Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com
Are you looking for a graphic novel to try for the first time? Or you are already a fan of the genre? In either case, look no further than Hope Larson's MERCURY.
MERCURY is a story told in two voices: Josephine and Tara. Separated by over 100 years, the two girls are connected far more than Tara could imagine.
The story starts in the present. Tara is currently living with her aunt and cousin because the old farmhouse she had lived in with her mother has burned down. The fire has forced her mom to look elsewhere for work. So in the meantime, Tara is back at the school she attended until her mom started homeschooling her two years previously.
In the past, Josephine's family is approached by a drifter, Asa. The traveling gentleman has discovered there is gold located on their farm. For a part of the profits, he is willing to help Josephine's father mine the gold.
Tragedy happens both in the past and the present, but a mysterious necklace seems to hold the key to what happened before and could help Tara eliminate problems in the now.
You may wonder where the title comes from. If you pick up MERCURY and give it a go, the mystery will be solved. Ms. Larson slowly builds the story until the ending starts to come together into a whirlwind of a crescendo. The plot is woven brilliantly. It took quite a few pages until I was able to predict the outcome. Which in my opinion is always a plus!
The illustrations are creative and the distinction between the past and the present is clearly depicted. Even though the story is told in graphic form, there were moments clearly expressed showing budding romance, creepy environs, anger, mistrust, adventure, and any other myriad of feelings.
MERCURY is not to be missed. It has put Hope Larson on my list of authors to watch.
Are you looking for a graphic novel to try for the first time? Or you are already a fan of the genre? In either case, look no further than Hope Larson's MERCURY.
MERCURY is a story told in two voices: Josephine and Tara. Separated by over 100 years, the two girls are connected far more than Tara could imagine.
The story starts in the present. Tara is currently living with her aunt and cousin because the old farmhouse she had lived in with her mother has burned down. The fire has forced her mom to look elsewhere for work. So in the meantime, Tara is back at the school she attended until her mom started homeschooling her two years previously.
In the past, Josephine's family is approached by a drifter, Asa. The traveling gentleman has discovered there is gold located on their farm. For a part of the profits, he is willing to help Josephine's father mine the gold.
Tragedy happens both in the past and the present, but a mysterious necklace seems to hold the key to what happened before and could help Tara eliminate problems in the now.
You may wonder where the title comes from. If you pick up MERCURY and give it a go, the mystery will be solved. Ms. Larson slowly builds the story until the ending starts to come together into a whirlwind of a crescendo. The plot is woven brilliantly. It took quite a few pages until I was able to predict the outcome. Which in my opinion is always a plus!
The illustrations are creative and the distinction between the past and the present is clearly depicted. Even though the story is told in graphic form, there were moments clearly expressed showing budding romance, creepy environs, anger, mistrust, adventure, and any other myriad of feelings.
MERCURY is not to be missed. It has put Hope Larson on my list of authors to watch.
I got this book through the Amazon Vine program. It sounded like an interesting premise and I love graphic novels. Overall it was an interesting read with great illustration.
This book follows the stories of two young girls. Tara is a young girl in current times whose house has burnt down. She is struggling with starting at her new school and finds a pendant in her mom's old jewelry that is intriguing. Alternating with Tara's story is the story of Josey. Josey lived in the same area as Tara but in 1859. Josey has meet a handsome young man that promises to find gold on Josie's parents' farm and make the farm rich. As things progress the two stories become somewhat tied together.
I liked the illustrations a lot. Larson does an excellent job clearly picturing the actions of the characters, the frames are easy to follow and there is never any doubt about what she is trying to portray. To make the two stories easier to follow the frames telling Tara's story have a white background behind them and the frames telling Josey's story has a black background. Also any Canadian slang is clarified with asterisks below the frames. So overall very easy to follow and clear illustrating. The style of illustration is fairly minimalist with pictures done in black and white, no shades of gray. The drawings are not intricate but they are detailed enough to portray the landscape and background of the settings.
The story was intriguing. Josey's story is the more intriguing of the two as it focuses on Josey's relationship with a young man, Asa, and her family's quest to find gold. This story has more urgency to it and was more engaging than Tara's story. Tara's story was boring at points. The first portion of the story mainly follows Tara running and hanging out with her friends. When Tara finds her mom's old necklace the story gets more interesting (last third of the story or so).
I wish that more time had been spent with Tara exploring the origin and capabilities of the necklace. It took too long to set up Tara's story. On the other hand I really enjoyed Josey's story.
Overall this graphic novel was well illustrated, very well organized, and had a somewhat engaging story. It was a unique subject for a graphic novel and was presented well. The only thing I would have changed would be to get into Tara's portion of the story faster. I will be keeping my eye out for future works from Hope Larson.
This book follows the stories of two young girls. Tara is a young girl in current times whose house has burnt down. She is struggling with starting at her new school and finds a pendant in her mom's old jewelry that is intriguing. Alternating with Tara's story is the story of Josey. Josey lived in the same area as Tara but in 1859. Josey has meet a handsome young man that promises to find gold on Josie's parents' farm and make the farm rich. As things progress the two stories become somewhat tied together.
I liked the illustrations a lot. Larson does an excellent job clearly picturing the actions of the characters, the frames are easy to follow and there is never any doubt about what she is trying to portray. To make the two stories easier to follow the frames telling Tara's story have a white background behind them and the frames telling Josey's story has a black background. Also any Canadian slang is clarified with asterisks below the frames. So overall very easy to follow and clear illustrating. The style of illustration is fairly minimalist with pictures done in black and white, no shades of gray. The drawings are not intricate but they are detailed enough to portray the landscape and background of the settings.
The story was intriguing. Josey's story is the more intriguing of the two as it focuses on Josey's relationship with a young man, Asa, and her family's quest to find gold. This story has more urgency to it and was more engaging than Tara's story. Tara's story was boring at points. The first portion of the story mainly follows Tara running and hanging out with her friends. When Tara finds her mom's old necklace the story gets more interesting (last third of the story or so).
I wish that more time had been spent with Tara exploring the origin and capabilities of the necklace. It took too long to set up Tara's story. On the other hand I really enjoyed Josey's story.
Overall this graphic novel was well illustrated, very well organized, and had a somewhat engaging story. It was a unique subject for a graphic novel and was presented well. The only thing I would have changed would be to get into Tara's portion of the story faster. I will be keeping my eye out for future works from Hope Larson.
