This book was OK, but it relied so heavily on stereotypes that it was a little annoying. There were so many cliches going on that it was more heavy-handed than it needed to be, but I like the Neil character enough to make the story worth it.
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3.5/5 ⭐ It's a good story but it's old. Some of the language needs to be updated. Contains the r slur. ( )

This was an interesting graphic novel that I'd been meaning to read years ago, finally got around to it. It's a story about censorship--Neil's favorite fantasy book series is challenged by the righteous mother of his best friend, and shy Neil is enlisted by the teen librarian to stand up at a board of trustees meeting and speak on behalf of supporting the book's retention in the library. He's upset because his friend has been sent away to military camp & school--for admitting he's gay to his parents, as well as for reading "that awful book." Neil is also a new freshman and is going through the usual stress at school of trying to make new friends. My favorite parts were the excerpts from the "Apathea Ravenschilde" books themselves, which were interspersed throughout the story. Nice artwork, too. Cute side stories about Neil's mom and their geeky neighbor, and the teen librarian finally meeting a fellow (male) librarian who's also facing a challenge to the same books. Maybe it was too on-the-nose, but it does address a common occurrence from the earliest days of Harry Potter's popularity/challenges. ( )

Book banning is a popular topic now (or maybe I'm just noticing it more thanks to my own brush with it), and this graphic novel is a good addition to the cannon, in that it describes why books shouldn't be banned, and that people have differing interpretations of content and that's no reason to ruin it for everyone else.

The "villain" was a little simplistic (an extremely religious mother who doesn't want her children to fall to temptation), and her son's fate was quickly brushed over, as were the reactions and effects on his siblings. ( )

Felt a bit too on-the-nose and obvious for a topic like censorship. Not a fan of the use of a offhanded coming out of a gay teen as a way to raise the bar. ( )