Graphic Novel Review: Giants Beware!

Giants Beware! (Chronicles of Claudette, 1) by Jorge Aguirre, illustrated by Rafael Rosado,  April 10, 2012. 208 pages. Published by First Second. Source: borrowed from library.

Make way for Claudette the giant slayer in this delightful, fantastical adventure!

Claudette’s fondest wish is to slay a giant. But her village is so safe and quiet! What’s a future giant slayer to do?

With her best friend Marie (an aspiring princess), and her brother Gaston (a pastry-chef-to-be), Claudette embarks on a super-secret quest to find a giant—without parental permission. Can they find and defeat the giant before their parents find them and drag them back home?

To be completely honest, Giants Beware was nothing like what I expected. From the cover art, it looked, well, somewhat, umm, childish. I almost did not bother checking it out from the library. But I'm glad I did.

• Admittedly, I did not read the synopsis for this one. So imagine my surprise when I discovered that the orange headed character, on the cover, was a girl... Did not see that coming. Yet, it was that twist that finally made me set aside my hesitance about reading. Why, because I thought it would surely take an interesting route given that the main character was not who I was expecting. 

• Claudette, Gaston, and Marie, well, they made up on odd group. Though it was their odd combination that made them entertaining to read about. Especially as you saw how they handled their adventure when things got tough, i.e. adventure was more than they bargained for, as it showed each of their strengths and weaknesses. Which always makes for interesting reading, especially when things pan out differently than you'd expect.

• When you get down to it, Giants Beware was really well written, I liked how things played out and how the characters were more three dimensional than they first appeared. Personally, I think young readers, okay well anyone, will enjoy reading about the adventures of Claudette, Gaston, and Marie. They are definitely an entertaining group.

• As for the artwork, while it came across as cutesy at first glance. Okay, the color and design gave me that feel at first, it was actually really nicely done. While the cover didn't grab my attention, the interior definitely worked for the overall story.

Final Verdict: Giants Beware!- Should not be judged my the cover!! It was a wonderful, and completely hilarious, graphic novel.

Giants Beware! earns

A copy of this book was borrowed from the library. All thoughts are my own.