To say I inhaled this book would not even come close to the voracity in which I devoured this audiobook. While the start feels a bit slow you quickly get sucked up into Manu's world. The descriptor I read on google of "Hogwarts-style magic school with the Twilight-esque dynamics of a hidden magical species" as I updated my memory of what had drawn me to request the audiobook from my library rang true.
Honestly it brought up the same feelings I felt the first time I entered Hogwarts through Harry's eyes. It is another place I will long to go in my dreams.

Unlike Harry Potter though this book goes at Societal Problems wholeheartedly and doesn't tiptoe around the problems that distinctly exist in both the human world and the world that Garber weaves into reality.
I don't want to dig deeper into that statement because there is no way to without getting deep into spoilers.

Perks of the Audiobook: Sol Madariaga's voice, is gorgeous and captures Manu and honestly this whole story in a way I never could have just reading as someone who doesn't speak Spanish.

Downside: I will probably have to get the audiobook for the sequel because I don't think I could go back to just reading this. But also even in doing this review I realized there are words mostly semi-unique to this world that I don't have the slightest idea on how to spell, but I know if I heard them again I'd know the meaning.

Merged review:

To say I inhaled this book would not even come close to the voracity in which I devoured this audiobook. While the start feels a bit slow you quickly get sucked up into Manu's world. The descriptor I read on google of "Hogwarts-style magic school with the Twilight-esque dynamics of a hidden magical species" as I updated my memory of what had drawn me to request the audiobook from my library rang true.
Honestly it brought up the same feelings I felt the first time I entered Hogwarts through Harry's eyes. It is another place I will long to go in my dreams.

Unlike Harry Potter though this book goes at Societal Problems wholeheartedly and doesn't tiptoe around the problems that distinctly exist in both the human world and the world that Garber weaves into reality.
I don't want to dig deeper into that statement because there is no way to without getting deep into spoilers.

Perks of the Audiobook: Sol Madariaga's voice, is gorgeous and captures Manu and honestly this whole story in a way I never could have just reading as someone who doesn't speak Spanish.

Downside: I will probably have to get the audiobook for the sequel because I don't think I could go back to just reading this. But also even in doing this review I realized there are words mostly semi-unique to this world that I don't have the slightest idea on how to spell, but I know if I heard them again I'd know the meaning.

"Maybe she can't help us. But we can help her."

I found this book really hard to get into initially, something about the split point of view was really confusing.

But once I got into the book it ripped my heart out constantly. This story had no right to be as dark and heartfelt as it was with the sweet surface layer it had.

Content Warning: Death of Parent, Child Death, Grief, Bullying, Mental Illness, Abandonment, Grooming

It's GAY, It SLAPS!
Zhara (Our Protagonist) is so BI; it is great!
It uses first-person they/them pronouns until we learn if they have other preferred pronouns. WE DO NOT ASSUME GENDERS HERE!

I am hesitant to agree that this is part of the "Magical Girl," but if you enjoyed Cinder, you will enjoy this book.

But this book is a blast that definitely takes from the vibes of an anime series/RPG games, and I adored the rest of the cast. Especially the Prince who, bless his heart, is a himbo.

Do You NEED a CLASSIC Teen Romance Movie? Wholesome, Sweet, here to grab you by your heartstrings. then this is the book for you.

This feels like it could be the plot of one of those 90s/00s movies where the boy and girl end up together at the end after some impossible scenario that no teen would likely experience.
Which is honestly what made this graphic novel so great, it felt like a little piece of nostalgia just waiting to be picked up and experienced.

I wanted to like this book, I wanted to like this so much.
But the art for this graphic novel was honestly so incredibly offputting, and not enjoyable to look at, it made reading this whole thing like pulling teeth.
Paired with what ended up feeling like a dreadfully boring storyline. I at no point felt any real interest in how things were going to turn out, because things just never seemed to connect together like they were supposed too.

"Life is a precious thing, dearie. It has skin that can feel. and feet that can dance. and hearts that can love and be loved. and you are loved sweetheart. You are good at seeing the world. Can you please keep letting the world see you?"

To say this hurt me on such a different level than Sheets doesn't even begin to explain how raw I felt after putting down this book. It came after me on a personal level. Making me see my teenage self in Eliza.
Thummler also does a really good job at making us see how the people around someone can make us in turn, start to hate someone. It was really interesting to find myself so upset with a character I had previously been rooting for.


Content Warning: Bullying, Suicidal Ideation, Racism, Toxic Relationships, Grief, Body Shaming, Use of the word Spaz

Content Warning: Nudity (if the cover didn't give it away lol) Abortion, Ageism, blood, Cancer, Childbirth, Disability, Gender Discrimination, Hospitalization, Medical procedures, Genital Mutilation, Pregnancy, Slut-shaming,
Mentioned: Abuse, Miscarriages, Queerphobia, Rape, Suicide

I have read this twice and both times the end of this book has left me with the FEELS, like near tears, goosebumps, the whole 9 yards.
The way Mermilliod and Winckler convey the stories of women within the pages of this book is in a way that is never in actually judgmental way (from the authors perspective), as a big part of the overarching story is about looking at the person as a whole, and not judging them based on your predetermined biased.

10/10 Would recommend reading this before watching the show, because the show is actually a really good adaptation, and the book ends up feeling slow.

This was the most abysmal reading experience, and not just because of the topic. Because you'd expect a topic like our dependence on petrolium to be dull or drudging, or trying to sway your heart in some way.

But the way this book is both written and formatted makes it difficult to read making it basically impossible to read easily (like I remember it physically hurting my eyes looking at this book), on top of the narrative being dragging.