I really enjoyed reading this. For me, it was an incredibly unique learning experience and it felt shockingly fitting for the topic.

To start, the imagery is deeply fascinating and heartbreaking - oil rising and spilling across the pages, swallowing everything in its path. The book aimed to move and immerse, and that’s what it did. I truly loved that about it. It’s also highly effective as education. It takes something somewhat complex in its scientific process and social/environmental impact and makes it digestible for adolescents and the unfamiliar. I especially appreciate the book’s success in making knowledge accessible.

I oddly feel like it could’ve been a little shorter. I think the unexpected brevity of presenting the oil industry outcomes without all of the small talk from the tourists would have been even more powerful. Though, I will say that I loved the discussion between the characters at the end in the restaurant, it was a really great way to close such a powerful novel.

Overall, this is a wonderful read that taught me quite a bit in such a short amount of time. I think most people now know that oil production is disastrous, but this just forces you to see the effects from a personal angle, creating an entirely different learning experience, one that’s infinitely better than a few paragraphs in a textbook.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this Graphic Novel. 4/5 stars.

I requested this long before I took my Education for Sustainability course and my research diving into Climate Literacy, but I love how this graphic novel could be used to not only teach about the impacts of oil, but also become a deeper starting point into the stories of communities impacted by oil, particularly indigenous groups. I loved how the art style depicted oil staining everything throughout it, and I found it very informative of a specific impact of oil in Ecuador. I also didn't know Toxic Tours were a thing, so I was glad to learn about them more.

I thought this was a interesting book, I think however it just wasn't the book for me. I think it does a great job explaining toxic tours but it fell short a little bit for me.

This book was so interesting yet difficult. Explaining to us the damning effects of big oil through the lens of a 'toxic tour', we become privy to diseases, health problems, pits, economies, and families and how oil affects them all.

This highly stylized graphic novel also increases its use of black ink over the course, showing how oil affects everything we do. It's makes bottles, chairs, car parts--it's not just fuel. It's a large part of our lives, and for those where oil is found, their livelihoods.

Instead of wanting to go back to how it was before oil--because it is impossible--it is suggested that we enforce better policies, create cleaner and greener jobs, and ensure that there are reparations for harmed persons.

A powerful book.

In a word, wow. This graphic novel is powerful. It's well-researched and well-written. The art is fantastic. It took me a bit to realize that the shadows in the artwork resembled oil smudges or stains. Highly recommended.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the free ARC!

When I picked up this book, I had no idea the problems with the oil industry were this bad. I knew there were waste products when extracting oil, but I'd never really thought about what happened to them - which I'm aware is a privilege. I learned so so much from reading this book, but what I liked was that it didn't feel like someone was giving me a lecture on the subject; instead, it felt like I was right there with the characters of the book, going on the toxic tour with them. I was horrified to learn about all the ways the oil industry has poisoned nature and all of the people living there, and how they still continue to do so, even though a lot of it could actually have been avoided, if the companies cared about anything but just making as much money as possible.

Finally, I wasn't the biggest fan of the art style at first, but I quickly changed my mind. It might not be the kind of art, or drawing style, I usually prefer, but for this particular story it fit really well.

Toxic is a graphic novel that exposes the problems caused by oil extraction in Lago Agrio region of the Amazon. The story gives a lot of information on how Texaco and other companies operated in the area without any concern about how they were harming the environment and the health of people living in the area. The text is easy to understand and engaging. The illustrations are amazing, and they show how oil is an ever-present problem clearly, with blots of black staining all the pages. The graphic novel is education without being boring. It's certainly a great resource to inform people of the problems caused by oil extraction.

This incredible book takes us on a toxic tour led by Donald Moncayo in the Ecuadorian Amazon. As we go through the tour, we learn about how the surrounding communities have been impacted by oil extraction in the area. The illustrations are very well done, adding depth to the stories shared. This is a great, powerful book that I think everyone should read! It would be a great resource for educators, students, and anyone who is interested in environmental justice.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read an early copy of this!

