graphic novels » The Novel Hermit

TBR • Books I Bought in the Past Two Months

January 30, 2022 Leave a Comment

Usually when I buy books, they’re graphic novels. Not this time though! (Well, at least it’s half.)

This time around, it’s half classic authors and half graphic novels.

Frog and Toad Are Doing Their Best (A Parody): Bedtime Stories for Trying Times by Jennie Egerdie

At home, work, and out in our ever-changing world, we’re all just doing our best. In this modern parody, Frog and Toad are here to commiserate and lend some laughter.

Full of wry humor and deep compassion for our modern vulnerabilities, the stories in Frog and Toad Are Doing Their Best perfectly capture the heartwarming authenticity of Lobel’s famous amphibian friends while revealing razor-sharp truths about the world we live in today. Through Frog and Toad, we see the anxieties that are woven throughout our everyday existence, from our well-meaning but often-failed attempts at practicing self-care to our struggle to balance the gifts and burdens of technology. Toad ponders a variety of questionable schemes to pay off his credit cards, while Frog spends too much time scrolling through the newsfeed on his phone. But despite their daily frustrations and existential concerns, they know that having a friend to share life’s burdens makes even the darkest days brighter.

Why did I buy Frog and Toad Are Doing Their Best? Why wouldn’t I want a Frog and Toad parody book about highly relatable truths living in today’s world? But really, I grew up reading the Toad and Frog books, so seeing this parody gave me a wave of nostalgia.

Comics

FROM PANEL TO PANEL • Lonely Hearts (Crushing by Sophie Burrows)

January 17, 2022 Leave a Comment

Crushing by Sophie Burrows • January 11, 2022 • Algonquin Young Readers

She’s lonely and searching for connection. He’s lonely and afraid to reach out. Life in the big city means being surrounded by connections—making them, missing them, and longing for them. But is finding someone else really the answer to their problems? Crushing, the stunning debut graphic novel from Sophie Burrows, is a story told in silence; a story without words but bursting with meaning; a story about loneliness and love. Achingly beautiful, quietly defiant, and full of subtle wit and wisdom, Crushing is a unique meditation on the human condition in the twenty-first century, and a timely examination of young adult life in an age of isolation.

myreview

I received this graphic novel for free from Algonquin Young Readers for review consideration. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

If I had to describe Crushing in a sentence, I would say—it’s beautiful, but too goddamn real with its portrayal of loneliness.

Comics

TBR • Graphic Novels I Recently Purchased

December 3, 2021 Leave a Comment

When I do buy books, I end up buying graphic novels, and that’s no different for me during the past month. It’s graphic novels or bust, baby!!!

These four graphic novels are either about queer supernatural beings or my favorite Marvel children. I can ask you to guess which titles I bought, but let’s just take a look at those gorgeous covers instead!

Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall & Lisa Sterle

Pretty Little Liars meets Teen Wolf in this fast-paced, sharply funny, and patriarchy-smashing graphic novel from author Maggie Tokuda-Hall and artist Lisa Sterle. When the new girl is invited to join her high school’s most popular clique, she can’t believe her luck—and she can’t believe their secret, either: they’re werewolves. Fans of Mariko Tamaki and Elana K. Arnold will devour the snappy dialogue, vivid artwork, and timely social commentary.

When Becca transfers to a high school in an elite San Francisco suburb, she’s worried she’s not going to fit in. To her surprise, she’s immediately adopted by the most popular girls in school. At first glance, Marley, Arianna, and Mandy are perfect. But at a party under a full moon, Becca learns that they also have a big secret.

Becca’s new friends are werewolves. Their prey? Slimy boys who take advantage of unsuspecting girls. Eager to be accepted, Becca allows her friends to turn her into a werewolf, and finally, for the first time in her life, she feels like she truly belongs.

But things get complicated when Arianna’s predatory boyfriend is killed, and the cops begin searching for a serial killer. As their pack begins to buckle under the pressure—and their moral high ground gets muddier and muddier—Becca realizes that she might have feelings for one of her new best friends.

Why did I buy Squad? Two names: Maggie Tokuda-Hall & Lisa Sterle. Two absolutely wonderful and creative women who’s work I have enjoyed immensely. Them joining forces to create a graphic novel about queer werewolves? Sign me up!!

Comics

FROM PANEL TO PANEL • Fall 2020 Graphic Novels for Kids and Teens!

October 23, 2020 Leave a Comment

from panel to panel

I love comics and graphic novels, so what do I do with that love? Well, I turn it into a new feature!

From Panel to Panel is a new feature where I talk about the awesome (and perhaps not-so awesome) comic books and graphic novels I’ve read. Basically, this will be me pushing them onto your laps. You’re welcome.

Hi, remember this? It’s actually been a year since the last time I’ve posted about graphic novels I’m excited about that were coming out. I didn’t mean to stop doing these—2020 just hasn’t been kind.

But I’m ready to talk about all the graphic novels I’m so pumped for, which includes the amazing Trung Le Nguyen (aka Trungles)’s GN, witches and seances, and much more. When you read the synopsis, you’ll understand why these graphic novels are most wanted.

Let’s check out what graphic novels were released this fall for kids and teens!

Comics

FROM PANEL TO PANEL • Like Losing A Limb (The Phantom Twin by Lisa Brown)

March 20, 2020 Leave a Comment

The Phantom Twin by Lisa Brown • March 3, 2019 • First Second

Isabel and Jane are the Extraordinary Peabody Sisters, conjoined twins in a traveling carnival freak show—until an ambitious surgeon tries to separate them and fails, causing Jane’s death. Isabel has lost an arm and a leg but gained a ghostly companion: Her dead twin is now her phantom limb. Haunted, altered, and alone for the first time, can Isabel build a new life that’s truly her own?

myreview

I received this graphic novel for free from First Second for review consideration. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

First sentence: “I wake up afraid to open my eyes.”

Losing a conjoined twin puts a whole different spin on “phantom limb.” But that’s exactly what Isabel feels when she loses Jane; it’s like losing a limb—another part of herself that she feels like Jane’s still there when she isn’t.

Comics

REVIEW • Cub by Cynthia L. Copeland

January 12, 2020 Leave a Comment

Cub by Cynthia L. Copeland • January 7, 2019 • Algonquin Young Readers

Twelve-year-old Cindy has just dipped a toe into seventh-grade drama—with its complicated friendships, bullies, and cute boys—when she earns an internship as a cub reporter at a local newspaper in the early 1970s. A (rare) young female reporter takes Cindy under her wing, and Cindy soon learns not only how to write a lede, but also how to respectfully question authority, how to assert herself in a world run by men, and—as the Watergate scandal unfolds—how brave reporting and writing can topple a corrupt world leader. Searching for her own scoops, Cindy doesn’t always get it right, on paper or in real life. But whether she’s writing features about ghost hunters, falling off her bicycle and into her first crush, or navigating shifting friendships, Cindy grows wiser and more confident through every awkward and hilarious mistake.

myreview

I received this book for free from Algonquin Young Readers for review consideration. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

“When we watch Wild Kingdom on Sunday Nights at seven o’clock, my brothers see one thing…”

Middle School is a confusing time for kids trying to survive the wild kingdom, as Cindy—the main character of Cub—sees it as.