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librarianryan's review
5.0
This was a super fun read perfect for middle school and up. The artworks is bright and colorful and our “superhero” is a kick but woc. Sweetie is a little shy and unsure of herself, but she can handle her own in a robbery. But this superhero book isn’t really about superheros. It’s about being the quiet kid, the geek, the one always left out. It’s about finding your posse and your role, and knowing that everyone has their strengths, weaknesses, and specialties. I loved the message in this work. I loved the artwork. I loved the story. More please.
August 4
August 4
tinkeringlibrarian's review
3.0
Although I think this skews a bit young for a book about a freshman (more middle grade), I think the art style is neat and love how the awkwardness of making new friends is depicted. Maggie reminds me a bit of Lunella from Moon Girl and and Devil Dinosaur, but she’s less bratty. I did find it confusing the way the numbers hang mystery kinda dropped off, and found the interplay between the cops and #1 a bit unnecessarily and trying too hard to be funny. I’ll definitely be recommending this to some 4-7th graders to see what they think.
unicornsbookshelf's review
5.0
Disclaimer: I have voluntarily reviewed this book after receiving a free copy from NetGalley, thank you!
Actual rating: 4,5
This review may contain minor spoilers!
Back in the day when I was in my reading slump, there was a time when I spent my days browsing and reading webcomics. I loved the unique art styles, ideas for plot and magical worlds created by the authors, however, since I have a problem keeping up with ongoing media that phase ended after a while. That is until I found the NetGalley graphic novel section and picked up the first volume of Sweetie.
Maggie is a young girl just about to start high school. However, the day before he happens to find herself in a shopping mall attacked by a mercenary group called Numbers (their code names are, you guessed it, numbers). Maggie does what every sensible kid her age would do - she beats the bad guys up and hands them over to the police. After all, she’s not your usual nerd. Since she was a kid, she’s been learning martial arts by copying fighting styles she’d seen on the TV. Just your everyday past time, right? Right.
The next day in school Maggie meets a boy called Griffin, who happened to be at the mall during the time of the attack and had seen her beat the mercenaries up. From then on, Maggie and Griffin slowly build a friend group that will help Maggie become more confident in her social skills and stop feeling like an outcast.
I admit the premise had me quite skeptical at the beginning. After all, a little girl learning martial arts at home on her own to the point when she can take on 13 grown and trained men seems a little ridiculous. However, after the first chapter, I decided that I don’t really care because Maggie looks really cool jumping from one driving truck to another and I’m here to have a good time not to be petty.
The art style is simple, cartoonish and very pleasant. Characters look different enough from each other to be recognizable. The backgrounds are sometimes minimalistic but never leaves you confused. I especially adored how Maggie looked, her huge hair and the clothes she wore gave her so much personality. I also loved how every chapter starts with a picture of Maggie sitting on the rooftop with more characters joining her as she makes new friends.
As far as a character comes, I loved both Maggie and Griffin. A big plus is that Maggie despite being strong in a fight has a hard time talking to others and is a bit awkward. I love how she comes off as quiet and cool but in fact, she just doesn’t know what to say. Her friendship with Griffin is adorable and they both make mistakes and work to fix them and make their bond stronger.
Griffin at first seems like this fanboy sidekick character but he’s actually much more. He has hobbies outside Maggie’s interests and there are things in which he’s better than her, like tabletop games.
When it comes to the other two, we got much less of them but I can say that Marlon is quite adorable in his extrovertness and enthusiasm. I also love how he was playing a bard in the card game chapter. Julie at first seemed a little obnoxious to me but in the end, I didn’t mind her as much as I thought I would.
I’m really curious to see more of the Numbers guys that got captured and the two policemen investigating the attack in the shopping mall.
All in all, Sweetie is a promising graphic novel with a cute cast of characters, colorful art and a story that has the potential to develop in a really interesting direction. The idea of a girl self-training to be a superhero is a bit over the top but it works if you decide to just roll with it. I will definitely keep an eye for the future volumes as the first one got me curious. I would recommend this to young as well as a bit older superhero story fans who don’t try to measure everything in the genre with a ruler.
Actual rating: 4,5
This review may contain minor spoilers!
Back in the day when I was in my reading slump, there was a time when I spent my days browsing and reading webcomics. I loved the unique art styles, ideas for plot and magical worlds created by the authors, however, since I have a problem keeping up with ongoing media that phase ended after a while. That is until I found the NetGalley graphic novel section and picked up the first volume of Sweetie.
Maggie is a young girl just about to start high school. However, the day before he happens to find herself in a shopping mall attacked by a mercenary group called Numbers (their code names are, you guessed it, numbers). Maggie does what every sensible kid her age would do - she beats the bad guys up and hands them over to the police. After all, she’s not your usual nerd. Since she was a kid, she’s been learning martial arts by copying fighting styles she’d seen on the TV. Just your everyday past time, right? Right.
