At the End of Your Tether is an intriguing graph novel. Ludo’s girlfriend Arlo is missing, but in trying to find her he discovers more questions than answers.
I liked this story, I can’t discuss the plot without spoiling it, but it’s suspenseful. Arlo and Ludo have solid chemistry and I enjoyed their relationship.
The story feels rushed at certain points, perhaps because of the graphic novel’s short length. My only other complaint is the ending is confusing.
I enjoyed this graphic novel a lot, and I hope for a sequel!

I had a hard time getting into the story and catching my bearings. The book takes it's time to get to the meat of the story when Arlo disappears. To get to that point we are moved from one time to the other with only the illustrations to indicate these are the same characters and introducing characters we won't know who they are until very late in the story. I wanted to feel more compelled by Ludo's loss but I don't think I was because I was seeing so many time periods of him with Arlo and only the one without. We never get an explanation about Arlo's abilities, only something said mildly in passing. The climax at the end feels so convoluted and unclear that as a reader I was let down to have been put on this journey in the first place.

When I found this book with this stunning cover and an intriguing story I knew I wanted to read it.

The story follows a 15 year old boy whose girlfriend is missing and when he starts to investigate, he starts to uncover things that should better remain buried. I was a bit disappointed with the story. It felt as though you were dropped into the middle of a series, rather than a standalone story. Even though I love time travel in books, this time it got very confusing.

Unfortunately I was just hoping to love it a bit more.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel, at times it was confusing and only really became clear at the end so I would recommend not leaving it too long between readings if you can't read it in one sitting.

The artwork is fantastic throughout the story and the plot was really intriguing. A great read. I loved that I didnt know fully what was going on until the end of the story as this type of writing always intrigues me.

3.5 stars for me on this one. The artwork in this graphic novel is stunning. Arlo and Ludo are beautifully illustrated--also those names, beautiful. The time traveling aspect is done quiet well for a 2D visual medium. The cover is super eye-catching and draws you in. I think this is going to a big YA hit and is going to the the jumping off point for a lot of really cool conversations. One of the only downsides for me is that I got pretty lost towards the end. I ended up reading the last 50 pages three times over and I'm still not sure exactly what happened. By the third time, I felt like I had enough of a grasp on it to leave the graphic novel be, but it wasn't as clear as I like. I have nothing against ambiguous endings I just felt that all of the different simultaneous timelines were thrown together instead of being clearly enough delineated, leaving me confused. Overall though, very fun!

While I generally enjoyed the story, it was at times confusing and I didn't feel connected to any of the characters. I feel that there needed to be more development of the different personalities in the story in order to have more empathy with their struggles.

I'm not entirely certain what I just read. I wasn't exactly blown away by the story, I was more confused than anything else. I didn't really get attached to the characters, it was just another story.

I did really enjoy the art style though, which made this book a little bit better.

Overall, I just was underwhelmed and I wasn't really blown away by anything.

Ludo and his parents travel on their vacations back to the army base where they previously lived. As they rest at a motel, he calls his girlfriend he hasn't seen face to face in a long time, to tell her he'll be back tomorrow.
When they arrive, they get told that Arlo has been missing for two weeks.

Basically I liked everything and want to read on. I liked the plot, the characters, the setting, the atmosphere and am intrigued about how it will go on, on all timelines. It's sometimes confusing to recognize where you are in the plot, but some confusion is only to be expected.

Also, I am curious about bike-riding laws in the US, how old you have to be to be allowed to do so, because Ludo is depicted driving on his motorcycle to and from school. I liked the depiction of bikers, that works without all those clichés we've all heard a few times too often.

You could ask what else I'd expect for a five star review, and I can't say, it's this tiny spark of something - but I've got a feeling it might occur for me in issue two.

I recieved a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked the story this graphic novel has. I think the idea behind it was really interesting. It was a bit twisty and confusing up until the very end, which I have some mixed feelings about. It started off better, but overall it was intriguing enough to me to finish it and untangle it for myself.
The best part of it however, was the art. It was beautiful, and I loved the feeling they went for with the color scheme as well.
I don't think this graphic novel is for everyone. But if you are interested in this, give it a shot.

3 out of 5 stars.

I was provided an early copy of this from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

For fans of Brick or Paper Towns comes At the End of Your Tether, the story of a boy who goes searching for his missing ex-girlfriend only to discover that some things aren’t meant to be found.

I've seen a few reviews commenting on their dislike for the art style but I myself quite liked it. The concept of Ardo's character was something I enjoy in novels. This wasn't a simple story of two teens getting together it's something new and interesting.

I am a huge fan of graphic novels and comic books. They are quick easy reads and this was certainly a quick read. I wouldn't really say easy... The plot started to get confusing from pretty early on.

