Title: Nimona
Author: Noelle Stevenson
Genre: Graphic novel/fantasy
Date Read: 22/06/2016- 23/06/2016
Rating: ★★★☆
Review:
This book is very adorable. I am definitely glad I read it, even if I did have to wait six months to get to the top of the queue for it at the library, and I can definitely understand the slew of 5 star ratings. For me, I felt the story was not quite original enough for that, but it was still a good story, and clearly told with a lot of love.
Sir Ballister Blackheart is surprised one day when a young girl, Nimona, who is also a shapeshifter, turns up on his doorstep, determined to be his new sidekick. He reluctantly takes her in, and together they learn of some deep secrets at the heart of the Institution, the, er, institution that controls science, knowledge and government in their world. In trying to go public with what they know, they end up becoming the most wanted criminals in the Kingdom, and it turns out that there’s much more to Nimona than Ballister first thought.
The plot of Nimona embodies, and to some extent, I think, parodies a lot of fantasy tropes. It’s aware that it is doing this, and the subtle references to these tropes create a lot of the humour in the book.The characters are definitely what make this story unique; their banter is terribly enjoyable to read, and watching the relationships between the characters develop (or learning more about previous relationships) was delightful.The world-building is deliberately vague, with a combination of both common medieval fantasy and dystopian settings, which was also humorous.
I think my rating may to some extent be a result of a lot of hype surrounding the book that it didn’t quite live up to for me, personally, but if you would like a cute graphic novel to read, perhaps as a break after some darker books, this is definitely one to consider.
A Keyboard and an Open Mind 
I need to request this again. I tried to pick it up right after I finished ‘Lumberjanes’ since Stevenson was involved with that, but it didn’t grab me as quickly (probably because it was a web comic first, which I didn’t realize). But your review makes me think I should give it a second try.
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