I received an advanced copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Living in a magical and human world, teenage Callie believes she's no one special. Until her dad goes missing in the magical, enchanted world with talking vegetables. Callie and her friend Declan visit the other realm in search of her dad and meet all sorts of creatures of old. From a mysterious and rude character who wants Callie for his wife to a talking and possessive radish, Callie has her hands full. And what's with the glowing light bulbs?
As a major fan of the Webtoon app, Nothing Special didn't entice me as my other favorites from the app. With its short episodes/chapters and a simple palette of colors, this new graphic novel is for fans of fantasy, a little romance, and a whole lot of hijinks galore!

Truly beautiful art style that helps emphasize the humor in the story. The characters are well developed and intriguing. Very creative story line. I loved the little touches like spelling out action words in the environment.

This story follows a high school girl on her search to rescue her father. It reminded me of a improv fantasy podcast with quests that were a bit random, but fit the overall theme. I wasn’t sure the intended audience at first because parts felt middle grade (like the tone and humor) but other parts (like the romance and language) felt young adult. So I think the genre of young or new adult would work best for this.

There were a lot of interesting ideas throughout, but I didn’t connect with characters, as they felt a little flat and one dimensional. There were lots of Lord of the Rings, and general fantasy pop culture references, which sometimes were funny but maybe too much at times.

The art style was very cutesy for the story, when it didn’t always match the content. My review of this graphic novel ended up a lot like this book was: not all of it made sense, it was too long, but it was enjoyable enough.

(Thanks to the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.)

I love this book so much!! The story is ADORABLE! The graphics are incredible! Yet another beautiful wonderful whimsical magical graphic novel I fell in love with from the start and just want to “blue skadoo” into the pages and live there forever! I especially love the way the book portrays plants. Very important message to learn from that. Bonus points: It felt like I was living in a cute little video game. I was so immersed in this fantasy world, I could read it again and again! I even laughed out loud multiple times. I’ve never genuinely laughed out loud from a book before and this one did it for me. It was funny and heartwarming at the same time. (Make sure you read everything in the background of every picture! Some of the signs are hilarious) I love everything about this book. The only thing I don’t love is that I don’t own a physical copy. I received an ARC copy from netgalley but I want the physical book in my hands now! I’ll definitely be getting the physical copy when it comes out. “Nothing special” is definitely something special! ✨

This is the first volume of Katie Cook’s popular Webtoon series - Nothing Special. I was not previously familiar with this comic but so far the storyline is fantastic. I was drawn in from the first few pages and I look forward to the release of further volumes. (I may have to peek at the Webtoon to find out what happens next.)

The illustrations are a little more cutesy than what I am used to in a graphic novel but Nothing Special is geared toward the YA set. The style is unique and fits well with the fantasy, fairytale-like plot. There is some mild violence but it’s not gory.

This fun, action-filled graphic novel would be great for fantasy readers who are looking for something without anything spicy or overly graphic.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and Ten Speed Graphic!

Nothing Special happens to be something very very special. I have been a fan of Katie Cook's drawing for many years and I'm so happy to see it showcased in a book like this. The storytelling is superb, following our main little cast of characters with quirky personalities and big hearts. They go on a quest to save our main character's father who went missing. Along the way they find out about their special powers, fall in love, and more! This fun adventure is great for fans of Bone and other great all ages comics like that. I cannot wait for book 2!

This has becoming one of my favorite series. I can’t wait for read volume 2. The use of different monsters and creatures is amazing. I also enjoy the use of ones that aren’t the typical creatures used in books recently. The dynamic between the two main characters is so cute and heartwarming. The way they came together and became best friends was very fun to watch it all happening. The art style is very cute as well. I liked the use of the colors and the style.

The story is interesting and captivating. It makes me want to know what will happen next with every page turn. It goes from a loner girl making a true best friend, to an adventure to find her dad, a little bit a of a love story, and then has her finding out who and what she truly is and how powerful she is.

Joy in a book.

That is the best way to describe this fantastical book that will transform even the grumpiest of peoples' smiles' into grins.

Join Lyla as she embarks on a quest, discovering herself and many others along the way.

The illustrations are not only wonderfully drawn, but colourized spot-on. It honestly gives the feel of watching a movie with each page that is turned.

The plot if well paced, and has a great tongue-in-cheek sense of humour to it while also adding a touch of self-awareness that truly makes the reader be fully engrossed in the story.

