High school math prodigy Claudia Jones is missing. Her classmates share rumors of an alien abduction--when they're not struggling with early romances, fraying friendships, and the other challenges of young adulthood. Emily's trying to handle a life-changing surprise. Paula's hoping to step out of Emily's shadow. Nigel just wants a girl who will laugh at his jokes. And Brett hardly lets himself get close to anybody. Different chapters focus on different characters, each with a unique visual approach. Losing the Girl (Life on Earth, #1)
I like the idea of this YA graphic novel. Different sections, each focusing on an individual with a dedicated drawing style. I lost the thread in the final section, though, and so didn’t quite “get†the ending. I enjoyed the ride anyway. 9781541510449 This is MariNaomi's foray into the YA comics game, but nobody would mistake it for a Raina Telegemeier book. All the formal inventiveness and creative minimalism of MariNaomi's autobio comics is on display here, and there's no pat resolution or clear positive message. That ambiguity is the book's best attribute. I like the way it trades off between four different romantically entangled narrators, slowly revealing the faults in each one's perspectives. MariNaomi also adjusts her cartooning style for each narrator; one section is all thick lines and inky blacks, another does away with panel structure entirely. The through-lines in each section are a missing person case and the mysterious failure of everybody's cell phones. The characters pay only a small amount of attention to each of these things, as they are so busy with their interpersonal conflicts, but it seems like MariNaomi is building something for future books in the series. MariNaomi This nails the petty teenage drama of high school, but gives each character a chapter to show what's going on in their heads and their lives so you understand why that seemingly petty stuff means so much to them. English Really enjoyed this first installment of a new YA graphic novel trilogy by MariNaomi. Losing the Girl focuses on four teenagers, with their intertwining friendships, romances, jealousies, and painful conflicts. You know, pretty much typical life for teenagers. Looming behind all of their interpersonal drama is a missing classmate named Claudia Jones-and there are some rumors floating around that she may have been abducted by aliens. Throughout there are small, tell-tale hints of possible strange phenomenon afoot. But what could it really be? MariNaomi draws it all with her trademark visual whimsy, employing all kinds of interesting touches and minimalistic magic. Each chapter is devoted to a different character's viewpoint and as such each is drawn in a different style (though all her visual designs coalesce beautifully). The story is insightful about teenagers and altogether irresistible - and I'm really looking forward to the second installment next year! BTW, I would guess this would be best for ages 14 and above. Five out of five. MariNaomi [This is for the first two books in the series]
I read these right after the other, so it would be hard to talk about one without talking about the other. So far, this is a masterpiece. I love the different art styles used for the different characters, I love the very realistic relationship drama, I love that we are getting an incomplete picture with each individual narrator that becomes more complete when they perspectives are combined (hmm, something worth noting for real life, perhaps). I love that there's a sci-fi/fantasy element that is oh-so-gradually woven in to the story and I'm VERY curious to see how it all plays out in the final book (which is out now but NOT available in my library system! Boo hoo!)- Marinaomi's gambling a bit given her setup so far. How is she possibly going to bring this to a resolution? 280
A bunch of unlikable teens deal with typical coming of age stuff while vague supernatural elements sort of intrude around the edges of the story. Each chapter switches perspective and, in an interesting choice, comes with a change of art style by the creator.
I wanted to like this, but the characters and their actions just really irked me. Probably because they were fairly accurate depictions of teens, and I'm a cranky old man who more than anything just wants them to stay off my lawn. Comics Graphic Novels, Biographies Memoirs, Young Adult I think there was supposed to be a sci-fi twist to this, but it didn't really show up (I think it'll appear in later volumes). This was really hard to follow, the art was not great, and while I do think it accurately portrays many teen relationships, there didn't seem to be a whole lot of plot or unification. Losing the Girl (Life on Earth, #1) Hi! I wrote and illustrated this book, and I give it two thumbs up! Paperback Marinaomi’s work I know mainly from her four graphic memoirs (Kiss and Tell, Dragon’s Breath, Turning Japanese), an artist who creates a very memorable voice. This is her first graphic novel, a teen story, her most narrative effort, and I like it a lot. It features four different linked stories, from the perspective of each character, Nigel Jones (a black boy crushing on Asian Emily); Emily, who is crushing on (and more than crushing on, later) Brett, and Paula.
A Missing Person Poster for Claudia Jones appears throughout; a homeless woman named CJ (Claudia Jones??!) appears throughout, too; there’s a mean bully boy, Darren. These images/characters stay in the background, in a way, but as they are present in the different stories they kind of anchor them, and wed them together, giving them some coherence. As do the shifting teen relations between the charactersâ€"who is kissing [or more!] whom?! There’s also some joking around about whether it might be the case the missing Claudia Jones has actually been abducted by aliens, and cell phones don’t seem to work in certain areas, so that’s an interesting part of the mix.
A consensual sexual act more than kissing (okay, they have sex!) happens here, with consequences, and these are early teens, I think, so that may be a consideration in your having a young teen read it, but this feels like tweens can read it. I will suggest my tweens read it. It’s not “graphic†in any way, and is mostly thoughtful.
Marinaomi’s drawing is sort of minimalistic, and has a different vibe in each section, which is interesting. And then, though it is mostly black and white, dabs of color come in, slowly, near the end. Pay attention, they tell us! This is the best comics storytelling I think Marinaomi has done so far (or do I rally mean it is the most conventional storytelling? I dunno, but I like this comic and think already I will use it this coming summer in my YA GN class! This is just the first volume of many, I hope! Comics Graphic Novels, Biographies Memoirs, Young Adult An insipid teenage drama with each section told from the perspective of 4 different teenagers. These kids are all petty and unlikable. Their drama is uninteresting and the inner monologues often made me want to scream to each of them to get over it . There's some subplots that keep getting referenced but go absolutely nowhere. I was really annoyed by those.
The art is extremely minimalist, to the point where some pages look like MariNaomi just couldn't be bothered to do more than draw a squiggly outline. It's hard to believe MariNaomi wrote 4 memoirs before this. It feels like something she created in high school and then dusted off when she had to meet a deadline. Comics Graphic Novels, Biographies Memoirs, Young Adult
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