Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* The first line of the first entry in Nowak's comics collection sets the off-kilter tone of the stories to follow: I have lived with Ashley and Jolene since we all got kicked out of astronaut school for being too good-looking to be sent to space. Set in a near future packed with weird, magical technology, these wry, sharp stories give readers a glimpse into the goings-on of a wide variety of women. One woman feuds with a neighbor she secretly has a crush on; another finds love (or something like it) in an android companion; a woman in a new relationship contends with ghosts of a failed marriage on a visit home; and so on. Each story is intriguingly short on plot and full of strange, futuristic devices, but together they illuminate something profoundly familiar and deeply resonant about women's interactions, relationships, and ways of being in the world. Friendship, jealousy, grief, anger, excitement, desire the jumbled-up ways these emotions can exist together are what Nowak seems to be exploring, and her varied artwork, with wavering lines, wobbly organic shapes, and deeply expressive eyes and fonts telegraph those feelings in beautifully quiet, charmingly weird ways. Though her playful art, bright colors, and sly humor might make this seem light and breezy, there are poignant, surprising undercurrents here, and they are simply captivating.--Sarah Hunter Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The first story in this magical collection of short comics opens on a group of female pals who "all got kicked out of astronaut school for being too good looking to be sent to space." This sets the tone for the entire escapade, which mixes elements of fantasy and science fiction-enchanted pork pies, android boyfriends, underwater hotels-into a contemporary young-adult milieu of zines; podcasts; sleazy gaming guys; sarcastic roommates; and smart, cool, insecure women. Two friends confront their doppelgA¤ngers; a girl is fitted with an electric prosthetic tongue; a young divorcee travels to her parents' lake house with her new girlfriend. Though the plots are eclectic, the stories share a common thread in their exploration of memory and self, themes that mesh with the melding of fairy-tale past, millennial present, and cybernetic future. Nowak switches up her visual style for each piece, but her art is consistently appealing, with relatable funny-faced characters inhabiting imaginatively detailed settings, all drenched in bright broad-paintbox colors. Two of the stories won Ignatz Awards, and the full collection represents the emergence of a promising new comics talent. Agent: Jennifer Linnan, Linnan Literary Management. (Oct.) c Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
This anthology gathers five stories, including one previously unreleased tale and two Ignatz Award winners. Though the entries cover a range of genres (sci-fi, realistic, horror, and more) and topics (astronaut school rejects, an emotional house-sitting stint), all explore discovering and accepting oneself. Refreshingly, female characters express vulnerability and strength. Relying on sturdy, at times unpolished linework and a palette of pinks and purples, the art depicts people of different body types and sexualities. The minimalist backgrounds and shading of many of the tales reflect the character-driven storytelling, although "Radishes" and "Girl Town" provide numerous detailed backdrops, and "The Big Burning House" stands out for its text-heavy presentation intermingled with other visuals. The lettering throughout is difficult to read owing to its angled, handwritten, and inconsistently kerned style, but the dialogue, while sometimes absurd, is authentic. There is some cursing, nudity (including a bacchanalia scene), and limited, unrevealing sex scenes. VERDICT Empowering and beautifully haunting, this work will find its home among hard-core graphic novel fans and those seeking nuanced representations of women.-Alea Perez, Westmont Public Library, IL © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
