This graphic novel is utterly charming. The way adolescent insecurities and questions of identity are framed around a young vampire and her family is an excellent framing device. Plus the artwork and visuals are so appealing to look at throughout the story.

Full review to be posted soonish.

I would like to thank the publisher and netgalley for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

The plot was a bit tropey but the world was very interesting, the YA plot engaged, and the characters made you want to root for them. A fun read and it will be interesting to see where this leads.

Volume one of Hematite follows a young vampire struggling with growing up, her first crush, and defying her parents by not following the family tradition and going to an all-vampire school. Her friends include a draugr girl, a few humans, and other unspecified mythological creatures.

As an introduction to the story, this first volume sets the tone beautifully, with an atmosphere reminiscent of the Victorian time in Britain, spooky middle grade and YA horror, a simple and inviting color palette, and a well-written introduction to this world and complicated character relationships.

This book would make a great read for young readers who love horror, mythical creatures, and all things Halloween.

With its gorgeous art style, Hematite provides a fun spin on vampire and monster legends for younger readers! A teenage vegetarian vampire, rival prep schools for vampires and monsters, and a human who’s obsessed with monsters. A story of love, friendship, and family. Looking forward to the next in the series!

Thanks to netgalley.com and Europe Comic for the advance PDF ARC copy for my honest review.

This was one where the cover caught my eye, read a few other graphic novels from Europe Comic that I liked and decide to give Hematite a try.

The setting is medieval, you have a vampire who hates blood, rather eat vegetable soup, goes to the a wolven academy school verse the vampire one, from an influential family, her best friend is a Drauga, has a crush on a human classmate, add in some of the Drauga's friends, they don't all get along, so you have a wrinkle in the storyline of them bonding and becoming friends by the end.

Liked the characters of Hematite whose a vampire, Drunela who is a drauga and Emile whose a human, they make this one, a real good read and hope that I can keep reading more from the series.

Since the ending, seems like this will be a series, worthy of a read and best of all are the twists that really make it different from your typical story with a vampire in it.

This is an engaging YA graphic novel. My Rating 4.25.

Hematite is a vampire teenager trying to find her position in life. She doesn’t agree with the cold attitudes of her high society parents. But she struggles to fit in as the first vampire attending the Wolven School rather than the ‘more prestigious’ vampire academy.

Hematite writes in her journal, particularly noting in verse her unrequited love for a human boy, Emile. Hematite shares time with her best friend, Drunela, a draugr (ghoul) who tries to bring Hematite together with her other supernatural friends, a werewolf (Berthe), a jellied creature (Alphonse), and a skeleton (Frida). Hematite is suffering from her conflicting thoughts and is having trouble controlling bursts of anger. She fears that she might hurt Emile.

Hematite gets up to mischief with Drunela and her other friends. The jealousy exists but a shared danger finally draws them together. Hematite then gets to have some time with Emile who is thrilled to see all of the ancient books in her family library. But the visit ends in an accident and tragedy settles on Hematite’s heart. Can she and her friend find a way to make things better? That will be disclosed in the next book.

I totally enjoyed the contrasting light and dark themes of the story. Friendship is the heavy element that ties the characters together. I am interested to see what happens in the next book. The drawings are wonderful. They have a dark undertone consistent with the characters. This is a perfect book to read in October – the supernatural month. This is fine for children, with teachable moments. I recommend this to fans of graphic novels, vampires, other supernatural creatures, and friendship!

Source 2021 NetGalley..

The art style of this story was so unique. I loved the journey and struggles we see Hematite go through in such a short story. The contrast between her being a vampire and the other types of creatures at her school I think was a really creative way to show what young kids and teens deal with at school. Definitely a cliffhanger of a story but I’m excited to read the next one!

Thanks for providing me this anticipated copy. I loved this story. I only wished it was longer. Right when I was starting to get used to the characters, it ended. AND ON THE BIGGEST CLIFFHANGER EVER! I had completely forgotten this was the first book in a series so now I have to patiently wait for the next one, I guess. I really hope we get to know more about the characters in the next book because right now, they fell kind of flat. Why doesn’t Hématite want to drink blood? How did her crush on Emile come to be? What are the other characters’ stories? I want to know more!