The story did contain a lot of flashbacks which is made clear by the 'Then' and 'Now' in the corners. I did eventually see this but the flashbacks do happen earlier on in the story before anything really happens so you isn't it obvious that this is the case. Not only because of the flashbacks but some scenes don't really flow into each other in a way I would of liked.

It was overall an interesting concept and I think it's a story you will have to read a few times to catch all the information needed. I will re-read closer to the time. A sequel would be great for this as it's a storyline that could be followed up from Ludo's perspective.

Thank you again to NetGalley and the publisher for this early copy.

📖Book Review📖

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Thank you so much to @onipress and @netgalley for the ARC of At The End Of Your Tether by Adam Smith, V.V. Glass, and Hillary Jenkins 🖤

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Synopsis from the publisher: It’s a humid summer night in August 1997 and Ludo Carre is nervous. He hasn’t seen or spoken to his ex, Arlo Quinonez since he was fifteen. Now, he’s returning home to be reunited with the one person he made a connection with in his youth. The night before he arrives, Ludo gives her a phone call. Big laughs and a familiar cadence in Arlo’s voice don’t just instantly calm him down – they make him excited to see her. That excitement only hurts him more when they show up the next day and find out Arlo has been missing…for the last week. Determined to find her, Ludo takes things into his own hands, but the further he gets into his investigation, the more he questions how well everyone on base, in town, and even he himself really knew her. Gone without a trace, the girl he once knew everything about has now become a mystery. Where is his best friend - and who is she, as well?

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This story gets an A+ for making the teenage love story/ coming of age trope seem fresh with the mysterious disappearance storyline. Seeing Ludo trying to piece together what could have happened to Arlo as we the reader jump back and forth between past and present creates a sense of urgency in finding out what has happened to the person Ludo loves so much. While it is a teenage love story it doesn’t come across as juvenile or silly, and the mystery that follows is compelling and twisty. While I don’t want to say more about the story in fear of spoilers, I do want to comment on the art/format. I liked the artwork in this particular graphic novel and felt it matched the tone and feel of the story perfectly, especially with the throwback mixtape late 80’s early 90’s vibe. The text was super small and in some places very hard to read. This may be do to my copy being a digital copy. I would recommend the physical paperback copy of the graphic novel on release based on this. This is due out in February of 2020. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I thought this was a cute idea but it was boring and confusing for me. I actually think some stories are better told without pictures and this is one of them.

At the End of Your Tether by V. V. Glass and Adam Smith was such a great book! I loved it and found it so compelling!

Well, this was definitely interesting story. I really like the concept of this book. Time-travelling and dimensions combined with pretty good characters, was actually great combination. However, the ending was quite confusing and that was probably the only thing I didn't like about it. Style of drawing in this comic is amazing, although it's a bit different from cover.

Right now I really hope that there will be another part of this unique story! Without doubt, I can recommend this to you.

At The End Of Your Tether is an interesting graphic novel, but one that is certainly not for anyone looking for an easy read. From the start, I knew that this was going to be the case as the opening sections are a bit all over the place. It opens with three people starting a fire, but it almost seems as if the conversations that are happening are taking place between each individual and nobody else, the reasons for this may become a little bit more relevant later, but as an opening I was a little put off. This is made a little bit more perplexing by the fact that what follows in part one doesn't seem to have anything to do with what preceded it. I can only imagine that the people who read the first book had two responses;

a)What the hell was that - I'm done
b)What the hell was that! - I'm super intrigued to find out where this leads

If I hadn't been reading this as the collected novel, I think I would have been in the former camp.
BUT! Interestingly things come together a lot more from here. The story gets a lot weirder but in a good way, and I was really drawn in to finding out exactly what was going on. Overall, it brings us an interesting story - but I have to mark it down for the opening section.
As regards the artwork, it is first class and I will certainly be looking for more work by V.V. Glass and Hilary Jenkins.
To reiterate, this is a somewhat confusing but interesting read. Given the story line it is probably worthy of a reread just to try and figure out all the intricacies of the story. So, if your looking for a quick fix, this probably isn't one for you. If you want something that you will really need to put your thinking cap on for, then it is. Recommended.

review live on blog on 11/02/2020

Not a straightforward missing person story, this turns into something quite a bit more - and looks really beautiful while it does that. It feels like something that will reward a second reading as it's not always clear to follow.

It has certainly left me more interested in Adam Smith's writing and in V. V. Glass' lovely artwork so I'll be keeping an eye out for both of them!

I tried to receive an ARC from NetGalley to review this title. None of my devices were able to decode the format.

Ludo Carre falls in love with the girl next door Arlo Quinones, but when Ludo has to move away their relationship just doesn't really work out. A couple of years later, Ludo revisits his old home and wants to see Arlo. What he didn't know is that Arlo has gone missing. Ludo starts his mission to find out what is going on and what happened to Arlo.

