Odessa was a fun read with a compelling premise which took some time, but did hook me.

Odessa, the MS, was a little immature and often rude but these negative traits did serve me to like her better by seeing her as a whole character and not just her best parts.

I also liked the drawing and the illustrations - they were very well made!

The book was heartwarming as well as heartbreaking but.overall, a good read.

I couldn’t get into this graphic novel unfortunately. I liked the art, but I had a few run-ups at it and didn’t manage to get into it properly. Sorry this isn’t a proper review, but I don’t believe in reviewing books I am unable to finish.

This is a great "kid version" of walking dead. An older sister sets out to find her mother after the US is torn apart by earthquakes and continental shifts. The relationships and bonds develop as the small band travels further and deeper into unsafe territory. The world building in this graphic novel is gripping and I'm excited to see what happens next!

There was a film in 2005 called London. It was not set in London. It was about a character called London, I bring that up here because the same trope is used here in Odessa. Its not set in the Ukraine, rather it is set in a post-apocalyptic California, after the big one has destroyed much of society. Its a picaresque road journey through this destroyed land with a young woman searching for her mother - the titular Odessa. Its a handsome bit of work which unfortunately hews quite close to a number of relatively cliched plotting which will not surprise you much if you've seen Mad Max, the odd zombie flick and the Incredible Journey. That isn't to say its bad, it tells its (part of the story - it ends with a to be continued...) well. But the travels of a seventeen year old and her much younger siblings bickering across a destroyed America lacked the sparks it promised at the beginning. There are a few twists near the very end which sort of redeem it, but that only comes from some quite convenient plotting.

I am also a bit torn on the art here. Its quite rough and cartoonish, which is fine particularly for the bickering brothers (who are drawn with odd shaped heads that belies Hill's confidence in distinguishing his regulars). His grizzled older men stand out well, but the choice to loosely colour the black and white art with a pink wash in places picks up some of the art but becomes very one note after a while. Experimenting with other single palate washes, as per silent film tinting could have offered a bit more variety and helped the art when it moves from rural to urban, day to night. The background are good and the storytelling is clear, but due to the loose nature of the linework it doesn't always get across the scale of the earthquakes disaster. There's a couple of iconic stabs at San Francisco which work - a collapsed Golden Gate Bridge and some destroyed freeway ramps, but I wanted the art to do a bit more on that front. Again it does come into its own in the last act where a big action scene plays out in the art well.

Odessa is a solid adventure tale, and many of my criticisms come just from how familiar the story felt to me. There is also the aim of the quest to find Odessa - a woman who doe snot appear to want to be found - and I wonder if I will have the stamina for another three hundred page book to discover that the journey was the destination. I'll give it a spin, and if you like the art there is plenty here to enjoy. But I felt there was something a bit more ambitious hiding behind the funny headed kids...

This is the first ever graphic novel I read and I thought it was okay. The premise of this book sounded really interesting and the cover really drew me in, but I wasn't really blown away or astounded by the story. I found the villain characters to be more uncompelling than I prefer. There were some moments where it was heartwarming, especially between siblings, and the art style (while not for me personally) really seemed to fit the apocalyptic story.

I think if you're a fan of graphic novels you may really enjoy this, especially if you are a fan of Neal Shusterman but it wasn't personally a good story for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an advanced E Reader copy in exchange for an honest review

Jonathan Hill's Odessa has a lot to unpack. Set in a post-apocalyptic world caused by a shattering earthquake that lasts an entire day, we follow Ginny and her brothers and they embark on a journey to find their mother who abandoned them 8 years ago.

The artwork itself is great. Each character is distinct, ranging from kind passersbys to gritty and gruesome members of respective governing gangs that attempt to kill them for trespassing into their territory. This could be an issue with the digital copy, or purposeful from the author, but the lack of detail in some of the depictions of large settings irked me at times. Images and details within blended too well into the photo, making the setting hard to truly see and immerse oneself in. I also wasn't the biggest fan of the use of pink throughout. I understand how it can represent a brighter time to come, or create some reprieve visually, but it didn't settle too well with myself, and found it clashed more with the tone of the graphic novel.

I really enjoyed the characters overall. I thought Ginny was a headstrong leader, who took every new obstacle with smart and quick impulse decisions. Her brothers were adorable, and I loved the banter between the 3 of them - it was very realistic and added great humour throughout. I enjoyed the other characters met on the journey, but not as much as the siblings.

I do feel like this story is a little too long. It drags at certain points, with the plot jumping as we go through hurdle after hurdle. I was also a little frustrated with the ending, as it was rather abrupt and slightly unsatisfying. However, I am eager to know what happens next, as I really loved the characters, and would like to uncover more of the mystery and see more of the complexities of this dark future.

Overall though, I enjoyed the journey, the artwork, and most of all, the characters.

An average rating for an average book. The ideas were good. I just wasn’t in love with the execution. I enjoyed the illustrations. I had a hard time connecting to the characters. It was an ok read but not memorable. Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the chance to read this.

