Graphic Novel Review – News Prints by Ru Xu (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Middle Grade/YA
Genre: Steampunk/Graphic Novel
Length: 208 pages
Publisher: GRAPHIX
Release Date: January 31, 2017
ISBN-13: 978-0545803120
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the News Prints series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars
“Blue is an orphan who disguises herself as a newsboy. There’s a war going on, and girls are expected to help the struggling economy by selling cookies. But Blue loves living and working at the Bugle, the only paper in town that tells the truth. And what’s printed in the newspapers now matters more than ever.
But Blue struggles with her secret, and worries that if her friends and adopted family at the Bugle find out that she’s a girl, she’ll lose everything and everyone she cares about. And when she meets and befriends Crow, a boy who is also not what he seems, together they seek the freedom to be their true selves… and to save each other.”
I got this from the library to read, I just happened to see it in the children’s graphic novel section and thought it looked interesting. This ended up being a fun read set in an interesting steampunkish world.
Blue is a girl secretly doing a job that’s meant for boys only. In midst of defending her paper route she bumps into a strange inventor who offers her a job as an apprentice. Then she runs into a strange boy named Crow who is hiding from his true purpose.
I really enjoyed the characters in this book; they were fun to read about and engaging. I loved the world as well; it’s a unique blend of fantasy and steampunk elements. The story was fast-paced and easy to follow; I had trouble putting this book down.
The illustration was really well done, again it was easy to follow and full of beautiful full-color images. I really enjoyed the illustration style and thought it matched the story well.
My 10 year old son really loved this book as well; he loved the action and the neat characters. So it’s endorsed by our household middle grade reader 🙂
Overall this was a fun and fast-paced graphic novel with an engaging story, an interesting world, and fun characters. I would definitely recommend to those who enjoy fantasy/steampunk graphic novels. This is one of those graphic novels that both kids and adults will enjoy.
This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– New Release Reading Challenge
– Graphic Novel Reading Challenge
– Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge
– Steampunk Reading Challenge
– YA Reading Challenge
