Review - Betty Builds It

Betty Builds It
by Julie Hampton
Date: 2019
Publisher: West Margin Press
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

Combining humor and art with STEM subjects of science, technology, and math, Betty Builds It explores a burgeoning friendship between a genius engineering robot girl and her sweet younger brother who just wants to support his sister.

Betty could build just about anything. Whatever she needs, she can make it for herself. But with a screen as her parental unit and her baby brother Toby who can't do much, Betty longs for a friend--so she builds one! While Toby struggles to get his sister's attention, Betty continues to build and build, until finally she realizes what she was looking for was beside her the whole time.

Betty Builds It is a sweet family story of the new friendship between siblings, and also celebrates and promotes women and girls in science.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

Betty Builds It reminds me of another robot book I read recently, David Wiesner's Robobaby. In both cases, a younger robot saves the day by offering some much-needed tech suggestions.

To be frank, I don't like either book. Robots can be done well, but the ones in these two books feel particularly soulless. The colour palette in Betty Builds It, mostly oranges and browns, feels somewhat... well, rusty. I guess that makes sense, but the illustrations also seem a bit lifeless because of it.

While the idea of a friend who can make toast whenever you want some is kind of amusing (although, I don't know why a robot would want toast), the rest of the story is predictable and kind of boring. I've read this story before. And I'm still not impressed.

Premise: 2/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 2/5
Originality: 2/5

Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall: 2.17 out of 5

Review - Robobaby

Robobaby
by David Wiesner
Date: 2020
Publisher: Clarion Books
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

Robots are much more than machines in the emotionally resonant world of Robobaby, where the arrival of a new baby in a robot family is a festive occasion. Iconic picture book creator David Wiesner captures the excitement as Lugnut (father), Diode (mother), and big sister Cathode (Cathy) welcome the newcomer. Cathy, with her handy toolbox and advanced knowledge of robotics and IT, is ignored while the adults bungle the process of assembling baby Flange, with near catastrophic results. As the frantic, distracted adults rush about aimlessly, Cathy, unobserved, calmly clears up the technical difficulties and bonds with her new baby brother. Robobaby is a shout‑out for girl scientists and makers, and a treat for all young robot enthusiasts.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I think I expected more from David Wiesner. This is chaotic, messy, and somehow boring. A whole bunch of characters are dumped onto the page, and we're expected to care. I'm afraid I don't.

Basically, a family of robots is welcoming a new addition. In their haste to assemble their new baby, they neglect to install the updates. The thing goes haywire and the family has to call in the experts. The daughter, Cathode (Cathy), saves the day with her tinkering skills.

The illustrations are skillfully done. But the text almost seems like an afterthought. And there was so much going on in some of the pictures that I was a bit overwhelmed.

I might recommend this to fans of robots, but that's about it. The story isn't anything special.

Premise: 2/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 2/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall: 2.33 out of 5

Review - Coding Capers: Luci and the Missing Robot

Coding Capers: Luci and the Missing Robot
by Angela Cleveland & Tamara Zentic
illustrated by Juan Manuel Moreno
Date: 2019
Publisher: National Center for Youth Issues
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: NetGalley

Join Luci and her friends as they go on an adventure to find a missing robot! In the process they learn the foundational concepts of coding, the increasing capabilities of technology, and the power of persistence.

Was it just a dream?! Luci wakes up after dreaming about robots only to learn that her teacher has a robot emergency at school! The class robot has disappeared, and the students must decipher codes to locate it, reprogram it, and return it.

We huddled together.

“Hurry! Read the card!”

Go to the gym where you’ll find a maze,
Up and down and then sideways,
Over and over with your group,
Not a pattern, but a ______.

This STEM-friendly tale takes children on a fun game of hide and seek that teaches coding terminology and how technology and computer science work together to create and manage so many of the things we use in our daily lives.

