nadezhda's review against another edition
1.0
I wanted to love this. While the watercolour is very lovely, there are many instances where the underlying pencil was left, messily, and really distracted from the rest of the image. I found myself not really caring about the story or the way it was written. I also hated how the female characters (of which there are like, 2.5 of them) had very little variation in body type or shape compared to the wide array of male characters, and how their waists seemed to always be emphasized. On the cover - if you can clearly see a woman's ribcage (and it looks like she has two stacked set of ribs???) through her jacket, then that jacket is too thin and too tight, to say nothing of what she's wearing underneath, if anything.
compass_rose's review against another edition
2.0
this was just OK. I like what he was attempting, but I wasn't that excited about the telling. The illustrations are fantastic and the facial expressions often tell the story on their own in a successful way. I just didn't get invested in any of the characters enough to care (This tells three true stories of three people who traveled around the world in the last decades of the 19th c.)
shighley's review against another edition
3.0
I'm embarrassed that I didn't know more about Nelly Bly, and I knew nothing about Stevens and Slocum. To me, a good measure of a book is if it generates so much interest that I just have to know more. In this case, though, I need to know more because I was a bit confused about Slocum in particular. I liked Phelan's note at the end of the book describing the way the book evolved into more of a "why" than a "what" book.
I often decry the lack of variety in biographies; it seems like the same personalitities are profiled time and time again, so I am pleased that different figures in history were included. I can think of many great discussion questions that could be used with students as well.
I often decry the lack of variety in biographies; it seems like the same personalitities are profiled time and time again, so I am pleased that different figures in history were included. I can think of many great discussion questions that could be used with students as well.
summeryoder's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.5
A wonderful nonfiction graphic novel! Tells the adventures of three different world travelers in the late 19th century. Each story is told on its own, but it's fun to read them included in the same volume. It really captures the spirit of adventure and exploration of that era.
zepysgirl's review
2.0
The book presents these three narratives but doesn’t do much to justify why *these* three go together. There wasn’t really any overarching thing…? I started getting annoyed at the fictionalization bits starting in Nellie Bly’s story. The third one was a good story, but I felt like it had even less of a tether to the truth, in service of that.
nattycran's review against another edition
2.0
I’m not sure who I could suggest this book to. It is aimed towards children, but the art and themes don’t fit as well as I’d like. That being said, it could be good for some kids.
I feel like Nellie Bly was more deserving of her own book geared towards teens. Also, calling her “girl reporter” instead of “woman reporter” isn’t exactly cool.
In the Joshua Slocum section, I didn’t feel like the pace of his past, hallucinations, and eventual disappearance were paced properly.
Why was Thomas Stevens even there?!
Also, the art felt unfinished in parts.
I feel like Nellie Bly was more deserving of her own book geared towards teens. Also, calling her “girl reporter” instead of “woman reporter” isn’t exactly cool.
In the Joshua Slocum section, I didn’t feel like the pace of his past, hallucinations, and eventual disappearance were paced properly.
Why was Thomas Stevens even there?!
Also, the art felt unfinished in parts.
bethnellvaccaro's review against another edition
4.0
This is an enjoyable graphic novel that fuels my desire to travel.
nerfherder86's review against another edition
4.0
great graphic novel with three stories, based on historical fact, about around the world journeyers: Nellie Bly, Thomas Stevens (who rode a high wheeler bicycle around the world in 1884), and Joshua Slocum, who sailed alone around the world from 1895-98.