Once again, I'm going to say the best thing about this was probably the art. Throughout, there are just some absolutely gorgeous panels, and they really fit the whole theme/tone of the book overall. And while it is an environmental thriller, I wanted the two main storylines to connect a bit more. I thought Beth's disappearance was going to have more of an impact on what actually happened with the pipeline.

The characterization overall was also fine, nothing about it really stood out to me. There is a lot of great visual diversity, but none of this is really acknowledged in the story itself. We get some of Dee's family story, but I think maybe that could have been expanded on as well.

All in all, even though the art style is fantastic, the story itself was a little all over the place to me. 

While I enjoyed the art in this, I felt like maybe it was a bit too long for the story itself? The message is definitely one that teens will be able to relate to, as Siegel's future plans don't seem to work out the way she wants them to. She also struggles with self-doubt and the idea that she's not good enough, which is soomething I think everyone can relate to.

However, the art style in this was gorgeous. I loved the color palette and how it contributed to the overall story. Some of the spreads really worked well for showing how overwhelmed that Siena got at times. Lots of great art and emotion, maybe just a bit more editing was needed for the story itself.

This graphic novel is done with stop motion art, based on a film of the same title. The concept of the book is fascinating, and the art style overall makes it really interesting. Some of the art is very dark, though. Given the subject matter, this isn't surprising.

One of the best things about this book is the information included at the end of the book. I highly recommend reading this because it not only gives the book context, but it also gives a history and information about the Métis people in Canada. 

This was an interesting spin on the Sleeping Beauty story! I felt that maybe it dragged a little in the middle, but overall it was good. More to come in a full review later this week!

It felt like this volume was a bit of a filler story, with some hints towards something more at the end there. There are also so many characters to keep track of, with more added it seems like every volume. And the more characters, the more mystery we get. It feels like Tohru might be getting there soon, but we'll see! 

I kept seeing this book around Instagram, and I'm so glad I finally picked it up! Charlie is the latest contestant on the dating show Ever After, hoping to rebuild his public image after an incident at his tech company. Dev is a producer for the show--and assigned to make Charlie more likable. What they don't expect is to fall for each other.

Right from the beginning, there is great mental health rep in this book. Charlie has OCD and a panic disorder, and Dev struggles with depression. Both of these are integral to the plot, and neither Charlie or Dev try to fix each other. They both have honest conversations about it, and the overall mental health representation felt real and authentic. Honestly, to have this in a romance is great because I don't think it's seen very often.

There were also a lot of great discussions about sexuality, specifically asexuality. For a good majority of the book, Charlie is trying to figure out where he fits on the asexuality specturm, and he has some great conversations with other characters about this. I loved the message that you don't have to have everything figured out right away, becuase some people do and some people don't. As someone who doesn't have it 100% figured out, I might have appreciated this aspect of the book the most. For this reason, I also might have to purchase this book eventually.

There was also great character development, and the side characters get a lot of this as well. They aren't left in the dust. They create this lovely little kind of found family, which is definitely one of my favorite tropes.

I do want to say, Dev is Indian American, but for the most part, this isn't mentioned much, and personally, I didn't feel like his culture was done justice. For further disucssion on that, I definitely recommend checking out Chaitanya Srivastava's Review, which delves into some of the issues surrounding this. Issues that I haven't seen mentioned much in other reviews, but I think they're important to discussion, especially when there is a white author writing a person of color.

All in all, this book hit a lot of points for me in a comfort read, and I think it's one I might have to keep around.

Loosely based on Jane Eyre, this is a YA horror that is packed with action and spookiness. All of the descriptions of the curse that was happened in Rochester's house were rightfully creepy, and the tone was immediately set from the beginning. As more of the story unfolds and we learn more about the curse, it just gets more and more creepy.

There was also great chemistry between Andi and Magnus, as all of these manifestations are happening around them. It almost brings them closer together, the danger making their relationship all the more exciting. The changing relationship between Andi and Jember, her guardian/caretaker/trainer/master, also added dimension to the story. All of these details worked well together to create a story that was difficult to put down once you got started.

I feel like YA horror has been upping it's game a bit in the last year, and this is a great addition to a genre that desperately needs more diversity.

Right off the bat, the way that Smedley captures emotion in this book is phenomenal. His characters are multi-dimensional, and flipping between past and present really helps in making them unique and fully fleshed out. Your heart will ache for Owen right from the beginning, and you'll be rooting for him for the rest of the book.

I also appreciated the care that Smedley took with domestic abuse and sexual assault. Too often, domestic abuse situations for teens are just written off because they are teens. But Smedley breaks down the affects this relationship had on Owen, and the way the assault completely changed his ability to trust people. The way that Smedley reveals the assaulter both through Owen's journal entries and what happens at school effectively keeps you grounded in this story.

Additionally, there's rep in here that you don't see in a lot of YA books: Owen is on the autism specturm and is also bisexual. From my perspective, I think this was well done, but I'd have to seek out an own voices review to make sure. But you can see how it affects his relationships and how it intertwines with his reactions to his assault. 

Be warned, this is a highly emotional book, but one that will be difficult to put down once you get into. Owen has a strong voice, and I liked this so much, I think I'll have to go back and read Smedley's first book!

Not my favorite volume so far, but I did enjoy the fact that we got backstory on Uo. It was interesting to see the connection with Tohru's mom. However, I didn't necessarily need the extra stories on Yuki's fanclub. They just seemed extraneous and not really needed.

With each reference to Akito that we get, you can tell that something's coming. I know everyone says that this series is emotional, so I'm buckling up the further into the series I get. Reading this and watching the 2019 anime at the same time has also proved to be really useful!

I can definitely see why people have raved about this book. At it's core, it's about life and choices and what it really means to live. There are a lot of great lines in this book, and I think a lot of people will relate to what Nora is going through. She doesn't feel like anyone needs her, nothing in her life went the way she wanted it to, and she's ready to give up.

However, as a character, Nora herself isn't super likeable. For some reason, I couldn't connect with her. Despite only getting glimpses from other characters, though, a lot of them are actually pretty fleshed out. The overall structure of the book really made for an overall interesting story. The concept of the Midnight Library was clever, and I really enjoyed that aspect of the book. It also brings to light important discussions on mental health.

All in all, I can see why this book has connected with so many readers. It's definitely a good story!