DNF at about 40%, unfortunately while the concept of this book was intriguing it did not pull me into the story as I was expecting

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins/HarperAlley for the e-arc!

Strange Bedfellows is about Oberon who must choose between fantasy and reality when he develops the ability to conjure his dreams in real life—including the facsimile of the boy who got away. The artwork in this graphic novel was stunning and I found myself staring at different pages to notice the little details. I do think the story in some ways matches this artwork but at times it felt it was a bit confusing to stick with. I liked following Oberon and his journey with Kon. I think if the latter half was a bit stronger I would have enjoyed this way more but for what it is it is still worth the read.

Strange Bedfellows is gorgeous to look at. The art style is so ethereal, and it fit the emotional and mental magic that it focuses on. It fit the vibe of the story and may single handedly convince me to read more from the author.

The first 50% of the book gripped me, and I found myself so connect to Oberon and Kon. All the little hints dropped by Kon didn't slip by me, but also didn't interrupt the narrative to ensure I knew it was significant, and I like when the author is able to trust the readers like that.

The ending lost me just a bit. Visually I think it would have made more sense if I held a physical copy where I could see the whole page spread instead of having it divided in an Ebook. The final antagonist (if you can call it that?) also lost me just a bit, because I couldn't see the connection to the first half of the book, and where it actually came from.

If you're looking for a quick queer read with a focus on family dynamic, anxiety, and forgiving yourself, Strange Bedfellows is the book to pick up.

This is super cute! The art is an absolutely gorgeous watercolory style and each page is bursting with color. A real feast for the eyes. The story takes place the future on a planet (or maybe moon?) called Meridian, which is 2 generations removed from humans living on earth. We follow Oberon, a trans teen who has recently dropped out of university, as he is learning how to harness his latent superpower, which is the ability to manifest in reality things he has seen in his dreams. The other MC is Kon, the one who got away, who Oberon hasn't seen since he moved schools several years ago.

The story has slice of life, coming of age vibes but also discusses a number of serious issues including blended families, generational trauma, mental health, coming out, and a number of -isms, all thoughtfully discussed and presented in relevant situations. The story evolves in a way I wasn't expecting and I loved the ending.

The only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is because a number of the comic panels were designed in a way that was somewhat unclear, and I wasn't sure what the author / artist was trying to convey. It didn't take away from the overall understanding of the story, but it did happen a number of times. Still though, a very heartwarming and enjoyable read. If you like Heartstopper and superhero stories, you will probably like this too.

It took me a while to get into it, but I ended up really liking this graphic novel. I found the first half kind of a drag and would have to force myself to sit down and read, but the story really started to pick up at around the 50% mark. The artwork was gorgeous. It was just so trippy and I especially loved the color palette. As for the characters, I thought Oberon was fine. While I liked his overall story and narrative, I just never really developed a connection with him. I did end up really liking Kon though. At the start, he wasn't really so much of a character as a sounding board for Oberon. This begins to change though around the 50% mark, which is also probably why I started to find the story more interesting.

I adore this graphic novel, and these characters. The artwork and illustrations are stunning. The story was captivating.

The last third of this graphic novel was more emotional than I was expecting, and I loved it. I was very invested in these characters.

There’s trans representation in this graphic novel! Our MMC Oberon is a complex character to follow, and I loved how developed he was. Normally, I feel like graphic novels have a hard time fully developing characters because they’re shorter than a full length novel. But I felt these characters were perfectly developed and written for this story. Kon is such an interesting character too! I was so curious what would happen with him.

The development of their relationship was cute and also complex. I definitely found their dynamic interesting, and I loved their interactions.

Would recommend this graphic novel for sure!!

I really wanted to like this, but I had a hard time following the plot a times. I'd be reading the text bubbles then I'd be confused how we got from point B to point A. If your graphic novel does this to me multiple times I just have dnf.

3.5 stars

Thank you HarperCollins Children’s and Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this one in exchange for an honest review.

This was a lot heavier than I was expecting, and honestly, it was the heavy parts that were my favourite. I felt like I really got to know Obi and Kon during those moments.

I loved the messy buildup of their relationship, all their ups and downs.

The magic was really interesting and I kind of wish we got a bit more info on how it all works. I also would have loved a bit more history on humans leaving Earth and how they got to where they are.

I found the art style and the dialogue a bit busy sometimes? It was a lot for my brain to take in all at once. Not really a style I enjoyed, unfortunately. I also found the speech bubbles a little hard to follow at times, too, when there were a lot of them.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Loved the character development in this graphic novel and the world building took my by surprise. Beautiful illustrations and immersive writing. I also appreciated the diversity of the cast. This was an emotional story, brought to life through stunning visuals, and I would recommend this to anyone!

The colors and story line are beautiful! The beginning of the book feels just like a dream; not fully sure of what is real and what is his imagination. I love Obi and Kon's relationship, the connection Obi has to his family, and how supportive the friends are. The entire scene 3/4 of the way through with Obi and his boss is a great conversation of life and purpose. Highly recommend this book if you like anything to do with dreams, Midnight Gospel, or space exploration.

beautiful story, beautiful artistry, beautiful vision, with lots of woven-in scifi worldbuilding that fascinates with the strategic glimpses into it. The relationship between Oberon and Kon was so messy, sweet, at times traumatic, and endearing in the best way. I was especially impressed at the apparent effortlessness that such a large cast (and their web of relationships) remains so balanced and memorable—I loved all the characters and can't wait to hopefully spend more time in their vibrant world one day! One of my all-time graphic novel picks, I'll be recommending this one aggressively to everyone (in fact I already am)! A must-read for anyone interested at all in sci-fi, fantasy, maybe romance in general (bc love is real), and the overall possibilities of the YA gn space, which can be so limiting because of the nature of publishing—not that you'd suspect it at all by reading this book

the color palette was really pretty, but the actual art style, specifically the design of the speech bubbles, made it impossible to tell what was happening and who was talking most of the time. I'm also so confused by all of the characters and their stories, the entire magic system, and any backstory. The plot seemed super cool and the emotions seeping through could've carried this, but unfortunately I was just going "huh?" the whole time

I really wasn't expecting the level of emotional depth that this graphic novel would offer, since the blurb and cover made me think it would be a cute, lighthearted romance with a bit of sci-fi action scenes but this was way more than that.

