Perfectly paced and wholesome! Manuel’s dealing with the aftermath of a traumatic event, triggering PTSD. He finds his anchor in photography, his friends, farming, and what seems to be the beginnings of a crush. 

Overall, I enjoyed the story and loved the artwork. The way the author shows Manuel’s struggles were well-done. The tidbits about photography and composition were nice as well.

The initial start of Ripley and Zeronis' relationship is rocky and questionable at the beginning, but eventually, it becomes pretty charming. The characters stay mostly flat throughout, so this is more plot-driven than anything.

Of course, the artwork is lovely.

 Well, that was a strange way to open the volume, but a good character introduction.

Sometimes, I feel like the art school professors are super tough on Yatora (or maybe it’s just how blunt their deliveries are), but their critiques truly make him have to think deeply or outside of the box; and his art skills have been growing and becoming more well-rounded.

In addition, this volume deals with a group art project that keeps being slowed down by problem after problem. I’ll admit I don’t have much interest in this, but it’s nice to see other characters in the spotlight 

 Eh, a little cheesy with the “you got beat by a girrrllll!” jokes (at the same time, I’m in no way expecting the average middle school boy to be above that lol) and outdated slang “that was tight”, BUT the emotional turmoil and helplessness Nick feels is excellent. The main character Nick feels like his whole life has been uprooted and left unbalanced when his parents lay a huge announcement on him. Soccer is one of the few things that centers him and provides joy to his now seemingly unstable life. 

The parental drama will be very relatable for kids because Nick’s father is overly strict and hard on him (as an adult, I know he just wants Nick to have an education, so he can open more opportunities, but he was too overbearing even for me), his mother’s increased absence affects him, and he can’t find his voice to stand up to bullies at school. When his parents make huge decisions that don’t include him, he’s forced to get over it. At one point, his emotions boil over at his father’s continual chastisement where Nick says…

he wants to die. While Nick affirms he wasn’t suicidal, it’s this moment where his father realizes he needs to dial it back and show more emotional care/be more comforting.

Again, I thought the awkward navigation of emotional distress as a young teen and even the inclusion of counseling were great. 

A small nitpick: with the way the font is written when Nick is having a conversation with someone, you can easily lose track of who is speaking. 

Lastly, word up! * in my Wordgirl voice* This book includes a lot of great, uncommon words to build your vocabulary. c: 

3.5 

I loved it! I enjoyed the depth of Tristan. He is less concerned about a hero's glory and more about dealing with his emotions. I loved the inclusion of African American and African folklore. I grew up with John Henry and Brer Rabbit and learned about Anaassi later on in life, but I had never heard about High John/John the Conqueror. The way folklore is dispersed throughout felt great and made the world of Alke feel colorful.

I want to read the original novel now because I feel like some of the emotional aspects will probably hit harder (not that they're bad in graphic form). I'm ready to see this adapted whether as a TV show or a movie.

Charming! I love that despite the episodic nature, character development is still there. The ending is fitting, but I would read more.

I didn’t know what to expect, but this surprised me in a good way. Fun, silly, and relatable for kids!

Ending spoiler:

the stuff with Frankie's dad is a little farfetched. the mom and he seemed to have ended amicably, but he has no contact whatsoever with his daughter until she has to go find him. is this a deadbeat situation or did the mom not want them to have a relationship? I'm thinking way more into this than the average kid will. but it's nice that he desired to get to know Frankie from this point forward