I didn't mesh well with the writing style here. Very dry and slow-moving. It’s written very matter-of-factly throughout the abuse (sexual, mental, physical, etc), the mysteries, or the amazing determinations, which could be accredited to an older Mei narrating her own story; It’s basically in the voice of someone talking to you, I suppose. 

Where this story excels is in making us believe as Mei does in the revolution, in the Chairman, and in her own role in the movement. The fear and anxiety Mei has about being replaced hovers over readers too. We see class issues and women’s worth questioned here as well.

But despite the inner circle scrabbles, the hidden sides of the Chairman, and the pitting girls against each other, I didn’t feel much motivation to keep reading. This is supposed to be how Mei rises to #1 mistress, then gets disillusioned until her inevitable fall. I wished I could have liked the journey to getting there better. None of this was boring per se, but I almost dnf’ed it. 

Loved this! Cute artwork, relatable, and informative. The little team of swimmers was fun and felt like kids. 

I adore how this delved a little bit into why “some” Black people in America did not swim/didn’t know how to swim historically. Short answer: segregation. I think kids will root for Clara after seeing her progression throughout the story.

Anywho, this is what my soul craves. More graphic novels and comics with Black leads. The shoutouts to Soul food and West Indian food warmed my heart. 

SN: I think it’s so fun that the author’s last name is Christmas.

This is CHAOTIC! Kaiju/monster fights + mean girls bullying + mechas + threats of child protection services, etc. There’s a lot going on here. 

Sometimes, panels feel a bit cluttered, but you can still figure out what’s going on. The humor’s supremely quirky and fun but gross (get a vomit bucket; it's everywhere). One highlight is when a character shoots literal daggers from her eyes haha. Pretty charming. Another thing I enjoyed was a twist that happened early on in the story.

I was completely expecting Pen to command the mecha because she was overqualified, but NAH, son. Olive is the true main character. Nice, didn't see it coming.

I loved Pen(elope)’s confidence and brashness though I hated how she felt she had to always be the strong one. And her dad depended on her the most almost to a fault. I was also surprised to see she was black-ish(?) if the sleeping bonnet indicated anything. 

Olive goes through the most character growth in this story. From a spineless wimp to a young girl just trying to figure things out. She doesn’t get it all right, but she tries.

she had annoyed me by getting mad at Pen for not protecting her better, and I’m not going to say Pen didn’t antagonize the mean girls right back with no care to how it would negatively affect Olive, but like Pen’s not your mama. You have to stand up for yourself, okay baby.

Their friendship was a bunch of fun to read.

The dolphin-brained boys were so stupid. So much fun. Just gold.

The climax had actual tension. When Olive’s parents were crying, I was about to cry too lol. Everything about the ending came together very well with all the loose ends.

I could see this working better as a cartoon. But I would read a sequel to this or another story set in this universe in a heartbeat.

Not bad. I thought the artwork was charming. I agree with another reviewer who said the stakes felt low. Even if they were, I did not feel any sense of urgency. In addition, there's a character conflict between Ollie and his dad's friend's son that literally gets resolved in 2 -3 panels. 

Something that's different with this Green Arrow is that Ollie is very opposed to killing any living being, human or animal. This boy was acting so scared to shoot an arrow, but great that he could hold fast to his beliefs.

Overall, this was a serviceable tale.

Ageism is in full force here with Shiori feeling the days of her youth are gone and worries about life and marriage questions are popping up. The women are used up after their 20 undertones are there, but it subverts it as well with Shiori actually being happy with her life. She's in her 30s and content to live with her parents until a dastardly fire kickstarts her into independent adulthood.

There's a minor age gap that isn't super gross (31 with a late 20's graduate student). I love how lighthearted the story and humor are, and I'm looking forward to more. The love interest is a pretty boy who has some depth and character.

 I liked this much better than the first volume. I enjoyed Farzala’s struggle with fear and what it meant to be a jedi. 

I still think Feen and Krit are utterly boring. Krix just seems overly big mad, but I understand they had been taught jedis/the force was bad. 

I’m glad there was a mixture of artists this time, but I didn’t care for some of the one-off stories at the end. 

Of course, I have to acknowledge I’ve never kept up with or been a Star Wars fan, so your mileage may vary.