I wasn’t sure what I expected when I started this, but I absolutely loved it!
I made it my goal to read more graphic novels this year and this one definitely didn’t disappoint. It’s a dystopia set in America after is it destroyed by an earthquake. It immediately grips your attention from the start with the mystery of their mother, why she left and why did she send the gift? They then begin their journey to find their missing mother.

I loved the unexpected LGBT themes & the end left you asking so many questions, once again! Will Harry be okay? Do they find their mother? I’m so excited for volume 2! I want more!

Odessa is well-written and well-illustrated take on one family's journey about a decade after a world-ending earthquake hits the West coast of the US. We follow Virginia and her brothers on an expedition to California to find their mom in Part I of this saga.

I am interested to see how the characters grow in the future, as much of this volume was focused on establishing backstory, world-building, and pushing the plot forward but has limited character-building.

Unable to download on my kindle :( was looking very forward to reading this one! Will most likely purchase a copy when it is released!

It was easy to relate to and root for the characters in the book as the youngsters made their way across a ravaged and war-torn landscape looking for their mom. The plot was easy enough to follow with enough twists and turns to keep me interested. I’m looking forward to the continuation of the story in the next book.

Odessa follows the story of Ginny and her two brothers as they travel across a torn-up America in the wake of natural disasters. The artwork and the simple colours of this graphic novel really lend to the end of the world feel of the story and emphasise the emotional turmoil that is taking place within the characters instead of focusing heavily on the backdrop.

Hill's characters are diverse and nuanced and that sense of what family means to each of us is felt on every page. He balances the emotional struggles with the physical and builds an extremely complex imagining of life after a serious natural disaster destroys the world as we know it. He also expertly blends the expected tropes of a dystopian storyline with new mythologies and fantasy elements.

I'm excited to see more of Ginny's story, as well as more of the mythology and the much-changed American landscape.

Thank you so much to net galley for sending me a copy of this book. I didn’t know what to expect going into this book but I was extremely surprised.

Thanks to the author and publisher for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

I was so disappointed by this one! I really wanted to like this because it sounded so much fun. The only thing I really liked was the bond between the siblings. The story was a bit bland in my opinion and sometimes quite predictable. It was however a very quick read, so that's a plus. Not my favorite, but if you usually like these sorts of stories, you might enjoy this one as well.

Odessa by Jonathan Hill follows the Vietnamese-American Crane siblings as they travel across an unrecognizable U.S.A. to try and find the mother who left them years ago.
Eight years ago an earthquake hit and changed the landscape of the west coast and in the shake up, things that were buried or never seen before started to show up. Gang wars are rampant as groups try to claim territory for themselves and beat back competition, a root, never before seen has caused people to mutate when ingested and that’s only what we know.
On Virginia’s eighteenth birthday she gets a package from the mother that left and decides she wants something just for herself, answers and to see her mom again. Traveling across a strange unknown world Virginia is incredibly naive and will have her world shook up as she learns what has become of the world post earthquake as she travels far and wide to find her mother.
***
3.5 - stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The story is slow and meandering at the beginning. While I liked Virginia and felt for her a lot of her choices were just kinda... naive and not well thought out. Harry and Wes, her two younger siblings, follow Virginia when they suspect she’s going to leave without them and while it’s sweet and heartwarming in one way I’m also going, for the love of all, send them back to your father, they’re too young for this 😂 am I getting too old that I think this way?
The art style was a pretty simple straightforward style, and worked wonderfully, I thought, for this story. The limited color palette was striking, but I feel like the pink-ish color started to give me a headache after awhile. Maybe a different color would have been easier to handle, but still just as striking.
I’m intrigued enough to want to stick with this for a second volume and see what comes of the Crane siblings and if they will find their mother or just more danger, or both. The answer is very likely both.
***
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much for the publisher and NetGalley for providing me a free e-galley in exchange of my honest review!

