Rosh's Reviews

AUTHOR: Amanda Lovelace ILLUSTRATOR: Raquel Travé GENRE: Graphic Novel PUBLICATION DATE: August 25, 2026 RATING: 2.5 stars. In a Nutshell: The debut graphic novel offering by the prolific poet. A sugary-sweet Sapphic romance with Pride rep and some important themes. Stays true to the title by containing books, coffee, and a more than healthy side of adorable dragons. Episodic in structure, which makes it lack depth. Includes darker themes but they are just brushed upon. Might work better for younger readers. Was a bit too superficial for my taste, though. Plot Preview: In the scenic Sea Witch Cove, Luci runs Little Lighthouse Books, an indie bookstore, with her assistant August and her pet dragon for company. Next door to the bookstore is a coffee shop run by Aster, who also has a pet dragon. Luci has a secret crush on Aster, and this summer, those one-sided feelings are about to turn into a sweet relationship, cheered on by August and the dragons. The combination of author, that cozy ...

AUTHOR: Patrick Horvath SERIES: Beneath the Trees Compilation #2 GENRE: Horror Graphic Novel PUBLICATION DATE: July 21, 2026 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A sequel to the acclaimed horror graphic comic series. Excellent plot and character development, though both might be difficult to gauge for readers who pick up this book without reading the earlier one. Even darker than the first, but thankfully, not more gory. A great continuation, but not for those looking for justifications or closure. Has potential for a sequel. Must be read in series order. Recommended! Plot Preview: Many years after the horrifying events that plagued the small town of Woodbrook, Samantha Strong, now popular as the local hero who saved the townsfolk from a serial killer, still runs her shop. In the nearby city, Monica Brewer has spent the same period looking for information about her missing brother who vanished eight years ago without a trace. When she receives an anonymous tip with his possible location, sh...

AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR: Lou Lubie GENRE: Graphic Novel PUBLICATION DATE: May 5, 2026 RATING: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: An adult graphic novel about a girl coming to terms with her hair and her identity. Great plot, steady pacing, wonderful themes, powerful message. Excellent use of ‘hair’ to discuss several societal and feminine issues. The illustrations are perfect for the story. Much recommended. Plot Preview: Rose is a young mixed-race Creole girl growing up on Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean. She hates her excessively kinky hair and the torture of maintaining it. As soon as she is allowed to, she begins straightening it. Even after moving to mainland France for higher studies, she remains obsessed with fitting in especially where hair is concerned. But after a point, she begins questioning why only curly hair has to go through so much discrimination. The story comes to us in Rose’s first-person perspective. This graphic novel, originally published in French under the title “Ra...

AUTHOR: Peter S. Beagle ADAPTOR: Peter B. Gillis ILLUSTRATORS: Renae De Liz & Ray Dillon SERIES: The Last Unicorn Comics 1-6. GENRE: Graphic Novel PUBLICATION DATE: January 25, 2011 RATING: 2 stars. In a Nutshell: A graphic novel adaptation of the classic fantasy story. Fabulous illustrations, but the story execution was too uneven to comprehend well. Perhaps I'd have liked this better had I read the actual novel instead of this illustrated version. This is an outlier review. Plot Preview: A beautiful unicorn has been living around in a forest for as long as she can remember. But when she overhears some wandering humans talking, she finds out that they believe there are no other unicorns in the world. To know the truth of whether she is indeed the last unicorn, she sets out on a journey. But it turns out to be a far more dangerous and revelatory quest than she had anticipated. The fifty-year-old children's classic novel was adapted in a comic series of six volumes. This gra...

AUTHOR: Jo Ellen Bogart ILLUSTRATOR: Maja Kastelic GENRE: Children's Picture Book PUBLICATION DATE: October 5, 2021 RATING: 3 stars. In a Nutshell: A wordless picture book about a little boy and a gargoyle. Cute story, but leaves a lot of room for interpretation. Amazing illustrations. Recommended, but mainly for adult-child buddy reading. Plot Preview : Anthony lives with his parents in a house full of photos. One day, a “rock” in Anthony’s room cracks open, to reveal a strange but friendly creature inside. When Anthony asks his mother about the rock, she shows him the photo album of their trip of Paris. Anthony realises that his new friend resembles the gargoyles at the Notre-Dame Cathedral. He shows the photos to the little gargoyle as well. And when they get a chance to go to Paris to visit his ailing grandma, Anthony makes sure that they find the gargoyle who resembles the baby gargoyle the most. I am not usually fond of wordless picture books, but the presence of the word ‘ga...

AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR: Melani Sie GENRE: Graphic Novel Comic SERIES: Milk & Mocha, #2 RATING: 3.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A comics collection featuring the adorable duo Milk and Mocha. Cute and light, but also repetitive and somewhat bland. The second book featuring Milk and Mocha. While this isn't bad, it also isn't memorable. I liked the first one better. Milk and Mocha are the creations of Indonesian comic artist Melani Sie. This duo is quite popular on social media and are recognisable faces in several memes. However, reading a single comic is one thing and reading an entire comic collection is another. The first book of the Milk & Mocha collection had the tagline “Our Little Happiness”. As such, it had a happier vibe, highlighting how little joys enhance our life. This book focusses on “Our Little Moments”. While the introductory note about the significance of little moments is amazing, the change in focus also means that the comics in this book are a little unde...

AUTHOR: Jennie Wood GENRE: YA Graphic Novel PUBLICATION DATE: April 28, 2026 RATING: 2.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A YA graphic novel dealing with an important topic – the online exploitation of children by influencer parents. The intent is fabulous but the execution needs finetuning. Uni-dimensional characters. Too cluttered with subplots, too aggressive about certain themes, too deliberate about inclusive representation. Decent illustrations. This has all the negatives of typical YA writing, but I guess I can’t hold this against the book as it is meant to be YA. I still appreciate the purpose behind the storyline but I wish it had stuck to the central theme instead of spreading itself thin. Might work better for YA readers. Plot Preview: Daisy is tired of her mom sharing every single detail of her life on her mom blog, even when Daisy refuses. So when she gets invited to an online group called “Not Your Baby Anymore”, she hesitates only a little before joining. This group comprises some ...

AUTHOR: Remy Lai GENRE: Graphic Novel PUBLICATION DATE: January 14, 2025 RATING: 3 stars. In a Nutshell: A middle-grade graphic novel about a teen girl's chickenpox quarantine time with her younger siblings. Partly biographical. Great sibling dynamics and chickenpox info. 😉 Hit or miss on the other themes. A decent option for the target age group. Plot Preview: Once upon a time, Abby had wished for a younger sibling. But after her parents have given her FOUR younger siblings, the twelve-year-old has had enough! She's tired of being the responsible eldest child and fed up of her siblings’ immaturity. She tries to spend as much time away from home as possible, either at school or going out with her best friends. But when all five siblings get chickenpox, Abby faces a horrifying truth: she needs to stay quarantined in the house with those *animals*! How will she survive without losing her sanity? The story is written in Abby's first-person perspective. I have heard a lot abou...

AUTHOR: Robert Mgrdich Apelian GENRE: Graphic Novel PUBLICATION DATE: January 20, 2026 RATING: 2.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A YA-Fantasy graphic novel inspired partly by Armenian and Persian mythology. A complex storyline that takes some time to come together. Some unexplained plot points. Intricate artwork but monochrome colouring. This might work better if read through a physical copy. Plot Preview: Seventeen-year-old Katah has always felt like an outsider in his family because he’s the only one with no talent for cooking. Unlike his much older siblings, he is also too young to have known his late father who was a legendary Hye chef in the Pars empire. At present, Katah is the sole caregiver for his sick mother, so when his vision-like dreams lead him to find a powerful div, he hopes to use its magic to save his mother’s life. But magical deals are complex and never one-sided. As Katah attempts to meet the div’s condition with the help of his siblings, he realises that he might have wa...

AUTHOR: Lauren Haldeman GENRE: Comics Collection PUBLICATION DATE: March 10, 2026 RATING: 2 stars. In a Nutshell: A “diary comic” collection by the poet-artist. Covers random musings, confessions, and funny moments from routine life. Hazy in its purpose and disjointed in execution, hence leading to a lacklustre reading experience. I had expected far better from the blurb. The blurb tells us that the author is an award-winning poet and that this book offers “a fresh, humorous, and emotionally resonant perspective on the wonders and weirdness of everyday life.” This tempted me to give this book a try. I mean, we do see plenty of the weirdness on display in real life these days, but it would have been great to look at the wonders as well. Sadly, the book doesn’t exactly do justice to this claim. The blurb also calls this a ‘debut book from an exciting new voice in comics’, but this also is inaccurate. The author already has a couple of published graphic novels to her name. (Unless the blu...

AUTHOR: Nadine Takvorian GENRE: Graphic Memoir PUBLICATION DATE: March 10, 2026 RATING: 3.5 stars. In a Nutshell: An OwnVoices graphic memoir offering some insights into the Armenian genocide. The intent is worth appreciating; the content needs more detailing. Good illustrations, but I didn’t like the colour scheme. A valiant attempt at highlighting a part of history that’s never discussed. Recommended for awareness. Not an easy read. In September 2025, I read Pablo Leon’s ‘Silenced Voices: Reclaiming Memories from the Guatemalan Genocide’ , a graphic novel highlighting a genocide in Guatemala I had never heard of. When I saw this book, I was stunned that yet another graphic memoir has opted to showcase a genocide that doesn’t get attention anywhere. It makes me wonder how many mass massacres throughout history have actually been brushed under the table or even been denied their occurrence as propaganda. Kudos to such graphic novelists for making their voices heard and showing the trut...