With a little ingenuity and a lot of perseverance, Luci and her friends follow the clues and end up with a surprise that will allow each of them to help others and inspire the next generation of leaders.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

My feelings about this one are all over the place. A good premise, weak writing, and passable illustrations combine to make a book that I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable recommending... even though the overall message is fine.

Luci is paired up with her friends to find a robot that their teacher has hidden somewhere in the school. They follow clues--learning about three different coding concepts along the way--until they reach their goal.

A trend I've noticed in self-published picture books lately is a tendency to italicize dialogue. This book does that... but only with the speech that's not spoken by the main character. There are grammar and punctuation issues throughout, and the writing really could have used some more speech tags.

As for the story, it's kind of unrealistic, and a bit confusing in places. There's a sort of jump after Luci and her friends find the third clue, and suddenly they're in the science lab. We don't know what the clue was that sent them there (I'm guessing it was the room number, but the text doesn't really say). This is a bit disappointing, because the puzzle is such a big part of the story; it's a shame it ended up glossed over. The ending is also kind of ridiculous, with the kids each receiving their very own robot to program. Luci plans on using hers to basically act as a service dog for her blind grandmother. I don't know if technology is there yet... but I'm fairly certain it wouldn't be found in a cheap robot won as a prize!

That said, I do like the coding aspect. Three concepts--algorithms, loops, and conditionals--are explained clearly through the narrative in an easy-to-understand way. So that's probably the strongest part of the book.

Overall, this is a book with a good premise that could use some work on the technical side, ironically enough. If the writing were cleaned up and made clearer (and the puzzle solution explained), this could be a good book for getting kids interested in learning how to code. I would, however, be sure to explain to kids that they shouldn't expect to be able to program a robot to act as a service animal.

Thank you to NetGalley and National Center for Youth Issues for providing a digital ARC.

Premise: 3/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 1/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall: 2.5 out of 5

Review - Robot in Love

Robot in Love
by T. L. McBeth
Date: 2018
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 40
Format: e-book
Source: library

When a shiny, beautiful stranger catches Robot's eye, he knows she's the one. He thinks about her all the time. He even makes her a gift. But will he be able to keep his circuits from overheating and work up the courage to talk to her? T. L. McBeth's Robot in Love spins a funny and heartwarming story of love—perfect for sharing at Valentine's!

(synopsis from Goodreads)

WARNING: Minor Spoilers! To read this review with the spoilers hidden, check it out on Goodreads.

Aside from a few clever lines, this book doesn't have a lot going for it. The plot is too simple, the robot engages in criminal behaviour, and the illustrations are kind of boring.

One day, a robot wakes from a charging cycle, has some toast (wait... what?), and goes out. He spots a lovely "lady" on the street and proceeds to fall madly in insta-love. Every day, he goes and stares at the object of his affection. Eventually, he makes her a gift, but when it comes time to give it, she's disappeared! (We then learn that the "lady" is a toaster, and she's been put at the back of the store because she's just a display model and not for sale.) The robot steals his "girlfriend", and then they proceed to act like a couple. The robot claims they have a lot in common (including a love for toast).

So this is teaching kids that it's okay to stalk. It's okay to steal. And it's okay to marry a toaster. (Isn't that the excuse some bigots use when they argue against same-sex marriage?) The whole premise is just weird, and while some of it makes sense, a lot of it doesn't. Why is the robot so enamoured with a toaster? Yeah, sure, they both love toast. But why does a robot love toast in the first place?

Nah... this just isn't for me. Not everything has to be about love and romance. Trying to force those qualities on inanimate objects is just bizarre.

Premise: 2/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 2/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall: 2.33 out of 5

Review - If I Were A Robot

If I Were A Robot
by Scott Gordon
illustrated by DepositPhotos.com
Date: 2012
Publisher: S. E. Gordon
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 54
Format: e-book
Source: Amazon.ca

Have you ever dreamed of being a robot? What would you do? How would you do it? And most importantly, what would you create with your newfound powers?

