Brainstorm 298: Kindhearted Questers in Beautifully Illustrated Worlds

For this week’s Brainstorm I have 3 fantasy graphic novels that are filled with imaginative and eye-catching artwork (you are completely justified in picking up any of these just to gaze at the illustrations), and feature characters who embody faithful friendship, kindness, and perseverance. Click on the titles to see my full review of each book and any content notes/trigger warnings.

The Girl & the Galdurian (Lightfall, #1) by Tim Probert

Bea is the adopted granddaughter of the Pig Wizard. So far her life has mostly involved helping her grandfather find ingredients for his potions that help those in the area. But one day she has an accident while out collecting ingredients, she's rescued by a creature claiming to be a Galdurian (who Bea thought were long-extinct) who is looking for her grandfather to help translate some scrolls which may tell him where the rest of his kind went, but when they return they find that the Pig Wizard went to check some seal he'd forgotten to check in ages. Bea is very worried because her grandfather's memory isn't what it used to be and he shouldn't be out on his own. Bea and the Galdurian (and Bea's cat) set out to find her grandfather and uncover way more adventure than they anticipated.

Book 2 in this series is now out and we'll be waiting for a little while for book 3.

Target Readers:

Fantasy Fans, Quest Adventure Fans, Art Lovers, Dystopia Fans, Mystery Fans, Graphic Novel Fans, Middle Grade Readers

 

Poiko: Quests & Stuff by Brian Middleton

Poiko the lion and Kensie the bat are best friends and business partners. They run a quest delivery service for those packages that require a little more daring to deliver. Kensie is trying to get them to improve their punctuality, but he also doesn't want to hamper Poiko from being Poiko and helping anyone along the way who needs help. Follow along as they try to fulfill their orders, eat Kensie's sandwiches to sustain them along the way, and also stay true to their hearts.

Target Readers:

Fantasy Fans, Quest Adventure Fans, Art Lovers, Graphic Novel Fans, Imaginative World Fans, Friendship Story Fans, Sandwich Devourers, Kindness Story Fans, Middle Grade Readers & Young Adult Readers

Twig, Vol. 1 by Skottie Young, ill. by Kyle Strahm, colors by Jean-Francois Beaulieu

Twig is the new Placeling. It is a very important job, but one he had no plans to take on. However, when his dad, the former Placeling, died without an apprentice, Twig was the only one in the world with the kind of information necessary to do the job well. So he's off on his quest to place the item that will allow the Chosen One to save the world. Only things are not going well, from oversleeping on his first day of the job, to breaking the special item and needing to go on a side quest to fix it, poor Twig isn't sure he's cut out to follow in his father's footsteps. Thankfully he has his friend Splat along to help (the little yellow creature on the cover).

Twig is such a likable hero. He has a very important mission, but he has a heart for the creatures he meets along the way.

Target Readers:

Fantasy Fans, Quest Adventure Fans, Art Lovers, Graphic Novel Fans, Friendship Story Fans, Mythical Creature Fans, Imaginative Worlds Fans, Background Hero Fans, Kindness Story Fans, Young Adult Readers (though approachable to many Middle Grade Readers)

Brainstorm 297: Jules Verne Rewrites

For this week’s Brainstorm I have some Jules Verne rewrites for you, authors who put a fresh spin on or continue one of Verne’s stories. For those unfamiliar with the French novelist, he was one of the fathers of modern science fiction and dreamed up incredibly innovative tech that inspired several modern inventions as well as launching globe trotters trying to break his fictional Phileas Fogg’s 80 day circumnavigation trip, like journalist Nellie Bly (who stopped to meet him on her journey…check out Eighty Days by Matthew Goodman for that story). You can read a short biography of Verne from Encyclopedia Britannica here. Click on the titles to see my full review of each title including any content notes/trigger warnings. 

Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan

Ana Dakkar and the rest of the Harding-Pencroft Academy's freshmen class finds their world rocked when the academy is taken out by rival Land Institute's torpedos while they are out on a field trip. Ana and others have lost older siblings and friends in the attack. They only have 1 teacher with him, and he is very sick. Before he passes out, Dr. Hewett reveals that the purpose of their field trip on the boat was to slowly show them that the school guards a big secret, the people and technology in Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues under the Sea and The Mysterious Island were real and the amazing tech was created by Ana's ancestor, Captain Nemo, aka Prince Dakkar. The school safeguards much of the tech, while some has been leaked to the world when they deemed it ready. Land Institute also knows about much of the tech and believes it should all be released to the world. Their attack shows to what lengths they'll go to get their hands on it. They want the Nautilus and Nemo's other inventions located at the not-so-destroyed island where Harding and Pencroft met the dying Nemo. As the last of the Dakkars, Ana is the only one who can unlock the coordinates to that island, which is the best bet for safety for her and her 19 classmates. But it is also where her parents died trying to access the Nautilus. And though they have cloaking mechanisms, LI is hot on their tail. Can Ana and her classmates run a ship by themselves, outwit Land Institute, and keep the Nemo tech out of their hands?

This is a stand alone scifi adventure that incorporates a lot of details from 20,000 Leagues under the Sea as well as its lesser known sequel, The Mysterious Island.

Target Readers:

Scifi Fans, Adventure Fans, Mystery Fans, Thriller Fans, Survival Story Fans, Indian American Character Fans, Family Secrets Story Fans, Upper Middle Grade Readers/YA Readers

 

Fire the Depths (Max Tilt, #1) by Peter Lerangis

Max Tilt is trying to cope with the fact that his mom is not well again and his dad is taking her to the Mayo clinic. That isn’t easy for anyone, let alone a boy who is neurodivergent. His older cousin Alex isn't exactly who he'd choose to come stay with him, but she may be just the person he needs. She starts going through the family's mail and realizes they are about to lose electricity tomorrow, and the house very soon if they don't do something. The two cousins start scrounging the house for anything they can sell to make money and stumble across a chest that once belonged to their many greats uncle, the author Jules Verne. A man shows up overly eager to get his hands on the chest, but by that time Alex and Max have found a secret compartment and the start of a message from Jules about a treasure. They are soon on the road to find Verne's treasure with this man, Spencer Niemand, close on their trail. And it seems Spencer Niemand wants the treasure very, very badly.

This is a 3 book series that mixes in details from Verne’s books into the treasure hunt the 2 cousins are on.

Target Readers:

Treasure Hunt Fans, Adventure Fans, Mystery Fans, Scifi Fans, Neurodivergent Character Fans, Cousin Story Fans, Middle Grade Readers

 

Young Captain Nemo (Young Captain Nemo, #1) by Jason Henderson

The descendants of the infamous Captain Nemo now get to decide what to do with his inventions, wealth, and tech. Gabriel's sister, Nerissa, has decided to follow in her ancestor's footsteps and take out those who hunt endangered species or violate environmental policies. Gabriel's parents choose to do research at their headquarters on the ocean floor. Gabriel goes to school in California (at the insistence of his parents) and in his free time goes on clandestine rescue missions with two friends in his secret sub. When Nerissa asks Gabriel for his help in saving a newly discovered ocean creature from being destroyed by the US Navy, he quickly cooks up a way to go and see what can be done with his crew. But what if they've bitten off more than they can chew? These creatures are huge, they have strange, potentially deadly abilities, and they don't know that Gabriel and his crew are trying to help.

This is a 3 book series, and I really enjoyed how Henderson incorporated some of Verne’s lesser known works into the plot. I also like how he wove in complex issues, like what to do with troublesome apex predators or ocean pollution. These issues are presented from multiple points of view so readers can chew on them with Gabriel and his friends as they try to come up with feasible solutions that will help without hurting.

Target Readers:

Scifi Fans, Adventure Fans, Mystery Fans, Fans of Stories to Get You Thinking, Friendship Story Fans, Family Secret Story Fans, Indian Character Fans, Middle Grade Readers