Take a photo of a barcode or cover
chronicallybookish's Reviews (1.53k)
This was cute and heartwarming and fun and everything I wanted it to be
I ADORE THESE BOOKS!
My only complaint is that the series is over.
The Tea Dragon Society books may very well be my favorite graphic novel series. They’re short and sweet and diverse. They are the epitome of a warm hug in book form. K’s a fantastic writer and illustrator, and they create such rich and inviting worlds. I can’t wait to see what they do next, and I will definitely be rereading this series in 2023.
My only complaint is that the series is over.
The Tea Dragon Society books may very well be my favorite graphic novel series. They’re short and sweet and diverse. They are the epitome of a warm hug in book form. K’s a fantastic writer and illustrator, and they create such rich and inviting worlds. I can’t wait to see what they do next, and I will definitely be rereading this series in 2023.
Quick Stats
Over All: 3.25 stars
Plot: 2/5
Characters: 4/5
Setting: 3.5/5
Writing: 2/5
Disability Rep: 5/5
Spice Rating: 0/5
My feelings about this book are… complicated.
The disability rep? Phenomenal. You can tell that it’s based on lived experiences, and PCOS is such a common yet underrepresented chronic illness, I loved seeing this rep.
The characters were likeable, and while they weren’t the most fleshed out, they were easy to root for.
The writing?
…well. Next question, please?
This book reads like a first draft. The aspects of the story are here, however it doesn’t come together very well, and the grammar and punctuation are borderline atrocious at times. There is so much potential in this book, but it needs a few more drafts, several betas, and then a full editing work up (developmental, line, copy, all of it.) There were comma splices and run-on sentences in just about every paragraph. The wording of sentences was often clunky, and the scenes rarely flowed together well.
I wanted so badly to love this book—and I didn’t hate it—but the punctuation errors made it hard to read, and it was lacking any real cohesion.
There was also a serious case of telling instead of showing. I felt such a disconnect from the characters experiences and emotions. I never got to experience, to really feel what Penelope and Jake were going through. There was a surplus of emotional baggage in Penelope’s life, but because of the detached way that it’s written, it comes off as shallow, despite the subject matter being anything but.
This, combined with the lack of tension in most aspects (there was tension at work, but nowhere else) alongside the impersonal narration and severe overuse of the info-dump made the book… boring.
Another thing that bothered me was the description of Work Penelope. Work Penelope is described as “guarded” and an “ice queen.” Those descriptions do not at all match the portrayal we are given of Penelope in the work environment. Jake constantly says, at work, Penelope is guarded and aloof. However both his descriptions of her stature, posture, words, are excessively timid, like a kicked puppy. Penelope also describes herself as guarded, walled off, aloof. Her internal monologue and descriptions of her own mannerisms are the same as Jake’s. Timid, submissive. That’s a perfectly valid reaction to workplace harassment, but its portrayal needs to be intentional and done well in order to have the necessary impact. This is neither of those things.
Every work scene made the same points in essentially the same way—women in sports have it hard and Mike is a misogynistic asshat. Both of these things are true, but we see these scenes every chapter or two, with only the slightest variation, making these same two points, over and over and over again. Mike says basically the same insult in slightly different wording every single time he comes on page; Penelope has the exact same reaction. It gets repetitive fast.
There are more critiques I could make, but I honestly feel sick of being so negative. Honestly, the issue is that it needs major editing. The book needs to be cut down, because so much of the scenes are repetitive, and the remaining scenes and plot points, and the general narration need to be fleshed out. I see so much potential in this story and in Megan Cousins as a writer. I just don’t think that this book was ready to be published yet.
However, if you are a huge fan of books with disability rep, or you have PCOS, and/or you aren’t super picky about the grammar and quality of writing that you read, I really do recommend picking this up and giving it a shot.
Over All: 3.25 stars
Plot: 2/5
Characters: 4/5
Setting: 3.5/5
Writing: 2/5
Disability Rep: 5/5
Spice Rating: 0/5
My feelings about this book are… complicated.
The disability rep? Phenomenal. You can tell that it’s based on lived experiences, and PCOS is such a common yet underrepresented chronic illness, I loved seeing this rep.
The characters were likeable, and while they weren’t the most fleshed out, they were easy to root for.
The writing?
…well. Next question, please?
This book reads like a first draft. The aspects of the story are here, however it doesn’t come together very well, and the grammar and punctuation are borderline atrocious at times. There is so much potential in this book, but it needs a few more drafts, several betas, and then a full editing work up (developmental, line, copy, all of it.) There were comma splices and run-on sentences in just about every paragraph. The wording of sentences was often clunky, and the scenes rarely flowed together well.
I wanted so badly to love this book—and I didn’t hate it—but the punctuation errors made it hard to read, and it was lacking any real cohesion.
There was also a serious case of telling instead of showing. I felt such a disconnect from the characters experiences and emotions. I never got to experience, to really feel what Penelope and Jake were going through. There was a surplus of emotional baggage in Penelope’s life, but because of the detached way that it’s written, it comes off as shallow, despite the subject matter being anything but.
This, combined with the lack of tension in most aspects (there was tension at work, but nowhere else) alongside the impersonal narration and severe overuse of the info-dump made the book… boring.
Another thing that bothered me was the description of Work Penelope. Work Penelope is described as “guarded” and an “ice queen.” Those descriptions do not at all match the portrayal we are given of Penelope in the work environment. Jake constantly says, at work, Penelope is guarded and aloof. However both his descriptions of her stature, posture, words, are excessively timid, like a kicked puppy. Penelope also describes herself as guarded, walled off, aloof. Her internal monologue and descriptions of her own mannerisms are the same as Jake’s. Timid, submissive. That’s a perfectly valid reaction to workplace harassment, but its portrayal needs to be intentional and done well in order to have the necessary impact. This is neither of those things.
Every work scene made the same points in essentially the same way—women in sports have it hard and Mike is a misogynistic asshat. Both of these things are true, but we see these scenes every chapter or two, with only the slightest variation, making these same two points, over and over and over again. Mike says basically the same insult in slightly different wording every single time he comes on page; Penelope has the exact same reaction. It gets repetitive fast.
There are more critiques I could make, but I honestly feel sick of being so negative. Honestly, the issue is that it needs major editing. The book needs to be cut down, because so much of the scenes are repetitive, and the remaining scenes and plot points, and the general narration need to be fleshed out. I see so much potential in this story and in Megan Cousins as a writer. I just don’t think that this book was ready to be published yet.
However, if you are a huge fan of books with disability rep, or you have PCOS, and/or you aren’t super picky about the grammar and quality of writing that you read, I really do recommend picking this up and giving it a shot.