Find out what a young boy discovers when he visits the land of dreams, and builds his own vision of the future. From the author of My Little Pet Dragon, My Crazy Pet Frog and Ninja Robot Repairmen. Over 40 pages in all.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I love how the synopsis declares, "Over 40 pages in all!" As if quantity is the important thing here.

That attitude shows in this slapdash "story" about a boy imagining what he would do if he were a robot. The first part is boring, but not terrible. He'd have a suit of armour and fancy weapons so he could fend off pirates and the Evil Overlord's army (whoever they are). He'd have a secret workshop and design rockets to reach distant worlds. He'd even build himself a robot dog for company. But then, in the latter half of the story, things get weird and existential. Suddenly, the narrative switches to almost all dialogue, and we get to read a conversation between a disembodied voice that echoes "into eternity" and the boy (who's now a rusty old robot stuck on a planet all by himself). The boy decides he doesn't want to be a robot and joins his father for dinner.

Because this book is put together with stock imagery from various illustrators, it has no cohesive style. There are plenty of pictures similar to what we see on the cover... but also plastic-looking 3D-rendered humans, random sparkles on a gradient background, paintings of rusty robots, pictures of planets, Dalí-esque imagery, and computer-generated sci-fi landscapes. The book looks like it's having an identity crisis.

This author is certainly prolific, and while I'm sure his own kids probably enjoy his attempts at picture-book writing, I don't think these titles are really suitable for public consumption. This is actually the second book I've read by this author, and I'm probably less impressed with this one than I was with the first. I'm just glad I picked this one up as a freebie; I'd be really annoyed right now, otherwise!

Premise: 1/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 1/5
Illustrations: 2/5
Originality: 1/5

Enjoyment: 0/5

Overall: 0.83 out of 5

Review - The Future of Work: Compulsory

The Future of Work: Compulsory (The Murderbot Diaries #0.5)
by Martha Wells
Date: 2018
Publisher: Wired.com
Reading level: A
Book type: short story
Pages: 4
Format: e-book
Source: Wired.com

Martha Wells is a New York Times best-selling author of 23 works of science fiction and fantasy. This story is a prequel to The Murderbot Diaries, her Hugo- and Nebula-award-winning novella series.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I still have a soft spot for Murderbot, even though the series of novellas got progressively more disappointing for me. This short story--well, more of just a scene, really--is a nice little treat for fans. It features Murderbot's amusing quips and displays parts of the world that Wells has built in the main series.

But it's just so short. As such, it's not really suitable except for anyone other than existing fans. Newcomers would have so many questions, and although they might get a glimpse of what makes Murderbot's character so special, it's not a complete picture. So, despite this being a prequel to the main series, I would highly recommend reading at least the first novella, All Systems Red, before this story.

Quotable moment:

It’s not like I haven’t thought about killing the humans since I hacked my governor module. But then I started exploring the company servers and discovered hundreds of hours of downloadable entertainment media, and I figured, what’s the hurry? I can always kill the humans after the next series ends.

Plot: 2/5
Characters: 3/5
Pace: 4/5
Writing & Editing: 3/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall Rating: 3.14 out of 5 ladybugs

Review - BERTIE

BERTIE
by Jon Langford
Date: 2017
Publisher: East of the Web
Reading level: A
Book type: short story
Pages: 6
Format: e-book
Source: http://www.eastoftheweb.com/

What would you do if your family preferred a robot over you?

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I'd read another short story by this author and sort of enjoyed it, so I thought I'd give this one a try. The synopsis was intriguing, and I like science fiction, so I thought maybe I'd like this.

But... I didn't. I can't tell if the author intentionally made the narrator insufferable or if he was supposed to be a sympathetic character. But I hated the guy. He oozed disdain for his wife; he couldn't seem to think of anything nice to say about her. When he's called out for his parenting skills, he turns himself into the victim. He comes across as a narcissist, and that's all fine and good, but since I couldn't tell whether it was intentional or not, I was really uncomfortable reading this.

