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A review by laurel00
A Map to the Sun by Sloane Leong
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
I picked this graphic novel up mainly for the colour scheme which not only captured my attention from the very beginning, but remained just as beautiful and evocative throughout the entire story.
Leong has a true talent, and you can tell how intentional her artistic choices are. There are so many moments during my reading experience where I kind of just sat back and appreciated the illustrations. I would also often flip back and forth throughout the pages to see the way she specifically picked out certain colours to represent certain emotions or feelings, which goes to show how invested I was in the art style itself. It is a stunning book through and through.
I also really appreciated the found family aspect of the storyline. The girls feel very realistic as characters, the fights made sense when you consider their ages and their individual situations. I was sometimes really frustrated with them, but I could tell that was precisely the point of the book or the scene. I loved following them through the ups and downs of their friendship and seeing the way they grew together as young girls who have far too much being throw at them all at once.
The thing that got the most in my way was the fact that their individual storylines aren't developed enough. Ren's is probably the most detailed, as she sort of takes on the role of the main character. So I really did feel like I connected to her, in a way that I didn't get to experience with the others. Leong kind of touches on some super interesting or heartbreaking aspects of the other girls' lives that I would have loved to explore further. But a lot of those secondary character arcs didn't really go anywhere, which I think that was a bit of a shame because there really was so much potential and I feel like certain elements of the overall story remain unresolved.
That being said, it is still a wonderfully crafted novel and I think it is absolutely worth the read!
Leong has a true talent, and you can tell how intentional her artistic choices are. There are so many moments during my reading experience where I kind of just sat back and appreciated the illustrations. I would also often flip back and forth throughout the pages to see the way she specifically picked out certain colours to represent certain emotions or feelings, which goes to show how invested I was in the art style itself. It is a stunning book through and through.
I also really appreciated the found family aspect of the storyline. The girls feel very realistic as characters, the fights made sense when you consider their ages and their individual situations. I was sometimes really frustrated with them, but I could tell that was precisely the point of the book or the scene. I loved following them through the ups and downs of their friendship and seeing the way they grew together as young girls who have far too much being throw at them all at once.
The thing that got the most in my way was the fact that their individual storylines aren't developed enough. Ren's is probably the most detailed, as she sort of takes on the role of the main character. So I really did feel like I connected to her, in a way that I didn't get to experience with the others. Leong kind of touches on some super interesting or heartbreaking aspects of the other girls' lives that I would have loved to explore further. But a lot of those secondary character arcs didn't really go anywhere, which I think that was a bit of a shame because there really was so much potential and I feel like certain elements of the overall story remain unresolved.
That being said, it is still a wonderfully crafted novel and I think it is absolutely worth the read!