Stan Yan

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Edelweiss.)

Twelve-year-old Eugenia Wang just can't catch a break: she's a disaster in PE; her mom keeps shooting down her dreams of being an artist; and her birthday falls on April 4th, an unlucky number according to Chinese superstition (and, thus, mom). Every year, she's forced to celebrate her birthday a day late - and her teenage years are not looking to be an exception. Until her bestie Keisha comes up with an extra-sneaky show more plan: a secret celebration at her house on Friday the 4th! It's even the perfect opportunity for Eugenia to invite her crush, Enrique. Feeling emboldened, Eugenia even decides to apply for a scholarship to the art camp she so covets - if it's free, certainly her mom can't say no, right?

Everything is coming up Eugenia Wang - that is, until a possible concussion and/or haunting brings her nightly visions of doom and destruction: a house fire that kills more and more members of her family, the further into the mystery Eugenia delves. Weirder still are the comic pages that manifest every morning, bearing witness to her nightmares. Can Eugenia change the future, or is she truly doomed?

Though its main audience is middle grade, THE MANY MISFORTUNES OF EUGENIA WANG is a fun read for adults too. Eugenia is a compelling heroine, and her sidekicks Keisha, Enrique, and Peanut (the pup) are charming as well.

The title/premise is kind of great in that Keisha seems to be the more disaster-prone of the pair - she's actually the one who ignites the house fire, after all - yet Eugenia is she of "Many Misfortunes," underscoring how we're all the main character of our own story. I'd love to see another volume from Keisha's perspective.

Eugenia's relationship with Enrique is great - though he at first comes off as a popular, unattainable maybe-jock, at the end of the day Enrique is just a fellow nerd who likes nerding out. I was so scared for Eugenia to get her heart (and maybe glasses) broken, but thankfully things don't go that way.

And Peanut! I love Peanut! And Peanut lives! The dog doesn't die in this one! show less

I received an ARC of this book for free from the publisher for promotional purposes.

Such a fun and strange (in a good way) graphic novel!

The premise is very cool. It’s about a soon to be 13 year old girl who starts getting nightmares of her impending doom filled birthday (she’s born on 4/4, which is considered unlucky in Chinese culture). These dreams somehow end up in the comic she is creating.

This book gave me massive Disney Pixar’s “Turning Red” vibes, which I loved. I could show more totally see this book being turned into a Pixar movie because it has that quirky kind of premise that Pixar is known for.

Since I had an ARC, my copy was not in full color. There were a few pages that were in full color and they were beautiful. I loved the choice of using a vibrant red for the dream sequences. It helped them stand out.

Some may say that the book is too stereotypically Asian, however, the book is smart enough to address it. The opening line is “I’d rather not be seen as the stereotypical twelve-year old Asian…” (pg. 2). As someone with a sometimes overbearing Asian mom, I could definitely relate to Eugenia and her relationship with her mom.

Overall, this was a unique middle grade graphic novel! show less

Weird, in a good way. Blends the ubiquitous "art is not a way to make a living" conflict with post concussion fiery comics of doom and bad luck numbers. Love the Chinese culture, the way that Eugenia decides to pay more attention to the people and pets around her, the excellent neighbors, the hidden connection to her Po Po.

The initial premise and the awesome title intrigued me. A girl’s nightmare-infused artwork foretells impending doom. Some darker tones bubbled at the surface with the threat of people Eugenia cares about dying. But ultimately, the resolution to those creepy dreams didn't feel satisfying.

At the core, Eugenia wants to make art, but her mother is a stereotypical tiger mom who won’t rest until her children are doctors or have a high-earning STEM degree. Her dad seemed way more chill but show more didn’t push back on the mom’s behavior, so not sure how he felt about it.

While the artwork was cute, the characters didn't get much depth to them. There was a heart-to-heart between Eugenia and her brother that was sweet but felt abrupt. I didn't like Keshia's treatment here. I don't think Eugenia stood up enough for their friendship, especially with how supportive Keisha (and her family) was. The mom banning Keisha from the kitchen would've been one thing, but the whole house???

Humor is subjective, but a particular section fell flat for me. The male-patterned baldness joke aimed at a Black girl with a full head of natural hair? Like, it didn’t even make sense; she didn’t have a low cut or a fade. Then, to have that same black character make a dick size joke at the annoying little brother character who looks to be in elementary school??? Why is this even there? 😑

ANYWAY, I think the cartoon style was effective for this story. But I don’t know that there are many characters to root for here either. The attempts at depth for the side characters felt shallow. show less