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A review by mckenzierichardson
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World by Shannon Hale, Dean Hale
3.0
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This one is kind of tricky for me to review. There were things I really liked and things I wasn't such a fan of.
Overall, I think the book was good. I recently read [b: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Vol. 1: Squirrel Power|23732096|The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Vol. 1 Squirrel Power|Ryan North|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1440092318s/23732096.jpg|43344260] and loved it because it was super duper awesome. I fell in love with Doreen Green and her amazingness. So I was very excited to see that there was a novelization of her adventures and it was written by none other than [a: Shannon Hale|49177|Shannon Hale|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1299093233p2/49177.jpg], the author of the [b: Ever After High: Storybook of Legends|18053786|The Storybook of Legends (Ever After High, #1)|Shannon Hale|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1473973875s/18053786.jpg|25338957] book series, which I also love.
Then I got this. It wasn't bad, it just didn't reach my exceptions. There were definitely good things. I really liked Ana Sofia's character. I think the authors did a good job of incorporating various aspects of deaf culture into the text (ASL, hearing aids, music, lip reading). I was a little disappointed Ana Sofia could "read lips" like almost every deaf character in mass media, but I think they did a good job showing how it isn't an easy task and not a perfect system. I also thought it was good how Ana Sofia called out misperceptions about deafness in the book.
But then there were things that were not so cool. For one thing, I was super confused why Tippy-Toe's sections were the only ones in first person. The other sections were in third person. Was Tippy-Toe supposed to be the narrator of the whole thing? I listened to the audiobook and they used different narrators for some of the sections, so even if that were true, it would be super confusing. The footnotes were funny, sometimes annoying and disruptive, but overall they were a good addition that definitely felt like something Squirrel Girl would do.
There were a few times where the narration just did not make sense. Like the whole carjacking scene. How it the world did she open the hood while standing on the hood? I realize she has unbeatable squirrel powers, but I don't think being able to move through solid objects is one of them. And then how did the carjacker keep driving when said hood was up? That scene totally threw me out of the narration because it was so confusing. I had to listen to it again and it still bugged me.
I also felt that sometimes the book got a little dark. There are dangerous things and fight scenes that happen in the graphic novel, but the cutesy, colorful artwork and hilarious dialogue helped brighten it up. Without the visuals, the book was kind of creepy and weird. Tippy-Toe's sections felt especially gritty. And what was with all of the cute animals in danger? Seriously? Trying to poison dogs and squish squirrels? Are you kidding me? Unnecessarily dark, especially for a Squirrel Girl book.
So overall, I thought it was good, but some things just didn't seem to ring true for Squirrel Girl. I loved the comic because it was a funny spin on a superhero adventure. This was a decent book, but not one of my favorites.
This one is kind of tricky for me to review. There were things I really liked and things I wasn't such a fan of.
Overall, I think the book was good. I recently read [b: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Vol. 1: Squirrel Power|23732096|The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Vol. 1 Squirrel Power|Ryan North|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1440092318s/23732096.jpg|43344260] and loved it because it was super duper awesome. I fell in love with Doreen Green and her amazingness. So I was very excited to see that there was a novelization of her adventures and it was written by none other than [a: Shannon Hale|49177|Shannon Hale|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1299093233p2/49177.jpg], the author of the [b: Ever After High: Storybook of Legends|18053786|The Storybook of Legends (Ever After High, #1)|Shannon Hale|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1473973875s/18053786.jpg|25338957] book series, which I also love.
Then I got this. It wasn't bad, it just didn't reach my exceptions. There were definitely good things. I really liked Ana Sofia's character. I think the authors did a good job of incorporating various aspects of deaf culture into the text (ASL, hearing aids, music, lip reading). I was a little disappointed Ana Sofia could "read lips" like almost every deaf character in mass media, but I think they did a good job showing how it isn't an easy task and not a perfect system. I also thought it was good how Ana Sofia called out misperceptions about deafness in the book.
But then there were things that were not so cool. For one thing, I was super confused why Tippy-Toe's sections were the only ones in first person. The other sections were in third person. Was Tippy-Toe supposed to be the narrator of the whole thing? I listened to the audiobook and they used different narrators for some of the sections, so even if that were true, it would be super confusing. The footnotes were funny, sometimes annoying and disruptive, but overall they were a good addition that definitely felt like something Squirrel Girl would do.
There were a few times where the narration just did not make sense. Like the whole carjacking scene. How it the world did she open the hood while standing on the hood? I realize she has unbeatable squirrel powers, but I don't think being able to move through solid objects is one of them. And then how did the carjacker keep driving when said hood was up? That scene totally threw me out of the narration because it was so confusing. I had to listen to it again and it still bugged me.
I also felt that sometimes the book got a little dark. There are dangerous things and fight scenes that happen in the graphic novel, but the cutesy, colorful artwork and hilarious dialogue helped brighten it up. Without the visuals, the book was kind of creepy and weird. Tippy-Toe's sections felt especially gritty. And what was with all of the cute animals in danger? Seriously? Trying to poison dogs and squish squirrels? Are you kidding me? Unnecessarily dark, especially for a Squirrel Girl book.
So overall, I thought it was good, but some things just didn't seem to ring true for Squirrel Girl. I loved the comic because it was a funny spin on a superhero adventure. This was a decent book, but not one of my favorites.