The synopsis poses the question: What would you do if your family preferred a robot over you? The answer should be: Try acting like a caring father and husband (consistently) and stop viewing your family as a worthless burden. I mean, there was absolutely no reason the wife and daughter should've preferred the narrator over the robot. His actions at the end of the story further reinforced the fact that he's just an insecure dick with a bruised ego.

Plot: 1/5
Characters: 1/5
Pace: 2/5
Writing & Editing: 2/5
Originality: 2/5

Enjoyment: 1/5

Overall Rating: 1.43 out of 5 ladybugs

Review - Little Robot Alone

Little Robot Alone
by Patricia MacLachlan & Emily MacLachlan Charest
illustrated by Matt Phelan
Date: 2018
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 40
Format: e-book
Source: library

In this charming picture book by Newbery winner Patricia MacLachlan, Little Robot is lonely--until he has an inventive and creative solution.

Little Robot's life is peaceful--yet maybe it's a little too peaceful. But wait! He has an idea. With a little hard work, perseverance, and resourceful thinking, can Little Robot build his way to the perfect cure for loneliness?

(synopsis from Goodreads)

Curious as to why this picture book has such a low Goodreads rating, I decided to give it a try. It's a very simple story about a little robot who's lonely, so he decides to build himself a friend. I suppose it might be too simple for some people, but I thought it was pretty charming. Little Robot saw a problem, and then set about fixing it. Even when he didn't get it right on the first try, he kept going, and eventually his efforts paid off.

I liked how his daily routine was set off by the rhyming text, and the illustrations--while just simple watercolours--perfectly fit the gentle feel of the story.

Quotable moment:

Premise: 4/5
Meter: 3/5
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 3.57 out of 5

Review - Robots, Robots Everywhere

Robots, Robots Everywhere
by Sue Fliess
illustrated by Bob Staake
Date: 2013
Publisher: Golden Books
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 24
Format: e-book
Source: library

"On the ground and in the air, /Robots, robots everywhere!
Up in space, beneath the seas, /Robots make discoveries..."

So begins this rollicking Little Golden Book featuring robots of all kinds, from ones up in space to the ones we use at home. With bold, colorful artwork by award-winner Bob Staake, it's a perfect introduction to the fascinating subject of today's real robots!

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This is one of the newer Little Golden Books, being published in 2013. I can only imagine what the kids who read the original books back in the 1940s would have thought of this one!

Robots, Robots Everywhere is a cute rhyming book with colourful, detailed illustrations about various types of robots. It reminds me of a school report I had to do when I was around seven on the subject of robots. They're basically machines that do work... so that includes everything from milking machines to today's robot vacuums. Some examples of robots we might see in the future (such as human-like robot playmates and robot dogs) are also included.

The rhythm of the text is quite nice, and there's plenty to look at in the pictures. This would be a great book for kids who are interested in robots and technology.

Premise: 4/5
Meter: 4/5
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 3.57 out of 5

Review - Exit Strategy

Exit Strategy (The Murderbot Diaries #4)
by Martha Wells
Date: 2018
Publisher: Tor.com
Reading level: A
Book type: prose novella
Pages: 160
Format: e-book
Source: library

The fourth and final part of the Murderbot Diaries series that began with All Systems Red.

Murderbot wasn’t programmed to care. So, its decision to help the only human who ever showed it respect must be a system glitch, right?

Having traveled the width of the galaxy to unearth details of its own murderous transgressions, as well as those of the GrayCris Corporation, Murderbot is heading home to help Dr. Mensah—its former owner (protector? friend?)—submit evidence that could prevent GrayCris from destroying more colonists in its never-ending quest for profit.

But who’s going to believe a SecUnit gone rogue?

And what will become of it when it’s caught?

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I hate to say it, but... I think my crush on Murderbot is over. While I loved the first book in the series, the subsequent installments have been getting weaker and weaker, culminating in this book, 160 pages that felt more like 610.

