I always love graphic novels that use just two colours, and am amazed by how much depth the illustrator achieved with just pink and blue! Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy the story so much. It is a very dark story, and while I knew going into it that it was a murder mystery, I expected more of an adventure-y sleuth vibe instead of the very heavy, sad plot that followed. I think I've just seen this exact plot played out so many times in books and other media that I felt like this was forgettable since it didn't bring anything new to the usual plot.

As someone who doesn't often read horror, I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I would say it falls under the creepy/unsettling end of horror, instead of being scary. I loved the characters and especially the commentary on gender and how it's played into each character's journey. I felt immediately hooked by the characters, and then the story unfolded at a good pace to keep me engaged.

I think my only complaint is that I could guess the entire plot by the first few chapters, and I would've liked the mystery to play out a little longer.

I don't know how the illustrator did it, but they brought every character and place to life so accurately to how I pictured them. It brought me so much joy to see my favourite characters on the page a decade after reading the original works.

I will say that I view the Raven Cycle as a very character based series, and unfortunately the nature of graphic novels is to be more plot based. I do feel that the essence isn't quite the same in that sense, and I'm not sure I'd be as captivated if I hadn't read the original series ten times over and had every detail memorized. But regardless, as a huge fan of the originals, I loved seeing this adaptation! I can't wait for the rest of the series.

I feel the same way finishing "The River Has Roots" as I did when I finished "This Is How You Lose The Time War". Amal El-Mohtar has a very unique way of storytelling that bends time and reality, capturing deep emotional bonds between their characters. I feel like I don't fully understand what happened, but what I did take away, I loved.

This is a story of the love between sisters, the magic of words, and a love story that spans dimensions and time in an unusual but intriguing manner. I wish that this book was longer because the basis of the magic seemed to be interesting and unique, but we only get a glimmer of it in these 100 pages. I'm also interested to go back and listen to the audiobook, since I've seen many reviews praising the incorporation of music and song which is a huge part of this story.

"Know that a terrible thing is happening to you now. You are being asked to kill off a part of you that would otherwise scream in opposition to injustice. You are being asked to dismantle the machinery of a functionary conscience. [...] Forget pity, forget even the dead if you must, but at least fight against the theft of your soul." (p. 107)

So much of this resonated with my current beliefs and challenged me to think bigger, as well as to confront some of my thought patterns and actions. I have pages and pages of quotes and thoughts written down in response to reading this. I also quite like the author's voice - the writing flows well and captivates you to continue reading.

This did not turn out to be the book I thought it was going into it, but in a good way. It was less academically dense than Babel was, so it was a lot easier to read, but still had a lot of references to academia through the mathematical concepts and philosophical questions that came up.

I think that this doesn't really fall into the dark academia or fantasy genres as I expected/as it's marketed, and almost reads more literary than anything else. This is a very character focused book in my opinion, and is about Alice's experience as a woman in academics, her experience with depression, and her coming to terms with what she's experienced and breaking free from the strict expectations placed on her by society and herself.

I found Alice to be quite a relatable character, particularly in her experiences as a woman in a post secondary institution, as well as her mental health experiences. I don't know if this book would resonate with other people in the same way if you have not had either of these experiences.

I thought this was going to end up including more of a romance, however it ended up just feeling like an unnecessary side plot in the end.