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liviwright's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
angeldawn's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
doctorwithoutboundaries's review against another edition
4.0
A book about teenage girls that is NOT a romance?! Sign me up!
I’m a little ashamed of just how American my reading tends to be. I really need to broaden my horizons and read more books from other countries and continents. This book was a step in that direction, because I know so little about what’s happening in the arena of Euro comics. My only other taste of English comics this year was [b: The Wicked + The Divine|23093359|The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 1 The Faust Act|Kieron Gillen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1415565992l/23093359._SY75_.jpg|42643515], which had interesting and dramatic artwork, though I’m not qualified to say what makes it different from American schools of art. I wasn’t charmed by its premise or its characters, however.
There isn’t much of a plot to this book, but I loved the bits of quintessentially British dialogue. It’s a slice-of-life story about three teenage friends during their first year at university. Esther, Susan and Daisy are lovable characters, and each of them is wickedly funny in their own way. They couldn’t be more different from each other, but their friendship is still so believable. Three has been a significant figure in my life, as a part of many enduring female friend trios, contrary to stereotypes about three women being a crowd. There are a couple of male characters in the book, too, and everyone’s interactions are hilarious and full of heart (or sometimes, sexual tension). I can say with some certainty that Allison is capable of writing all teenagers realistically.
The art has a certain exuberance and daring that took me by surprise. It’s vividly coloured and has a sunny and happy vibe that I’ve never noted in American comics for young adults. Also, I could be reading only select American GNs so I hate to generalise, but it felt exhilarating to depart from their wistful and often didactic tone, to see kids who are just as confused, hormonal and messed up yet ultimately excited about what life has to offer... This comic may be frivolous, but it’s a breath of fresh air that made me laugh and smile and feel a little less bitter for a precious few hours. It’s the kind of book that you buy for someone who’s going through a rough time—guaranteed to brighten anyone’s day.
My reviews of the Giant Days series:
3. ‘Vol. 3’
4. ‘Vol. 4’
5. ‘Vol. 5’
6. ‘Vol. 6’
7. ‘Vol. 7’
I’m a little ashamed of just how American my reading tends to be. I really need to broaden my horizons and read more books from other countries and continents. This book was a step in that direction, because I know so little about what’s happening in the arena of Euro comics. My only other taste of English comics this year was [b: The Wicked + The Divine|23093359|The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 1 The Faust Act|Kieron Gillen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1415565992l/23093359._SY75_.jpg|42643515], which had interesting and dramatic artwork, though I’m not qualified to say what makes it different from American schools of art. I wasn’t charmed by its premise or its characters, however.
There isn’t much of a plot to this book, but I loved the bits of quintessentially British dialogue. It’s a slice-of-life story about three teenage friends during their first year at university. Esther, Susan and Daisy are lovable characters, and each of them is wickedly funny in their own way. They couldn’t be more different from each other, but their friendship is still so believable. Three has been a significant figure in my life, as a part of many enduring female friend trios, contrary to stereotypes about three women being a crowd. There are a couple of male characters in the book, too, and everyone’s interactions are hilarious and full of heart (or sometimes, sexual tension). I can say with some certainty that Allison is capable of writing all teenagers realistically.
The art has a certain exuberance and daring that took me by surprise. It’s vividly coloured and has a sunny and happy vibe that I’ve never noted in American comics for young adults. Also, I could be reading only select American GNs so I hate to generalise, but it felt exhilarating to depart from their wistful and often didactic tone, to see kids who are just as confused, hormonal and messed up yet ultimately excited about what life has to offer... This comic may be frivolous, but it’s a breath of fresh air that made me laugh and smile and feel a little less bitter for a precious few hours. It’s the kind of book that you buy for someone who’s going through a rough time—guaranteed to brighten anyone’s day.
My reviews of the Giant Days series:
3. ‘Vol. 3’
4. ‘Vol. 4’
5. ‘Vol. 5’
6. ‘Vol. 6’
7. ‘Vol. 7’
kristenbooks's review against another edition
3.0
This is either right at the top of the 3/5 range or right at the bottom of the 4/5 range but I'm going to go with 4/5 (8/10) for now because that's just what my gut is saying. Overall, I really liked this. I found the characters to be super relatable and thought the humor was spot on. I think that this kinda gave me what I'd hoped Lumberjanes would give me. What I mean by this is that Lumberjanes has a pretty ambiguous plot-- each part is only loosely related to the previous part. However, in Giant Days, each chapter does have its own individual story, but there are major overarching plots that are fairly prominent throughout, giving the series a clear long-term plot.
That being said, this didn't necessarily blow me away. So far it's fun and I do really enjoy the characters, but it'll take me a little while to fall in love with everything and therefore get really invested. It usually takes me more books/volumes of comic series for this to happen given the quick read-time for each volume.
I'm going to try to pick up the next few volumes pretty quickly, library-permitting!
That being said, this didn't necessarily blow me away. So far it's fun and I do really enjoy the characters, but it'll take me a little while to fall in love with everything and therefore get really invested. It usually takes me more books/volumes of comic series for this to happen given the quick read-time for each volume.
I'm going to try to pick up the next few volumes pretty quickly, library-permitting!
literaturefaerie's review against another edition
3.0
The plot was all over the place, but it was still a pretty cute read.
laurenbookishtwins's review against another edition
4.0
This was definitely lots of fun and very relatable, especially for UK readers!
lncastle's review against another edition
4.0
Really like the art in this. Giant Days has an engaging storyline and nicely reflects the troubles of college/uni life. Certainly worth a re-read.