There's so much vulnerability in this story and the characters and their relationships are so complex.

Oberon's life is one that a lot of people his age will relate to. It perfectly captures the anxiety of not having followed the socially conventional path and knowing that maybe this is better for you but still being terrified of what it means for your future, of how others perceive you for it.

Kon's issues are by far the most complex of all and I was caught off-guard by it. I can't speak much on it without spoiling but his story was treated with so much realism. I can totally see a teenager acting like this if this scenario ever came to reality.

I also loved the outcome of his arc and Oberon's and how the book ended, it's a somewhat bittersweet but highly hopeful ending that just makes me want to give these characters a big hug.

I also love the worldbuilding itself, even if I often found myself wanting more from it. There's so much beauty in depicting a world where humanity has learned enough from its past that they've built a world free of oppressive systems and social constructs like money, heterosexuality, marriage that helped sustain them; where they've figured out ways to make technology a tool to better care for nature and humans and where they're still constantly learning to shed all that might create unnecessary expectations and suffering. The sci-fi of this book isn't just a setting, it's a dream of what life could be if we keep working for liberation.

And important note: this is a queernormative world! Oberon is trans and there are also lots of non-binary and queer characters throughout.

This was a great book on many fronts but there were still a few reasons why it wasn't a favorite for me. Some of the panels and speech bubbles were not very intuitive to read and I sometimes struggled on figuring out their order which broke up the pacing a lot. Some images were also a bit confusing to interpret due to how they're cut. I also felt like the last act was a bit rushed compared to the previous ones.

Regardless, this was a great read and one that I will recommend to anyone who's a fan of emotionally rich stories that are also still lighthearted to some extent and full of hope! The art is just great and very lively, kind of reminiscent of the W.I.T.C.H comics in style.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC!

Ariel Slamet Ries's art is wonderful as always, and I really enjoyed the story. I don't know if I'd strictly bill this as.a romance, I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship at the heart of this graphic novel.

Stunning illustrations abound in this graphic novel about first love, friendship, anxiety, trauma, the weight of expectation, and the path to recovery. The world is richly imagined and the MC's family is wonderfully diverse. It's storytelling that takes its time--a warning for anyone impatient to figure out what's going on from the jump, but rewarding in its own right when you get to the end.

That being said, I do recommend reading the description on the back of the book for some necessary context before you jump into it--I started it based on the cover alone, and it took me a while to shake off the confusion of what was happening when it came to world-building. But that's how it goes with sci-fi and fantasy.

Strange Bedfellows was one of the most beautiful graphic novels I've ever read. The colors and the world Ariel built with them were just so stunning. I really loved the idea of this utopia that is just so queer, so anti-capitalist, so lovely in every way. I really was enthralled by every detail of the world that they built. The story itself was so touching, and I found myself relating to the family dynamics quite a bit. I zoomed through this one and will be thinking about it for a long time to come.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC..
A visually bright and fun graphic novel but the story was lackluster for me and didn't captivate me sadly.

A queer M/M graphic novel following our main character who, after having a public breakdown, develops powers to conjure things out of his imagination. He works through some tough anxiety and self-hatred while trying to get a grasp of his powers.

While I love that this is a queer M/M graphic novel and I love the subject matter (anxiety), I never connected with the characters. I found the world building a little difficult to follow and felt like I was trying to orient myself into the world too much versus enjoying the characters and their relationships.

The artwork is beautiful though.

I’d recommend this for fans of sci-fi leaning graphic novels, or those who like their reads with queer characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy for review.

Wow. How absolutely wonderful. I loved every part of this book.

The visual art itself was vibrant and beautiful. I couldn't get enough of it. But the STORY. Oh my goodness, the story. The combination of dreams as a magic system and anxiety was such a wonderfully woven idea. It helped this story be filled with so much emotional tension and heart. It really pulled at me and made me feel the story quite deeply.

I'd say some more expansive world building would have been nice, but it still did not take away from the story, in my opinion.

Most of all, I loved seeing the bond between the two boys grow throughout the story. They were both so sweet and nicely individualized characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for a free arc in exchange for an honest review.

Strange Bedfellows might be one of the coolest books I’ve ever read. Truly it has such an interesting concept that is executed very well. I’m always partial to dream magic or any sort of magical manifestations of dreams/nightmares, and I LOVE the way Ariel Slamet Ries explores how this sort of situation interacts with anxiety. Also, the art is GORGEOUS and the imagery works with the style of the graphic novel perfectly. I will say, I found the worldbuilding to be very minimal. I don’t think it took away from the story, but I do think it’s worth mentioning since many people who read sci-fi and fantasy look for immersive worldbuilding. Personally, I tend to gravitate more towards fantasy than sci-fi, so I’m not entirely sure how this compares to the average amount of worldbuilding for a sci-fi story