Reviews

Ruinas by Peter Kuper

bex13's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective relaxing 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

4.0

lakesidegirl's review against another edition

2.0

While I enjoyed seeing places I've visited in Oaxaca depicted in this story, the rest of the book wasn't my cup of tea.

katikay's review against another edition

2.0

I can't really say this was a bad book per se, I just didn't enjoy the artwork or the story.

bluenicorn's review against another edition

3.0

So... it took a little to get into this, because I didn't really care for George, and I couldn't quite see where the story was going. By the time I did, I realized that while it wasn't much of a fun read, it was pretty relateable and a bit of a catharsis- for the characters and myself. Also, Mexico is fascinating, so that was a nice setting, especially juxtaposed with Mexican history, legend, and current politics.

bookdingo's review against another edition

5.0

Beautiful life-changing trip to Oaxaca, Mexico and two lives are forever altered in the midst of strikes and lots of monarch butterflies!

lauren_endnotes's review against another edition

4.0

Kuper's RUINS is a fictional travel diary/family drama of a couple's sabbatical in Oaxaca, Mexico. The story is juxtaposed with a single monarch butterfly's migration from New York to the butterfly reserve in Michoacán. The artwork was beautiful, and the story was well-done overall (the characters could have been developed a bit more), but overall this was a great combination of art and story. I really liked this one.
4.5/5

juannaranjo's review

5.0

“Ruinas” es la historia de una pareja estadounidense que se toma un año sabático en México para poder retomar sus pasiones. Pero también es una carta de amor a la cultura mexicana, a sus tradiciones, su gastronomía, sus colores y su historia.
La historia de los aztecas se intercala con el presente mexicano... y la corrupción política, las luchas sociales y la violencia se mezclan en esta obra con la historia de las mariposas monarcas que, desde Canadá, llegan a Oaxaca sólo para reproducirse.
Esta novela gráfica es una auténtica genialidad en un sentido plástico: hay paginas que te apabullan, que te dejan sin palabras. Además (aunque no sea su función) también es muy didáctica y te hace aprender sobre cosas tan distintas como los insectos, la gastronomía, los excesos de los conquistadores españoles o la geografía norteamericana.
Este libro es un auténtico ejercicio de amor por la bibliofilia: pocas ediciones he visto más cuidadas y primorosas en mi vida.

jemmania's review against another edition

adventurous informative inspiring fast-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

4.0

Petition to have all graphic novelists use different text colors and speech bubbles to distinguish characters. This is a gorgeous graphic novel, I ran through this one in an hour or so. I'd highly recommend it for it's engaging real life story and it's educational properties.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity and Violence

Minor: Gun violence, Child death, Death, and Death of parent

Drowning

viandemoisie's review against another edition

4.0

Insects are cool.

dawspack's review against another edition

2.0

I liked the ancillary parts of the book - the monarch butterflies, the history of Oaxaca, the strike- but not the main characters and their story arc. Often when the story came back to them, I found myself pulled out of the story. Interesting themes.