Graphic Novels

Graphic novels often get a bad reputation for being "childish" or "less serious" than traditional novels, but they offer many under-recognized benefits that make them suitable for readers of all ages.

One benefit that graphic novels provide is how they combine art and simple narrative text to make it easier for readers to visualize the scenes and the characters. Instead of having sensory words to describe the setting, the illustrations get the job done. The illustrations further guide readers to understand and feel the characters’ emotions in a way that pure text can’t convey. Additionally, the facial expressions, body language, and color schemes set the tone for the plot, creating an emotional connection between the novel and the reader.

The concept of graphic novels appeals to a wide audience of readers; from younger readers to avid readers that want a quick, fresh, easy read, making them accessible to those of varying literacy levels. Plus, such books have less text than traditional books, making them less overwhelming.

From a young age, I enjoyed graphic novels, particularly the ones that Raina Telgemeier wrote, such as the Baby Sitters’ Club series, Sisters, Drama, and Guts. Using simple vocabulary and avoiding complex sentence structures, those books were easy to comprehend as a young reader.

All in all, graphic novels offer a unique blend of visual and textual storytelling that engages a wide range of readers, and widens the horizons of complex themes in an emotionally impactful way.

The Cruel Prince: Final thoughts

     Hi guys! Two weeks ago I finally finished The Cruel Prince (that took forever)...and last time I posted, I also talked about The Cruel Prince. I guess this post is more of final conclusions/thoughts on this book since last time it was about the dynamics between the MC’s. A heads up, there will be spoilers in this post!! (skip to the 2nd to last paragraph if you don’t want spoilers) 

    To start us off, Jude and Cardan ended up building a better friendship as we head to the end of the story. Honestly Jude did some rather questionable things to fulfill her plan of setting up the throne to be handed to her younger brother in the future, but I have a lot of respect for the fact she went through all of these things to do so. First, she kidnapped Cardan and somewhat held him hostage while discussing her plan, then she drugged Madoc so he wouldn’t interfere with her plan. For some context, I’m about to say, “the other spies”, and before Prince Dain (Cardan’s brother) was murdered he had set out to have these spies help him learn more secrets from the royal family and help him get to the throne. Then when she fought/drugged Madoc, the other spies set out to restrain Balekin so they could get the crown to give to Oak (Jude’s little brother). The purpose of this was to crown Cardan King rather than have Balekin remain King, then towards the future have Oak take over whenever Cardan’s reign finishes.  

    Overall, that is the main idea of the plan, and there are a few other things that happen in the remaining part of the book I didn’t discuss either time I yapped about this book. The rest of this post is just going to be my thoughts on the book as a whole, and who I recommend it to. 1. There were some plot twists that I did NOT intend to happen, 2. Jude is a great influence (totally), 3. some parts were a little confusing but that could just be me.  I had some sort of background information about the book from some friends and the internet, but other than that I didn’t know that much about this book. In general, I think that all of the attention online for The Cruel Prince is there for a reason, even though it took a while to read it was very enjoyable. The descriptions of the characters as well as the display of their characteristics was clearly presented and amusing. For me I thought that the pacing of the book was well laid out, but a couple places where it seemed to slow down a bit. Those places were usually where something significant was occurring, and extra details before continuing were crucial.  

    In general, if you like fantasy and action I think you would be fond of this book! There is a lot of thought and a bit of suspense that is intertwined within the entire storyline and there’s also more books to continue Cardan and Jude’s story. I’ve started the 2nd book, and so far its been surely rather compelling. I think I’ve yapped enough...so hopefully I can brainstorm ideas for later. 

                    -Chloe B.🦆