This was a really cute and spooky book. It has interesting characters, fun adventures and great artwork. It ends on a cliff-hanger and I really want to find out what happens next!

Hematite is a vampire but she doesn't want to drink blood and be like all the other vampires. Against her parents' wishes, she chooses to go to school with the other supernatural creatures and even has a crush on a human boy.
I must say, the first page nearly put me off continuing as the text was extremely hard to read. I was so glad it didn't stay like that, it was definitely worth sticking with the book. It's quite short but it still made me care so much about Hematite and everything she goes through. I love her friendship with Drunela, it's so sweet. I really liked the illustration style too, and the colours.

The artstyle of this was adorable and I absolutely loved it. The story and characters are really great and loveable, I really liked the concept and it was well executed. It felt a little bit short, but I can't wait to find out what happens next, especially after that cliffhanger.

This was not what I expected it to be. The story turned out to be a lot darker than I thought. It was a nice read though. I thought the character of Hematite was quite interesting, she is fragile and strong at the same time, and I enjoyed her friendship with Drunela. In terms of plot, this is more like an introduction. The world is being built and we get the basis of the characters. I think the next volume will be a bit more intense, a bit more interesting.
The art is really nice. It has that dark atmosphere that goes really well with dark fantasy sotry. There were lots of times where dialogues were not needed and the drawings were sufficient in itself.
I recommend this graphic novel to people of all ages who enjoy dark fantasy.
3/5

Unfortunately I was way too late and did not read this book. Apologizes for the inconvenience this may have caused.

I got this on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

This is a weird one because on one hand I really liked it but I also didn't? Like, the worldbuilding was interesting, I liked the characters and the story, but I spent a lot of this being confused! I went back a lot throughout this because I was sure I had accidentally missed something or skipped a page or something, but it was just that it is very heavy on the "things that happened before but not in the story". That was also when I realized that I just wished the worldbuilding was done in a more extensive way! Because I desperately wanted to know more about the specifics of this universe, but sadly it was never answered. I also wish we got to see more of the characters in general and grow more attached to them, because the ending shocked me, but made me feel nothing.

The story felt kind of "this happened, and then this, and now this.", and it sucks because it really had it going for it! It wasn't BAD necessarily, but very lacking!

I absolutely loved reading this, the art style is so cute and the colour scheme is to die for. we follow hematite, who is a vampire and her human friends. it was quite short, but i had a great time nontheless.

I enjoyed this graphic novel. The art style was really cute as well. I would probably be interested in hunting down any future books to see where the story goes.

Em 'Hematite' um drama para jovens adultos, repleto de monstros da literatura e cinema de horror, fala sobre romance, amizade e aventuras da juventude. Além disso também mostra conflitos geracionais entre pais e filha, bem como discriminação e pré julgamentos entre espécies.

As ilustrações têm uma paleta terrosa que confere à história a sensação de uma ambientação em tempos remotos, um tanto soturno e fantasioso. Ansiosa por um próximo volume e seus desdobramentos.

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In 'Hematite' a drama for young adults, filled with monsters from horror literature and cinema, talks about romance, friendship and adventures of youth. In addition it also shows generational conflicts between parents and daughter, as well as inter-species discrimination and pre-judgements.

The illustrations have an earthy palette that gives the story the feel of a setting in ancient times, somewhat grim and fantastical. Looking forward to the next volume and its developments.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

The artwork is really cute but the story didn’t really draw me in. This felt more middle grade than teen/ya so maybe I wasn’t the best audience for it.

Thank you NetGalley, author and publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Hematite is anything but the vampire her family wants her to be. She also struggles to fit in as the only vampire in her diverse school. Though she finds solace in her poetry, her draugr friend, Drunella, and human crush, Emilie, Hematite’s differences seem to only land her in trouble.

I enjoyed meeting Hematite and the cast of quirky characters (including a scarecrow, werewolf, and draugr). Though lighthearted, this YA explores issues like failing to conform to societal norms. I loved the dark academia art style and the change of heart we see towards the end. Definitely felt a bit short, but I’m excited for the next volume!

Thanks NetGalley and Europe Comics for my copy!