cbr12bingo Cannonballer Says
My journey to finding my Cannonballer Says was not easy. First, I wanted to read Rick by Gino. This was due to the fact narfina mentioned the word “aromantic” and who doesn’t want to see themselves portrayed in a story? Or at least see how it is portrayed? But I could not locate my readers copy. I then thought either Gender Queer (also recommended by narfina) or No Ivy League (recommend by ardaigle) but neither of my copies were around. I then picked my fourth choice of Aquicorn Cove by Katie O’Neill. My store had a copy, I purchased (figuring when the library is open again for donations, they would have a new book for their shelves) and put it on the top of a stack of books I am using for Bingo. (Take THAT you other books I later found as I remembered where I had put them except Rick which still alludes me).
I wanted to read Aquicorn Cove for several reasons: it looked cute (I know do not judge a book by its cover, but this time I figured you could); it was a graphic novel and as you might have noticed, I like graphic novels. I like seeing how a “full story” can be created with not just words or pictures but both. And finally, cosbrarian made it sounds like a cute, sweet story.
It is a sweet story. Even though there is sadness, too (dangerous storms, the death of a parent, a distance between the main character and her father, environmental issues). But despite those events, everything is handled tastefully and it’s a hopeful book. There might be a bit of a “flow issue” (things start in the middle and work their way around to the beginning, usually) but I don’t think that will be a deterrent for most readers aged 8 to 10 (I would even go younger for a stronger reader, but if you did, reading out loud might be the better way to go). There is a combination of a Scandinavian folklore and a translated feel to the text/story. In other words, not an American author was the vibe I was getting. The characters are diverse (one is even sea green) and possibly a same-sex romance is in the works (if not same-species). All the factors come together to make a nice story. Not a WOW story, but one I would be comfortable recommending or even reading again.
The artwork is a combination of “I really enjoy and eh okay what else do you have?” I never got a feeling of either world (though the land world vs the sea world is a tiny less important for the theme). I wanted to see why I should care about the ocean or the Aquicorn. They, in the end, are a pretty small part of the story. Part Loch Ness Monster and Part Pony-Unicorn, they never grabbed me. The colors are lovely, and the details are nice, not too crowded. They seem to fit the innocent (perhaps naive) tone of the actual story. Overall, everything about the story and art is nice.
That is the summary. Everything about the book is nice. Nice art. Nice formatting of the panels. Nice story. Nice. And there is nothing wrong with that. While I felt there could have been “more” and it could have been aimed at an older audience, it was good to see this level getting the attention it deserves.