Murderbot's voice is what makes these books, and is the only reason I'm not rating this any lower. It's always been snarky and defeatist, but still likeable. That, combined with great action scenes and an interesting plot, is what made the first book really shine. Its interactions with secondary characters, especially the bots (ART in the second book and Miki in the third), were great to see. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of interaction with other characters in Exit Strategy for a good portion of the book, which basically reads as a list of all the different ways Murderbot is hacking drones and trying to keep itself out of security feeds. It tells us, in boring detail, every little thing it does. I could offer some quotes, but then you'd be just as bored as I was.

Things pick up a little when Murderbot reunites with its friends from the first book, but even then, the characterization feels thin, as if we're supposed to just remember these characters from three books ago (my recollection isn't that good, especially when they're all identified by surnames). Its feelings about Mensah are intriguing, and that aspect of their relationship could've been explored more. But, just like Murderbot who tries to run from its feelings, the book kind of did the same thing.

None of these books have as much action (showing) as the first book, relying instead on Murderbot's internal monologues (telling). Reading this was kind of excruciating at times. Yes, we needed to know what it was doing, but at times I almost felt like I was reading a spaceship's maintenance manual. When the climax finally arrived, it wasn't nearly as spectacular as I thought it could be, given that we're dealing with space and airlocks and threatening robots running around with very dangerous weapons. The climax was pretty anticlimactic, in fact, and the resolution read like little more than a lead-in to the full-length novel that the author is supposedly writing.

The writing is weaker here, and the editing is pretty bad in spots. The book even manages to spell the name of one of the corporations wrong, which is something that could've been easily caught by a spell checker with a custom dictionary. I'm so tired of reading books that can't be bothered to keep names consistent; we have word-processing software now, with search and replace functions. It's not that hard.

So, I was disappointed, to say the least. I wish the series had ended with All Systems Red (the first book), because each book has successively raised my disappointment levels. Exit Strategy is an appropriate title, because it almost seems like the author didn't know what to do with the wonderful premise, characters, and storyline she set up in the first book; as a result, this final installment seemed like a convenient, rushed way to wrap things up.

Sorry, Murderbot. You lost me.

Quotable moment:

Something was overwhelming me, and it wasn't the familiar wave of not-caring.

Fine, I sent. I sounded sulky, because I was sulky.

I hate emotions.

Premise: 3/5
Plot: 2/5
Characters: 2/5
Pace: 1/5
Writing: 3/5
Editing: 2/5
Originality: 2/5
Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall Rating: 2.13 out of 5 ladybugs

Review - Artificial Condition

Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries #2)
by Martha Wells
Date: 2018
Publisher: Tor.com
Reading level: A
Book type: prose novella
Pages: 176
Format: e-book
Source: library

It has a dark past – one in which a number of humans were killed. A past that caused it to christen itself "Murderbot".

But it has only vague memories of the massacre that spawned that title, and it wants to know more.

Teaming up with a Research Transport vessel named ART (you don't want to know what the "A" stands for), Murderbot heads to the mining facility where it went rogue.

What it discovers will forever change the way it thinks...

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I'm so glad my library got this e-book, because I just couldn't bring myself to pay full price for a novella, no matter how much I love the main character. Murderbot is back, with its unique voice and wry observations about humanity. This time, though, it's joined by another artificial intelligence named ART, who is probably my second favourite character in this installment.

As a sequel, this story is fine, but it's kind of lacking in action, especially compared to the first book. Murderbot takes on three young clients who hire it as a security consultant for a trip to a mining planet; but it has ulterior motives, since it wants to get to the planet itself and investigate what really happened when it supposedly lost its mind and slaughtered a whole bunch of humans.

The revelations about the massacre weren't all that interesting, and I have to wonder if that's the end of that thread or if there's more to it. At the end of the installment, Murderbot's off to carry out another plan (which we as readers have no knowledge of), and I'm curious to find out what will happen next.

