Hi everyone, this last post features an adorable graphic novel I found myself falling in love with. If you have a tween who has a penchant for sleuthing, adventures, and writing, then this is the read for them. Why not settle down and check below for my review…
Title: Cici’s journal: The adventures of a writer-in-training
Authors: Joris Chamblain & Aurélie Neyret
Genre: Fiction – contemporary (Graphic Novel)
ISBN: 9781626722484 (Hardcover)
Publication details: First Second; NY, 2017
What this book is about: Cici dreams of being a novelist. She keeps a journal for her notes, scrapbook pieces, and doodles about the mysteries she encounters every day. Her favourite subject? People, especially grown-ups. Everyone has their own special secret, Cici figures, and the only way to understand someone is to find out what that secret is. But when Cici’s obsession with a new mystery leads to her lying to her mother and abusing her friendships, the only way for her to set things right is to turn her writer’s eye inward – and learn to understand Cici a little better.
My review: What a delightful little read this was!! All about young Cici’s adventures with her friends as she solves mysteries of people around her. I really loved the images and the old-timey feel to them. Despite the limited colour palette used, we see quite a bit of Cici’s character and personality. I found myself enjoying Cici’s mysteries and the relationship she has with her mother and those bonds she makes with the young friends in her life. The different formats we see here; journal entries, drawings, newspaper clippings and the graphic novel pages make this a complex and layered read. The fact that this is actually three stories in one makes it a sort of compendium and I couldn’t help but feel like I wanted more. I believe there is a sequel in Cici’s journal: Lost and Found but it’s somewhere deep in my TBR so it might take a while for that review to surface.
My rating: 4 ⭐
Miss Mahee's Library of Reads 