It has been a long time since my last Netgalley post, but I am still on a mission to raise my Netgalley ratio! When I started reading the books for this post in November, my ratio was at 58% (yikies).
As part of my 2024 Netgalley Challenge (where I am attempting to reduce the number of unread ARCS to 10), I have read 7 graphic novels from Netgalley in the past few months.
Before I get to the reviews, I want to say a HUGE thank you to Netgalley and the publishers of these books for giving me a chance to do what I love and read books. I am forever grateful I have the opportunity to do what I love and find some great books for both my students and fellow book lovers.
I have said it before, but I’ll say it again to anyone who may be new here. I have a huge passion for graphic novels. It has been one of my favorite tools in my high school English classroom to get students to ignite a love for reading. I love graphic novels so much, I wrote my master’s thesis on the topic!
Because of this, graphic novels were one of the first types of books I requested on Netgalley. But, as so many of us often do, I requested way too many books in the beginning and got extremely behind, especially after I started grad school. One of my reading goals was to read all of the graphic novels on my Netgalley list, and I am happy to say I have already accomplished that!
Lights – brenna thummler
Oh wow. This graphic novel series did something to me. I started book 1 (Sheets) after dinner yesterday, and I was finished with book 2 (Delicates) and book 3 (Lights) before midnight. First of all, the art style was fantastic, and Wendell as a ghost made me actually giggle with joy.
When I tell you this book made me cry, I SOBBED. This is a Middle Grade/YA Graphic Novel that covered some hard topics, such as coping with death and depression. While Lights was my least favorite out of the series, it still was a solid finale. I really enjoyed the flashbacks to Wendell’s life, and by the end, I thought the message of acceptance was shown perfectly. I will be buying this series for my classroom IMMEDIATELY.
notes From a Sickbed – tessa brunton
The most interesting part of this graphic novel was learning more about the author’s illness and how trapped she felt. In the beginning, I didn’t really feel anything. It felt like I was thrown into it, but at about 50%, I thought the author did a much better job portraying her feelings/illness. Building on from this, I think my biggest issue was the organization and pacing of the novel. It was difficult to follow the progression and I sometimes didn’t understand the choice of placement.
The art style wasn’t my favorite, but it didn’t affect me enough for me to lower my rating because of it. The ending didn’t feel complete. It just ends without notice and with no real conclusion. It was so abrupt I had to look up if I was somehow missing pages on my Kindle. Overall, it was an okay book to learn about chronic fatigue, but it didn’t pack the punch it could have by the end.
Everything Is OK – Debbie Tung
“Everything is OK” provided a very real look into what living with depression and anxiety is like. There were so many times when I found myself thinking, “Oh! I am not the only one who has thought these exact same things!” It is completely okay to need a reminder that it is okay to feel some of these feelings.
The book does an excellent job of destigmatizing mental health issues. It sends a powerful message that it’s completely okay to acknowledge and talk about these feelings. I think this book would be a great comfort to anyone struggling with mental health, but I also think it would be an accessible resource for people who do not know a lot about what life is like with depression / anxiety. Overall, I recommend this one!
Cryptid Club – Sarah Andersen
Before requesting this, I did not think I was aware of Sarah Andersen and her comics. However, I did a little Instagram search and realized I have in fact seen her comics all over social media! She has a very distinct character art style, which carried over into her collection Cryptid Club.
One thing that could have made this comics better is a consistent storyline. Some of these little comics genuinely made me laugh out loud. Other ones I still thought were funny. A few were just okay or I didn’t understand (probably a me issue, honestly). It definitely is a niche comic book but I think that fans of Sarah Andersen would enjoy this!
Amalia – Aude Picault
“Amalia” was a short but powerful graphic novel that shed light on how burnout can affect people. While I don’t have kids, I related to the feelings of burnout shown through Amalia. I loved how the story also showed burnout through the perspective of her step-daughter and husband as well. Life is stressful for everyone, or as Amalia says, “Life is chaos,” and this story provides a comforting slice-of-life experience that many can relate to.
My only complaint was that there were some scenes where I got confused on what was exactly being shown with the husband’s work. It would jump around to different scenes so quickly that I had to adjust my thinking sometimes. Thankfully, by the end, I finally started to catch on.
Sixty Years in Winter – Ingrid Chabbert
Amazon | Goodreads
I’m not really sure what I was expecting from this graphic novel (it has been a long time since I requested this one), but this one was more hard-hitting than I thought it would be.
I really liked the art style for this one. It really added to the story, and I always think that when the art is more detailed, it’s easier to be more involved in the story. I do, however, wish the ending was a little more put together. I understand that Josy is still on her journey, but it still felt unfinished.
Overall, though, I think this was a powerful story with a great message about how it is never too late to find who you are.
Dwellings – Jay Stephens
From the beginning, I was drawn into the world of Elwich, a place with “more hauntings per capita than any other place in Ontario.”
The book is a collection of six stories. The stories are short, so I don’t want to get too much into them because I honestly think everyone should experience them themselves. The stories are dark and gory, but if you can handle them and love scary stories, I highly recommend this one. It did not feel terrifying in any way, but it was definitely creepy and weird.
The art style was amazing. I loved the vintage feel in each of the stories, and there were even times when there were fake ADs in between, just like old comics.
Phew – that’s it! After reading these books (and some other ones for Arc March), my Netgalley review ratio is currently at 74%! Because of the progress I’ve made in the last three months, my new goal is to get to 80% by the end of May! I have quite a few book releases for next month, and I am excited to get to them soon!
If you’re a Netgalley user, let me know your current ratio (no shame here, I was at 30% for a VERY long time) and give me your favorite tips in the comments!
Until next time.
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