Murderbot is a good enough character that I still enjoyed this, but I hope there's a little more action in the third and fourth books. And I hope we get to see ART again at some point! (It's really not as much of an "A" as Murderbot seems to think.)

Quotable moment:

Granted, it would have been hard to show realistic SecUnits in visual media, which would involve depicting hours of standing around in brain-numbing boredom, while your nervous clients tried to pretend you weren't there. But there weren't any depictions of SecUnits in books, either. I guess you can't tell a story from the point of view of something that you don't think has a point of view.

Premise: 4/5
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 5/5
Pace: 3/5
Writing: 3/5
Editing: 3/5
Originality: 4/5
Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall Rating: 3.63 out of 5 ladybugs

Review - All Systems Red

All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries #1)
by Martha Wells
Date: 2017
Publisher: Tor.com
Reading level: A
Book type: prose novella
Pages: 156
Format: e-book
Source: Tor.com

As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure.

In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.

But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn't a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied 'droid — a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as "Murderbot." Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.

But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I've had this novella on my want-to-read list for a while, so when the opportunity to read it for free came up, I couldn't say no. I managed to blow through it in a few hours, which is unusual for me. But the pace was so fast and the story so intriguing that I couldn't stop for long without wanting to get back in and find out what happened next.

The strength of this book is really Murderbot itself. The story is told from its perspective, and it's an interesting one. It's so convinced it's just a machine, continually reminding others, and trying very hard (it seems) to convince itself of that fact. But it has emotions and attachments, little quirks that make it evident that it's not just a robot.

The pace was so quick, and the story managed to pack a lot of action into relatively few pages. I'm very glad that this is just the first book in a series, though, because the ending was kind of unsatisfying and a little confusing.

I can't wait to find out what happens next in Murderbot's life (and will the poor thing ever get a proper name?).

Quotable moment:

I yelled, "No!" which I'm not supposed to do; I'm always supposed to speak respectfully to the clients, even when they're about to accidentally commit suicide.

Premise: 5/5
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Pace: 5/5
Writing: 4/5
Editing: 3/5
Originality: 4/5
Enjoyment: 5/5

Overall Rating: 4.38 out of 5 ladybugs

Review - One Trick Pony

One Trick Pony
by Nathan Hale
Date: 2017
Publisher: Amulet Books
Reading level: MG
Book type: graphic novel
Pages: 128
Format: e-book
Source: library

The aliens have arrived. And they’re hungry for electricity. In the Earth of the future, humans are on the run from an alien force—giant blobs who suck up electrical devices wherever they can find them. Strata and her family are part of a caravan of digital rescuers, hoping to keep the memory of civilization alive by saving electronics wherever they can. Many humans have reverted to a pre-electrical age, and others have taken advantage of the invasion to become dangerous bandits and outlaws. When Strata and her brother are separated from the caravan, they must rely on a particularly beautiful and rare robot pony to escape the outlaws and aliens—and defeat the invaders once and for all.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

First, let's get the weirdly sexist blurb out of the way. This book is not about Strata and her brother. In fact, it's not even just Strata and her brother who get separated from the caravan. Their male friend is with them as well. I have no idea why the blurb makes it sound like a brother/sister act, because in reality, Strata saves the day while the boys do nothing helpful; in fact, they manage to get themselves captured and nearly killed.

So, setting that aside, what do we have? A pretty entertaining graphic novel. It's funny that I picked this up at the same time as Doug TenNapel's Ghostopolis. Both had a sequence with an unusual horse saving its teenage rider from a group of monsters using the exact same trick. The panels were almost identical! Whether Hale read Ghostopolis and decided to use the same sequence, I don't know; I just thought it was an amusing coincidence.

Unlike Ghostopolis, this is a darker story, even though it's intended for a younger audience. The post-apocalyptic landscape was creepy, and the aliens (called pipers because of the pi-pi-pi noise they make) were downright horrifying. I'm kind of glad this one was done with a monochromatic scheme, because full colour might've given me nightmares.

