Blog Tour [Review] Passport by Sophia Glock

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TITLE: Passport
AUTHOR: Sophia Glock
PUBLISHER: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
RELEASE DATE: November 30th, 2021
GENRES: Young Adult Graphic Novel Memoir

Thank you TBR and Beyond Tour and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for a review copy and the opportunity to be on this tour!

Where to Buy: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Book Depository | Indigo | IndieBound

Actual rating 3.5 Stars

Synopsis

An unforgettable graphic memoir by debut talent Sophia Glock reveals her discovery as a teenager that her parents are agents working for the CIA

Young Sophia has lived in so many different countries, she can barely keep count. Stationed now with her family in Central America because of her parents’ work, Sophia feels displaced as an American living abroad, when she has hardly spent any of her life in America.

Everything changes when she reads a letter she was never meant to see and uncovers her parents’ secret. They are not who they say they are. They are working for the CIA. As Sophia tries to make sense of this news, and the web of lies surrounding her, she begins to question everything. The impact that this has on Sophia’s emerging sense of self and understanding of the world makes for a page-turning exploration of lies and double lives.

In the hands of this extraordinary graphic storyteller, this astonishing true story bursts to life.

Review

Passport was a good read but felt a bit rushed. I initially had some difficulty rating it because it was a memoir. While I enjoyed reading about Sophia’s journey to feeling like she belonged, towards the end, I felt there was a gap that made the ending a bit choppy. Passport follows Sophia, a young girl who was born American but has never really lived there or any country long enough to call home because of the nature of her parent’s career. Sophia is often kept in the dark of what that secret is but as she gets older and questions more, eventually gets more insight form her parents.

Passport is a quick read and a pretty good coming of age story. I really enjoyed how the author depicted a turbulent teenage life. She showed Sophia [herself] trying to fit in while still trying to maintain the good daughter her parents want her to be. As she gets older, she craves more for that independence and acceptance. Sophia’s somewhat strained relationship with her sister was something I wish had a bit more backstory for. My assumption was that the sister knew about her parents and wanted to leave out of that lifestyle the minute she had the chance. I was happy to see that their relationship was growing a bit once her sister came to visit. Sophia as a character was okay. She was a teenager navigating a place still very foreign to her even though she’d lived there for years but managed to still create some friendships and have an average high school experience.

Overall, if you are a fan of Persepolis or enjoy a memoir that is a quick read, you will enjoy this memoir. It was a quick, light but enjoyable read with a unique color scheme that worked well with the tone of the story.

About The Author

Sophia Glock is a cartoonist who lives in Austin, TX. Her graphic memoir,Passport, is on sale 11/2/2021 from Little Brown Young Readers. It is available for pre-order here.

Sophia’s comics and cartoons have been published in The New Yorker, Buzzfeed, Narratively, MUTHA Magazine, and Time Out New York. Her work has also been featured in various anthologies including, Ink Brick, Suspect Device, Quarter Moon, DIGESTATE, Rabid Rabbit, and Kilgore Quarterly. Her collection of comics Born, Not Raised was selected to be included in The Society of Illustrators Cartoon and Comics Art Annual 2016 and her short comic The Secrets in My Mother’s Nightstand was shortlisted for The Cartoonist Studio Prize for Best Web Comic of the Year in 2016.

In 2008 she was a recipient of a Xeric Foundation Grant for her comic, The Deformitory. She is also the author of The Lettuce Girl, SemiSolid, Over Ripe and Passport: Fig. You can pick up her mini comics at indie-friendly stores across the country, or from Bird Cage Bottom Books.

Author Links: Website | Instagram | Goodreads | Facebook | Tumblr

Graphic Novel Review: Gotham High by Melissa de la Cruz

Title: Gotham High
Author: Melissa de la Cruz [Author] & Thomas Pitilli [Illustrator]
Publisher: DC Ink
Pages: 208
Release Date: April 7th, 2020

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Where to buy:  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Target

 

Synopsis

After being kicked out of his boarding school, 16-year-old Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham City to find that nothing is as he left it. What once was his family home is now an empty husk, lonely but haunted by the memory of his parents’ murder. Selina Kyle, once the innocent girl next door, now rules over Gotham High School with a dangerous flair, aided by the class clown, Jack Napier.

When a kidnapping rattles the school, Bruce seeks answers as the dark and troubled knight–but is he actually the pawn? Nothing is ever as it seems, especially at Gotham High, where the parties and romances are of the highest stakes … and where everyone is a suspect.

With enchanting art by Thomas Pitilli, this new graphic novel is just as intoxicating as it is chilling, in which dearest friends turn into greatest enemies–all within the hallways of Gotham High!

 

Review

I first want to say that this rating is solely based on the plot/ characters of the story. In regards to the illustration, I would give it 5 stars. Thomas Pitilli masterfully created vivid backgrounds drops throughout the graphic novel. They were able to capture colors for each tension building scene, blend different color styles to visually making the story pleasing and overall wrapped it up beautifully. There was a grittiness to their illustration that definitely gave me a tough New York-esque kind of feel.

