Sorceline

children's graphic fiction (book 1 in series) - Sorceline, a young cryptozoologist apprentice with a knack for being able to identify creatures immediately, competes with other hopefuls to obtain the position of assistant to work alongside Professor Balzar and the mysterious (vampire) Madame S. She quickly discovers that Tara will take credit for other's work, Merode doesn't talk much but probably knows a lot, and may secretly harbor a crush on Sorceline along with a "knight in shining armor" Alcide.

Apart from their plot twist "secrets" the characters are fairly cut and dry. Nevertheless, Sorceline, who after awhile suspects she may not be altogether human, is fun to tag along with as she solves a complicated mystery about what exactly show more is causing all the fey creatures to fall ill, and the shadow-heavy illustrations have plenty of kid appeal.

The plot "twists" and second-guesses get a bit tiresome after a while, but it ends with the cliff hanger of Sorceline falling unconscious and apparently near death after she tries to go home, also Madame S. is possibly her mother and thus the source of Sorceline's special skills so I kind of do want to keep reading...

hoopla October 2024 bonus borrow show less

Imagination runs free as an exciting adventure unfolds from one page to the next.

Sorceline spends most of her time in the forest, learning and exploring. So, when she attends a school for cryptozoology, it's more than right down her line. The toughest problem she faces is the competition with the other students to become the best, which would mean a spot as one of the professor's apprentices. If that wasn't enough, a the other students are disappearing and several mythical creatures are suffering from weird diseases. Worse yet, Sorceline fears it might be her fault.

There's a reason this one has already doing well in French. It's a fantastical tale with amazing creatures, a determined heroine, and enough familiarity to make it still easy show more to connect to. The illustrations are a treat, especially the forest and nature seasons, where the mythical creatures are woven in. Fantasy fans will enjoy gazing at these pictures and find themselves dreaming. Of course, these are illustrations to follow the tale, and they do a wonderful job at that. The characters are presented with emotions and individual traits to deepen the text and expand on every moment.

The text flows very well and balances nicely with the illustrations. Some of the text is done in a type of italic font, which did make it a little more difficult to read, but it also slides right in with the atmosphere. The vocabulary and wording are well placed for the middle grade audience and keep the tension high.

It's a fun story with adventure, secrets, tons of mythical beasts, friendship, and mystery too. In other words, this one is worth taking a glance at and more. show less

I really wanted to like this book, but I just can't look past it's many glaring flaws.

The bad: The plot moves at a constant break-neck pace, oftentimes covering multiple plot points in a single page. There's exposition in all the wrong places, forgettable creatures and tidbits are discussed at length while central characters are left ambiguous and generic. The mystery lurches around in circles before leaving you with a disappointing climax. The dialog itself is very awkward but I figure this is a translation issue.

The good: The main selling point for me are the illustrations. The artwork is vibrant and sucks you in, with tons of small details to keep you occupied. However, the panels are so cramped that it's very difficult to get a good show more look at them. Something cool they do is reference back to images earlier in the book as clues for the mystery. I think this is super cool and I wish the story was competent enough to play off of it.

All-in-all I did not enjoy this book. I understand it's for a younger audience, but if I would have read this years ago I feel that I would have had a similar reaction. It's a great idea ruined with bad pacing, boring characters, and an excessively complex but poorly written story. show less

Welcome to the gloomy and super scary Island of Vorn, where mythical creatures roam free and only the brightest students are invited to study. Our main character, Sorceline, has just arrived for a summer apprenticeship with the zoologist Archibald Balzar. She wants to study cryptozoology, meaning amazing creatures most humans don't think exist, like elves, fairies, unicorns and dragons. But she has some competition: other kids who dream of becoming specialists in legendary creatures.

To become Balzar’s assistant, Sorceline must follow a few rules and learn to tame powerful beasts—including her own inner demons. Unfortunately, she doesn't think about the impact of her words very often. And, when strange things happen, she might be show more the one responsible. She needs to control her fiery temper and search for answers, even if they are far darker and more personal than she expected.

The artwork is delightful (from colours to perspectives), but I think the story is not well executed, even though there was plenty of misdirection to keep me intrigued. There’s so much going on that’s hard to follow, and sometimes the jumps between scenes feel slightly disjointed. Besides that, I obviously enjoy the concept and read the book in less than three hours. I’m curious about what’s next, especially because of the unexpected cliffhanger, but I hope the bickering between characters is over.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review. show less

This is a super fun, cute, and interesting graphic novel. It's about a girl named Sorceline who goes to an island where mystical beasts and animals roam free. It's got a Harry Potter/Fantastic Beasts feel to it with a school about learning how to care for magical creatures and such. There's also a great little mystery element to the story as well. The art and illustrations are beautiful and really add to the telling of the story. I would definitely recommend this if you enjoy graphic novels, great art and illustrations, magic, mystery, mystical animals, and everything. Thanks so much to Edelweiss and Andrews McMeel Publishing for letting me read and review this enjoyable graphic novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This story was original written in French, which has to explain how disjointed and strangely it flows. It goes back and forth between scenes so harshly that it sometimes feels like the panels were printed out-of-order. But overall it is a charming story with absolutely incredible artwork.

Sorceline is a young apprentice under Archibald Balzar, a famous magical cryptozoologist. Competing with five other students, she hopes to be chosen to become the new assistant of the famous caretaker. But things aren’t going the way they are supposed to happen : some creatures begin acting very strangely and students disappear.

Sorceline is a strong female character that will grow and learn a lot about herself in this story. I love the mystery that surrounds her. From the beginning, we understand that she has something special, as she intuitively knows everything about magical creatures.

There is everything in this graphic novel starting with beautiful art and an intriguing story. Mixing magic, mystery, love and adventure, this show more fiction should greatly interest any fantasy readers, from middle grade to far older. I cannot wait to discover the rest of Sorceline’s adventures. show less