Crystal Cadets
by Anne Toole, Katie O’Neill
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Pub Date Dec 23 2015 | Archive Date Jul 08 2016
Lion Forge | Roar Comics
Description
Zoe has always felt out of place; her foster parents are great and all, but she’s long felt like something was missing. That is, of course, until she discovers a mysterious gem left to her by her birth mother and her whole universe gets flipped around! When the crystal grants Zoe mysterious powers of light she becomes the Diamond Cadet, and she’s not the only one; suddenly she’s meeting new friends who shoot flames and glowing green arrows. It’s all fun at first, but when The Darkness possesses Zoe’s foster parents her only choice is to join this wild group of action-hero girls, traveling the globe to defeat The Darkness and find a cure!
Advance Praise
"Anne Toole has a good handle on adventure story and blends it with the remarkably cute artwork of Katie O'Neill." -- ICv2
Marketing Plan
Common Core lesson plan
Extensive ARC mailing to book trade and library publications and comics news outlets
Additional outreach to anime/magical girl fan communities
Free POS material for retailers and librarians by request
High-traffic entertainment outlet and kid-focused ad program (print and web)
Paid outreach and book reviews on kid-focused social media platforms
Digital comics retail promotions to increase fan base and interest in print collections
Social Media support on all Lion Forge platforms
Featured at BEA, ALA and comics conventions across the country throughout the year
Available Editions
EDITION | Paperback |
ISBN | 9781631404313 |
PRICE | $12.99 (USD) |
Featured Reviews
I really liked the premise of Crystal Cadets! Basically we have these girls, who've inherited different stones that work as the base of their powers. They're supposed to fight darkness and evil and find all the girls to their group. Crystal Cadets is fun and wonderful story mostly aimed at girls, we so need more comics like this that are about friendship, cooperation and growing as people. The comic isn't that long either, so young readers can actually enjoy this quite easily. Mostly it's just that there's not enough pages to make this plot work fully. We don't really get to know the girls and the formation of their group happens all too fast. Perhaps this comic should've been just about the girls getting to know one another as well as the looming darkness starting to change the world. Then we could have the second part in which we would have this Topaz betrayal.
The art work is cute and the colors are magical. The comic is an easy read and looks a little like Adventure Time. The art work fits the story very well and makes this approachable even for younger readers. Girl power is the best and all the girls have wonderful summoning animals and they are also strong. We only have one boy, but he doesn't end up saving the girls - instead they all save the world together. The comic praises great values without spewing moral or anything like it. A good comic for young girls!
What a great Graphic Novel series for girls. I hope there are more because we did not really get to know the girls well in this action packed story.
Zoe starts at a new school and is immediately hassled by some soccer playing girls. She is rescued by a group of exchange students. As she heads home, she is grumbling that it is her birthday. At home her parents give her a gift from her Birth Mother. This is when she reads a strange letter and gets a Diamond Gem. She is not sure what to make of it. When she returns home the next day there is something wrong with her parents and a black dragon demon is after her. Once again being rescued by this group of girls she finds out they are part of the Crystal Cadets and that is one of them as well. The dragon represents The Darkness that feeds upon bad behaviors like greed, lying, cheating. Only friendship and magic can defeat it. They are still searching for more cadets.
Each girl has specific powers and rides upon a magic creature such as a unicorn, a butterfly, pegasus etc. As another reviewer mentioned, the cast is extremely racially diverse, and it’s all taken in stride, with no stereotypes in sight. And the Darkness causes trouble all over the world, so the settings are diverse as well.
I think this series would be devoured by young girls as well as empowering them to become better people to try to stamp out the darkness in our own world.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. But, the ending did not feel like an ending. It left me wanting to read more and more. Very exciting!
Perfect for elementary school kids and tweens. Full of action, fun, and mystery, but lacks depth, development, and surprise for older readers. The characters are great role models, seriously fierce, and have some awesome powers. While it may not have been the deepest comic I've read, I enjoyed it, which is one of the most important things that matters.
MAGIC KNIGHT RAYEARTH meets SAILOR MOON meets STEVEN UNIVERSE in this awesome, zippy graphic novel about young girls with gems that give them powers to fight the darkness.
This book is so great! So many girls! Diversity everywhere! A wide range of personalities! Magic!
Zoe is our leading character, who has transferred to a new school on the same day as her birthday. Some mean girls pick on her, but then some awesome looking girls show up and defend her. Zoe's adopted parents give her a momento from her birth mom after school - a baby book! And then Zoe finds a letter and a crystal hidden in the spine. Hmmm, mysterious!
