This comic definitely has some of the most beautiful art I have seen around. The style is special, the drawings colourful and lively and truly unique. Sadly the story didn't really pull me in and the jumps in location without proper breaks were confusing at times. Overall I think it's still an enjoyable graphic novel, that will definitely be interesting to many people.

Beautifully illustrated and colorful, "Secrets of the Aweto" is a beautiful story about a young seeker of aweto, a magical plant said to cure illness that grows upon earth elementals. He travels with his mother and aggressive half human brother on a journey to find celestial aweto which grants immortality. On one of their raids he finds a baby earth elemental and takes it in as a friend. It is now up to him to look after the creature and keep it safe from both the greedy seekers of aweto and his brother.

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the next volume!

Artwork: 5/5
Story: 4/5

Thank you, NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read the first book on the series of "Seekers of Aweto". Based on Asian culture, Nie Jun tells us about an imaginary world where exists these creatures called "Aweto". A family of two brothers and a mother, called the seekers of Aweto, traveled land by land stealing the aweto. The two brothers were from the streets and one is a mixture of human and fairy and the other one has the power to control bugs. They steal one aweto from a land but the warriors of that city fight back and want to get back his aweto. The story has action, mystery, and such a good plot. But, can we just talk about the art? It is absolutely incredible, the colors and the character design are amazing.

A beautifully illustrated culturally rich story about deities and family and duty.
The art is amazing and it's got the vibes of a Ghibli movie/anime in general.
Beautiful :)

This was a tough one for me. Sometimes I loved the artwork and other times I was just bored. The story mostly ran that gambit too. Kudos for the concept, but it just wasn't memorable. I would probably go out in the library.

Thank you NetGalley, I just reviewed The Hunt Is On by Nie Jun. #TheHuntIsOn #NetGalley

First off, I just want to say the art in this graphic novel is phenomenal. I absolutely loved it beyond words. It fit the style of the story so well and the colors were fantastic. The landscapes were so beautiful.
The story itself was a little bit confusing at first, but some things were explained along the way. The idea of it was very unique and interesting. I loved the baby aweto.
I do wish it was a little bit longer, but I want to see what happens next!

I LOVED the art, but I didn't like the story at all. The art itself though was worth reading this. Wataercolor and all, I really liked it!

I have read Nie Jun's another graphic novel of "Beijing". I like his art style. After reading this one, I can't wait to read the next book and find out more of this story. This story takes place in Dun Huang, a good travel point for next trip.

Such a fun and beautiful read! I loved the art style. It was absolutely stunning!! This book is essentially about treasure hunters that are looking for Aweto which is a magical root! The youngest brother accidentally encounters a baby Aweto (Think baby Yoda cuteness!) and has to hide him because his brother would kill it on site! This book was super fun to read and highly recommend it.

This charming and whimsical little tale tells the story of three seekers of a magical “aweto” plant, and the lengths that they go to achieve it. The story is rooted (pun intended) in Chinese mythology and folklore, and the tone of the graphic novel captures that air of both the mystical and the fantastical, while at the same time feeling real for the characters that populate its world.

The visuals are beautiful and breathtaking - an alluring style that mixes watercolor with Ghibli-inspired characters and backdrops. The art style adds to the worldbuilding, which feels fresh and “folk-tailey”, familiar settings that add just a hint of magical realism, and then just a hint more. This is a world that is begging to be explored, and it is bursting with interesting stories and adorable characters.

The pacing of the story felt off. The first act overstayed its welcome a bit, and it would have been nice to spend more time with some of the minor characters who weren’t given enough breathing room. Also, it started off with a frame story narrative, but never returned to it. Granted, the story is likely to continue in the second volume.

Overall, this is a fantastical little tale, and I will be looking forward to reading the sequel

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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*I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The artstyle is amazing, right up my alley, I love the watercolour panels, they look so dream-like and magial! It really makes this read whimsical and worth reading :)

The story is based upon Chinese folklore, which is really interesting. I find it fascinating to read about myths of different cultures. I thought this was well done, especially in regard of the illustrations.

Storywise it was a bit confusing at times, and the ending felt rushed, but overall an interesting read.

This is excellent, pure and simple. The search for treasures, a loving family, fast-paced action and adventure, wrapped up inside an exciting & riveting story. I easily read in one setting and could not stop. Highly recommended.

What a stunning book!! Our students love My Beijing. So, when I saw Nie Jun had a new book, I quickly added it to my next book order. I haven’t read My Beijing, but noticing Aweto on Netgalley; I thought I would give it a read.