I've been reading a lot of memoirs and nonfiction for school and wanted to try and check out more in formats I'm familiar with on topics I don't know a lot of. So when I saw this covering greed within oil corporations, I decided to pick it up. Normally I save the beginning authors note for the end but I'm glad I looked at it first to get a better idea of what the setting and pace will be, compiling notes from a series of events into a one day trip for the book. And I was already a fan of the art style within the character/participant bios.

The atmosphere is drawn in a way that almost reminds me of a platform puzzle game and the doodles found on a magazine, absolutely loved it. The dialogue bubbles were a little hard to follow for most conversations but it wasn't too much of a hurdle to get through to figure out who was saying what, just the order. I was impressed at how most of the conversations didn't feel like info-dumping even though things are set up to explain what others may not know, but it's still a lot of information to digest so while the book pacing occurs in a day, take your time reading it part by part.

Loved the addition of links for further reading at the end too.

This book was a really engaging and interesting way to spread knowledge about a serious issue plaguing important parts of the natural world.

This was so good and so sad. The artwork was really interesting and I loved how they incorporated the black splotches to represent the oil that is prevalent everywhere.

This is a very interesting subject, but the art does nothing for the story, and the book reads like a presentation of facts rather than a narrative. It's not engaging when it should be.

I went into this title blind so it took me a minute to get some of the more subtle imagery and once I did, I was blown away. I didn't know how to feel about the art at first, it isn't my favorite style, but it fit really well so it didn't take long to get used to it. I also took WAY too long to figure out the black spots mirrored the pollution of the oil in the Amazon. It is set in Ecuador and based on real world tours of the damage oil has done. Some pages were sad and some pages were crawl into your bed and have a good cry sad. Well done and powerful book.

5 stars

This graphic novel provides an accessible route into learning about environmental injustices in Ecuador in proximity to Texaco/Chevron oil industry productions. In the narrative, we follow Donald, a local resident who hosts “Toxic tours” through the Amazon, educating his community and visitors to his community on the history of the land and the way oil industry permeates the environment and way of life there. Amazingly, the characters and the Toxic Tours are based on ethnographic research that the authors did with real people and neighborhoods in Ecuador! I thought this was very important to know. Also, I find that using this medium is so clever for a topic as heavy as this. In plain black-and-white text a topic like this can feel unavoidably weighty, to the point where I suspect many potential readers are lost before any message can be delivered. Yet, in graphic form, there is already some levity built into the structure of the book. Though the topic isn’t any less sad or important, something about reading it through dialogue bubbles makes it easier for the heart to process. It is my hope that this book will reach a wider audience and that it will help the people and environments affected through this wider reach. I, myself, walk away from this read more educated and more interested in the intricacies of oil production and pollution. I walk away especially interested, as a person born in the US, of the impact my country’s technologies (and sometimes inhumane usage of those technologies) have on other nations and humans. This is a question that this book inspires me to keep pursuing.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher

Sehr wichtige Message, gute Darstellung.

Dieses Buch behandelt das Thema rund um das Thema Erdöl und dessen Einflüsse auf die Umwelt und die Menschen. Das Thema ist ein, auch heute noch, sehr wichtiges Thema, darum finde ich es schonmal sehr gut, dass es hier angesprochen wird.
Auch die Darstellung und Behandlung des Themas ist meiner Meinung nach gut gelungen.

Ich hatte jedoch etwas das Gefühl, dass das Buch eher etwas für englischsprachige bis fortgeschrittene Fremdsprache Englisch war. Ich hätte es schöner gefunden, wenn es etwas leichter geschrieben gewesen wäre und somit auch für eine größere Bandbreite zugänglicher wäre.
Der Schreibstil persönlich ist eher nicht mein Fall, aber das kann ja von Person zu Person variieren. Ich finde jedoch, dass auch die Bilder nicht immer ganz eindeutig für sich gesprochen haben womit ich wieder beim Punkt der Verständlichkeit wäre.

Dennoch finde ich es sehr gut, dass mit diesem Buch hier endlich mal ein Thema repräsentiert wird was meiner Meinung nach nicht oft genug vertreten ist.