Very, very quickly after, strange creatures start showing up and Zoe's parents are afflicted with some illness and the girls who stuck up for Zoe reappear with a ton of magic weapons and summons. Then it's revealed that Zoe's diamond means she's one of the Crystal Cadets!
The action is near-constant throughout the graphic novel as they search for other Crystal Cadets, but there's a few breaks for centering themselves and their motivations. The illustrations are lovely, the colors wonderful, and the banter is funny.
You can find more of my thoughts here as I livetweeted my read of the book - https://storify.com/WriterCMLloyd/cry...
***e-ARC provided by NetGalley***
I say the cover of this while browsing netgalley.com and I was on vacation so I thought a light graphic novel would be a great car read. I was right. This was so fun! We follow a group of girls all with special gifts that are passed down from generation to generation by the stone that each family has. Our main character is the Diamond of the group. These spunky girls are setting out to defeat the Darkness and find all the other stone bearing girls.
This is definitely a middle grade graphic novel but I love the style and love that these female driven graphics exist helping younger girls embrace comics and relate to the main characters. This is fast paced an surprisingly kick ass for a middle grade story.
I am really excited to follow this series if/when it continues. The art style alone is pretty spectacular and worth giving this a read. The colors are vibrant, the characters and scenes are whimsically drawn and there is a twist around every turn. If you know a middle grade girl or boy who likes magical fantasy stories than definitely check this out.
Crystal Cadets is full of friendship, teamwork and super cute artwork! I was lucky enough to get my wish granted by the publisher and get a sneak peek of the book and I was not disappointed! The artwork is so beautiful and the story is super original. All I can say is I hope to read more!
This title is perfect for middle grade-aged girls! Elements of the story will probably feel a bit heavy-handed to older readers, but the dynamic personalities of the girls and the diversity of the cast, along with the age-appropriate action will make this the perfect read for middle grade-aged girls looking for a new magical girl title. Paulina Ganucheau's colors on this graphic novel were definitely the highlight of it for me.
Crystal Cadets is a fun, fast paced, adventure story that will appeal to young girls of all ages, but especially those in middle school.
Crystal Cadets has beautiful artwork and gorgeous colors throughout. The themes of friendship and adventure will inspire readers to grow and value the relationships they have.
The beautiful artwork, engaging story, and strong themes makes Crystal Cadets a perfect read for young readers, and a fun one for anyone else who'd like to read it.
Text copied from GR Review: This is definitely geared towards younger readers, but I think it's headed in the right direction. There's diversity and also appeal for parents who might have been on a Sailor Moon kick in their younger days. ;)
Most of the cadets are adopted, because their birth mothers gave them up to protect them. Their power crystals are passed down from mother to daughter, and they fight the darkness in the world. The darkness comes any time we make a choice to do the wrong thing -- lie, cheat, steal, etc. I liked the message that you can win or you can cheat, but you can't truly do both. (Winning by cheating isn't winning.) Great lessons and messages for kids, and also finding your confidence and that you can do what you set your mind to.
I want more in depth for the characters and to learn more about each one, but this is the first volume, and hopefully there are more to come. It took awhile in other cartoons and things I remember from my childhood before we got the 'individual' episodes that dealt more with each character in depth and you learned more about them as a person and not just as a member of the team.
Definitely one I would like to share with my nieces when they get older...it's a little beyond newborns. ;)
This was super adorable, and perfect for fans of Sailor Moon and the magical girl genre, but I felt it was a bit heavy handed with it's message of darkness vs. light and good vs. evil. Would definitely still recommend for the 8-10 age range.
A great starter Magical Girl series. (4 stars)
Ugh. I hate admitting that this as pretty much my first foray into the Magical Girl genre. I've always found it a bit of a genre I'm curious about but afraid to dabble in because it seems like it could be so cheesy and awful. Fortunately, Crystal Cadets was a really enjoyable—if a little far-fetched feeling—place to start.
I know, you're scratching your head wondering why I'd say far-fetched in about a comic featuring girls who have crystals that give them special powers...? It's not that bit that gave a bit of eye roll, it was how the characters ran off on their adventure with seemingly no concern for their foster/adoptive parents/families and it all just kind of felt silly. That said, it's a pretty neat concept and if my daughter was a couple of years older I think she would love it. Definitely perfect for the target age group but maybe not so much for the adults who thought it might be a more manga-like version of Lumberjanes.
If you're looking for a fun adventure comic to get a get for a girl who is a newbie I highly recommend it!
