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A review by lauren_miller
Giantess by J.C. Deveney, Núria Tamarit
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.0
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I picked this up because I loved the soft, whimsical design of the cover, and the interior did not disappoint. The art is well-drawn and tastefully colored, the latter of which really enhanced parts of the story—the deepest blues for a night sky full of stars and the most miserable grey for convent tucked away in the mountains... There was such a wonderful connection between the visuals and the atmosphere while reading the book..
The story is where things get a bit less lovely.
In truth, while I enjoyed the narrative, I found it to be a little all over the place. In only 200 pages, there are endless villages and towns and marshes and islands—Celeste is always on the move, never staying too long, and it's almost never HER decision to move on, either. Despite the feminist under- (sometimes extreme over-) tones, Celeste is a very passive character. In the beginning, she wanted to leave not because of her own curiosity, but because her brothers but she was forbidden to. Then she goes from town to town, individual/group to individual/group, accepting whatever befalls her; she willingly goes to jail and does not advocate for herself, she accepts almost all of the romantic affections given to her, and she moves on from one place to another when others signal it's time (e.g., too much damage, too big a mouth to feed, too many unladylike mistakes, etc.). Most of the story, she allows others to dictate her life in some way and that really frustrated me.
And after finishing the book, I found myself very dissatisfied with the ending. She and her friends end up creating a town of their own, but A) it wasn't her idea, B) it wasn't her land, and C) there's no real resolution with her husband. It felt like the stepping stone to a true denouement, which was disappointing.
Anyway, to wrap it all up, I think this is a beautiful graphic novel, but the story was a bit lacking for me. 3 out of 5 stars, ★★★☆☆
I picked this up because I loved the soft, whimsical design of the cover, and the interior did not disappoint. The art is well-drawn and tastefully colored, the latter of which really enhanced parts of the story—the deepest blues for a night sky full of stars and the most miserable grey for convent tucked away in the mountains... There was such a wonderful connection between the visuals and the atmosphere while reading the book..
The story is where things get a bit less lovely.
In truth, while I enjoyed the narrative, I found it to be a little all over the place. In only 200 pages, there are endless villages and towns and marshes and islands—Celeste is always on the move, never staying too long, and it's almost never HER decision to move on, either. Despite the feminist under- (sometimes extreme over-) tones, Celeste is a very passive character. In the beginning, she wanted to leave not because of her own curiosity, but because her brothers but she was forbidden to. Then she goes from town to town, individual/group to individual/group, accepting whatever befalls her; she willingly goes to jail and does not advocate for herself, she accepts almost all of the romantic affections given to her, and she moves on from one place to another when others signal it's time (e.g., too much damage, too big a mouth to feed, too many unladylike mistakes, etc.). Most of the story, she allows others to dictate her life in some way and that really frustrated me.
And after finishing the book, I found myself very dissatisfied with the ending. She and her friends end up creating a town of their own, but A) it wasn't her idea, B) it wasn't her land, and C) there's no real resolution with her husband. It felt like the stepping stone to a true denouement, which was disappointing.
Anyway, to wrap it all up, I think this is a beautiful graphic novel, but the story was a bit lacking for me. 3 out of 5 stars, ★★★☆☆