katsmedialibrary's Reviews (1.78k)

Prophet follows two investigators, one of whom has the supernatural ability to tell if a statement is undeniably true or not. Adam and Rao are tasked with investigating a series of mysterious appearances of objects that aren't quite right. Before they know it, they are up against an oligarchy of billionaires seeking to control an unknown substance that preys on people's nostalgia until they are comatose. It's a slow-burn queer romance amid a science fiction thriller. The anchor of this story is the relationship between Adam and Rao. They are loners, having each grown up in difficult circumstances, though we see far less of Rao's childhood than Adam's, making Adam the more fleshed-out character. And yet their bond is unflappable. Their slow burn doesn't feel like a will-they-won't-they question. It's one of Rao's undeniable truths. It just is. That is the book's greatest achievement. The sci-fi elements are strongest in the beginning when mystery still shrouds their peculiar qualities. Once more is known, they veer into kitsch. This could've been avoided with more focus on the nature of nostalgia and how it can be tied less to an object than a time. However, the sci-fi element, the substance, creates objects, making that tie very black-and-white. In general, Prophet is a very enjoyable read and though my hunger for it waned towards the end, I gobbled up the finale all the same. I had to know what happened to Adam and Rao, after all.

Thank you to Recorded Books and NetGalley for this ALC!

In The Dream Factory, Andy is a teen boy with narcolepsy who feels unsupported by everyone except his grandma. During narcoleptic episodes, Andy finds himself inside the Dream Factory, an organization that regulates and maintains everyone's dreams. Posing as an intern, Andy makes a true friend as he tries to find his way back home.

The art feels like a children's animated show and is full of light and motion. The description of the graphic novel intrigued me, as it said Andy was trying to find out why he falls asleep so often due to narcolepsy. However, that isn't addressed in the book and the plot seems to abruptly cut off as if there will be a second part.

The third book in the Sheets trilogy by Brenna Thummler, Lights is a gorgeous graphic novel that finally investigates what happened to Wendell, the friendly neighborhood ghost. The art is beautiful and sucks you into the world. I wish I'd had a physical copy so I could feel the pages, especially those without dialogue.

In Lights, Marjorie and Eliza struggle to maintain their friendship as new peers enter the equation. Their uncertain dynamic authentically replicates those nervous social feelings of pre-adolescence. Do they like me? Am I doing something wrong? Am I hurting someone?

In addition to navigating friendship, Marjorie, Eliza, and Wendell solve the mystery of how Wendell became a ghost. The metaphor of lights comes through in lights keeping the ghosts at bay and the light of friendship brightening your life. The metaphor didn't have the strongest throughline, however, as it was trying to stand in for too many things. Otherwise, this is a great ending to a tender and emotional trilogy.

Weirdly incorrect stuff even tho this book is recent

Emilia met her best friend C in 1999. They were still friends in 2018 when C died by suicide after an extended battle with borderline personality disorder. The author and illustrator Emilia takes us through the story of their friendship as well as what is left after one of them is no longer present.

In 2009, I met a friend who was undeniably one of my 'people.' We were still friends in 2015 when she died by suicide, though it was myself who had had brushes with suicide in the past, not her.

Needless to say, this graphic memoir hit close to home. It said all the things I wanted to say to everyone around me during the summer after my friend's death. But you just don't answer 'my friend killed herself' to a casual 'how are you?' 

Emilia's illustrations are simple and colorless but they aren't the driving focus of this story. You don't need them because instead you're seeing that special friend in your life, if you have one. The story that progresses is so specific to Emilia, and yet so achingly universal to those of us who have lost one of our people, to those of us who have struggled with our mental health, to those of us who have felt inadequate while trying to help a friend.

I feel so honored to have the opportunity to read this book. It is an opportunity for healing that I didn't know I needed. It is a breath of fresh air in a world where we still fear to put words to these experiences. Graphic memoir is such a special genre and But You Have Friends is an outstanding addition to it.

Thank you to IDW Publishing, Top Shelf Productions, and Net Galley for the ARC.

Genetics at Heart is a nonfiction graphic novel by Philippe Amouyel and Héloise Chochois. Unbeknownst to her geneticist father, a young woman gets commercial genetic testing done and discovers a family secret.

The art felt so appropriate for the subject matter. It was beautiful in a tidy sort of way. I really liked how the speech bubbles were almost stacked vertically but connected to the speaker by a thin channel. 

I immediately related this to my own various experiences with genetic testing, for medical reasons and for family "fun" exploring where in Europe we come from. Perhaps because of this experience and my background in science, the lengthy explanations of genetics felt more cumbersome than helpful. I wished for more about the single family's story and was drawn away from it by every scientific sidebar, even though there was a clear attempt to contextualize those lectures. 

Unfortunately for me, the book didn't hit in the way I think it could if the science and the personal story were more balanced.

Thank you to Net Galley and Europe Comics for the e-ARC