Eight years ago an earthquake—the Big One—hit along the west coast of the United States. Life as we know it changed forever. But for Vietnamese-American Virginia Crane, life changed shortly after the earthquake, when her mother left and never came back. She has since gotten used to a life without her mother, helping her father take care of her two younger brothers, Wes and Harry. But when a mysterious package arrives for her eighteenth birthday, her life is shaken up yet again. For the first time, Ginny wants something more than to survive. And it might be a selfish desire, but she's determined to find out what happened to her mother—even if it means leaving her family behind.

So this is a post-apocalyptic drama/adventure with hints of Sci-Fi elements that follows a group of kids as they travel. You have Ginny, a naive girl who's a terrible caregiver, you have the middle child Wes who somehow has more common sense than his older sister, and finally you have Harry who's sole job is to be a moron and get in trouble.

If you sensed a hint of bitterness with that last line, you're not wrong. I found a lot of the character's actions to be unbelievable. Harry was born around the time of the earthquake (that's not a spoiler, it's early on) so we can assume they've lived in this new post apocalyptic world for a few years now. I refuse to believe that Ginny and Wes (and most of the good adults too) can have lived in this world since the beginning and still be so stupid. Ginny holds on so tight to her old pre-earthquake moral compass that if it were coal, she'd get a diamond. Her annoying innocence gets them into trouble and even has repercussions for the end of volume one..

Also, for a post-apocalyptic wasteland, the kids seem to stumble across every nice adult that exists and they just always happen to find what they need. I never once feared for their lives. Even when they were in danger I never ever thought that anything could ever happen to them because their plot armor was so thick that it could withstand a nuclear blast.

The only two characters worth a damn in this were Four Dollar (a guy they stumble upon in a time of need) and Wes because he's not a gigantic moron. Four Dollar was actually an interesting character and I would rather read about him. Wes stood out because he was the smartest both in terms of "street smarts" and emotional intelligence. I believe Ginny was supposed to serve as some sort of moral compass, but she just came across as an idiot.

There was a very very small love story which had to potential to be really cute, but it was greatly ignored in volume one.

Odessa has promise but volume one was a gargantuan let down.

The Cascadia fault line, I had to look it up and the first result heralds THE EARTHQUAKE THAT WILL DEVASTATE THE PACIFIC NORTH WEST , living in Scotland an earthquake is not something I need to worry about when I wake up in the morning, 6 feet of snow - yes, a large chasm opening in front of my house - no. I know to a lot of people in this region the worry must be very real.

Odessa is set 8 years after a massive earthquake strikes the fault line, devastating the west coast and taking many lives with it. Our main character is Virginia or Ginny as she prefers to be called, the older sibling to two younger brothers. She lives a quiet life with the boys and her father in a rural settlement, life is very different to what is once was.

An unexpected parcel arrives on her eighteenth birthday from her Mother, it sets Ginny off on a trip to find her but the world has changed and people aren’t as kind and helpful as they once where, everyone is out for themselves and Ginny’s journey wont be easy especially when she finds out her brothers have sneaked along too.

The majority of graphic novels I read are colourful affairs with every colour of the rainbow but this one has a near monochromatic colour scheme which I think works really well. A dystopian future I usually imagine as quite dark and foreboding so this scheme does the job nicely.

The siblings are perfectly written, they bicker and fight as siblings do, they also look out for each other. The adult characters vary from crazed bikers to kindly strangers, they each play their part well.

A good read, definitely worth checking out.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I expected to read about adventures, dangers and family dramas, and those are exactly what I read. It’s a great story about family (both those you’re related by blood and those you consider as your family) and how you can sacrifice your own safety for them.

The main character kind of annoyed me with her reasoning and decisions. I was expecting to see a huge character development but since the story isn’t finished yet (well, I think it isn’t??) I guess I need to wait for the next one.

Reading it was really exciting and I kept on turning to the next page and I didn’t even notice that I’m close to finishing it!! It felt so incomplete. I need answers!!

Odessa by Jonathan Hill is a graphic novel set in post apocalyptic America. Eight years ago, an earthquake shook the world, and California separated from the United States. Around that same time, Virginia, Wes, and Harry's mom left. On Virginia's 17th birthday, she got a package from their mom with a present inside. The kids are shocked to find out that their mom is still alive! Now, she decides to leave her home and find her mom, but her brothers won't be left behind. Follow these kids as they travel through dangerous areas in search of their mom.

While this isn't my favorite genre of writing, this graphic novel included a ton of adventure, and I could see many students enjoying it! There is a lot unknown about this new dangerous world, and it's interesting to see how the author creates a new America. Definitely an upper middle school or even high school read! #netgalley #odessa

Thank you Netgalley and Oni Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not really sure what exactly I think of this. It was just... Okay. I don't regret reading it, I think the idea of this world was really cool and well thought out.

The one big downside for me was the characters, not that they were bad, just that the 2 little kids were such brats in my opinion ahaha. I really found it iffy that they all just left their dad back at home, like all the time I kept thinking "their poor dad".I also thought the situations were resolved abit to easily and coincidentally.

On a positive note, I thought the art style was really cool and unique. I really loved the vibe of the dusky pink, and I'd love to see more of Jonathan Hill's work!

