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A review by ellornaslibrary
Witchy by Ariel Slamet Ries
5.0
An overall delight that left me wanting more.
I got this lovely edition as part of OwlCrate's 'Rebels With a Cause' May 2020 box and the first sight of this beautiful book made me glad I decided to finally sign up.
This story was captivating from the start. And the art style? ABSOLUTELY gorgeous. Even after I'd finish a page I'd occasionally catch myself just staring at the art to look at the little details so carefully added. And honestly, there's a lot in those little details that add to the story. If you just flip through quick? You're missing out. This is definitely a graphic novel where you want to take a little time to let yourself process the images. The characters in this story are just. . . oh man, I love them. Even the character who is supposed to be a villain — as there's a vibe even just from the description that in the bigger picture the villain is bigger than just one person — doesn't feel like the standard baddie. And I can't wait to read more about Nyneve, Batu, Prill, Io, Veda, and Banana as the story continues onward.
I have to say one of my favorite aspects in this book was the mother-daughter bond between Nyneve and Veda. It's such a sweet, understanding relationship that still has the expected hallmark of a child holding back something from their parent. Yet even when Veda gets upset with Nyneve, the anger is out of fear and love, and evaporates quickly enough into just that gentle understanding. Plus, Veda is a fierce and protective mother, and just full on awesome. Another favorite aspect though is the magic. I find the concept behind it interesting especially as there's a suggestion that there's far more to it than even the people of the Kingdom seem to be aware. I'm eager to learn more.
As far as diversity rep? And LGQBT rep? This book definitely has both and I personally think -though this is just a personal opinion and I don't claim to be an expert- it was handled well. There's also a great deal of rep for bodies of all different shapes and sizes as well. I'd also say there's some solid possibility of both PTSD and depression rep in here as far as the MC, which is understandable given the trauma of how she lost her father, that was handled with skill. Honestly, in a manner of speaking all the rep presented felt effortlessly done. There are definitely content warnings to be aware of though for parental loss, spousal loss, bullying, transphobia(challenged), misgendering(challenged), and abandonment. (If I'm missing any that are important, or phrased something improperly, please let me know so I can edit accordingly as I'm still learning.)
Anyways, my apologies for this rambling review. I wanted it to be more composed, but alas. . . Maybe I'll clean it up later. The most important thing here though is that I highly recommend Witchy. It's a delight.
I got this lovely edition as part of OwlCrate's 'Rebels With a Cause' May 2020 box and the first sight of this beautiful book made me glad I decided to finally sign up.
This story was captivating from the start. And the art style? ABSOLUTELY gorgeous. Even after I'd finish a page I'd occasionally catch myself just staring at the art to look at the little details so carefully added. And honestly, there's a lot in those little details that add to the story. If you just flip through quick? You're missing out. This is definitely a graphic novel where you want to take a little time to let yourself process the images. The characters in this story are just. . . oh man, I love them. Even the character who is supposed to be a villain — as there's a vibe even just from the description that in the bigger picture the villain is bigger than just one person — doesn't feel like the standard baddie. And I can't wait to read more about Nyneve, Batu, Prill, Io, Veda, and Banana as the story continues onward.
I have to say one of my favorite aspects in this book was the mother-daughter bond between Nyneve and Veda. It's such a sweet, understanding relationship that still has the expected hallmark of a child holding back something from their parent. Yet even when Veda gets upset with Nyneve, the anger is out of fear and love, and evaporates quickly enough into just that gentle understanding. Plus, Veda is a fierce and protective mother, and just full on awesome. Another favorite aspect though is the magic. I find the concept behind it interesting especially as there's a suggestion that there's far more to it than even the people of the Kingdom seem to be aware. I'm eager to learn more.
As far as diversity rep? And LGQBT rep? This book definitely has both and I personally think -though this is just a personal opinion and I don't claim to be an expert- it was handled well. There's also a great deal of rep for bodies of all different shapes and sizes as well. I'd also say there's some solid possibility of both PTSD and depression rep in here as far as the MC, which is understandable given the trauma of how she lost her father, that was handled with skill. Honestly, in a manner of speaking all the rep presented felt effortlessly done. There are definitely content warnings to be aware of though for parental loss, spousal loss, bullying, transphobia(challenged), misgendering(challenged), and abandonment. (If I'm missing any that are important, or phrased something improperly, please let me know so I can edit accordingly as I'm still learning.)
Anyways, my apologies for this rambling review. I wanted it to be more composed, but alas. . . Maybe I'll clean it up later. The most important thing here though is that I highly recommend Witchy. It's a delight.