In particular, this was by far the most weird-setting graphic novel I have ever read! The story about these siblings in some ways were really touching and all in all showed me how important to take care of each other, your family and how much curiousity a kid can have!
At some point the novel was pretty intense, and a bit violent for my taste, but I recommend to those who love action paced graphic novels. Also, that "to be continued..." ending is seriously giving me all the anticipation for the sequel!

Post-apocalyptic fiction is all the rage in these mid-apocalyptic days, at least Odessa's apocalypse is something different to your usual fare - the west of the US has been devastated by earthquakes (think The Big One times a hundred), the East Coast supposedly was unaffected but did plonk a huge big wall in the middle of the country so as to easier forget about those West Coast losers.

Society in the west has crumbled and turned into what you'd normally expect in this genre - small semi-self-sustaining settlements, raiders raiding everything that can be raised, big cities built on urban ruins full of danger, etc.

Ginny lives in such a settlement with her dad and her two smaller brothers. Their mother, Odessa, left them years ago, for some unknown reason. Then the mom sends a letter and a photo to Ginny for her birthday, and Ginny decides to try and find her. She leaves against the wishes of her father, and she's barely left the town before discovering her little brothers have followed her.

The book is over 300 pages long, yet only one character really gets developed - and it's not Ginny or either of her brothers. So many pages, and I still would have a hard time telling you what actually happens. A lot of the obstacles feel repetitive, and there's time wasted on plot choices that make me wonder what the point of them is, storywise. Some characters exhibit plot driven stupidity, which is always a shame.

To top it all off, the book ends on a stonking big cliffhanger, something which isn't indicated anywhere beforehand (say, on the cover). It's fine to tell a story in several volumes, but then give some indication, or at least fullfil a complete story arc in this volume.

I did like the art, although it works better for characters and less so for landscapes, where it can be a bit too crude. The black-white-pink colour template works well, but does become slightly headache inducing.

It's a weird one - I'd say wait for there to be a second volume, but then if you don't get the first volume, that would probably erase the chance of a second volume appearing.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel! This post-apocalyptic adventure follows Ginny and her two younger brothers as they head south into a socially and environmentally ravaged California with the goal of finding their mom.

More than half of the reason I personally love reading graphic novels is to appreciate the art, and Hill did not disappoint. The artwork is very well-done. I loved the two-toned illustration. There were some frames that I had to look at very closely to get what was going on, but overall I enjoyed the visual journey.

I did find some of the plot to be confusing, and I had to re-read some parts to understand where the story was going. For example, the Four Dollars identity reveal was kind of "huh?" and anti-climactic. Overall, this is a fast-paced story full of action and adventure. I am looking forward to the sequel(s)!

I haven't read anything this fast in a while. Odessa is a heartwarming graphic novel about three siblings that travel through a post-apocalyptic America in search of their mother, who left them years ago and was presumed dead. The world is dangerous out there but there is always someone willing to give a helping hand.

Loved the story and relationships developed here, Ginny and her brothers embark on an uncertain journey, leaving their father behind, in an attempt to find their mother even though they don't know where she is. The path is filled with territorial gangs and even monsters but that doesn't stop the siblings in their search. They meet people that are willing to help them, and others that are trying to destroy them, but there is no doubt that what matters here is the journey. There are a few dark themes through the volume, talks about death, murders, cannibalism; although very superficial, it is still mentioned.

I liked the characters, while not all of them are equally developed or explored yet the story has not finished and I can see there is quite a lot to see, so there is still a chance. My favorite so far is probably Four Dollars, he has a lot of internal conflict due to his past and the way the Great Disaster affected his life. He is also funny, ok? I'm still somewhat on the rope with Ginny, she seems to be overly-heroic, but also a little naive when it comes to the harsh reality of how things work and it's sometimes a little too stubborn. Her brothers are still not very developed? Wes does his best to contribute in a way and Harry is the youngest brother, that's pretty much what I can say about him. However, at the end of this volume, he goes through a change and I want to see how that affects him.

The art is amazing, I loved the illustrations of the ruins and the crowds, Jonathan Hill did a great job at portraying the state of the world after the earthquakes destroyed everything. I don't read a lot of graphic novels, a tragedy, but I loved the style and felt that it was very suitable for the story.