Aweto is a rare plantlike creature that brothers Xinyue and Qiliu hunt, along with their mother. Qiliu’s life's mission is to find the rare celestial aweto. Xinyue admires his brother and wants to help him locate the sacred aweto. But when Xinyue stumbles across a baby chadolo (some ancient deity), he is mistaken for its Pa… and now it will not leave him alone. He must keep it hidden for fear of what his family would do if they find it, as well as the village warrior after him for taking it.

Overall, the illustrations in this book are wonderful... I would say breathtaking! I work at an international school in China and I like the use of traditional names and giving translations for words. There was one part where a lot happened all at once and was almost confusing (wait.. their mother is what?) With it being a series though, they might explain more later, so I won’t let it ruin the book for me. I think the story is very engaging and I am very excited for the next installment!

Thanks Lerner Publishing Group and Netgalley for giving the opportunity to access this ARC. I really enjoyed the book and look forward to its release, so our students can enjoy it too!

✨ 4 Stars ✨
This book was really adorable!! I enjoyed the storyline and the artwork was beautiful! I am excited to read more of the story of Xinyue because that cliffhanger at the end made me want more! I do have the say that the storyline progressed a lot faster than I expected and that’s why I didn’t give it 5 stars, but I enjoyed it overall!

This was amazing. I want more, the story was beautiful and colorful. It was a little sad at the end but it was almost perfect. I definitely want to read more, I want to see the characters grow and know what happens next it ended on a cliffhanger. Absolutely astounding

Nie Jun brings to life a whimsical and unique story that people of all ages would enjoy. The story follows two brothers and their mother on a quest to hunt down a rare plant called aweto. It has amazing healing properties and catches quite a profit on the markets. Obtaining aweto is no easy task and to do so, they often find themselves at odds with villages who prize the plant and the deities that produce it.

The art style is absolutely stunning. Awe-inspiring watercolor panels and beautiful illustrations definitely made this graphic novel worth reading. It’s not often we see Chinese-inspired folktales brought to the western market and I loved seeing the story brought to life.

The premise itself was super interesting, but the pacing felt off. The story tended to transition rather suddenly from one point of time to another, and it could sometimes get confusing. The lore wasn’t explained as well as I would have hoped so I found myself lost for a good portion of the book. I wanted to get more emotionally invested with the world and characters, but because we had so little time and so few explanations, I found it hard to form an attachment. For me, the ending felt rushed because there was little build-up for the major plot twists.

However, I loved the air of mystery and adventure the book gave. There was a hint of Avatar the Last Airbender vibes and I’m curious to see more of this world in future installments.

Rating: 3.5

Secrets of the Aweto Book 1: The Hunt Is On is really interesting since it's a Chinese comic and set in China. Xinyue and Qiliu are brothers that seek mysterious aweto that are plants of sorts and that are the base of lustrous environment because of the deities. These two and their mom travel the Silk Road and the older brother wants to find the mythical celestial aweto. Xinyue finds a deity that can create aweto and wants to keep it safe only to find out that nothing is what it seems. The story is a journey and we get to learn secrets and so many things change. The maps where a great add-on and the deities look great and the whole thing is very fairy-like in a sense. The rhythm isn't the best though and the panels don't follow one another seamlessly. Sometimes it was hard to keep track what is happening and the beginning is slow until suddenly everything happens too fast even.

The art looks wonky and very traditionally Chinese, which is nice. The paint brush like work with rich and hollow colors is beautiful and fits very well with the story. Secrets of Aweto is like a picture book actually and an art piece by itself. The plot is interesting so I surely want to know what happens!

Aweto, a plant in summer and a worm in winter, can heal any ailment. It is so rare that a profession was created to hunt for it: the seeker. This graphic novel is a playful and fun book to read as well as look at with its creative illustrations. The story follows a seeker who suddenly was chosen to protect a baby chadolo. Unbeknowst to the seeker, he really has a celestial aweto, rarer than rare and sought after by everyone. Graphic novel lovers will adore this beginning in a series to come.

A dreamlike, folkloric, atmospheric, colorful fantasy told through simple words and enchanting watercolors.

I’m a school librarian and my students study the Silk Road where this story takes place, so I thought it could be a fun fictional read to pair with their historical study. The watercolor illustrations are beautifully done and the story kept me interested throughout, especially after meeting the baby cholo. My middle school students love graphic novels and I think they will enjoy this book.