mschlat's review against another edition
4.0
It's British middle school kids doing detective stuff, but with a good (and funny) dose of snark. You get a little of the paranormal, but nothing like a Harry Potter book (that's a plus for me), and Allison mixes in quite a bit of the kids' domestic lives. I also appreciated that I had no idea where the story was going most of the time --- it's great to find a graphic novel with this level of unpredictability.
Now, on to book size kvetching! This is a floppy 12.25 inch long by 9 inch high book. It's almost impossible to read with one hand. It will stick out of your bookshelf. And while I like Allison's artwork, I don't think his cartoony style needs to be this big. Why the big book?
Now, on to book size kvetching! This is a floppy 12.25 inch long by 9 inch high book. It's almost impossible to read with one hand. It will stick out of your bookshelf. And while I like Allison's artwork, I don't think his cartoony style needs to be this big. Why the big book?
themorbidcorvid's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
doubleclefs's review against another edition
4.0
This was a book club selection and while I felt it was cute, it didn't really hold my attention well. I might continue the series, but not right now.
haia_929's review
4.0
This is a trimmed down version of my review, to view the full review visit The Book Ramble.
I received a copy of this book from Diamond Book Distributors on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Bad Machinery follows the adventures of 6 friends who solve mysteries around town. This particular case is about an apparent curse on the local football team. The group split boys vs. girls and works to solve the troubles in town cause by the local team.
I am a huge fan of John Allison’s Giant Days so I’ve been interested in reading this series for a while and this reformatting of the original trade was a perfect way to get into it. I enjoyed it a lot but probably not as much as Giant Days. I do think this would be a great read to get MG or YA readers, it seems like a cool series to get into.
I really enjoy this type of story with young adults working in a group to solve a mystery. It has the same kind of feeling as Gotham Academy which I really like so I really enjoyed that aspect. I can’t really remember the characters very well, I think I was overwhelmed by them all but I think if I read another trade they would settle in my mind a bit better.
I liked the art, it was very cute. It definitely makes me what to get the original Giant Days issues from before the series went to Boom. I think the design of the Russian demon…curse guy was really interesting. I just enjoyed the way the characters really came through in the art. I also kind of enjoyed the way the accents were written into it.
I would definitely be interested in reading more of this. It’s elevated itself to one of my highly recommended MG/YA graphic novel series.
I received a copy of this book from Diamond Book Distributors on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Bad Machinery follows the adventures of 6 friends who solve mysteries around town. This particular case is about an apparent curse on the local football team. The group split boys vs. girls and works to solve the troubles in town cause by the local team.
I am a huge fan of John Allison’s Giant Days so I’ve been interested in reading this series for a while and this reformatting of the original trade was a perfect way to get into it. I enjoyed it a lot but probably not as much as Giant Days. I do think this would be a great read to get MG or YA readers, it seems like a cool series to get into.
I really enjoy this type of story with young adults working in a group to solve a mystery. It has the same kind of feeling as Gotham Academy which I really like so I really enjoyed that aspect. I can’t really remember the characters very well, I think I was overwhelmed by them all but I think if I read another trade they would settle in my mind a bit better.
I liked the art, it was very cute. It definitely makes me what to get the original Giant Days issues from before the series went to Boom. I think the design of the Russian demon…curse guy was really interesting. I just enjoyed the way the characters really came through in the art. I also kind of enjoyed the way the accents were written into it.
I would definitely be interested in reading more of this. It’s elevated itself to one of my highly recommended MG/YA graphic novel series.
lovegirl30's review against another edition
3.0
So lately I have been in a graphic novel kick, and I think this book killed it. The First part of this book was decent, the best part was the funky interesting illustrations and graphics. After that though the book really goes downhill fast. I think I was on page 30 when I thought to myself, "uhhh whats the point?" to be honest I still don't really know what the point was.
I also didn't realize that this was a web comic turned into a book. I guess that’s probably why the book felt sort of disjointed. I really liked the idea of this book at first a group of high school kids that meet at school and form a mystery solving team. Which quickly became a bad spin off of Scooby Doo, britsh edition.
Overall it wasn't terrible but I am really glad I picked it up at the library.
( Also posted on The Young Girl Who Loved Books )
I also didn't realize that this was a web comic turned into a book. I guess that’s probably why the book felt sort of disjointed. I really liked the idea of this book at first a group of high school kids that meet at school and form a mystery solving team. Which quickly became a bad spin off of Scooby Doo, britsh edition.
Overall it wasn't terrible but I am really glad I picked it up at the library.
( Also posted on The Young Girl Who Loved Books )
ferrous's review against another edition
5.0
I've only read this as a web comic, but it's pretty much my favourite thing that I've read in the last year or so, so I have no hesitation giving the paper version five stars. Here is a review I wrote of the comic.
tabby2920's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
pwbalto's review against another edition
5.0
Cutest frickin thing I have read in a long while. Repeated instances of waking husband up to read him funny parts. Slight eye- watering. Yay!