Cover Image: UTown

UTown

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Member Reviews

A wonderful story. I was immediately drawn into the world of Town. The book offers a different perspective on the hardships that many people face. I already have people in mind that I will recommend this book too when it arrives on shelves. Beautifully drawn and written

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Not really what I was thinking it would be. I wasn't expecting the artwork either, not displeasing but I usually like different styles. Interesting concept and storyline though.

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I absolutely ADORED this graphic novel. God, I can't stop thinking about it, absolutely wonderful.

The characters felt real, the story had humour and action, there was enough drama an tension to keep you invested, and overall it had such a wonderful message. All about acceptance and growth, creating a community. So, so wonderful.

Not to mention the art! The art style in this was incredible, so gorgeous. The only thing I wish there was really was some colour! I think some pops of colour, maybe just for the chapter start pages, would have been great.

Absolutely superb, I'm so excited for the release of this! Gonna have to get a copy asap!

ARC courtesy of Net Galley.

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I read this a couple weeks back and forgot to review so my apologies, I remember this book being catered to young teens and that actually really enjoyed it as someone who is a young adult was about a young boy and the way he lives and deals with relationships and his life and it’s a small town . I actually really did like this book and I thought it was very relatable. The main character did progress and had a character arc. The art style, enjoyable and easy to read. I would’ve liked it if it was slightly longer and it just filled out a couple more gaps, but I would also very much enjoy all the books of all the characters in the story.

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2.5/5

I have mixed feelings about this graphic novel.
I had times where I really wanted to know more and others where I wasn't interested enough in the story itself.

It problably took me took long to complete it, as I was reading it in various occasions and all with super small sessions of like even a couple of pages, and all this on and off probably altered my perception of the whole world created by the author.

I liked the drawings, the various characters and the storyline in general, but I found it sometimes too stretched, resulting in me losing interest in reading it.

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A mix of characters threatned by gentrifcation. Each struggles with poverty in a different way- from self numbing to creating beauty. The scratchy art strokes parallel the mood of the story, further pulling you in.

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I didn't really feel that attached to the characters and overall I thought it was an OK read. Wish I liked it more.

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I really enjoyed this story and I loved the art style. The characters are flawed but likable people that try to fight the gentrification of their town. I enjoyed the character growth in this!

Thank you NetGalley, CAB, and the publisher for an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

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Grabbed from Netgalley because of promised parallels with Scott Pilgrim, which isn't entirely incorrect, but imagine if Scott Pilgrim had kicked off with that bit towards the end of the series where it all goes a bit long, dark night of the soul, and suddenly the being a daft wee slacker doesn't seem such a lark anymore. This opens with the lead saying that he no longer knows what to do with himself, wondering why he keeps fucking himself over; the only response is the person at the other end of the call saying they can't deal with his crap anymore, so please stop calling. He's tearing up his artwork, stealing from the till at work to fend off the landlord...none of this comes anywhere within sight of fun, and the other people in the building seem worse, so for all that the art really comes alive on cityscapes, that sense of possibility is always over there, somewhere off in the background, while the foreground is all squalor and tired posing. Which makes it hard to really engage with the purported theme of a rallying cry against gentrification, because if this is all the bohemians have to offer then fuck it, why not price them out and replace it all with lucrative nothingness? I know times are darker now, but is there really so little spark left? Persevering, I did start to develop more sympathy with the cast – but also with the story's main representative of gentrification, the guy who's turned a scuzzy neighbourhood boozer into a fancy coffee place and now wants to buy some local colour to replace everything he got rid of, but who despite everything turns out to be mostly OK. Really, Octopus Pie would be a better point of comparison, though even that has less of a sense of bleakness running quite this close to the surface. At the end, the mood I was left with was one of missing something that probably hadn't ever been all that good anyway, but dammit, it was ours. Perhaps the problem is just that I spend too much time in that mode already.

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

This graphic novel reminds me of Scott Pilgrim to an extent, but more than anything, it reminds me of Night in the Woods. The same feeling of wanting to just live a good life with your friends, but your town slowly is crumbling around you. I really do like how every character is written! They all feel like they could be real people, and they feel like people you could know. The overall plot feels achingly familiar, as anyone whose been pushed out of their neighborhood due to gentrification will understand. The helpless rage of being unable to stop the gentrification of your town, seeing everything you use to know suddenly change and being forced to accept your fate. I live in a town where most of the housing is getting bought out by companies or the rich and all are being turned into rentals or AirBnB's, and I'm always mad when I see another generic condo. This felt like a slice-of-life story, but with a sadder tone to it. The plot pace is fairly slow, but not mind-numbingly slow. Sam was easy to empathize with, and his mentality is relatable in a sad way. I loved the art style. It reminds me of Scott Pilgrim, but more scratchy, it felt like it was drawn with an old-style ink pen.

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