Here's hoping that Nothing Special will have many more additions to a stellar book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ten Speed Press for the free copy of this book and the opportunity to provide my honest opinion.

This book was pretty cute. I loved the characters and the scenery. The story was super fun and the little creatures were so adorable. I loved the Composition Book part. So fun!!

I read a digital Advance Reader Copy of this webtoon turned graphic novel via NetGalley. The book is a playful fantasy with magic and romance. Two seemingly normal teens set out on an adventure of mythic proportions as Callie searches for her missing father with Declan’s help. They discover their own special capabilities and reveal their feelings amidst some quirky side characters like a ghostly radish spirit and a rather aggressively courting demon.

This was such a cute graphic novel. I loved every second of it. It was well paced and the characters made it very easy to want them to come out on top.

**Disclaimer: I recieved a free eARC of this through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this opportunity.  I had so much fun reading this book.  It was well-written and I really enjoyed the art style.  I liked the dynamic between the two main characters.  I also really liked the radish spirit that travelled with them.  It was super cute and unique.  I definitely want to read more of this series and world.  It was very cute.

Two not-so-human teenagers and a friendly ghost radish face the fantasy adventure of a lifetime in this captivating graphic novel, featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes material, from the inimitable Katie Cook.

Well-written, well-illustrated, well-done!

I LOVED THIS SO MUCH.
So much fun, I loved learning about the world and spending time with these characters. I wish I had my own lil radish spirit to keep me company, which is a sentence I never thought I’d say.

3.5/5. To make it clear early on I am biased as I devoured season one and most of season two of this webtoon back in high school. I am very excited this got a physical printing! Its a wonderful story. It is decidedly an adventure story and not an action story. It might lack a lot of friction with its main conflict being very distant for much of its length but the focus is put on the fun character dynamics of Callie, Declan, Lasser, and Radish. Their dynamics carry the story and I'm so glad Katie Cook oriented the story structure around that.
The art is nice but a bit acquired. It gives a bit of "How to Draw Manga" vibes. While some snuff their nose at that style I see it as a style with merit. Katie also admits to enjoying having her characters blush with them doing so in nearly all the panels. Its just a fun adventure romp with clean and crisp emotive art (albeit with some slightly awkward mannequin-esque posing). I will say I dislike how the panels are handled. They feel too loose with too much white space. It's an issue for many printed webtoons but it's especially harsh here at times.

This. Was. Adorable!!! I loved the story and of course the gorgeous artwork. I also have a new favorite character in Radish (yes, the spirit of an actual radish). The “montages” were especially funny. I love forward to reading more of this story!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc of this book.

Great graphic novel, easy to follow, amazing graphics, really good story and loads of great characters throughout. Was a really fun read and great after finishing a longer book, finished it in so time!
Will definitely read the next volume.

I was surprised by the length of this graphic novel, but even if it's 400 pages, it feels light. I really appreciated how the story wrapped within the volume.

It's a very nice, fun and fantastic middle-grade story, full of magic and adventure. It also incorporates some comedy and romance, but everything was balanced very well. The story in itself was intriguing, and I liked it from the beginning, when we find out about Callie's father's shop, since it's based both in the real world and fantasy world, which I wanted to explore. I was curious about Callie's identity, since she is half human, half something else, but, to be honest, I was in it for the adventure!

This is a very charming, easy to follow middle=grade comic book, a fantasy adventure told with plenty of humor. The characters seem to both know and not know they are oddballs (affectionate) and seem to take things in stride. I quite liked how well-balanced the quest for adventure formula was with additions of romance, and some tongue-in-cheek fourth wall breaking. It would definitely make for a good present for a younger reader, especially if they love games and graphic novels.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy.

Callie comes from another place, a magical place, but the only magical thing about her, is that she can see plant spirits. A dandelion dies, she can see the spirit. A radish dies, there is the spirit. So one day, while she is sketching one of these spirits a boy, Declan, says “Oh, you see them too?” Turns out he is part (or all) fae, and just started seeing them.

And then Callie’s father gets kidnapped, and she and Declan and a radish spirit that happens to like her, go off into the magical realm to save him. Along the way they meet a demon, Lasser the lesser, who wants to join them.

Apparently this is the first volume of more adventures, which will be fun. Callie is very determined. Declan is more than willing to help, and the demon tends to be a little clueless.

A fun sort of romp. Full of jokes, and veggie spirits, and creatures both good and bad.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book will come out from Ten Speed Press the 5th of March 2024.