A truly odd and quirky graphic novel in both the sparse but appealing art style and the unusual storyline. I was impressed by the art that reflects both the oddness and the portentousness of the story, but I found the story and characters themselves unappealing.

'The Dream of The Butterfly Vol. 2: Dreaming a Revolution' by Richard Marazano with art by Luo Yin is the second part of a story about a lost little girl in a strange city.

Tutu's dreams continue to be strange. She dreams of the butterfly that will end Winter in this strange place. She goes to look for books in the Emperor's forbidden library, but when she finally catches the butterfly, the Emperor has other plans. The only way to change things is to start a revolution, but who will help Tutu.

I liked the first half of this story more, perhaps because everything was newer. This time around the ending feels a bit too easy. The art is still gorgeous and certainly why someone should read this second volume.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Lion Forge, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

This book was a surprisingly well done conclusion to a story I love. I think younger readers would love this, the story and the art is greatly done.

The final story of Tuto the little girl lost during a snow storm.

Tuto is now sick of the factories she is forced to work in and sick of being an outsider. Will the butterfly that haunts her sleep save her?

Again the artwork is beautiful, set in a Studio Ghibli(ish) world.

I was surprised by how the story ultimately ended but I’m sure young readers will enjoy this conclusion to the story.

I loved this one even more than the first! The artwork is gorgeous as usual, the story is wildly entertaining, and the ending punched me right in the gut! I'm still not 100% sure what happened to Tutu but I was pretty satisfied with the ending.
Rating: 4 Stars
FTC DISCLAIMER: I received this book in exchange for an honest review

Vol 2 of Marazano’s The Dream of the Butterfly continues the tale of Tutu in the spirit village she found herself lost in. With the help of her bumbling rabbit spy/guards, Tutu continues looking into the special butterfly the Emperor wants. A visit to the local library yields an unexpected find- a book all about this butterfly and why it's so special. The Emperor gets his clutches on the butterfly and sets a terrible plan in motion. It is said that this reality is actually the dream of the butterfly, and the Emperor wants to control the dream. However, Tutu is having none of this. Despite reticence from the locals, she manages to put together a remarkable resistance. Can they stop the Emperor from taking over their reality?

I enjoyed this volume much more than the first. The rabbits are soooo adorable! I love the one with spectacles. They may work for the Emperor, but the are kind at heart, and somewhat gullible. This gives them a soft spot for Tutu, and makes them rather inept at their jobs. Their idea of torture is tickling with a giant feather. Tutu is still a little brat, but she seems to slowly be getting into synch with this reality, and she has developed a very real sense of protectiveness towards it. She's charismatic enough here to get several disparate groups working together for the resistance. In my review for the previous volume, I noted Tutu’s ever present red splat across her face, usually indicating sickness or extreme cold, and her reddened hands, also indicative of cold. I speculated she was still at home and sick, or possibly that she'd really gone out, and was hypothermic. One of these is true, so I'm rather pleased with my deductive reasoning! Or is it inductive… I can never remember. Anyway, I thought that subtle art detail was great foreshadowing, especially having to always remember to draw her that way. The story very much reminds me of Miyazaki's brilliant Spirited Away. If you love his stories, I strongly recommend picking up this duology!

Read my review for Vol 1! https://wp.me/p6C2DX-1rp

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Diamond Books/ Lion Forge for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Richard Marazano's and Luo Yin's The Dream of the Butterfly is a unique story. The first volume was dreamy and intriguing and I was waiting to get to see the resolution of this mysterious tale. The second volume is equally mesmerizing with its superb illustrations. The storyline has borrowed from the Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen and an ancient Chinese tale by Zhuangzi of a dream of a butterfly. This makes quite a combination, The world Marazano and Yin have created is wonderful and carefully thought out to the finest detail.

I loved the story, except the ending, on which I'm not as thrilled.

If at all possible, have both volumes on hand to read at once. The story makes more sense that way. Much of this series is the reader going “what the heck is happening”, and picking up in volume 2 isn’t much better. But this volume flows much easier and you get an answer to all the questions from volume one. I can’t say much without giving the story away. What I can say, if you look behind the upfront story of a girl in a land of bunny spies, bird landlords, and robot kings, you will find a sad story, that almost gets glossed over. Speed read, and you’ll miss it. An interesting read for sure.

Really beautiful artwork. The novel follows Tutu as she traverses through her own dream and tries to save the Valley. Loved the concept and found it an enjoyable read.

Most graphic novel series you can pick up from any volume, but I found this one to be the rare exception. I was quickly lost and never really understood what was happening or why. The artwork is intriguing though.

This book continues to tell Tutu's story.
Art wise, it's beautiful. I really like the artist's attention to detail (if you want an example, simply look at Tutu's fingertips throughout both books).
Story wise, it's great, I loved how the author wrapped everything up with a neat bow.
Character wise, they're pretty much the same. I will always love the rabbits, they're my favorite kind of spies.
I'm going to miss this series. It was as short as it was sweet and I'll always be thankful to the universe for giving me the opportunity to read this book.
Rating: 5 stars

It is such a lovely story. I like Tutu and her friends. It is a unique world and i really recommend to everyone.

This was another cute, if kind of simplistic, volume. I honestly was expecting this series to go on for longer but as it stands I think this volume did a good job of tying up all the loose ends [also we finally understand the title!]. I'm a bit meh on part of the ending but overall it was a fun Ghibli-esque story and I thought the art style was really nice. Definitely a fun short series for younger readers.