Reviews

Koko Be Good by Jen Wang

aipie's review

4.0

I really enjoyed Koko Be Good. It's drawn in a beautiful dreary style with a sepia/brown/grey palette, which gives a nostalgic, tired feel. The characters are lovable and diverse: Koko's Maniac Dream Girl-ness and Jon's Boy Next Door-ness make for a cute friendship. I enjoyed how Wang explores each character's sense of "how to be good" and their sentiments of "I don't know what to do with my life," which instilled a hefty serving of existential dread by the end of the book. Overall I thought it was a beautiful, quirky, often hilarious, story of people finding their own paths.

mushimushi's review against another edition

slow-paced

2.0

quetzelish's review against another edition

4.0

A heartfelt yet sad story about two young people learning how to live in a world that isn't as rosy as they'd hoped. This is a story that does take a bit to truly get good, even though it does open strongly. The lives of Koko and Jon take many turns as they try to piece together what they want their lives to be. While I loved it, the opening does need fine tuning. It is a bit uneven and its message does get a bit garbled.

mikethepysch's review

4.0

Idk why people on here are shitting on this so hard! It was a pretty good read with some really touching parts. And art. Mmmmm art.

justinecm's review

4.0

This book has lovely drawings and is pretty much worth the read just for that. The story is a coming of age story based on people who are trying to do the right thing. The storyline isn't very strong.

kricketa's review

4.0

an adorable and clever comic about motivations for being a good person and, moreover, what it even means to be a good person. i love jen wang's artwork! 'koko be good' is a delicious feast for the eyes. i was a little confused about what was going on sometimes (wanted more info about faron) so i read it again, and now i'm just kind of obsessed with reading more jen wang stuff and wanting her to release another book asap. highly recommended.

ohlittleowl's review

3.0

The art and coloring in this book is absolutely gorgeous, and I'd give that aspect alone 5 stars. What was lacking in this book was character depth; I felt like I was skimming the surface of the characters lives, and I wound up not feeling very invested in the book's payoff because of that.

calistareads's review

2.0

This is the first First Second story that has let me down. Everything else was great.

The art work is 3 colors, black, white, brown. It does help set the tone of overall blah-ness happening. This is a coming of age story.

I'll be honest, I had a hard time following everything that was going on. There wasn't great connections happening and I mostly followed. Koko wants to be good and it makes her angry how difficult that is for her. She ends up giving away all her stuff for charity thinking this is the answer. Jon is in love - he doesn't know what to do with his life either. As long as he can be with his girlfriend in Peru, his life will be ok. That's really all I got from this story.

I can't recommend it.

mangosmar's review

3.0

First of all, I really loved the art. I liked the story, too, but in a couple of places it wasn't very clear to understand what was going on.

lalanier's review

3.0

Loved the artwork, read it a bit quicker than expected. Though there are many panels without text. I enjoyed the story even if Koko was a bit obnoxious :P Seems a few things I'm reading lately are touching at chasing ones dreams or personal growth. Maybe that's one of those universal hints, or coincidences. Anyway, glad I read this one on a whim, and look forward to more of Wang's work.