wends_nblw's review
- 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
4.0
I only picked this up because I saw : two guys that I thought could be lovers, one of them nerdy, the other a poc. And my poc gay ass thought "perfect!!!" so I knew absolutely nothing else about this book. I didn't go in looking for good rep or anything so luckily, I wasn't disappointed like the reviewers I've seen.
I can't speak to the autoimmune rep, as I am not and I would recommend reading reviews from those who are.
Aside from that, I enjoyed the story. I liked the whole two troubled guys falling in love because they're both kind of idiots. I was very pleasantly surprised to see Eli was trans since I hadn't known that going in. [unlike some reviews, i found this to be quite endearing, as i enjoy when characters are just trans for the sake of being trans.]
I did not like Biff or Marcia; and I honestly just really, really hate how Biff was handled. The ending was rushed. It's discouraging that Eli really got the short end of the stick even at the ending.
Spoiler
[like tony gets a mini dad moment but eli can't have his mini mom moment??? why????]All in all, it was good. Just don't go looking for good rep.
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Animal death, Chronic illness, Body horror, Medical content, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Gun violence and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Homophobia
thebookpaiges's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Death
ezwolf's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Animal death, Bullying, and Gun violence
Minor: Death of parent and Medical content
o__o's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Medical content, Bullying, and Violence
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Animal death
librarymouse's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Car accident
pey333's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Blood, and Death
bookenbee's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Ableism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Body horror, Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic friendship
slasherreads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
The characters are wonderful. Their designs are not terribly complex but they are super fun on the page--I love Tony's pomp and little fangs especially. Every character, while obviously inspired by or referencing certain high school stereotypes, is given depth and nuance (including the bully). The excellent characterization and focus on character relationships is what really carries this title for me, I think; the plot itself is fine, but it's certainly not the star of the show. In this case, I think that's a good thing--a simpler, easy to follow (but still interesting) plot using familiar supernatural creatures whose lore broadly follows about what the reader is familiar with allows for more focus to be given to the characters.
Connected to the writing is the pacing. Again, normally pacing in graphic novels isn't my thing; it either feels rushed or over too soon. Blackwater, however, felt very well-paced. The story in this volume wrapped up on a satisfactory note, leaving me feeling like I had gotten a fully developed and well-executed story while still leaving possible openings for more to follow.
I look forward to more of Blackwater. The authors did a fantastic job and I would love to see where the character's story goes next. I would really advise anyone who is interested in queer YA to pick it up, even if they're not interested in horror (As the horror is present in elements but the goal of the story certainly isn't to horrify).
This graphic novel firmly lands itself in the catergory of "god, I wish I had this in high school." I'm glad it's here now.
Graphic: Ableism and Bullying
Moderate: Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Medical content, Violence, and Body horror
asipofcozy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I believe my favorite part of this graphic novel was the art style. I was impressed with the spooky vibes it was giving off and I definitely felt like I was put in a twilight zone/ stranger things situation. Also, is it just me or does Tony look like Fonzie from Happy Days. Lol, was I the only one growing up watching older shows!
As for the story itself. The premise of the novel was intriguing to me. I loved the idea of seeing ghosts and having werewolves run around. However, I felt like the plot and backstory were falling flat for me. Especially when the plot raced ahead and didn't pause to give us any context on the situation. There was a missing context that would have been nice to know, some back history to this town that seems to have a lot of supernature creatures living in it.
Also, having a background on the characters would have been nice as well. It would have helped slow the plot a bit and given us more history on the characters. I felt like I was missing something when Tony talked about his mom and was thrown through a loop of Eli being from Germany.
However, I do recommend this graphic novel to anyone that wants those spookyish vibes and a quick read when you are in a reading slump!
Graphic: Bullying and Violence
Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Animal death
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Death
bookcrushin's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Abandonment, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Bullying