I absolute adore graphic novels, and as a music business student, The Stereotypical Freaks is something that is right up my alley.

The Stereotypical Freaks focuses on two friends signing up for a local battle of the bands contest, recruiting two new members, and forming life-changing friendships.

I wasn’t expecting a lack of colour whilst reading this, as the cover itself was engaging and colourful. To start with I thought it could have benefitted from being coloured, however the further I got into the story, the less it mattered, and the less I noticed it. This truly is a powerful story of friendship and overcoming stereotypes and other people’s ideas of what you should be and who exactly you are. Jacoby’s story was truly heart-breaking and added a nice spin on what could’ve been a stereotypical story that’s been told before. The dynamic between the four was great, and whilst it was made clear that Tom was the main character, it was nice to see the friendship between Jacoby and Mark and Jacoby and Dan explored as well. I loved that although we only saw glimpses of some of the characters, they all felt well-rounded and realistic.

I absolutely loved the recommended listening at the start of each chapter, and it added an extra element to the story listening to these songs whilst reading (also I adore most of the artists mentioned, I mean, who doesn’t love Led Zeppelin and The Who, so definitely no complaints from me on that front). I also appreciated that the characters weren’t afraid to cry, again bucking popular stereotypes of males being unwilling to cry.

The only thing that let The Stereotypical Freaks down was the character of Jealinthe. I understand that she was the reasoning for Tom signing up for the battle of the bands competition, however I felt this was really her only purpose (I know she was also used as a metaphor for overcoming fears, however other metaphors were also used, so this wasn’t entirely necessary). Dan and his enthusiasm could have been the reason for Tom signing up and it wouldn’t have felt any less authentic. As this was a story of friendship, it probably would have felt more authentic that he would have signed up for him. At times, the dialogue also felt a bit awkward, however it was easy to overlook this as most of the time it flowed nicely.

This is a touching tale of male friendship and the power of being able to do what you love and overcoming your fears.

The Vengeful Half focuses on Olivia Winter, an atypical teenage girl with a slightly overprotective mother, who escaped from a parallel world called The Hidden Lands. After Olivia’s mother is kidnapped for her skills as a potion-maker, Olivia is thrusted into the world which her mother sacrificed everything to protect her from, which leads her on a whirlwind journey of self-discovery.

I loved the characterisation of every single character in The Vengeful Half. I enjoyed that we got to see the switch in Olivia being both determined and scared, and how realistic is felt for her to go between the two when she unearthed new information about herself and the ones closest to her. I love the strong character we got to see in both Thessia and Adelise, although I wish we got to see more of both of them. The subtle language change between the races (Miralems, Daramons and Fanarlem) was also appreciated, and allows us a better sense of the history of each of these races, and helps gives the characters we see more of an identity. I hope for The Stolen Heart (The Hidden Lands #2) we get to see more of Lester (as well as Thessia – she is definitely my favourite character), and then we will have three main characters for each of the three races.

The illustrations were whimsical and a nice touch. Sometimes however, the drawings highlighted the fun and little things about a chapter (which is playful and enjoyable, don’t get me wrong) when they could have focused more on the heavier dialogue or topics being touched upon.

The chapters also seemed incredibly short to me, sometimes unnaturally so (The Vengeful Half is 300 pages long with 53 chapters – the shortest chapter being a single page). Whilst there definitely was a call for a break where each chapter ended, it didn’t necessarily have to mean the end of the chapter, however this is totally the author’s choice.

I enjoyed the explanations of the timeline of the writing of the book, however these felt slightly out of place, as they were placed at what seemed like random intervals in the book. It was interesting to get the author’s insight and a bit of backstory to these characters, but I may have changed the placement of them.

Whilst there were what I would consider multiple arcs in this story (i.e. waves of Olivia gaining different knowledge about her past), sometimes the pacing seemed a little off with this. I understand that this was to lead up to a big ending, and to establish characters in the start and middle of the book, but I would have liked to see a little more action during the middle. I also felt that the last chapter was a little anti-climactic compared to the chapters before it, yet it was also nice to see Olivia end the book with a small piece of happiness.

