This was really good! Perfect for a middle school audience and upper elementary. It was beautifully illustrated and touched on some interesting themes in a very age-appropriate way

Operatic is beautiful but in my mind I have to review it separately, artwork vs story. The artwork is stunning. The story is a bit disjointed. I understand what the author was trying to do but it just didn't gel. The author was trying to do too much honestly. They wanted to address so many things that happen in a middle school/high school setting while throwing in a story about an opera singer that stems from a music class research project.

There are many aspects of this story that are relatable: First love, one sided love, love who you want to love, ride or die friendships, awkwardness, all eyes on me, let me be me, I love you but I'm rooting for you in your new relationship, what am I doing, what is life... lol

Yeah... I'll come back to this one because the story was as disjointed as this review.

Thank you, Netgalley/author/publisher for a copy in exchange of an honest review.

I wasn't able to finish this before it was archived, but I really enjoyed the portion that I was able to read.

2020 Maverick List. Beautifully illustrated graphic novel about the loneliness and anxiety that teens face and how one can connect through friendship and music.

'Operatic' by Kyo Maclear with art by Bryon Eggenscwhiler is a graphic novel about finding the thing you like, even if everyone doesn't.

Charlie is in a class in school where she is supposed to find her favorite song. She is puzzled by this assignment, because she hasn't really run across that song. She is also puzzled by the empty desk of student Luka, who is supposedly out sick. As the class studies genres, Charlie is struck by a Maria Callas aria. Maria's rise to fame is interwoven along with Luka's.

I liked this story of young people finding themselves when things are difficult. I liked the personal feel of the stories, and especially the way the interwoven stories used different colors for the art.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from House of Anansi and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

This book was unlike anything I was expecting. It's one of those stories where each character is so well-rounded you have to wonder if this was based on real events.
Mostly set in a middle school music class, this story illustrates how the power of music affects everyone differently - bring back memories, providing guidance, offering strength to go on. It can be all of those things (and more) interchangeably or all at once.
The final assignment is to choose a song that defines their life in the current moment and write about it. Charlie, the protagonist, feels lost on what to pick until she is introduced to opera and Maria Callas. With a friend mysteriously missing from school and a quite classmate who opens up, the link between music and mental health is also broached.
In this graphic novel, the illustrations provide more than just color and drawings - they convey emotions and sounds and thoughts - all greatly adding to the story.

I love the music aspect of this book and the exploration of it. I was a bit disappointed that there is so much going on in the story but the end felt rushed and certain aspects were just glossed over.

Beautifully rendered, more of a slow-burn that may appeal to a smaller subset of students who enjoy work by Telgemeier, and who are primarily interested in internal character development and dialogue

Another beautiful story from Kyo Maclear, with stellar art from Byron Eggenschwiler that is both evocative of time and place, and feels dreamlike and ephemeral. Maclear has a wonderful feel for young voices, and everything here feels very fresh and real.

I always love to see more diverse casts of characters, and this is no exception with the many of the main cast Asian-American, as well as our main character Charlie. This follows Charlie’s time in music class and navigating not only friendships and crushes but your peers and dealing with how others perceive you.

As someone who has always loved music and feels music deeply (for lack of a better term) this really resonated with me. I wake up with a song in my head that changes from either day to day or week to week. I, like some other older folks, will listen to music like Mr. K that takes us back in time to when we were younger and makes us remember when a song really resonated with how we were feeling or the song that was on at a significant moment in our lives.

Maclear clearly represents how middle school was/is and how it felt to be a teenager-judged for every little thing (especially for being different), somewhat dramatic and trying to become invisible by blending in with the crowd, not to mention the cliques, but also trying to figure out who you are.

I loved the illustration for this graphic novel. It is somewhat dream-like and whimsical and, I feel, perfectly captures the mind of a teenage girl. Some of the things included felt like they didn’t have a point to the story, like the fact that Emile loved insects and had to mind his family’s beehive. I don’t think it detracted from the story since it was kind of just a little fact to round out his character.

I would have also loved to see the playlist for their class in like the back of the book as well, just as a little “extra”.

I really loved this book! I’m a big Kyo Maclear fan, so I was excited to read this one too. It’s such a beautifully written and illustrated book! Charlie is very relatable and I enjoyed following her story through the world of middle school as she learns to find her own voice.

