel that it won't receive a 5-star rate from me. I guess it's because the color. Too much shade of red, I'm a little bit uncomfortable reading this because of it. And also the plot was a little bit predictable and slow at first
The moral lesson is simply good! It told us that sometimes parents also make mistakes. I love this, but not to the point where I'll hype this more. I mean, the book was nice, but there's something about it that made me feel that it won't receive a 5-star rate from me. I guess it's because the color. Too much shade of red, I'm a little bit uncomfortable reading this because of it. And also the plot was a little bit predictable and slow at first
kiki86's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley for sending me this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The Spy Who Raised Me is a book with a strong girl-power message. I loved the illustrations and the plot in general! One thing I didn’t like was how JB didn’t feel any remorse for her mother going to jail. If they were close for a long time, I think it would be hard to understand her mother is a criminal.
Over all, if this becomes a series, I would definitely continue reading on.
The Spy Who Raised Me is a book with a strong girl-power message. I loved the illustrations and the plot in general! One thing I didn’t like was how JB didn’t feel any remorse for her mother going to jail. If they were close for a long time, I think it would be hard to understand her mother is a criminal.
Over all, if this becomes a series, I would definitely continue reading on.
yourlocalbookreader's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars.
This was a fun graphic novel. But also kinda bad in parts. This is a story essentially about child abuse but written in a funny tone. I also wasn't a huge fan of the color palette used throughout the book, nor was I a fan of the way the characters were drawn in a "human but slightly off" style.
However things i did love? I loved them a lot. There was a lot of good one liners and the plot moved at a consistent place. The little funny plot reveals were cute and adorable. The plot twist about the mom volunteering her up for this came at the right point and the author did a good job at dehumanizing the mom further and further as time went on. Big Sugar being the evil company was very apt.
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The ARC of this graphic novel was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was a fun graphic novel. But also kinda bad in parts. This is a story essentially about child abuse but written in a funny tone. I also wasn't a huge fan of the color palette used throughout the book, nor was I a fan of the way the characters were drawn in a "human but slightly off" style.
However things i did love? I loved them a lot. There was a lot of good one liners and the plot moved at a consistent place. The little funny plot reveals were cute and adorable. The plot twist about the mom volunteering her up for this came at the right point and the author did a good job at dehumanizing the mom further and further as time went on. Big Sugar being the evil company was very apt.
The ARC of this graphic novel was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
thepaperbackbruncher's review
3.0
This graphic novel was gifted to me by Lerner Publishing Group, Graphic Universe ™, and Netgalley in an exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Synopsis: Josie is a normal teenager, goes to school, hangs out with her best friend, and experiences the casual blackout in memory. Oh wait, that's not normal? Josie begins to piece together the missing pieces in her memory, and finds out she has been programmed by her mother to be a SUPER SPY! She can speak multiple languages, fight like a trained agent, and has dozens of other skills that she is only realising she has been unaware of.
Art: I loved the cover and was excited to see what's inside, I will say the art definitely matches the style of the cover, but it's very simple and all in the red color scheme.
Writing: I loved the storyline but felt that it fell a little flat. There wasn't much explanation, and too much action. I really wanted to love it, but it fell a bit short for me. I did however still enjoy it, and would recommend for a quick, fun read.
Synopsis: Josie is a normal teenager, goes to school, hangs out with her best friend, and experiences the casual blackout in memory. Oh wait, that's not normal? Josie begins to piece together the missing pieces in her memory, and finds out she has been programmed by her mother to be a SUPER SPY! She can speak multiple languages, fight like a trained agent, and has dozens of other skills that she is only realising she has been unaware of.
Art: I loved the cover and was excited to see what's inside, I will say the art definitely matches the style of the cover, but it's very simple and all in the red color scheme.
Writing: I loved the storyline but felt that it fell a little flat. There wasn't much explanation, and too much action. I really wanted to love it, but it fell a bit short for me. I did however still enjoy it, and would recommend for a quick, fun read.
krys_and_books's review against another edition
3.0
The Spy Who Raised Me is a fun, quick read about Josie Black (J.B.) finding out that her mom has raised her as a sleeper agent without her ever knowing. J.B. now needs to decide if she’s going to live the life her mom wants for her or if she’s going to live her own life.
This was a fast paced adventure. J.B. accidentally finds out her mom has trigger words that control her skills and memory when her mom fails to use them right away before a mission she’s being sent out on. From there J.B. picks apart the truths and lies of her life with the help of her best friend Zoe and has to decide who she wants to be and what she wants to do with the skills she’d been given without her consent.
