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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
I read this in one sitting! I'm not usually a fan of graphic novel but this was compared to Neal Shusterman and Scott Westerfeld so I knew I had to request this immediately. I really enjoyed this, it was heart warming and heart breaking at the same time. I thought the drawings were nicely done (even though it was 3 colors only) and I love the cover. I also enjoy the end of the world settings. Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for this advanced copy!
I really liked the art style and the character designs, but this ended up being much darker than I was expecting. It also ended on “to be continued” which I wasn’t thrilled about. The light pink tone used feels visually misleading — wonder if this would have been better with a different mid tone. There is a fair bit of violence in this, including violence against children, so beware if that’s not for you.
3.5 stars
Odessa takes place eight years after a serious earthquake that left the west coast of the U.S. utterly destroyed. Virginia “Ginny” has gotten used to living without her mother in this post-apocalyptic world, but when a mysterious package is mailed to Ginny, indicating that her mother might be alive, she sets out on a journey to find her. Just as she’s sneaking out, her two siblings decide to join her, leaving their dad at home as they start their trek through dangerous territory.
I would definitely say that Odessa is entertaining. The kids experience quite a few obstacles on their journey and meet some interesting characters. I also loved the art style and color palette—something about the contrast of the soft pink coloring and the idea of a dystopian land was appealing to me. The font was pretty and easy to read.
However, I did feel like something was missing from Odessa. There was this great dystopian world laid out and it just...wasn’t explored as much as I wanted. There wasn’t much background offered and the depths to which this earthquake affected the area wasn’t delved into as much as it could have been. The pacing was also a bit strange. At some points I felt like things were moving way too fast (especially at the beginning), and at other times I felt like the story was dragging. Furthermore, the ending felt a bit too abrupt. There’s nothing wrong with a cliffhanger, but something about the ending felt too unfinished—like the author decided to quit right there and said “alright, I guess I’ll just make a sequel when I figure out what’s going to happen next.”
Overall, Odessa certainly wasn’t boring, but I felt like it was a bit lackluster considering the fact that the premise had so much potential. I think I would still recommend this to someone who is looking for an easy-to-read graphic novel, but I wouldn’t say it was anything groundbreaking.
Odessa takes place eight years after a serious earthquake that left the west coast of the U.S. utterly destroyed. Virginia “Ginny” has gotten used to living without her mother in this post-apocalyptic world, but when a mysterious package is mailed to Ginny, indicating that her mother might be alive, she sets out on a journey to find her. Just as she’s sneaking out, her two siblings decide to join her, leaving their dad at home as they start their trek through dangerous territory.
I would definitely say that Odessa is entertaining. The kids experience quite a few obstacles on their journey and meet some interesting characters. I also loved the art style and color palette—something about the contrast of the soft pink coloring and the idea of a dystopian land was appealing to me. The font was pretty and easy to read.
However, I did feel like something was missing from Odessa. There was this great dystopian world laid out and it just...wasn’t explored as much as I wanted. There wasn’t much background offered and the depths to which this earthquake affected the area wasn’t delved into as much as it could have been. The pacing was also a bit strange. At some points I felt like things were moving way too fast (especially at the beginning), and at other times I felt like the story was dragging. Furthermore, the ending felt a bit too abrupt. There’s nothing wrong with a cliffhanger, but something about the ending felt too unfinished—like the author decided to quit right there and said “alright, I guess I’ll just make a sequel when I figure out what’s going to happen next.”
Overall, Odessa certainly wasn’t boring, but I felt like it was a bit lackluster considering the fact that the premise had so much potential. I think I would still recommend this to someone who is looking for an easy-to-read graphic novel, but I wouldn’t say it was anything groundbreaking.
*Thank you to the publisher for sending me an e-arc through Netgalley, this does not affect my review.*
The premise of this sounded so intriguing, 3 kids going on an adventure through a post apocalyptic world to find their mum, sounds fab but something was missing for me.
The characters were really not likeable at all and half of the book was just them bickering, which I completely understand is something that happens between siblings (I have 3 siblings, trust me, I get it) but, it's not fun to read about.
