Book Review: Stitched #1 by Mariah Huehner and Aaron Alexovich

Title: Stitched #1 by Mariah Huehner and Aaron Alexovich

Source: Netgalley

Publication Date: May 2, 2017

Purchase: Amazon, Book Depository

Summary: Crimson Volania Mulch has a problem; she just woke up in a crypt and, besides her name, has no idea of who, where, or what she is. Welcome to the Cemetery of Assumptions, a vast landscape of stones, mausoleums, and secrets. Home to monsters and mayhem, it may also hold the answers to her unknown parentage. Crimson is a resourceful patchwork girl and determined to find them. Along the way, she meets the mysterious Wisteria, who has a tendency to change and a witch named Parameter whose spells tend to go awry. And two boys, Simon and Quinton, who make her feel something besides lost and confused. She must battle ghosts, zombies, and monsters in order to learn where she came from and who her real "mother" is. But will she do it alone, or will she have help from her new friends and unexpected crushes?

Book Review

This book had so much potential. A fun quirky graphic novel (e-arc) from the Read Now section of Netgalley that I decided to try. Sadly this one falls into the middle road barely escaping awful because of one thing. The horrendous writing structure. In fact, there is no structure. Crimson started off confused and you end up even more so than she is. I thought this was the story about a girl stitched from different girls trying to find herself. Oh no, it's also about going to bed and waking up to meet random people each night, suddenly get random gifts, change personalities on a dime, start crushing on boys out of nowhere, making enemies turn friends with no explanation or build up...the story was just so poor and the story version of a head hopping nightmare. And for the record, I'm fine with head hopping in books. So imagine my chagrin of finding a book that shows why others are against it?

There are some positives things, though. The characters are cool and quirky, although in under a hundred pages they're crammed in and never fully explored. The art is top notch without a doubt and I must say was a huge reason I could slowly read through this painstaking headache of a story. Sending huge props to Aaron the illustrator. The friendship between girls and boys are explored and the abilities of these characters are fun to see. At the end, you do want to find out more and a character biography after the story gives you some greatly needed insight into these characters.

However at the end of the day. I am disappointed the author couldn't have written a coherent storyline. With all the differents parts crammed in, this should have been a three hundred page book at least. Instead, you have an overstuffed story with so much potential and amazing artwork undone by writing that feels like the death of a thousand cuts minus the dying part. I do want to get this book strange enough, but only because the characters and art speak to me. The rest I just wish was so much better than the end result. Marginally recommend but not for little kids unless they really just love pictures or quirky stories. This Middle-Grade graphic novel is just too darn confusing.

Rating: 3 Stars

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