This is absolutely by no means a bad book, and I did sincerely enjoy it. I just think that some things could have been improved upon. With the second installment planned for the summer, some of these things might change, and I am looking forward to see where exactly the story is going to go next. I absolutely love the world that Jocelyn Dolamore has created and I would urge any fan of YA books to read this as it is truly a spectacular idea with loveable characters.

One of the main things I love is that whilst this book definitely has fantasy elements, it definitely boils down to a tale about both identity and family, which is something every reader, especially teen readers, will be able to relate to.

I really hope The Hidden Lands takes off and becomes a huge franchise because both the work and Jocelyn Dolamore truly deserve it.

This book is short poetry, four lines in total, catered specifically to Americans on the precipice between youth and adulthood. That doesn’t meant it can’t appeal to readers outside of America, some of the ideas explored are universal, but some of the references won’t be truly understood by those who aren’t from the US. As a reader from the UK, this can be a little off-putting to me.

The book is split into categories such as money, love, food, and unemployment, proof that it is trying to cater to as many different topics and ideas for this certain group of people as possible. Whilst catering to these people, this book is definitely a kind of memento of what kind of world these people are currently living in. Quarter Life Poetry is quintessentially a physical capture of the modern age, where everything is bitesize and whole stories and ideas can be told in 140 characters.

I like the little illustrations that go with each poem, and they definitely add a cute whimsicality to each offering in this poem.

Whilst this book can definitely be enjoyed by twenty-somethings at a certain period in their life, I feel like it is also a book that someone may read once, and then put away for a few years and rediscover when they’ve all but forgotten about it. That’s one of the problems with this book: whilst it is certainly relatable, it is also forgettable.

It is not deep, but it’s not intended to be deep. If you’re looking for quick fun and confirmation that everyone around you is in the same boat as you, then this is the book for you.

If you were expecting to read something happy or comical, then you’re looking in the wrong place. This graphic novel is humorous in the darkest way, and may appeal to some and horrify others.

Through the Habitrails starts with an incredibly long introduction, a 13 page introduction by Stephen R. Bisette. Admittedly, I wanted to get through this before starting the actual content, to see if it could offer me some background about Habitrails, give me something a little extra, but I got about three pages in before I grew impatient. I wanted to read Nicholson's words, so I skipped it and went back to read it after I had finished.

This graphic novel is bleak, incredibly so. The black and white illustrations only add to the melancholic journey you take whilst reading. However although it’s bleak for the protagonist, it might also make you consider how good you may have things.
Sure, it's bad working conditions and a miserable life taken to the extreme (the humorous satirical nature is apparent, especially with the pickle jar filled with beer), but is it? Every reader will find something to relate to whilst reading this, and will feel at least an ounce of despair for the protagonist. I’m sure, like the unnamed protagonist, everyone has wanted to escape, or hasn’t identified with their peers before.

Even though some of the imagery in this graphic novel (the illustrated, and that imagined from the writing) can be harrowing, Through the Habitrails is indeed compelling. I won't lie though, it was hard for me to get through and left me questioning a lot of things about the meaning of adulthood. Maybe because I'm younger than the protagonist and haven't had his experiences than I'm less jaded than him. The monotony of the protagonist's life, and how uses increasingly harmful ways (and how Nicholson uses increasingly fantastical methods) to cope with the mediocrity and stagnancy of his life are equal parts funny and disturbing. He’s definitely desperate for escape from his life though.

Sometimes I too felt like the protagonist, as if I was reading this from outside my own body. I had to stop, go and do something else for five minutes, and then return to reading this in order to get through it. If you have depression, or have had harmful thoughts then I would probably advise against reading this. It isn’t all doom and gloom though, and we find the protagonist finally at some sort of peace at the end of Habitrails, and I too feel more at peace than I did at the start of the graphic novel. This truly is a testament to the work-life balance, albeit slightly more fantastical than most people portray theirs.

Yes, this graphic novel can be enjoyable, and over 20 years after it was published it still rings true, however it is also incredibly creepy. Not everyone will get it, but that’s okay.

[edit]

I'm editing this review as another website has exclusivity to my original review but I have serious issues with this book.
I'll post a link to my full review once it's posted.