I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own opinions.

For reasons unknown, I found K is in Trouble soothing and relaxing. My favorite part was the last square of each story. It's always anti-climate and familiar,

I hope K has more adventures because it works better than my medication for my anxiety

It would be wrong to say that this book doesn't take itself seriously. In fact, I'd say that it takes itself so seriously as to imply absurdity. Think Roald Dahl meets Edward Gorey. And it never attempts to explain itself. All of these odd things happen to K and we simply must accept them. Odd enough to warrant a second read.

A great graphic novel that I can relate to. Poor K can't do anything right! Wonderful illustrations and a good moral to the story.

K is in Trouble is a wonderful graphic novel by author and illustrator Gary Clements that reminds you of childhood.

It explores the way that nothing makes sense as a child, and how it's so easy to be wrong all the time, no matter how hard you try. Adults are ridiculous, but beetles are full of wisdom.

This is a delightful graphic novel.

K Is In Trouble is a middle grade graphic novel about a young boy named K. The book is divided into five separate stories in which K experiences a variety of unique adventures and mishaps. K manages to find trouble under the most innocent circumstances and is frequently misunderstood by the adults in his life. The stories are somewhat connected, especially with the overlap of the talking beetle, crow, and fish, however each section could also be enjoyed independently.

As a teacher and librarian, I appreciated the way the author incorporated complex vocabulary amid the simpler text. The story remains accessible to readers at various levels as they can utilize clues within the text and illustrations to determine word meaning. The illustrations themselves are fun and quirky. Overall, I found this graphic novel to be extremely unique and it will definitely stand out amid its peers on the shelf.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for the opportunity to review this title.

Darkly entertaining and rather depressing in a manner that I suspect will appeal more to adult readers. However, it is quite uniquely creative and a fast read with delightful art.

This was a fun, quirky graphic novel about a boy who always happens to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time. No matter what, the odds seemed stacked against him, but the absurdity of the strange situations makes it lighthearted. The art style reminds me of Miss Nelson is Missing, and I liked how this had several short stories within one book.

I love a good cathartic read for kids. Reading stories of other kids going through tough things helps kids contextualize and verbalize their feelings. Even if my kids have not experienced all of the things K does, or if they experience worse, the sympathy and self-expression this book can show is great!

This was a weird and kind of sad book. I think it was supposed to be funny, but it continued to be awkward and depressing. K was continually dismissed and ignored by students, teachers, adults, and his parents.

Poor K can't ever do anything right, no matter how hard he tries. He goes back to get his teacher's glasses during a field trip and is abandoned by the entire class, he gets locked out of his bedroom in the snow trying to get a drink of water, and he even gets outsmarted by a fish.
These little stories are hilarious and the pictures are perfect. Imagine mixing Kafka and Gorey and creating adorable children's stories, and you have this book. The age range is very young, but I am an older adult and I enjoyed it very much. I might read it again because it makes me smile. I really loved K and would enjoy reading more stories in his world.
Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this

This is a dark humorous story composed of different episodes where K tries to minimize the verbal abuse from the adults when completing a specific task that never goes well. Still... these feelings of loneliness, abandonment, fear, panic, doubt, shame... the character is trapped in an inflexive society and does his best to get by.

Cleverly illustrated the panels have a great rhythm showing different emotions: from claustrophobic to silent or noisy and crowded to alone. K connects with animals in a more positive way than he can communicate with any adult.
Although we don't get a rewarding conclusion (in a sense of justice) the different episodes show us that K finds his own small moments of rewards and victories.

Thank you, Publisher and NetGalley for this e-ARC.

This is kafka for the middle school set. And if you know Kafka, it is never pleasant. This is described as humorous, but I wouldn’t exactly say that, it is more depressing, and sad. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t an interesting read.

K is always in trouble, mostly because he doesn’t pay attention, or perhaps because he pays too much attention. He noticed everything around him, and makes observations about the same, such as what the people have in their launch bags as they march through the streets to get to work, and he to school.
In another story, when he has to stay home sick, he hears crows outside his very stark bedroom, and lets them into the house. They eat everything in site, and then depart, which perplexes his parents when they get home. They have no idea what has happened, and he isn’t about to say anything, because he doubts he will be believed.

Each story in this book has the strangest things happen around K. The pictures are quite stark, but detailed at the same time. The stories are quick takes. It is being marketed as a funny book for kids, but I think it is really geared to parents.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is coming out the 16th of January 2024.

K is in Trouble was a fun way to be acquainted with Kafka's works and themes. I really liked the style of comic drawing and the text was legible. Really fun stories!