Is J.B.’s loyalty to her blood and the company that gave her the skills she has, or is to something else?
***
J.B. was a fun character who adapts incredibly quick to what’s going on and goes with the flow. The best part of the story was Zoe and her dedication to her friend and willingness to follow her into danger to make sure she’d come out on the other side alright.
***
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was a fast paced adventure. J.B. accidentally finds out her mom has trigger words that control her skills and memory when her mom fails to use them right away before a mission she’s being sent out on. From there J.B. picks apart the truths and lies of her life with the help of her best friend Zoe and has to decide who she wants to be and what she wants to do with the skills she’d been given without her consent.
Is J.B.’s loyalty to her blood and the company that gave her the skills she has, or is to something else?
***
J.B. was a fun character who adapts incredibly quick to what’s going on and goes with the flow. The best part of the story was Zoe and her dedication to her friend and willingness to follow her into danger to make sure she’d come out on the other side alright.
***
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
legs_mcgee's review
4.0
The artwork isn't exactly my cup of tea, but the plot is inventive and honestly a lot of fun. I'm all for unexpected spies.
friendlydisaster101's review against another edition
2.0
Thank you to Netgalley and Graphic Universe ™ for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
'The Spy Who Raised Me' had an intriguing storyline and premise, but was ultimately quite disappointing.
Josie Black is a special operative who works for the Company, under her mother, which she's only figured out now, after discovering some concerning gaps in her memories. As it turns out, she's been mind-controlled and brain-washed into being a special, elite operative, all while believing herself to be just another ordinary teenager. Faced by her mother's decisions and what the truth means, she decides to take matters into her own hands, and realize what it is that she really wants to be.
I found the central story of this graphic novel incredibly interesting. While we may have heard of it before, in other books and movies, the idea of a special operative - a kid, at that - not knowing of their own abilities really appealed to me, and I was immediately drawn to this book.
Unfortunately, this book didn't deliver in the way I hoped it would. Much of the story was very convenient, and I felt that there were many storylines left dangling at the end of the, admittedly, short book. The book felt rushed at times, and didn't delve into some aspects which I found needed to be expanded upon more, with scenes that felt borderline ridiculous. The characters weren't truly elaborated on either, though perhaps the action tries to make up for that.
All of that being said, one of the biggest problems that I had was with the art itself. I felt that the illustrations could have had more detail, and done a better job at basic storytelling overall, with speech bubbles being quite big and more informative of the story than what was happening in the panels themselves. The illustrations weren't exactly what I had been hoping for, to say the least, and were disappointingly bland and unsightly.
Overall, while it sounds great at first, this graphic novel didn't really live up to what I was hoping it would be. While I would recommend it to anyone who would like to check it out for themselves, especially if the premise sounds interesting, I would also tell them not to hold out for much. Here's to hoping for a sequel that goes more in-depth about how this one ended, I suppose.
'The Spy Who Raised Me' had an intriguing storyline and premise, but was ultimately quite disappointing.
Josie Black is a special operative who works for the Company, under her mother, which she's only figured out now, after discovering some concerning gaps in her memories. As it turns out, she's been mind-controlled and brain-washed into being a special, elite operative, all while believing herself to be just another ordinary teenager. Faced by her mother's decisions and what the truth means, she decides to take matters into her own hands, and realize what it is that she really wants to be.
I found the central story of this graphic novel incredibly interesting. While we may have heard of it before, in other books and movies, the idea of a special operative - a kid, at that - not knowing of their own abilities really appealed to me, and I was immediately drawn to this book.
Unfortunately, this book didn't deliver in the way I hoped it would. Much of the story was very convenient, and I felt that there were many storylines left dangling at the end of the, admittedly, short book. The book felt rushed at times, and didn't delve into some aspects which I found needed to be expanded upon more, with scenes that felt borderline ridiculous. The characters weren't truly elaborated on either, though perhaps the action tries to make up for that.
All of that being said, one of the biggest problems that I had was with the art itself. I felt that the illustrations could have had more detail, and done a better job at basic storytelling overall, with speech bubbles being quite big and more informative of the story than what was happening in the panels themselves. The illustrations weren't exactly what I had been hoping for, to say the least, and were disappointingly bland and unsightly.
Overall, while it sounds great at first, this graphic novel didn't really live up to what I was hoping it would be. While I would recommend it to anyone who would like to check it out for themselves, especially if the premise sounds interesting, I would also tell them not to hold out for much. Here's to hoping for a sequel that goes more in-depth about how this one ended, I suppose.