I would have liked a little more backstory on the world and the gangs, what are their motives? What are they fighting for? There wasn't really any explanation which meant I didn't really care.
I felt it was slightly longer than it needed to be which led to it feeling like it was dragging however, I really enjoyed the art style and I loved seeing the f/f romance.
Overall I think it's pretty average but I would be open to reading the continuation.
The premise of this sounded so intriguing, 3 kids going on an adventure through a post apocalyptic world to find their mum, sounds fab but something was missing for me.
The characters were really not likeable at all and half of the book was just them bickering, which I completely understand is something that happens between siblings (I have 3 siblings, trust me, I get it) but, it's not fun to read about.
I would have liked a little more backstory on the world and the gangs, what are their motives? What are they fighting for? There wasn't really any explanation which meant I didn't really care.
I felt it was slightly longer than it needed to be which led to it feeling like it was dragging however, I really enjoyed the art style and I loved seeing the f/f romance.
Overall I think it's pretty average but I would be open to reading the continuation.
This was fine. I really liked the coloring, pink was an unusual choice for a dystopian world but I think it worked. The story has too many weird deus ex machinas that feel unnatural.
Boooo. The usual “over-reliance on mysterious backstory of an annoying AF main character so you can’t possibly GAF to figure it out”
"You live your life a certain way for so long and well, you forget what's a lie and what's the truth. You forget that there's more to life than just surviving."
Odessa is a graphic novel unlike any I've read before. I've never read a dystopian graphic novel before and I have to say: it's quite something seeing the dystopian ruins play out right in front of you as you read the book for the first time. Sure, many dystopian stories have been turned into movies, but there's something different about seeing the environment at the same time as you're experiencing the story for the first time. I really enjoyed this aspect of Odessa and I also liked that pink was the sole color that author Jonathan Hill picked for this story. Pink is not the color I would typically think of for a dystopian story, but it really worked.
Odessa tells the story of 18-year-old Virginia (Ginny) and her search for her mother. After an earthquake changed life as they knew it, Ginny's mother disappeared. For her birthday, Ginny gets a note and necklace from her mother and decides to leave her father and two younger brothers behind to search for her mom. Little does she know that her two little brothers followed her and she's about to have one heck of an adventure. Despite numerous warnings of the dangers of life outside her community, Ginny and her brothers are determined to find their Uncle Hank and their mother, Odessa. This journey is full of adventure, surprise, and danger.
I really enjoyed how this graphic novel asked the question: are humans good or evil? We don't really know based on our civilization but place those same humans in a dystopian society and you get a completely different story. I really enjoyed this story and was equally disappointed and thrilled to learn this story will be continued in another volume to come.
TW: violence, death, dead bodies
Odessa is a graphic novel unlike any I've read before. I've never read a dystopian graphic novel before and I have to say: it's quite something seeing the dystopian ruins play out right in front of you as you read the book for the first time. Sure, many dystopian stories have been turned into movies, but there's something different about seeing the environment at the same time as you're experiencing the story for the first time. I really enjoyed this aspect of Odessa and I also liked that pink was the sole color that author Jonathan Hill picked for this story. Pink is not the color I would typically think of for a dystopian story, but it really worked.
Odessa tells the story of 18-year-old Virginia (Ginny) and her search for her mother. After an earthquake changed life as they knew it, Ginny's mother disappeared. For her birthday, Ginny gets a note and necklace from her mother and decides to leave her father and two younger brothers behind to search for her mom. Little does she know that her two little brothers followed her and she's about to have one heck of an adventure. Despite numerous warnings of the dangers of life outside her community, Ginny and her brothers are determined to find their Uncle Hank and their mother, Odessa. This journey is full of adventure, surprise, and danger.
I really enjoyed how this graphic novel asked the question: are humans good or evil? We don't really know based on our civilization but place those same humans in a dystopian society and you get a completely different story. I really enjoyed this story and was equally disappointed and thrilled to learn this story will be continued in another volume to come.
TW: violence, death, dead bodies