I was drawn to this graphic novel because of the gorgeous cover art (10/10!). I didn't know anything about the story going in. The first thing I noticed was that the cover art was very different from the art of the story. The artwork of the graphic novel is clear and readable and has a bit of a vintage feel to it.

The story in this graphic novel is great! It's not an easy story and it requires some thinking and imagination from the reader. I like the twists and turns and the fact that it is very unpredictable (in every way). It is difficult to talk about the story without giving away any spoilers, so I'm not going to. All I can say is that I really liked this one.

**NOTE: I received e-ARC via NetGalley in conjunction with Oni Press in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. I did not receive compensation from the publisher for my review and so the opinions expressed within are of my own.**

Rating: 4/5

I would like to start off first and foremost that whoever decided to compare this book to the likes of Brick and Paper Towns really does not fit this book whatsoever. I completely went in on the book thinking that this was going to be a Detective noir about the case of a missing girl and her ex-boyfriend taking the detective role in figuring out what happened to her. This story was nothing like it but in fact, I think it was something very unique and I'm afraid that comparison really steers the reader away from a really good story.

If I were to compare this storyline to anything else it would be Donnie Darko. This graphic novel definitely requires multiple readings to fully pin down all the small details of the story.

On the surface, the story centers around a teenage boy named Ludo who is a military brat at an Air Force Base where his mother was the head of Military Police. He meets another fellow military brat, Arlo. They eventually spark a relationship but sadly that relationship is broken up because Ludo and his parents leave the base due to a transfer. They eventually do come back to the base and Ludo takes the opportunity to find Arlo. To his surprise, he finds out that Arlo has gone missing for quite some time. Ludo couldn't believe it since he spoke to her the night before he moved back to the base and she answered her home phone. This is where the time traveling/time loop begins to unravel.

Was it very hard to keep track of what was going on at points? Absolutely, but I kept on reading because I wanted to know more and find out how it all connected in the grand scheme of the story. The artwork is very nice for the graphic novel but I will say that at some points it was hard to tell what version of Ludo or Arlo I was seeing since the drawings were very similar to each other.

This story is about loss and moving on. I thought it was a very original and fresh take on that theme. Here we start off with Ludo longing about Arlo during his time living outside of the base and playing her recorded cassette tapes over and over to the point where he knows the dialogue word for word. When he finds out that Arlo goes missing, he goes on a desperate search to find out what happened and gets himself into trouble for taking it into his own hands. It takes Arlo's time traveling self to have him understand that who he spoke to wasn't the Arlo that he knew in his timeline but a different Arlo who was also connected to the one speaking to Ludo at the moment. She takes a hard talk with him that he needs to let go but to understand that Ludo in the other timelines ends up being happy with Arlo and have kids of their own. Will this Ludo bump into Arlo from time to time (no pun intended)? Of course, but in the end, he needs to move on and not obsess over searching for Arlo whatever time she may be bouncing around. In that, it was a really poignant story.

It was a really good and quick read.

At the End of Your Tether is a unique graphic novel that comes from the same minds that brought us Brick and Paper Towns. If you’re a fan of non-linear time-traveling plots, then this is absolutely the tale for you to check out.
Set during the summer of 1997 (mostly), this series is one that will make you ask questions. Ludo Carre is used to traveling around the world, jumping from one base to the other. He knows how the base homes feel, and even has a theory about why they were designed that way.
But none of that could have prepared him for the journey he was about to find himself on. And it all started the moment he met Arlo. Arlo is a charismatic girl; the ideal nerd-girl who is confident and passionate.
So her disappearance was as shocking as it was devastating. Ludo is not the type of person to let the world change around him – he’s always been inclined to beat his way through things and people, given the opportunity. And thus he is poorly equipped to dealing with this sudden and painful change.

I’m going to be honest here; I didn’t like At the End of Your Tether nearly as much as I was hoping or expecting. It wasn’t a bad read, by any means. But I also feel like it didn’t reach its full potential here.
Non-linear storytelling is tough to get right, but when it is done right it can be absolutely mind-blowing. That wasn’t quite the case here. While the storytelling style did an excellent job of obfuscating the truth, it left me feeling like the waters of the story got muddled along the way. It was so close…just not quite there.

I will say that the artwork in At the End of Your Tether is without a doubt my favorite part of this graphic novel. Which isn’t surprising, given that it was the cover that originally caught my attention to begin with.
I loved the art style used. In many ways, I feel like the artwork exceeded the story, both in application and in the way it elicited emotions. I would happily read a dozen other stories with this artwork, if given half the chance. I loved it that much.

At the End of Your Tether may not have been the read I was hoping for or expecting. But it was still a graphic novel that made me think, and you know how much I appreciate that sort of thing. And it certainly was a memorable reading experience.