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popthebutterfly 's review for:
Blackwater
by Jeannette Arroyo, Ren Graham
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: Blackwater
Author: Jeannette Arroyo and Ren Graham
Book Series: Blackwater book 1
Rating: 3.5/5
Diversity: Puerto Rican asthma user MC, Black character, poc characters, chronic autoimmune disorder character who is an ambulatory wheelchair user
Recommended For...: young adult readers, graphic novel, fantasy, werewolves, ghosts, LGBT, queer
Publication Date: July 19, 2022
Genre: YA Graphic Novel Fantasy
Age Relevance: 14+ (bullying, revenge and negligence, dead animal, animal gore, abelism, cursing, violence, homophobia, abelism)
Explanation of Above: There are scenes of bullying, homophobia, and abelism. There is a huge scene of abelism initiated by revenge and the negligence could have led to someone getting severely hurt. While I felt the character who caused it to be remorseful, that should have been shown more explicitly in the book and proclaimed as wrong because younger teens reading this might not realize that the action could potentially kill someone. There are also scenes of dead animals (deer) and animal gore (deer). There is some cursing in the book and some very slight violence as well.
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Pages: 304
Synopsis: Tony Price is a popular high school track star and occasional delinquent aching for his dad’s attention and approval. Eli Hirsch is a quiet boy with a chronic autoimmune disorder that has ravaged his health and social life. What happens when these two become unlikely friends (and a whole lot more . . .) in the spooky town of Blackwater, Maine? Werewolf curses, unsavory interactions with the quarterback of the football team, a ghostly fisherman haunting the harbor, and tons of high school drama.
Review: For the most part I enjoyed this graphic novel. I liked the story overall and I thought it was pretty good. The world building was decent and it highlighted the atmosphere well. The book had a good beginning story and I’d like to see more.
However, I have concerns about the book. To start with: the book is way too short and the plot was just beginning when it ended. The book did good to show abelism and then try to show how the characters were atoning for it, but I think that should have been more pronounced in the book, especially for the particular scene where one character almost caused another to die. I would have also liked to see more character development, especially for a book that claims to be a queer romance but not have a single frame of romance between the two characters.
Verdict: It was ok, but there should have been more.
Book: Blackwater
Author: Jeannette Arroyo and Ren Graham
Book Series: Blackwater book 1
Rating: 3.5/5
Diversity: Puerto Rican asthma user MC, Black character, poc characters, chronic autoimmune disorder character who is an ambulatory wheelchair user
Recommended For...: young adult readers, graphic novel, fantasy, werewolves, ghosts, LGBT, queer
Publication Date: July 19, 2022
Genre: YA Graphic Novel Fantasy
Age Relevance: 14+ (bullying, revenge and negligence, dead animal, animal gore, abelism, cursing, violence, homophobia, abelism)
Explanation of Above: There are scenes of bullying, homophobia, and abelism. There is a huge scene of abelism initiated by revenge and the negligence could have led to someone getting severely hurt. While I felt the character who caused it to be remorseful, that should have been shown more explicitly in the book and proclaimed as wrong because younger teens reading this might not realize that the action could potentially kill someone. There are also scenes of dead animals (deer) and animal gore (deer). There is some cursing in the book and some very slight violence as well.
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Pages: 304
Synopsis: Tony Price is a popular high school track star and occasional delinquent aching for his dad’s attention and approval. Eli Hirsch is a quiet boy with a chronic autoimmune disorder that has ravaged his health and social life. What happens when these two become unlikely friends (and a whole lot more . . .) in the spooky town of Blackwater, Maine? Werewolf curses, unsavory interactions with the quarterback of the football team, a ghostly fisherman haunting the harbor, and tons of high school drama.
Review: For the most part I enjoyed this graphic novel. I liked the story overall and I thought it was pretty good. The world building was decent and it highlighted the atmosphere well. The book had a good beginning story and I’d like to see more.
However, I have concerns about the book. To start with: the book is way too short and the plot was just beginning when it ended. The book did good to show abelism and then try to show how the characters were atoning for it, but I think that should have been more pronounced in the book, especially for the particular scene where one character almost caused another to die. I would have also liked to see more character development, especially for a book that claims to be a queer romance but not have a single frame of romance between the two characters.
Verdict: It was ok, but there should have been more.