Written by Amelia Fiske and illustrated by Jonas Fischer, illustrates the environmental damage done to the Ecuadorian Amazon through Oil and Gas production, including the Texaco waste that's been made famous through lawsuits.

The story cleverly takes the form a "toxic tour" (guided tours that focus on environmental damage) attended by three tourists (an Italian aid worker, an American who lives near a US refinery, and an Ecuadorian from the coast who is visiting the Amazon for the first time). The tour guide's narration and the tourist's questions allow the book to include large blocks of text without feeling exposition-heavy. The art style is blocky, which won't be to everyone's taste, but which is a style choice that's clearly meant to mirror the oil waste in the rivers and well water that we see at various points.

The book would be perfect for secondary school students, and ends with a teaching guide aimed at that audience. It's also a solid introduction to both the general environmental cost of O&G production, and specifically to the situation in Ecuador, so it would be a great jumping off point for anyone exploring those topics as well.

I think Toxic is an excellent book. I often struggle with non-fiction, but I loved the format in that it was informative in its content, but still followed a narrative which made it easy to stay invested in the story. Information is presented in a comprehensive way that makes it accessible to a general audience, but never downplays the severity of the situation. It is truly horrible to see how harmful this industry is to both nature and people, and I hope that others who read this book are motivated to take action.
Along with the content, I loved the art as well and felt like it added to the narrative (and I also just think it’s neat that the font is the author’s handwriting:) ).
In addition to being a great representation of the authors’ research and passion towards environmental justice in Ecuador, I think it is also a great homage to Donald Moncayo and other “Toxic Tour” tour guides and locals who spend their lives educating others and fighting for justice and action for their community.

Toxic
Genre: graphic novel
Rating: 4.25⭐️

This is a must read, especially for those that are passionate about the environment. I know very little about the oil industry, let alone its impact to South America. It was fascinating to learn more, especially in an engaging graphic novel format - it didn’t feel like I was reading something that, for all intents and purposes, is mostly nonfiction.

We follow the story of local tour guide, his daughter, and several tourists. While fictional characters, the author’s introduction lets readers know they’re based on real people. Toxic fumes, oil spills, search for clean water are just some of the many challenges the Ecquadorian and those reliant on the Amazon face. These topics are discussed during the toxic tour.

Illustrations are fitting for the story and heavy on dark colors, feeling like oil was spilling right on the pages. This is certainly a story and pictures that will stick with readers.

Toxic was a raw and powerful graphic novel about the greed of oil companies and the environmental and social consequences of their actions. The book has an intriguing art style, which elevates the story. Toxic follows a local tour guide and a group of tourists who are learning about oil production in Ecuador and the catastrophic effects it has had on the land and its people.

I found the graphic novel to be highly educational on the history of Oil companies in Ecuador and other parts of Latin America. I found it clever how the art style had smudges of what looked like oil to represent how the extraction of oil has sullied every aspect of people's lives. The story focuses on the consequences revolving around the lives of locals, indigenous communities, farmers, children, and nature. The graphic novel serves both as a voice for these communities that for decades have been victims of oil companies and as a warning to the readers to fight such injustices. I found the book to be interesting and a valuable text that brings awareness of the various companies that destroy nature and the quality of life for animals and people with no remorse.

No matter how good a journalist is, sometimes reading a news story or listening to a podcast creates a distance between the consumer and the events portrayed. In Toxic, Amelia Fisk and Jonas Fischer close this distance by taking the reader on a "toxic tour" in Ecuador - depicted through comic/graphic storytelling. And instead of relying entirely on exposition, Toxic uses a show *and* tell method where the reader follows a tour guide (the author's actual tour guide when she went on the toxic tour IRL) who points out various examples of the environmental devastation caused by oil exploitation in Ecuador. The tour guide explains the history, the impact on local communities, and fields questions from several tourists. And throughout the book, we see the tourists begin to recognize the massive scope of the devastation and bemoan the intractable problem of relying on fossil fuels as the key to modern life - the exact same experience that the reader will likely feel when reading.

I'd recommend this book to educators and people looking for an entrypoint into environmental activism.

#Toxic #NetGalley