Given a free copy for an honest review

On my initial read I thought the message was a bit muddied, or I just didn't grasp it well. Is this about being true to yourself and standing up for what you believe for? How technology cannot replace nature? Pro-hunting? Pro-environment? My takeaway is that we (readers) have to advocate for issues we care about to those in authority. 

The silki situation confused me at first but as the story progressed, I understood. Farz and his sister Djinn don’t agree on many things as it relates to the silki industry except that silkis make their land beautiful. A good question for younger readers will be “what’s something that makes the place they live beautiful?”

Breakdown on the silki situation:

Farz and his family were silk-charmers, skilled people who knew how to lull these dangerous spider-like creatures to sleep without harming them to retrieve their silk. After their government got too cheap or too impulsive to hire skilled charmers, some travelers were killed and a total ban on silkis happened. The patrols began exterminating the creatures overall to Djin’s horror. Farz doesn’t completely agree with the ban, but his role in the patrol allows him the fund and status to be with his lover whose father also owns fake silk-spinning factory.

I think the art style has a quirky, alien cartooniness to it. There are all types of creatures here in this scifi rolodex world, and it uses the gray color scheme effectively. I think I saw one humanoid person here and I remembered from Roshan’s other book (a cute easter egg!) 

Word bubbles could be more even;y balanced and centered. Sometimes, too many words are crammed into one bubble whereas splitting it up into multiple bubbles would read better.

Overall, I did not have a bad reading experience though I enjoyed Roshan’s other book more. I think her ideas are interesting and many readers will think the same. She knows how to convey conflict, action, and differences in ideals without talking down to readers.

 Ooh, while stressful to read, the family dynamic here was engaging! Norah is expected to be the “good child,” the one who gives her parents no stress, but she’s a worrywart and a people-pleaser. I have never read about a child of prison guards, and I didn’t know they seem to move as often as military brats. 

Also, Norah’s Spider Prison Dream was hilarious!

I'm not surprised by this originally being a memoir - the family dynamics and arguments were just so specific  

I thought the story was very cute with its portrayal of grief and self-isolation. Depending on who you are, you will either love or hate the cartoony style. 

I don't know if all the themes got resolved well, but I liked that Ziki stood up for himself, eventually, and wasn't easily swayed as most of these stories tend to go.

SN: The doggy in love with the goat was so cute. All the animals here were bonafide cuteness!

Some of the dialogue felt stilted and the artwork was stiff, but the mystery was good.

Great! The artwork was so cute and this was a simple, quick read. I would have liked it to be expanded more as the narrative felt slightly thin, but I enjoyed the reading experience.

I came in expecting the memoir to solely discuss the author’s experience growing up with an incarcerated parent, and it did to an extent. But the brunt of the memoir explores how Patton's interest in STEM (coding specifically) first sparked and how the PhotoPatch Foundation came to be.

SN: Why was the mama so beautiful lol? I loved it when I saw her on the page.