Scan barcode
geekwayne's review against another edition
2.0
“The Spy Who Raised Me“ by Ted Anderson with illustrations by Gianna Meola is a graphic novel about a young girl who finds out her mom is much different than she thought she was,
Jesse Black thinks her mom works for a soda company which is true. What she doesn’t know is that her mother is a covert spy for that soda company. What she also doesn’t know is that her mom has been training her daughter to be a weapon and super spy. Now Jesse has to decide who she’s going to be.
This was an interesting premise, but it was a bit over the top. I also found the art disappointing. I’m not sure what the moral of the story was supposed to be.
Jesse Black thinks her mom works for a soda company which is true. What she doesn’t know is that her mother is a covert spy for that soda company. What she also doesn’t know is that her mom has been training her daughter to be a weapon and super spy. Now Jesse has to decide who she’s going to be.
This was an interesting premise, but it was a bit over the top. I also found the art disappointing. I’m not sure what the moral of the story was supposed to be.
dame_samara's review against another edition
5.0
We all know that Corporate Espionage is a thing, trying to steal industry secrets and what not. But in "The Spy Who Raised Me" this is taken to James Bond level.
This felt like stepping into my childhood once again, sitting way to close to the TV, as I watch transfixed by the show on it's screen.
I want to share it with every person I know, because it felt so nostalgic to enjoy something so completely.
This felt like stepping into my childhood once again, sitting way to close to the TV, as I watch transfixed by the show on it's screen.
I want to share it with every person I know, because it felt so nostalgic to enjoy something so completely.
gingerbread_void's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting idea for a graphic novel but I'm not sure it all made sense. You definitely need a suspension of disbelief for this to work at all.
I definitely get what Anderson was going for with this story and I really like the idea. The biggest issue was the first part of this novel seemed really blocky and just sort of off. It got better as the novel went on but I definitely had to force myself through the first quarter of this.
The art style was nice but the color pallet did make a few things seem sort of muggy. I would have liked to see more color or maybe more definition in the reds. I liked the style and character design it was really just the color for me.
Overall this was a solid graphic novel it just seems to need a few quirks to be fixed. I would definitely read the next one as I am curious to see where this story goes.
I definitely get what Anderson was going for with this story and I really like the idea. The biggest issue was the first part of this novel seemed really blocky and just sort of off. It got better as the novel went on but I definitely had to force myself through the first quarter of this.
The art style was nice but the color pallet did make a few things seem sort of muggy. I would have liked to see more color or maybe more definition in the reds. I liked the style and character design it was really just the color for me.
Overall this was a solid graphic novel it just seems to need a few quirks to be fixed. I would definitely read the next one as I am curious to see where this story goes.
sabrandbooks's review against another edition
The Spy Who Raised Me had the potential to be a fun spy graphic novel, but ultimately missed the mark.
The story follows a young girl named JB who learns that she was trained throughout her life to be a spy, but is continuously brainwashed to forget it. She decides to run away in order to live her own life outside of the people controlling her. This idea could’ve developed into an enticing story, but had very poor execution. In the end, the novel felt disjointed and lacked the appeal that would keep readers wanting more.
E-arc provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The story follows a young girl named JB who learns that she was trained throughout her life to be a spy, but is continuously brainwashed to forget it. She decides to run away in order to live her own life outside of the people controlling her. This idea could’ve developed into an enticing story, but had very poor execution. In the end, the novel felt disjointed and lacked the appeal that would keep readers wanting more.
E-arc provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
gerwigverse's review against another edition
2.0
Thank you NetGalley and publisher for providing me this copy in exchange of an honest review.
Honestly, I thought the concept of this graphic novel was really interesting, but the execution of the plot and the whole story felt a bit lacking for me. The art was cute and I loved the main character, I just didn't like the direction that the story ended up going, to be honest. It raised a lot of questions that it didn't give me an answer for and maybe it'll have a sequel, so maybe I'll read it just to see if I get satisfied with the rest of it maybe.