This book quite literally took my breath away and left me awestruck and gasping for words and air. Packed into this tender and slight graphic novel is the power of music to change lives and discover deep emotions. One teacher opens the tombs of music history, genres and asks his students to dig deep and find their one true song that defines them in the moment in their life. There is so much to unfold in this book and I am left yearning for more time with these raw and emerging teens.

I love the graphics in this novel. I liked the story line of the Opera singers life. The main characters story line confused me because it jumped around. I still did enjoy it though and would still recommend it. I liked that the main plot was about music. The book seems to want to tackle a lot of concerns at this age: identity, fitting in, sexuality. But, none are explored in depth and while I had a lot to look with beautiful sketches, I wanted to know these characters better.

Whoa! I am shocked, I didn't expect this to be a page-turner. I didn't expect to fall into this book. Beautifully constructed storyline, if this doesn't make you go and find your song, nothing will. I cannot wait to put this in the hands of my juniors, we need so desperately to reconnect with music in this way, to reconnect with our own creativity. I loved this book!!!

Graphic novels are not my favourite. I just don’t seem to be drawn to them like more traditional novels. That being said, when Kyo Maclear writes a graphic novel I’m first in line to check it out. She is one of our favourite children’s writers. Her ability to write such varied children’s stories all with so much depth and breadth make her a common name on our bookshelves.

In Operatic we meet Charlotte Noguchi (aka Charlie), her friends and her wonderful teacher Mr. Kerner. Mr. Kerner is different, he’s one of those really cool, plugged in teachers whorequire their students to think and reflect. I think at some point we all have a Mr. Kerner, at least I hope we do. Teachers like him make the middle school/high school experience so much richer and so much more bearable. Charlie is in middle school, those crazy, hormonal, wicked years of self discovery. Middle school is like the African Savanna, the delicate balance of the circle of life can be so easily thrown into chaos at the simplest of things. There are those who seem to lack compassion, who seek to judge and humiliate, there are those who are brave and courageous enough to be their most authentic selves, there are those who are still figuring things out. There is an empty desk in the classroom, once occupied by Luka who is taking a bit of a break after professing his feelings for Emile at the open mic in Mr. Kerner’s class and being ridiculed. To Charlie, Luka seems unfazed by the taunting and the laughter. She’s almost in awe of him but then he doesn’t return to school for a few days. After discovering opera and Maria Callas, Charlie gains some perspective, realizing sometimes what you see on the outside does not necessarily reflect how we are feeling on the inside. We all wear masks. There are times when we appear strong but can feel like complete mush inside. She empathizes with Luka and extends a text of friendship.

Like all of Kyo Maclear’s work, this graphic novel has so much depth. There are so many themes to latch onto and dive right down into and explore. It’s such an important book to make available to all middle graders and young adults as it is so reflective of the emotions and the daily goings on in their lives. There is so much discovery within these pages. Charlie is so relatable. I think we all experience a time in our lives when we want to blend in and we cringe at those who stand out. Perhaps that is just my experience but I feel like if I could relate to Charlie as an adult, then think about how many young people would be able to relate to the things she is saying and feeling?

I would be remiss in speaking about a graphic novel if I missed the opportunity to gush over the work of Byron Eggenschwiler, whose name has come up recently in other books we admire this spring. His illustrative style is so fluid with a retro vibe. I love how in Operatic he chose a simple colour palette which changes depending on the mood and the reflection in the story, yellow for Charlie, blue when she is telling the reader about Luka and red when she is talking about Maria Callas. The colour choices really help the story flow and allows the reader the follow along a little easier as the scenes change and the story moves back and forth through time. There is an Alice in Wonderland quality, beautiful and a little odd, moving but still all at the same time. I can’t wait to see what he is working on next

-- 5 Stars --

"Maybe we all have private songs we sing along with inside our heads. Songs for dreaming. Maybe the best and worst thing is that you can't choose what or who you will dream about. Dreams just happen."

I read an eARC of this graphic novel thanks to NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Operatic follows Charlie Noguchi through her final year of middle school. Charlie and her friends Luka and Emile don't feel like they can be themselves. But they find their voices in music class, thanks to their teacher who assigns the students to make a soundtrack to their lives. The students are to focus on an artist and one of his / her songs.

