“Odessa” by Jonathan Hill follows the Vietnamese-American Crane siblings as they journey across a dystopian America in the attempt to locate their mother, who left the family long ago. The earthquake-ravaged country has become overrun with gangs and scavengers, and it is in this landscape that the Crane siblings struggle for survival in the hopes of repairing their damaged family. The book hosts an interesting array of curious characters and rich environments, each of which is deftly illustrated. The narrative bears a hefty amount of backstory and I’m curious to find out how all the world building and character development will pay off in (SPOILER) the next volume.

Hmm, I picked this book up not really knowing much about the plot. Basically, it is about a girl and her two younger brothers searching for their mother in a dystopian world. Earthquakes have ridden America and now gangs run everything (depending on where you live).

What I liked: The plot was intriguing and I got an adventure type vibe while reading it (if that makes sense). It reminded me why I liked adventure stories. The relationship between the siblings was realistic.

What I didn't like: Personally, I was not a fan of the art style and the font was hard to read at times. It was a little slow.

Overall, it was enjoyable and definitely worth borrowing from the library.

Sadly I was unable to download onto my kindle due to formatting issues. The concept sounds amazing and I will keep an eye out for the physical copy in future!

Ehhhhh. This graphic novel just didn't do it for me. The premise of a journey through a post-apocalyptic world sounded fab, like a huge adventurous undertaking to follow along with (call me a mythology nerd but I literally thought "Odessa" was a play on the Odyssey...it's not). But it sadly ended up being a fairly mundane trek, full of handy conveniences of adults coming to save the day. Apparently the characters are sifting through a dangerous world of gang wars, but I didn't believe the motives behind any of the villain people besides them being overly angry about petty inconveniences. Sure, they could just be bad guys, but I like my bad guys to be believable. 

While the art style really wasn't my thing, I will say it suits the rough-and-tumble style of the post-apocalyptic world. Also, bonus point for the beginnings of a F/F relationship. 

Other than that, I'd have to say this was a complete miss for me. The characters were kind of annoying to follow, with them bickering throughout 80% of the book. There were some heartwarming moments thrown in, and I suppose you could say it's an authentic depiction of siblings, but the extent in which they were shown bickering vs actual progression of the story didn't balance out enough. It also felt far too long . This graphic novel is actually just the beginning of a series, meaning it acts largely as a set up for future plot lines. That being said, it's over 300 pages long, and I definitely felt that drag. Especially when the first half was so drawn out compared to the random - and seemingly unquestioned - events in the last chapter. 

So...yeah. Not a fan I'm afraid.

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.

Odessa tells the story of children on a long journey to look for their mother. The premise of this graphic novel is quite interesting to me at first. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, it is not an ideal read in the middle of a pandemic mind you. This is not that big of a problem, however. In the end, I hope I can love this book more. Sadly, a few things about the story stop me from feeling so.

I think most of my problems stem from the fact that I expect this book to be a standalone work instead of a series (it is a series). There are still so many loose ends on the very last page. I never really get that feeling of satisfaction after finishing a story (or rather the first part of it). So, be aware of that.

I will dive into what I love about this graphic novel first; the title! The way this book title tied to the story might be obvious to most people. I still adore it nonetheless. The artwork is quite interesting too. The decision to use a particular color works pretty well. My eyes are pleased.

That being said, I have some problems with the story and characterizations. The story feels rushed at times because there is only a minimum amount of build-up. For such a thick book with a lot of things happening inside, the story is saying so little. Instead of Show, Don’t Tell the graphic novel shows so little and tells too much. Various characters keep describing how dangerous the conditions were in this universe when I don’t really see it in the story? I think the tone of the story confuses me a little because, on one page, it’s all sunny/funny. Then it suddenly turns into this gritty/violent world? The pacing in the story definitely can be improved.

I also have a hard time with the characters. I can not sympathize with the protagonists at all. Her decision at the beginning that kick start this whole story just feels abrupt with no reason whatsoever. I need to know more about her so I can see her reasoning. Her personality also does not help. Why does she yell so much & getting worked up real fast? Her siblings are no better. Instead of rooting for the characters, I just confused & annoyed because there is so much yelling & transferring the blame between siblings. This particular sibling dynamic just doesn't work for me. There is too much anger & unnecessary argument in their story, I can not bring myself to sympathize with anything.

There’s also a romance subplot that comes out of nowhere? Please add some build up next time so the reader can get some satisfaction from this.

Am I curious about what is awaiting the siblings next? Yes, I do. Sadly, their story is not in my reading priority. I hope I can relate to their character better next time.

I really like this book. It was funny and amusing. I appreciate showing the characters of the main figures and their problems. Also I liked theme od end world.
I recommend it, it's worth reading.

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.

Odessa was an okay graphic novel that follows three siblings navigating a post-apocalyptic world in search for a mother that left them and their father eight years before.

I really enjoyed the colour palette, and the art style was all right. But I felt that the plot was dragged out a bit too far, it could have easily been under 200 pages and probably would have been a better, more concise story. Instead, this one felt messy and very tropey, all the while, being extremely text heavy. I wasn't very engaged in the plot or invested in the characters. Finding the motivation to continue reading was a bit difficult. But if you like post-apocalyptic graphic novels this one might be right up your alley!

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.