Everything about this book was just okay.
- The story was enjoyable, but not mindblowing.
- the art style was nice, but not the best I've seen.
- There was not so much depth to the characters, but they were okay.

I don't have that much more to say about this.

As a thriller, this graphic novel did a pretty good job. The story was short and rushed, though, so there was a lack of depth to the characters because of that. I also didn't feel very good about the ending. It was way too problematic for me... I don't think it was justified or should have been.

A wonderful graphic novel that manages to combine a compelling narrative and illustrations to create a wonderful experience for the reader.

I wanted to like this book more than I did, and I was on board for a lot of it, but the way the story wrapped up really threw me and made me feel uncomfortable enough that it was hard to enjoy.

I requested this on NetGalley because I was intrigued by the description of this book, and for the most part, it was an interesting fast-paced thriller. Beck was a likable character I wanted to root for, and it was fun to watch the plot unfold, so there were certainly good elements to the story.

**SPOILERS FOLLOW**

My two main complaints were the connections between the characters and the ending. Each person Beck met seemed to be connected to the main plot in some integral way, and the unrealistic quality of this started to bother me. Beck running into one character tied to her, her father, and her past may have been written off as being coincidental, but it seemed like every person in the book that she encountered by chance was intricately woven together in a way that just didn't make a lot of sense.

I also had some big problems with the ending and the book's treatment of Beck's biological father vs. her "adoptive" father. Though this would of course be an emotionally complex and even traumatic situation for Beck, it's barely presented that way--it seems like everyone writes off her biological father as the bad guy, and though the man who raised Beck goes to jail, she seems to have no ill will or negative or even complex feelings toward him at all. In fact, the big reveal of what has been done to her barely seems to phase her. I didn't think the situation was treated with enough nuance or understanding of just what a serious and abusive crime Beck's "father" had committed.

While I enjoyed the art style of “Minus”, I couldn’t really get into the story.
The whole concept for this novel was really interesting, but the novel was way too short, so the characters and plot seemed shallow and not fleshed out. The ending felt unrealistic and forced, and quite problematic in general.

A fascinating, compelling story about family and self.

A 17 year old girl off to college is abandoned by her father at a gas station in the midst of a shooting. She's afraid of strangers, of trusting people, of even freedom... but now she has to try and find help. And her father. And understand what is going on, and what connection she has to the violence.

This is a quick, contained read that makes you think. It's messy and tangled at its core- there aren't any 'big reveals' (the core one is hinted at early on and easy to guess), but it is still a suspenseful story seeing how these tics and secrets come into play. It ends on a clean note, but one that doesn't betray the emotional ambiguity.

Obviously, like any good graphic novel, it also caused me to cry for the last ten pages or so. Absolutely worth a read.

So I have...questions. First, going into this I’m not sure what I was expecting. The description says that this is a coming of age story. Beck, who’s been homeschooled and sheltered all her life, not allowed to have social media etc. is headed to visit U Chicago from Naperville with her dad when they stop at a gas station and her dad disappears.

From this I thought maybe he abandoned her to test her survival skills in the real world or something. This story took all types of twists and turns. Now, I’m 28, I enjoy psychological thrillers and mysteries but this is a YA book and I have to say I didn’t see any of the plot coming. Reading YA as an adult I try to think about how I might’ve reacted to what I read and instead of calling it predictable, think about readers who don’t have a history of reading mysteries/thrillers. There were some genuine moments that I was like whaaattt!!!

Challenges:
I struggled with figuring out what the flashbacks meant and what was happening in them or how they connected to the story. I also am a little uneasy that the main character, who I read as Native American, was a shade of red? The same with her mother. I first noticed this when a flashback tat actually made sense to me, mentioned she must resemble her mother. Then I thought maybe this is just how ppl of color are depicted but flipping back through, I saw an obviously Black man. I’m not well-versed in the history behind depictions of Native folks as red, but like most things I’m sure it’s rooted in white racism. The ending also felt kind of like “I’m tired of writing this story now”. The plot was intricately crafted and the end was flat. I think I’d like to see her actually meet her mom vs. talking to dad in prison.

Overall the story did invoke a sense of urgency and bring in that thriller aspect, but coming of age not so much.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This could have been a good story....right up until it concluded with a creepy "feel good" scene featuring the victim of child abduction meeting with her abductor in jail and cheerfully declaring she'll always be his daughter. I don't normally spoil works in reviews, but readers need to be aware of potentially triggering content in this work.

That was an interesting thriller! I wasn't expecting the plot twist til midway through the book. The art style was my favorite part of the book. The plot could have been executed better.