The story was quite imaginative, and I liked the whole idea of the world that was built here. I do have one major complaint with the story, however, and that was the ending. It was way too abrupt. If there was ever a book that needed an epilogue, it's this one.

My other complaint is about a minor (but still irritating) issue. This graphic novel had the smallest text I've seen so far. I couldn't even read it on a 21" monitor without having to zoom in. That's part of the reason why it took me so long to get through it, even though it's fairly short. Zoom, scroll, click... It was kind of a waste of time. And it's not like there wasn't room for larger text. I have a feeling that if I'd read this in physical form, I would've needed a magnifying glass.

All in all, this is a cool story with decent characters and some wonderfully horrible villains. Oh, and a title that makes perfect sense once you read the book. But I won't spoil that for you. Go check it out for yourself!

Plot: 4/5
Characters: 3/5
Pace: 3/5
Writing & Editing: 3/5
Illustration: 3/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall Rating: 3.25 out of 5 ladybugs

Review - Wires and Nerve, Volume 1

Wires and Nerve, Volume 1 (Wires and Nerve #1)
by Marissa Meyer
illustrated by Douglas Holgate
Date: 2017
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Reading level: YA
Book type: graphic novel
Pages: 238
Format: e-book
Source: library

When rogue packs of wolf-hybrid soldiers threaten the tenuous peace alliance between Earth and Luna, Iko takes it upon herself to hunt down the soldiers' leader. She is soon working with a handsome royal guard who forces her to question everything she knows about love, loyalty, and her own humanity. With appearances by Cinder and the rest of the Rampion crew, this is a must-have for fans of the series.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

First, a disclaimer: I'm not a huge fan of The Lunar Chronicles. In fact, I could only push myself to get through the first two books. But since I'm on a graphic novel kick at the moment, I thought I'd give this one a try.

Presumably, you don't have to have read any of the books in the other series for this one to make sense. All the characters are introduced at the beginning, and we're given a basic run-down of the events that took place in TLC. So even though I hadn't read Cress or Winter, I still understood what was going on.

Unfortunately, however, I just didn't care what was going on. The whole thing fell kind of flat for me, and I think that if I hadn't read Cinder and Scarlet, it would've been even worse. The characters are so underdeveloped that it made it really hard to care about them (especially the ones I wasn't familiar with). Iko herself was actually one of the worst. I knew her as a fun little robot who loved to gossip and play dress-up and dream of a certain handsome prince. But that's not really what we get here. I'm assuming her personality is supposed to be the same as before, even though she's in a new body, but I didn't really get that. Maybe it's the graphic novel format, but I didn't think any of the characters were developed particularly well. Iko, as the main character, should have more personality; unfortunately, her character development seems to rely too much on her arc in TLC... so if you haven't read any of those books, she's probably going to come across as quite dull.

As for the plot... well, there sort of is one, but it cut off at the weirdest place, just after the main conflict had been set up. I don't know if this is a comic book thing or what, but it just seemed weird to me. I'm used to stories having some sort of resolution to the main plot; even if there's a cliffhanger, there are usually other ends that are tied up before the next book. That's not the case here. We're introduced to the main problem (which is pretty much summed up in the blurb for the next volume), and then the book just ends.

I wasn't a fan of the art. It seemed too simplistic, and way too comic-bookish. The onomatopoeia didn't need to be written out as much as it was. The text was difficult to read, even on a 21" monitor, so trying to read this one on an e-book reader would probably be next to impossible. I also didn't like the monochrome palette; it was kind of boring (though I've just come off of two beautifully illustrated, full-colour graphic novels, so that may be colouring my judgment a little).

All in all, this is a series that will probably only appeal to fans of The Lunar Chronicles. If you haven't read any of those books, I'd recommend doing so first before trying this series.

Plot: 2/5
Characters: 3/5
Pace: 2/5
Writing & Editing: 3/5
Illustration: 1/5
Originality: 2/5

Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall Rating: 2.13 out of 5 ladybugs