This is a middle grade graphic novel that is primarily contemporary with a hint of historical fiction. Charlie focuses her project on Maria Callas, a renowned opera singer who rose to fame in the 1940s. Charlie resonates with Maria's resilience and determination to remain true to herself despite harsh criticism.

Ultimately, this story is about how music brings people together, and also helps to transcend societal expectations and find the confidence to be yourself. This story is also about owning and being proud of your sexuality and your gender identity. It's a hopeful, empowering story for middle grade and adult readers alike.

Additionally, the art is beautiful! Yellow, blue, and red /maroon are thematic colors in the story. Yellow represents the present; red / maroon the historical fiction aspects; and blue represents flashbacks in Charlie's narrative. Music and sound is portrayed through strings of color, led by an insect (a bumblebee or butterfly). The color palette creates a whimsical, atmospheric reading experience.

I highly recommend this novel!

This book is about a group of kids in 8C, a music class in middle school. They are tasked with doing a project on a genre of music that defines them. Charlie is having a hard time figuring out what type of music defines her. They are learning about a different genre of music each day and Charlie doesn't know which one she relates to the most. Until they come to opera. She discovers Maria Callas, an amazing opera singer. She finally finds something that she connects to.

This is a fantastic book. I loved the story and the artwork. This is one of those books that I would recommend to someone if they are just starting out reading comics/graphic novels. I think that this is a fantastic addition to any library - personal or public.

Such a great book! Reminded me of Jillian and Mariko Tamaki. Middle grade drama. Beautifully illustrated, can’t get enough of it! And Opera! And music! And personal struggles, friendships, identity. So so good!

This book was a gem for me. I thankfully discovered it through NGs BookBuzz selections earlier this year where it was featured with excerpts and then a link to selecting the ARC was included.
I love the cover and hope that the actual final cover is the same or close.
The story was a sweet, middle school tale of a music class being instructed to come up with a song that represents them personally. Their teacher wants to create a “playlist” for their class that they can take with them that will remind them of who they were at this age. Brilliant idea. Obviously, many eras and genres of music will need to be explored and I appreciated the bouncing around from one type of music to another for this reason, recreating a true classroom feeling.
There was diversity with both different ethnicities and LGBTQ representation, which felt authentic to a middle school class, especially in the arts. But the love interests were awkward and sweet, as expected for this age as well.
I completely enjoyed the mentioning of the various artists representing the various genres and laughed at how some of the “classics” were standards when I was a kid. I made my own playlist by looking up the songs or artists that I was less familiar with and listening to their music as I read. This was a very pleasant way to read this ARC.
My only negatives are in formatting: the digital ARC was very difficult to follow because the dialogue was not always in sequence correctly and the artwork was small. And I read this on an iPad Pro, so it has a fairly large screen and well lit. I know this will be fixed for the final physical release but just as a point in reviewing, it was difficult.
Thank you for introducing me to Maria Callas and her stunning voice. I have heard some of the titles she has covered by other singers and wow. She is amazing.

#Operatic #NetGalley

I really enjoyed reading Operatic. Not only is this graphic novel filled with stunning illustrations, it's also a story with a ton of heart. If you've ever felt inspired by music at all, even a little bit, this story will resonate with you. All of the other messages that were wrapped up in this story were simply icing on an already beautifully created cake.

I thought that this graphic novel perfectly captured the tumultuous feelings that come along with transitioning from middle school to high school. Poor Charlie isn't sure where she fits into the world and so, when her teacher tells them to find their own perfect song, she's equally confused about what would really describe her. Watching her mull over her choices, and ultimately find someone who inspired her, made my heart happy. It's hard not to feel emotional while reading this, partially because of the content and partially because the illustrations just have so much movement and atmosphere wrapped up in them.

If I had one complaint, it would be that this story does jump around a lot. There are a lot of items to fit into one girl's story, including crushes, lost friends, and feeling unsure of oneself. Still, I kind of felt like this also fit with the content. After all, a middle school brain is definitely exactly like that. Lots of emotions, lot of skipping around, essentially a torrent of new and processing information. So, I gave that a pass. As I said above, the illustrations are honestly too beautiful to ignore either way. I never felt all that lost during Charlie's story. In fact, I saw a bit of myself.

Lovely story, stellar illustrations, and an all around beautiful read.