3/5 ⭐ Very interesting world and pretty stereotypical sibling relationships and plot points but overall quite enjoyable. Started out a bit slow but the pacing picked up when I got a quarter in the book.

Loved the pink accents of the illustrations but I wasn't huge fan of the actual drawing style itself. Nonetheless, an interesting and enjoyable read; I will definitely look out for the sequel.

SPOILER: also loved the unexpected f/f romance hinted in the novel, a perfect read for Pride Month.

This was a lovely easy to read graphic novel, one of which I needed at that point in my reading schedule of the month. I love the idea behind it and really enjoyed following Viginia and her brothers journey to find their mother.

I enjoyed meeting the people that they discovered upon their journey and the friendships that they built. I also loved the life lessons that were revealed to them along the way!

I really liked the aesthetic in relation to the illustrations and the colour scheme. I found it to be very unique and one which I enjoyed discovering each time I turned the page.

I am very intrigued by the ending and I am really looking forward to finding out what happens next!

ODESSA is a graphic novel about 3 siblings looking for their wayward mother in post-apocalypse America. While the premise alone was enough to make me eagerly request, the plot itself was actually lacking. I really enjoyed the artwork, but the dialogue was stilted and the only truly multi-faceted character was Four Dollars. Ginny, who was supposed to be our fearless MC, came across as very cold and hard-hearted and that never really changes throughout the story. I normally really like Ice Queen characters, but Ginny was just plain mean to the brothers she helped raised and was even worse to her "best friend".

I also wasn't feeling the thrown in diversity. Ginny is supposed to be Vietnamese-American but if it hadn't been stated explicitly on page, I never would have known, and right at the end there's a "Hey, this character is actually LGBT" without any follow-up. The ending made it seem like there's a sequel coming, but I honestly don't know why this book wasn't just shortened and the second book wasn't added in. There was no reason for this one to be 300+ pages long.

This book was just okay. It took a while to get into and was a little confusing at times. When things started to pick up, it got a little bit more interesting and I wondered where we would go next. But when I hit the end, I was upset. I had no clue this was going to be more than one book and it felt like I had read all that for nothing to get resolved and things were left so open ended.

Odessa is a heartwarming story of three children searching for their mother in a post-apocalyptic type world whilst encountering all kinds of dangers. I felt as though the story was good and I did enjoy the story, although it felt really hard to get hooked on this book. I did read it all in one go, but I had to take a short minute or two every few chapters to recompose myself and almost force myself to read more. The art style however is absolutely adorable and I really loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this post-apocalyptic journey through earthquake-ravaged Oregon and California, following siblings Ginny, Wes and Harry as they battle bears, gangs and mysterious roots that turn people into cannibals, as they search for their long-gone mother. Intricate yet stark artwork, in only black, white, and pink, really adds to the dystopian atmosphere, and the side characters like TK and Four Dollar are great too.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world that has been devastated by a large earthquake, Odessa tells the story of a group of siblings who set out to find their mother.

I'm really sad that I didn't enjoy this graphic novel as much as I thought I would. The premise was super interesting and I loved the fact that Virginia and her brothers are Vietnamese American. However, the author doesn't go into their cultural identity and if it wasn't for the plot description, I wouldn't have known they were Asian at all.

This graphic novel was honestly just meh. The characters felt dull and unlikable, especially Virginia. She seems so selfish and wishy washy at times, and it made it really hard to root for her. However, I did enjoy Four Dollars and his character development. I also like the lgbt representation within the novel. Even though it's very brief it's still there and I'm hoping Hill will explore this theme more!

I feel like things only picked up for me at the last 30 pages of the book. Everything else just felt so uninteresting and I wasn't really into the plot. However, I do really like the art and the color scheme! Overall, it was an enjoyable read, but nothing truly memorable about it.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this eARC

I am still new to graphic novels so am getting use to the shortness of them. I found this story to be quite engaging and by the characters. I read this in one sitting and was sad when it finished