AUTHOR: Thomas Nowak ILLUSTRATOR: Alberto Miranda GENRE: Humour PUBLICATION DATE: March 3, 2026 RATING: 3.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A collection of Dad jokes. Mix of puns, riddles, and smart one-liners. Some jokes were familiar to me, but many were new. Some were a bit too esoteric, especially for children. If you love Dad jokes, you'll find some great ones in this book. Better suited to adults. My younger daughter is fond of dad jokes, and we have a gala time at home cracking each other up with our quips. As such, when I saw this book listed on NetGalley, I immediately asked her if she wanted me to get it and read it together. There wasn’t even a moment’s hesitation before her ‘Yes!’ rang out. We ended up having a lot of fun with this buddy read, but also wished some things were different. The book starts with a humorous dedication – the perfect start to a joke collection. It then moves on to the jokes, with the table of contents indicating the ten topic areas the jokes are distribu...

AUTHOR: Cherry Zong GENRE: Graphic Novel PUBLICATION DATE: January 13, 2026 RATING: 3 stars. In a Nutshell: An upper-YA graphic novel loosely derived from the fairytale of "Little Red Riding Hood." Not a retelling. Decent story but too meandering. Interesting characters, but not everyone is explored well. A good read, but could have been shorter and better. Plot Preview: Nineteen-year-old Red, a skilled hunter, has devoted her entire life to helping her grandmother, a witch trying to save the forest they live in from a strange rot that keeps spreading despite their efforts. Red's task is to locate the creatures known as ‘nawa’, kill them, and take their bodies to her grandmother for exorcism and deliverance. With no other humans still living in the forest, Red is quite lonely. But one day, she bumps into an injured wolf-girl named Sil. As the two of them move towards a hesitant friendship, Red uncovers some dark secrets about everything she's known. I'm not that f...

AUTHOR: Victoria Grace Elliott GENRE: Graphic Nonfiction PUBLICATION DATE: November 30, 2021 RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A graphical non-fiction exploring the development of popular desserts. Contains a good mix of history, pseudo-interviews, stories, and recipes. Quite comprehensive and entertaining. A tempting [pun intended!] read for those with a sweet tooth. 😄 If you ask various people what they consider the yummiest dish, chances are that a majority of the responses you receive will mention some or the other dessert. Even those of us who don't have a sweet tooth enjoy at least some dessert once in a while. Cakes, ice-creams, donuts, pies,… ( gulab jamun, kulfi, and kaju katli for my desi friends 🤤) – there is at least one dessert we like, if not love. But have you ever thought about how these desserts came into being? This graphical book aims to enlighten and entertain you at the same time on the scrumptious topic of desserts. There are eight chapters in this book, cover...

AUTHOR: Ben Argon GENRE: Graphic Comic, Philosophy PUBLICATION DATE: April 14, 2020 RATING: Can't decide! A look at Jean-Paul Sartre's existentialist philosophy through comics. Interesting use of a rat narrator to explain the rat race rushing behind 'cheese'. Covers several abstract concepts such as life and death, freedom, choice, and the meaning of life. All are elaborated upon in an accessible way, with some good metaphors and a few thought-provoking lines. ( "The world is different if we are different." - 💯) However, the explanation gets repetitive after a while. I am not sure if this is attributable to the original philosophy or the rat metaphor that is, quite literally, stuck in a maze. This wasn’t exactly my cup of tea because I am severely allergic to philosophy. The humour and the easy-going writing made it somewhat palatable, but the topic itself and the repetitiveness of the theory also led to a heaviness in the head while reading. This might be a...

AUTHOR: Jen Storm ILLUSTRATOR: Ryan Howe GENRE: YA Graphic Novel PUBLICATION DATE: September 3, 2024 RATING: 2 stars. In a Nutshell: A YA graphic novel about an Ojibwe family trying to navigate life after a tragedy. Had great potential, but couldn’t capitalize on it. I appreciate the intent, but the execution felt a bit cluttered and half-baked. The ending could go either way for readers. Not a happy story. Plot Preview: Ever since Reanna’s sister Chelsea went missing after school, her family hasn’t been the same. Struggling to find closure, each member copes in a different way, with some drifting apart and some coming closer, some seeking a change and some finding comfort in the old and familiar. The story comes to us mostly in Reanna’s third-person perspective. I admire the theme of this book. Attempting to highlight the difficult topic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) deserves applause. However, the execution of the theme didn’t work that well for me. The key problem ...