If you're interested in fast-paced graphic novel with a bunch of girls armed with superpowers here's a story for you
This story is all about friendship and fighting evil. It all starts with just three girls, but rather quickly they find and save more cadets, more gifted girls with jewels that allow them to use their special powers. Each gem has its own strengths and weaknesses and they have to fight as a team to defeat the evil lurking nearby. But who will be the last cadet? Who's controlling the darkness?
This story felt like a crossover between Sailor Moon and W.I.T.C.H. where some teenagers try to save the world. I did like both of the mentioned mangas :D by the way, and I did like this one, but just a bit less than these. Crystal Cadets felt a little rushed. The new girls had to learn to use their skills pretty much the same moment they found out about them. It's not really convincing. I think I'm getting enough of the stories in which a hero or heroine suddenly finds out about their super abilities and they get all awesome with using them with no time at all. I'm starting to like books in which characters learn using their skills slowly, or where they were learning for years already. It's more believable that way. But let's get back to the story.
The girls make a great team, they still need to bond to make awesome evil-fighting superheroes, but they're up to a good start. Also, if you enjoy diversity in your stories, this one is perfect :). Not only the girls themselves but also the creatures they can summon with their powers vary in looks, types, and abilities.
And look at the graphic! isn't it adorable? And all the colors! I loved it. Girls' skills are nicely shown and the Darkness is well shown in all the colorful panels. I had an ARC copy and the last few pages were colorless ad even though it shown how the monsters from the dark side looked like, I did prefer the colored version. The images can be quite detailed and with only the black and white lines, they would be chaotic. Besides I do like colored graphic novels :).
In conclusion, I did like the graphic, the idea, and the diversity, but it was all too fast. It's a good novel for a younger audience for sure, but for me, it simply lacked some smoothness, some panels in between the action, some explanation for everything that was happening.
When I first heard about this title, it wasn't available on NetGalley for review yet, but the publisher included an option to "make a wish" for the book. So you can only imagine how happy I was when I got an email telling me this colourful graphic novel that was drawing me in for some reason was available to request.
Crystal Cadets has a story that reminded me a lot of Sailor Moon. Remember Jadeite, Nephrite...? Well, in this graphic novel, we have a set of girls who draw their powers from gems that are being passed down from generation to generation. Our main character, Zoe, is an orphan and although her foster parents are lovely, she has always felt a hole in her life. That is, until she is found by the Crystal Cadets and she herself becomes a Diamond Cadet.
Each of the Cadet has a personal "mount", some of which having the ability to fly, or swim. Their main goal? Fight against the darkness in humans' souls.
In the first part of the book, the girls continue searching for the other Crystal Cadets to form a great time and fight against evil, none other than a Crystal Cadet gone bad. Except for the very last part, I am guessing it sound a lot like your typical mahou shoujo anime, right? And it is! But it's so lovely to read this title, since most mahou shoujo are black&white and this one is in full colour!
It's so refreshing to see the girls are racially diverse, each with their unique personalities and traits, good or bad. Mistakes are being made, there's character development and the story definitely keeps you entertained. I can't wait for the next installment.
It was a cute and fun read. I can see this being very popular with girls in 3rd-5th grade!
First off, let me start off by saying that I love the magical girl genre when it comes to comics. I gobbled up Sailor Moon when I was younger--read all the manga, watched the shows and the movies, and binge watched "Sailor Moon Crystal" when it was released. It was a no brainer that, when I came across "Crystal Cadets"--I wanted it! I "wished" for it, and I'm so glad I received it!
The comic tells the story of a group of girls who are looking for other Crystal Cadets. Zoe, the main character, lives with her foster family when she meets "foreign exchange students" who tell her that because she owns a particular crystal, she's now part of the group, helping them to fight off an entity known as The Darkness, who feeds of the negative energies of individuals who can then be controlled. The girls band together to find more Cadets and fend off The Darkness once and for all!
It's definitely fast-paced which is probably good for a middle-grade student, which seems to be the target audience. An adult might have some qualms about the lack of depth in certain aspects of the comic. For me, that came in the department of background information about the characters and about the Crystal Cadets in general. I wanted to know more about their past besides the brief mention in the cave.
I'm glad to find strong female friendship a great theme in a lot of books and comics. It's such an important theme to have, especially a middle-grade comic like this. I hope lots of girls are able to relate to the main character and just strive to find a strong circle of friends, whether or not you're battling evil together!
I would definitely purchase this comic myself and add it alongside my growing collection. :)
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