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4.45 AVERAGE
4.45 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Powerful, moving, and pure Jason Reynolds with amazing graphics!
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
I read the graphic novel and then the full novel one after the other and here are my thoughts on the graphic novel version:
1. The illustrations are gorgeous and make the story even more heartbreaking.
2. The way the words are implemented in the graphic novel panels is gorgeously done, but sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s happening.
3. The full text and the graphic novel text are definitely not the same, but they are both emotionally affective in their own ways.
4. Overall, while most of my favorite and impactful quotes are in the graphic novel, I wish the whole text was included. I think together with the illustrations, this could have been absolutely perfect. I’m glad I was able to read both for comparison, because Reynold’s writing is absolutely gorgeous and you don’t get the full effect of it in just the graphic novel, but at the same time I feel like the illustrations added so much to the original.
5. The topic of cyclical violence is an important one, and the way this was crafted into a story with ghosts of people Will knew was incredible conceptually and emotionally. Very impactful.
1. The illustrations are gorgeous and make the story even more heartbreaking.
2. The way the words are implemented in the graphic novel panels is gorgeously done, but sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s happening.
3. The full text and the graphic novel text are definitely not the same, but they are both emotionally affective in their own ways.
4. Overall, while most of my favorite and impactful quotes are in the graphic novel, I wish the whole text was included. I think together with the illustrations, this could have been absolutely perfect. I’m glad I was able to read both for comparison, because Reynold’s writing is absolutely gorgeous and you don’t get the full effect of it in just the graphic novel, but at the same time I feel like the illustrations added so much to the original.
5. The topic of cyclical violence is an important one, and the way this was crafted into a story with ghosts of people Will knew was incredible conceptually and emotionally. Very impactful.
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I read the original novel version of this in 2019 and enjoyed it but felt like it was too short, that it was missing something to make the story hit harder or be more clear in its delivery. I thought it was hard to grasp what each floor's person's message was before we moved on to the next. It needed another level of understanding for me. Well, this is it.
The visuals helped me understand better what was going on in this dialogue-heavy story. I got shivers reading some of the lines, this story is so powerful. I like this better than the original novel, rarely my stance on graphic novel adaptations. Everything about this was strong, emotional, and complex.
Content warnings: scenes with gun violence, mentions of gang violence/culture, murder, vigilante justice, mentions of drug dealing.
The visuals helped me understand better what was going on in this dialogue-heavy story. I got shivers reading some of the lines, this story is so powerful. I like this better than the original novel, rarely my stance on graphic novel adaptations. Everything about this was strong, emotional, and complex.
Content warnings: scenes with gun violence, mentions of gang violence/culture, murder, vigilante justice, mentions of drug dealing.
This book is infuriating in its ending. That's exactly how it's supposed to be.
You'll be able to work your way through this one (either it's original poetic incarnation or the graphic novel version) in about an hour or so. So if you don't have a lot of time to read but want something to really chew on for days, this is the story for you. The art makes this version come alive and straight off the page and I highly recommend it.
Will's brother has just been shot and killed before his eyes. Will ispretty sure certain he knows who committed the murder. And now that he knows, Will has three rules to follow, rules his brother passed to him from their father, going back generations.
1. Don't cry.
2. Don't snitch.
3. Get revenge.
All that's left for Will is to kill his brother's killer. But can he do it?
On Will's journey down his apartment building's elevator, he meets ghosts from his past, all dead due to gun violence. They try to impart some wisdom to Will on the long way down, but being ghosts, they can't exactly say all that needs to be said - at least not with words and not in the short time allotted to them. In the end, it's up to Will to figure out his own path.
You coming?
You'll be able to work your way through this one (either it's original poetic incarnation or the graphic novel version) in about an hour or so. So if you don't have a lot of time to read but want something to really chew on for days, this is the story for you. The art makes this version come alive and straight off the page and I highly recommend it.
Will's brother has just been shot and killed before his eyes. Will is
1. Don't cry.
2. Don't snitch.
3. Get revenge.
All that's left for Will is to kill his brother's killer. But can he do it?
On Will's journey down his apartment building's elevator, he meets ghosts from his past, all dead due to gun violence. They try to impart some wisdom to Will on the long way down, but being ghosts, they can't exactly say all that needs to be said - at least not with words and not in the short time allotted to them. In the end, it's up to Will to figure out his own path.
You coming?