The next day in school Maggie meets a boy called Griffin, who happened to be at the mall during the time of the attack and had seen her beat the mercenaries up. From then on, Maggie and Griffin slowly build a friend group that will help Maggie become more confident in her social skills and stop feeling like an outcast.
I admit the premise had me quite skeptical at the beginning. After all, a little girl learning martial arts at home on her own to the point when she can take on 13 grown and trained men seems a little ridiculous. However, after the first chapter, I decided that I don’t really care because Maggie looks really cool jumping from one driving truck to another and I’m here to have a good time not to be petty.
The art style is simple, cartoonish and very pleasant. Characters look different enough from each other to be recognizable. The backgrounds are sometimes minimalistic but never leaves you confused. I especially adored how Maggie looked, her huge hair and the clothes she wore gave her so much personality. I also loved how every chapter starts with a picture of Maggie sitting on the rooftop with more characters joining her as she makes new friends.
As far as a character comes, I loved both Maggie and Griffin. A big plus is that Maggie despite being strong in a fight has a hard time talking to others and is a bit awkward. I love how she comes off as quiet and cool but in fact, she just doesn’t know what to say. Her friendship with Griffin is adorable and they both make mistakes and work to fix them and make their bond stronger.
Griffin at first seems like this fanboy sidekick character but he’s actually much more. He has hobbies outside Maggie’s interests and there are things in which he’s better than her, like tabletop games.
When it comes to the other two, we got much less of them but I can say that Marlon is quite adorable in his extrovertness and enthusiasm. I also love how he was playing a bard in the card game chapter. Julie at first seemed a little obnoxious to me but in the end, I didn’t mind her as much as I thought I would.
I’m really curious to see more of the Numbers guys that got captured and the two policemen investigating the attack in the shopping mall.
All in all, Sweetie is a promising graphic novel with a cute cast of characters, colorful art and a story that has the potential to develop in a really interesting direction. The idea of a girl self-training to be a superhero is a bit over the top but it works if you decide to just roll with it. I will definitely keep an eye for the future volumes as the first one got me curious. I would recommend this to young as well as a bit older superhero story fans who don’t try to measure everything in the genre with a ruler.
sometimesleelynnreads's review
5.0
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Yes I totally read two graphic novels in a row. No shame in my Graphic Novel game! This is the most I've read all year!
So I came across this novel on Netgalley because it was on the "Read Now" list, and whenever I get to see a girl that looks like me on the cover, I have to support it. Her hair may be a lot cooler than mine, but I am already on Team Sweetie from this point on.
Well, I don't think she likes anyone calling her Sweetie for real, unless it's her parents. Which speaking of, I need to know what happened to her mother!
I love how Maggie basically taught herself how to be a super hero, even though she doesn't call herself one.
From the beginning, you see her learning how to do different stunts and martial arts moves in her room, to the dismay of her mother and father because those stunts are very dangerous. She could easily hurt herself, or worse. Luckily her mother and father learn to support her "hobby" and that's where her bout as a super hero comes to play. She doesn't consider herself a superhero because she wouldn't want to have something bad happen to someone and she wasn't fast enough to get to them, but I think she is one of the best superheros ever for that very reason.
She moves so fast, not even bad guys can hit her with their bullets. She's shy and seems sometimes awkward or anxious in social settings that don't involve her fighting bad guys, but I think the addition of her new friend Griffin will teach her that she doesn't have to isolate herself from the rest of the world like she thinks she does.
This graphic novel was very sweet, and although it ended in such a cliffhanger - I can't handle it! - I thoroughly enjoyed it. I highly recommend this one, and I can't wait to see what happens next.
Yes I totally read two graphic novels in a row. No shame in my Graphic Novel game! This is the most I've read all year!
So I came across this novel on Netgalley because it was on the "Read Now" list, and whenever I get to see a girl that looks like me on the cover, I have to support it. Her hair may be a lot cooler than mine, but I am already on Team Sweetie from this point on.
Well, I don't think she likes anyone calling her Sweetie for real, unless it's her parents. Which speaking of, I need to know what happened to her mother!
I love how Maggie basically taught herself how to be a super hero, even though she doesn't call herself one.
From the beginning, you see her learning how to do different stunts and martial arts moves in her room, to the dismay of her mother and father because those stunts are very dangerous. She could easily hurt herself, or worse. Luckily her mother and father learn to support her "hobby" and that's where her bout as a super hero comes to play. She doesn't consider herself a superhero because she wouldn't want to have something bad happen to someone and she wasn't fast enough to get to them, but I think she is one of the best superheros ever for that very reason.
She moves so fast, not even bad guys can hit her with their bullets. She's shy and seems sometimes awkward or anxious in social settings that don't involve her fighting bad guys, but I think the addition of her new friend Griffin will teach her that she doesn't have to isolate herself from the rest of the world like she thinks she does.
This graphic novel was very sweet, and although it ended in such a cliffhanger - I can't handle it! - I thoroughly enjoyed it. I highly recommend this one, and I can't wait to see what happens next.
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