While the illustration was vibrant and creative, the story did not capture me as well. Initially, I was excited to see a bit of a modern twist to the classic Batman story. This was before Bruce Wayne became Batman, Selina Kyle became Catwoman and when all were just teens. We get introductions form the two along with Ivy and Alfred. The story fell short for me in the character department. I felt that with some characters, there was no development, while with other, the development felt rushed. I was also confused with some of the foreshadowing in the story. Without spoiling any part, there was some foreshadowing towards a character that I wasn’t entirely sure the author want to hint at a possible future villain, with that character being said villain. At times, I thought this was the case, but the personality of the character would throw me off and have me question what I thought.

In terms of characters, I found Bruce to be extremely arrogant. Although, yes, we have seen him in this nature – it almost felt like he was the rich kid who  flaunted his money to get anyone to do anything and that trope is overplayed in my book. Selina Kyle was a conflicting character to like. The parts that I liked about her [Her ability to be a bad-ass mastermind], I loved and the parts I didn’t enjoy were parts where with enough character development could have been executed so well. Jack was a hopeless romantic and a poor kid. What I didn’t enjoy about his character had nothing to do with his character at all but how the author gave him a stereotypical ‘poor kid’ parents [parents who suffer form substance and alcohol abuse].

[Possible Spoiler!!] Let’s talk about the weird love triangle between three characters. It didn’t feel organic to me and much like some of the character’s development of the story, felt a bit rushed. Although, there was one character who I actually felt was really crushing one of the main characters. Did I feel bad for them? At times, I did. But, with the overall rush to quickly develop the love triangle and with how it was portrayed like the two were at war for what they considered their chance/ownership [YUCK!], it was hard to continue on a enjoy it all.

Overall, the story was okay. I can see how the author wanted to change it up a bit and I do appreciate the effort. However, it fell flat for me because the story line at times felt detached, which made it easy for me to lose focus and interest. The plot had a promise in seeing Bruce as a teen before he becomes the superhero we know, seeing Selina slowly grow into Catwoman and other characters potentially becoming the civilians of Gotham City and ended Selina being portrayed as a very unlikable character even though there was a good motive to her actions, Jack’s character staying in limbo and Bruce going back to being whoever the author wanted him to be.

While this graphic novel wasn’t a win for me, I do think it could be a great read for others who enjoy a twist to a classic or readers going into the DC world and want a more modern backdrop to the Batman origin story.

Graphic Novel Review: Moonstruck Vol. 1

Title: Moonstruck, Volume 1: Magic to Brew
Writer: Grace Ellis
Artist [s]: Shae Beagle, Kate Leth, Caitlin Quirk, Clayton Cowles
Designer: Laurenn McCubbin
Pages: 120
Genre[s]: Fantasy/Romance
Publisher: Image Comics

Synopsis

In the little college town of Blitheton, fantasy creatures live cozy, normal lives right alongside humans, and werewolf barista Julie strives to be the most normal of all. But all heck breaks loose when she and her new girlfriend Selena go on a disastrous first date that ends with a magician casting a horrible spell on their friend Chet. Now it’s up to the team of mythical pals to stop the illicit illusionist before it’s too late!

Review

Moonstruck is a vivid story of a bad date gone wrong that leads to a mystery adventure and adventure of discovery. It is filled with friendship and cute interactions. Julie and her girlfriend, Selena go into mission mode to help Selena’s friend Chat get what was taken from them.

There was an array of characters in the story, and I couldn’t help but enjoy a couple of them. Julie is such a gentle soul and I understood her shyness. I also loved the genuine care she has for people, especially her friends. Selena compliments Julie’s shyness with her extroversion, while also loving her true self in all her forms. Chet, a centaur barista, is lively and animated and probably would be fun to be around. They [identifies as non-binary] become a focal point in the story and their loss brings together people for a larger mission. The three main characters all possesses unique traits that make them special together. Aside from Chet being one of characters, Cass, a barista who has visions had a small role overall but it was enough to make me want to know more about.

Without spoilers, I have to say I loved the plot through and through. Julie and Selena’s first date is at a magic show and Chet tags along. During this magic show, Chet becomes a volunteer and ultimately loses something that makes them who they are. After that event, they go on a search and find mission to retrieve what was taken. When they find the foxy magician, there is a period were a lot of eery things occur and true natures are shown. It is a wild ride, but ultimately, the fox magician is unmasked and Chet gets back what was taken. Two points of the plot I enjoyed the most were the fact that most, if not all the characters were not human and that friendship is a main theme throughout the story.

One point I was concerned about or rather wanted to understand more of was Julie’s resistance towards showing her werewolf self. Selena is much more comfortable with herself, but we never get a backstory about Julie. I hope with feature issues that’s something we can get a little bit more insight on.

Overall, the coffee shop to magic show to coffee shop again setting was probably my favorite part of the story. It felt like all the characters were college students working a part time job and making connections daily. The diverse set of characters and beautifully illustrated panels made this story all the more enjoyable.