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ollieez's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Death, and Abandonment
Moderate: Death of parent, Violence, Abandonment, Death, Grief, and Transphobia
purplepenning's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
A great idea — a fun portal quest fantasy to a world full of sapient animals and an interesting and mostly successful portrayal of coming-of-age gender identity struggles — with a few things that gave me pause.
First, as others have noted — the harmful strong, angry black woman stereotype. It's... pretty egregious.
Second, I think it's genuinely hard (impossible?) to consistently hit the right level of obvious/subtle for middle school readers, but even being understanding of that tightrope act, I found this uneven. Some things are spelled out so clearly it threatens to take the reader right out of the story. Other important nuances (like the scourge of boys being a victim of fear and how that fear was dismantled to free them) seem rushed and muddled.
Third, the art is SO cute and cool — until it's suddenly not. I thought it was just the adults that were oddly rough and sometimes weirdly positioned, but it pops up in the kids faces sometimes, too.
But overall — a fun, trans-affirming, fantasy quest for middle schoolers? With wise warrior rabbits, gorgeous princess horses with like fashion scarves and over the top names, fierce grassland sprites, an understanding father, a funny friendly open-hearted Junebug, and ... Yeah. More like this, please!
First, as others have noted — the harmful strong, angry black woman stereotype. It's... pretty egregious.
Second, I think it's genuinely hard (impossible?) to consistently hit the right level of obvious/subtle for middle school readers, but even being understanding of that tightrope act, I found this uneven. Some things are spelled out so clearly it threatens to take the reader right out of the story. Other important nuances (like the scourge of boys being a victim of fear and how that fear was dismantled to free them) seem rushed and muddled.
Third, the art is SO cute and cool — until it's suddenly not. I thought it was just the adults that were oddly rough and sometimes weirdly positioned, but it pops up in the kids faces sometimes, too.
But overall — a fun, trans-affirming, fantasy quest for middle schoolers? With wise warrior rabbits, gorgeous princess horses with like fashion scarves and over the top names, fierce grassland sprites, an understanding father, a funny friendly open-hearted Junebug, and ... Yeah. More like this, please!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Abandonment, Animal death, Death of parent, Hate crime, Grief, War, and Homophobia
cheesepuppy's review
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Very cute “love conquers all” plot line within a “coming to terms with your identity” story. Love the additional info at the beginning and end of the book. Great book for anyone who may be questioning their queerness.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Sexism
Minor: Death of parent
therainbowshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-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
3.0
The gist 📚: When Ash invites his new school friends over to his house, they're accidentally transported to a magical world his mom made up. While there, Ash deals with being the world's chosen hero while exploring the possibility of being a trans girl.
For readers looking for 💕: epic fantasy worlds, powerful female characters, gender identity exploration, and warrior rabbits.
My thoughts 💭: There was a lot to love about this comic. I think it'll be a fun adventure for the target age group. This comic tackles concepts of gender identity, and imagines a world where the power of women has never been up for debate.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Transphobia, Sexism, and Death of parent
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