An colorful and amusing story about a octopus that just wants friends and play some music!
I really had a ball reading about it, felling with Lucy as she tries to make friends, even if she is the loner out of the house and in her own house, as she finally has her shot to play some music, I was really happy for her.

Read along with my kid sisters and they loved it and the colors!

I loved the art style and some of the humour within this book however the story itself did nothing for me. I felt as though I was having to drag myself to finish, even though it is a shorter graphic novel, the way our main character is treated really put me off of wanting to continue. Lucy is treated as uncool/unpopular and often forgotten about, even by her siblings and parents, until one day she is able to find confidence in herself. The story idea in itself is a good one and I think it has the potential to offer an important message to young teens. I understand that often times we can feel unseen and forgotten about even by the ones that are closes to us. It does redeem itself in the end but the way most of the characters behave is grating for the majority of the story.

'Lucy the Octopus' by Richy K. Chandler is a series of comic strips about a very unpopular octopus.

Lucy is considered uncool by everyone in her life, even her siblings and parents. Her attempts to change that seem to fail, but Lucy just seems to roll with it. When her favorite band needs a new guitarist, Lucy ends up with the job, but only hafter wearing a watermelon over her head. But Lucy has her own ways of winning others over.

I really liked this story of an outsider. I liked how the story built over the course of the book. The art is bright and fun, and there are even some different art styles along the way.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Jessica Kingsley Publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

This adorable tale of Lucy the Octopus graphic novel for kids. Has adorable tales and beautiful artwork. It is an all-ages good read. The illustrations as well done and support the storyline beautifully. The Comic style helps keeps children and adults engaged. He short lesson between chapters is well done and reminds me of a lot of Pearls before Swine. Definitely, worth the cost for the book and the digital copy worked great on my tablet.

Lucy the Octopus by Richy K. Chandler, 136 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL, LGBTQIA+
Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2018 $19.
Language: PG (10 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Being cool is a big deal. As uncool as Lucy is, she doesn’t have any friends and even her family wouldn’t be upset if she forgot where she lived and didn’t come home. Despite the opinions and actions of those around her, Lucy finds ways to thrive and pursue her dreams. Others can knock her down, but Lucy is the kind of octopus who gets back up and keeps going through prejudices, bullies, and sea monsters.
While this book exaggerates the need to be cool, I think it honestly reflects how it can feel to be labeled as “uncool” in school. I love that Lucy’s experiences highlight how optimism and talent can thrive despite bullying from others and encourage readers to find success being themselves -- even if it takes longer and is harder than looking for acceptance with the “cool” crowd. Throughout life, there are many times that we might feel excluded and picked on like Lucy, and I hope that we can all be a little more like Sydney: brave enough to be someone’s first friend and not care about the construct of being “cool.” Both the story and the illustrations were amazing and made me want to keep reading through the end.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

I love the cover of this book. Unfortunately, the story boards felt crowded and some of the content disappointed me.

Lucy the Octopus by Richy K. Chandler is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary. This book is for younger teens and is in graphic novel form. It is clever in how the author uses the sea and sea creatures to get his message across. Lucy is considered uncool even by her family until she ends up somewhere else. She also gains self esteem herself. The subject of bullying, low self-esteem and group perception is explorer tactfully. Enjoyed the artwork and creativity!

I really dislike giving low scores or negative reviews but I had no idea the subject was abuse and bullying.

For me it was super hard to read because of the abuse and name-calling. If there is a lesson in the story I missed it.
I know there are people who will enjoy this book, sadly I did not.

thanks for Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely disgusting. This is satire at it's worst. Do not read this book. It is all about bullying in the worst possible sense. I felt disgusted at all the characters and even the octopus' own family?? This book just doesn't sit right with me.

The illustrations in this book were well done. The book had its humorous moments and in the beginning, the bullying by peers and family did not seem that extreme but as the book progressed the bullying just seemed to be overdone. I am guessing this book is supposed to show that you can go through anything and still be a be a good person, that in the end you can overcome anything and things will get better. I would have enjoyed the book more if the positive aspects would have started earlier in the book. The end of the book was more enjoyable and things for our main character were more positive in the end. The illustrations and the end of the book are the only things that redeemed this book for me.

I voluntarily agreed to read a copy of this book supplied by NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own and in no way have been influenced.

I have a thirteen year old who is smart, talented and popular, but still feels like a Lucy. Because of that she ended up anorexic. Her talent at dance made her a target of mean girls and their mothers. Preteen and early teen years are hard enough without wearing a target for others to take shots at. Aside from different emotions and deeper knowledge there are mean girls and clueless boys. Everyone feels like a Lucy occasionally.
Lucy is different and that makes her an easy target. What makes you special or makes you stand out also makes those mean girls jealous. They'll make fun of and shame the girls who have something they want. Beauty? Brains? A cool tattoo? (Just kidding).
Lucy the Octopus is an awesome story of a unique girl who doesn't fit in. Kids need to learn that different is good. Weird is great. Show who you are and be yourself. Everyone else is already taken. And for crying out loud take up for the underdog. I had my daughter read this book. She loved it. The story keeps young teens attention and the artwork is precious. I will be purchasing this book for her to read and plan to add it to my list of young girl birthday gifts.

Overstuffed with bullying and too little redemption too late in the book. About half of this book could have been paired down.

And not once did I actually see Lucy with 8 legs. Some octopus.

I am highly disappointed in this book. Lucy is picked on by everyone. Her siblings, her schoolmates, her parents. She does make a friend, but wants to be a secret friend so the cool kids don’t find out. I thought things would pick up once Lucy earned the spot as the lead guitarist for her favorite band, but nope. She has to wear a watermelon helmet so her Uncool does not rub off on others. It doesn’t matter that she is the best guitar player, only how she looks. But it’s not just that. The author has other characters call Lucy and “fag”, a “dike”, etc. It just gets on my nerves. I almost didn’t finish this book. It was really close. Yes it does redeem itself in the end, but it takes over ¾ of the book for that to even begin. Just UGHHHH and NO!

The illustrations in this story are lovely, but I felt like the bullying and abuse that Lucy took at the hands of family, peers, and pretty much everyone was a bit too much. Over the top even though I'm sure that there are some children out there who are bullied to this degree. I guess I just didn't need it hammered over my head quite as much. I think that almost half of the book could have been edited out and we'd have understood how awful people were being to her and how she was such a nice and decent individual.

Even so, the visuals are so appealing that it made me keep reading the story just to see how things rolled out, whether things turned around for Lucy, etc. In the end, I'm glad I did stick with it, because the ending is worth the ride. And for that alone, I bumped it up to 3 stars.

This is a fun, easy read, but it's more than what you might guess. Lucy the Octopus is a comic strip collection that tells the story of an unloved, bullied, young octopus named Lucy. She struggles at school, at home, and pretty much everywhere in life, despite what the reader knows- that's actually a pretty cool girl. Read this book to find out if Lucy can make some friends, share her rockin' musical talent, and make her family see her as a part of them.

I quit reading “Lucy the Octopus” on page 15 because I couldn’t handle the intense bullying (it seemed gratuitous and like it was supposed to be funny, but failed.) I hope that a lesson showed up later, but I couldn’t read any more to find out, unfortunately. The art was colorful and I did like that.

Although I did enjoy this comic book quite a bit, especially more towards the end of the story, I did find that there were some frames that could be found as offensive, particularly because the projected readers are listed as children 9+. I honestly feel like I would've enjoyed it more if I knew that the targeted audience was 16+. I still felt like many people will get a laugh of of Lucy and her never ending struggles to be liked for who she is, and can see myself recommending it to certain people in the future.