This was ok. I really liked the art style with the one colour and I loved how the characters looked. I was less sold on the personalities and plot, just felt far too rushed for me. I didn't really feel like I got into the story or really got to know any of the characters. I'm not usually a reader of graphic novels so perhaps the format is just not for me.

Reviewing graphic novels is always a huge struggle. They often don’t provide enough content to delve into, and my review of art can often be summarized by one word “beautiful”. That’s why this review is going to be very succinct but hopefully still helpful!

Who would have thought that I’d find a new graphic novel to get excited about? You probably all know already that I’m not a huge fan of graphic novels. I rarely feel satisfied with them. Yes, the art is usually beautiful to look at but the stories tend to be very simplistic and short, and often leave me wanting more. This time Odessa actually did it for me! It was interesting, it was captivating and intriguing. I actually didn’t know that this is only Part 1, and was disappointed that it ended so soon. On a positive note, I’ll have something to look for when the 2nd part comes out.


I love when graphic novels only have one or two main colors and the rest tends to be in grays or black and white. Which was the case with Odessa. I’d love to read other books illustrated by Jonathan Hill. This style of art usually has just enough visual support to aid the story but doesn’t take anything away from it, doesn’t become a distraction.

One of my favorite graphic novels Hostage by Guy Delisle has very simple artwork but tels such an incredible and powerful story.


There is something about dystopian worlds / stories that really intrigues me. I’m always looking for something new to read in the dystopian genre and while Odessa is more of a journey through the dystopian world, as it focuses on family dynamics and a little bit of danger and adventure. I hope that in the future volumes we get to see a little bit more of the world, and how it came to be the way it is. I know there was an earthquake, but that’s pretty much the whole “background” to how different the world looks now.

Odessa by Jonathan Hill was a very pleasant surprise. I saw that the reviews on Goodreads are rather mixed. However, this was my type kind of graphic novel and I will definitely be looking for the continuation!

2.5

I thought the book was just fine. I thought there were a lot of coincidences that drove the plot forward and I didn’t really connect with any of the characters or their motivations. I did however liked the simplicity in the art style.

The art style and color scheme is beautiful. There are some panels that are absolutely stunning!
Overall, this graphic novel was different than what I normally read; however, I did enjoy it! Virginia, aka Ginny, was the furthest developed character, although I wish I new more about her, as well as her brothers. Four Dollars was another great character, and I hope that his histories are delved into more in other volumes! Odessa is a good set up for the story to come;however, without the full background/character development in place, some aspects of the story didn't seem to make sense within the plot. It sets up the different gangs and lurking dangers within this post-apocalyptic world, but often these aspects were glazed over.
I will be continuing this series!

Ginny is a 17yo teenager who is bent on finding her mother. With her younger brothers in tow, she sets out on a perilous journey to find her mother. Ginny is obstinate and justice driven, compassionate and her character sets a stark contrast with the unfeeling, evil monsters they meet along the way. If you are new to this kind of genre, then with every new character, you might find yourself asking the question - "can he be trusted?" In all honesty, I found this genre too dark for my liking. This apocalyptic graphic novel is illustrated in monochrome. Appropriately eery for the genre, this apocalyptic graphic novel is illustrated in monochrome. Whilst violence is not glorified in this book, you are left in no doubts as to how bloodthirsty the world has become since the earthquake that marked the "end of the world." People are desperate for survival and will favour themselves above the needs of anyone else in this quest. Kindness exists but it is a rare commodity. The book ends with Ginny's quest unresolved and so we wait for Book 2 to discover if she is able to find her mother or not.

I was half impressed and half disappointed with this one. When I read the description, I thought it would be great - post apocalyptic survival narratives are right up my street, and I was really excited to read something like that from the perspective of a non-white protagonist. I loved the aesthetic of it, and the very limited colour palette. I also liked the character of Four Dollars - he felt much realer than the other characters, who were all a bit simplistic and flat.

The disappointing aspects were the other characters - if I hadn't read that the characters were Vietnamese Amercian, I wouldn't have been able to tell from the drawings or text. The majority of them seemed flat and simplistic, and I didn't really feel like Ginny's motivations were explored at all. I also wish I had realised going in that it wouldn't draw the narrative to a close - 320 pages to be confronted with a "To Be Continued" is just irritating, especially as this felt bloated in places and I think would have been much stronger as a shorter piece.

I have a huge weakness for apocalyptic narratives, and the cover of this graphic novel called out to me from the moment I saw it. I am really thankful that OnI Press granted my request for an early copy to review.

Odessa takes place in an America that was devastated by a massive earthquake that changed the landscape forever. The story is about family and finding who you are when those you love have abandoned you and other need more than you can give.

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGAlley.

This is the story of the three siblings - Ginny, Wes and Harry- and their journey to find their mother, Odessa. Set several years after some major earthquakes ended the world as we know it, this was an imaginative story and kept me reading, wondering about what happens next. Even though some twists were predictable, it was still really enjoyable as a whole and I'm 100% interested in seeing how the story will continue.