Honestly, I thought the concept of this graphic novel was really interesting, but the execution of the plot and the whole story felt a bit lacking for me. The art was cute and I loved the main character, I just didn't like the direction that the story ended up going, to be honest. It raised a lot of questions that it didn't give me an answer for and maybe it'll have a sequel, so maybe I'll read it just to see if I get satisfied with the rest of it maybe.
susspence's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
gsforest's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
I was looking forward to reading this (my sibling chose this out at the library for me) and the concept was interesting. Unfortunately, the plot and characters lacked any luster and I just found the story super boring. The characters felt one dimensional and really lacked any character development.
sannareads's review against another edition
1.0
I thought the description of this graphic novel sounded very interesting & fun. But sadly this didn’t quite end up being my cup of tea.
The art was something I really enjoyed, it was fun & quirky. But the story itself lacked a bit for me. I feel like Josie’s mother’s motives for doing what she did was a bit vague and I wish we’d seen more of her father as well. The ending of the book left me with so many questions. Did she even end up staying with her father?
If there will be a sequel I would probably pick it up anyways. Like I said I feel like some things where left unanswered and I would’ve liked to get less of an “open ending”.
This ARC was given to me for free from Net Galley but my opinions are still mine.
⭐️ “The Spy Who Raised Me” gets 1/5 stars from me!
The art was something I really enjoyed, it was fun & quirky. But the story itself lacked a bit for me. I feel like Josie’s mother’s motives for doing what she did was a bit vague and I wish we’d seen more of her father as well. The ending of the book left me with so many questions. Did she even end up staying with her father?
If there will be a sequel I would probably pick it up anyways. Like I said I feel like some things where left unanswered and I would’ve liked to get less of an “open ending”.
This ARC was given to me for free from Net Galley but my opinions are still mine.
⭐️ “The Spy Who Raised Me” gets 1/5 stars from me!
sapphisms's review against another edition
3.0
i received this book through netgalley in exchange for an honest review
cw: child abuse
i think people are a little too harsh on this graphic novel- it's not the best i've read, but certainly not as bad as the other reviews seem to make it out to be. the art style is fine and consistent with the narrative being told and certainly it's a bit reminiscent of black widow comics, though certainly not as cohesive. i think the biggest problem with it is that the story feels all-over-the-place and a lot of the events just doesn't get resolved (). the moral is very obvious (children can make their own decisions about their future), but the narrative that drives it goes in too many places. it's been mentioned several times over in other reviews, but this is a story essentially about child abuse, even with the veneer of it being a spy story, and it never actually seems to meaningfully engage with that fact. even in her confrontation with her mom, who starts to pull out the 'i don't need the codewords because i'm your mother' thing, it's just overlooked in favor of trying to get back to the action. having a mother literally abuse and control her daughter and use her as an espionage tool is a tragic background, especially when the mother appears to be working for a fictionalized version of the coca cola colombian death squads (which is a BAFFLING detail. has no one else noticed or mentioned this? seeing that on-paper made me feel crazy.), but it's never engaged with in any manner other than 'oh wow look at what cool spy skills i actually have'.
again, not as bad as other reviews make it out to be, but i'm not sure that the book is well-written enough to tackle the child abuse in a way that'd make it acceptable to be in the middle-grade genre, nor is it mature enough to really fend for itself in the young adult genre. it's just kind of a middle-of-the-road graphic novel without anything too substantial.
cw: child abuse
i think people are a little too harsh on this graphic novel- it's not the best i've read, but certainly not as bad as the other reviews seem to make it out to be. the art style is fine and consistent with the narrative being told and certainly it's a bit reminiscent of black widow comics, though certainly not as cohesive. i think the biggest problem with it is that the story feels all-over-the-place and a lot of the events just doesn't get resolved (
Spoiler
why was the father programmed? why is the mother so dedicated to the company? why was it important she secure a job for her daughter?again, not as bad as other reviews make it out to be, but i'm not sure that the book is well-written enough to tackle the child abuse in a way that'd make it acceptable to be in the middle-grade genre, nor is it mature enough to really fend for itself in the young adult genre. it's just kind of a middle-of-the-road graphic novel without anything too substantial.