A review by iffer
EmiTown, Vol. 1 by Jamie S. Rich, Emi Lenox

2.0

I wanted to like this, and I like the illustrations, and Emi Lenox seems like she'd be a fun and interesting person to hang out with. However, EmiTown started off as a personal diary, and reading it feels like one, and not in a good way. There are too many redundant and repetitive details, and, since the pages weren't designed to be read as a graphic novel, the art doesn't lead the eye. Furthermore, for something that started off as a personal diary, it seems somewhat lacking in personal detail or depth, with too much time spent on beverage costs than life events. Consequently, Emi unfortunately sometimes comes off like a whining Millenial instead of the endearing, quirky, creative, sometimes self-conscious I suspect that she is. With some editing (definitely shortening), and some reworking of the entries into a tight, cohesive story, I think that this could be a good book, but with this version, I was left wondering when the book would end, and how this ended up being published in this form.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.