Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher/author for providing me with an e-copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was exactly what I wanted it to be! I loved it. I will make sure to check out other books by this author. When I requested this I was just intrigued by the concept of it and I loved how it turned out. This story had a great plot and if you have read this and enjoyed it, This was so much. It was such a great story. I would say give this one a try. I will continue to follow this author. Way to go to this author for not letting me down.

Small World is pretty much Spanish cyberpunk Peter Pan with a heavy manga influence that floats between social commentary, cutesy comics, and heavy darkness, such as poverty, classism, child drug addiction, attempted rape, explicit violence, drug-related group psychosis, and more.

It often toes the line between shock horror and telling a moving and compelling story, but I'd argue it does a very good job of doing so. The pacing is probably the weakest point, but there are points where the jarring pacing is playing into the jarring setting quite well.

Okay, so, I did like this, but it's brutal, and the characters are varying degrees of not likeable. There's lots of violence and death, and a lot of it is done by and to children, so be prepared for that. I will say it fit the world of the story - think Mad Max in the slums - and it fits well into a Peter Pan retelling in my mind, because I always found Neverland frightening underneath its fairy tale adventure veneer. As I said, none of the characters are particularly likeable; this doesn't bother me, I don't need to like the characters to enjoy the story. Piedro, though... I take it back, I liked him, even though he does some really bad things, he at least tried to do better. Piedro, unlike Peter Pan, felt redeemable, I had hope for him.
I enjoyed the dystopian twists here, Kumiko (the story's "Wendy") and her brothers going from their beautiful, pristine everyday world into Piedro's steampunkish murder world Neverland and thinking it a great adventure, not grasping the reality and darkness of it. The art is gorgeous, a hybrid between manga and western comics styles, and suits the story so well! The way the characters are done, with Yumiko, her brothers, and the other above world characters are done in a soft, pretty, almost glowy way, while the below world characters have a wilder, more chaotic feel, and it's perfect. This is one I'd recommend, though admittedly not to everyone.
That ending, though. Thanks for stomping on my heart, I guess...

#SmallWorld #NetGalley

Modern day dystopian retelling of Peter Pan with anime-inspired art that was one part interesting and one part annoying. It felt like the Peter Pan plot was there just to give the artist a direction to move forward and set up the next set of violence. There could have been some interesting things to say with the world nd the Peter Pan setup, but this book didn't have it.

I enjoyed this uniquely designed graphic novel. Perfect for fans of comics and science fiction, and lots of visual appeal.

'Small World' with story and art by Jean David Morvan is a graphic novel of the future based on a classic novel.

It's a future world full of haves and have nots. The haves live in secure enclaves and the have nots live in a place called Small World and the two worlds never really meet until a local urchin named Piedra makes it in to a sim that the rich kids play then shows up in real life.

This story leans a bit on Peter Pan, which I liked (Piedra, get it?), but it is really no kids story. In fact, I found the weird way the kids are drawn kind of creepy and pretty violent things happen to some of the children. I have a hard time recommending this.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, Magnetic Press, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Thank you to Magnetic Press and NetGalley for this E-ARC!

Unique art style, yet it was a bit rushed near the end. Overall, a good read for those who are interested in sci fi manga.

I enjoyed it, nice story and illustrations. However, it lacks depth and I hate the ending.

Many thanks to Magnetic Press and Netgalley!

2.5/5

Thanks to NetGalley, Diamond Book Distributors, and Magnetic Press for the e-ARC of this book in exchange of honest review.

This was an interesting experience. I read manga pretty often and when I tried this graphic novel, I find myself enjoying it. The artstyle is different from what I usually like but it is immaculate and gives me the vibe of reading Marvel comics. The concept and storyline of this book is the one that caught my interest. There are two different world in here; one where rich people reside in private and enjoy lots of privilege, and the other is 'Small World', the slums where poor, unwanted people live. The main girl character named Kumiko is the daughter of Japanese ambassador and she really wants to see and experience the life in 'Small World', while the main boy character is Piedro who lived in the slums himself.

The first thing that disappoint me in this book is, I don't feel attached to any of the character. I was so close to rooting for Piedro because of his past, but then, what he did is questionable enough to make me not care if anything happened to him. I think Kumiko and her younger siblings are the typical kids that have been pampered and lived their best lives since they were born, that's why they were so excited to go to Small World. But, I do feel relieved that Kumiko at least have the sympathy towards the poor people. Mostly, I just feel really sad of what happened to the world (in this story). Kids who lived in the slums need to fight for their lives, and die young because of the unfairness and attack from bigger gangs. This one character, Gancho is so despicable. He killed people without hesitation and tortured kids.... I feel enraged every time he appears in the story because when he did, the ending will definitely be horrible.

One thing I really want to know is what did Piedro do to make Gancho want to kill him that much? I know a small part of it but I can't see the bigger picture of what really happened between them. I was in question of many things including the orange liquid...

Also, I can say I'm really disappointed with the ending. It feels rushed and out of a sudden it happened. I was stunted and can't accept it hahahaha I understand the reasons but I wished it was more elaborate to make it believable.

Overall, I'm glad that I read this story despite being disappointed with a few things. I'd definitely recommend this to people who loved stories about differences in social status, futuristic world and struggling to live.

First of all, the art is gorgeous in a quirky, sketchy way that works perfectly with the light, somewhat childish colors in making this seem both a dream and a nightmare. I did not expect to see the amount of violence (brains and cut-off tounges the least of it) presented in such cutesy art. This may be part of the reason why Morvan chose Terada as the artist, but it makes for some extremely trippy juxtaposition that somehow makes the violence even worse.
It is very much as Morvan described, "cyberpunk Peter Pan" in which Piedro is as much of a psychopath as I remember him from the original and the violence is turned up to 11.
I will say that not only does it touch on all the important elements of Peter Pan rather creatively, it also presents some good points about poverty, theft, and violence in a way that makes you think.
Overall, I appreciate the artistry and what they were going for with this one, but I'm sad to say that I'm walking away with no interest in revisiting Small World

Many thanks to NetGalley, Diamond Book Distributors, and Magnetic Press for the early read!

Dear Readers, Aliens and Creatures, you’ll probably have to gear up for this one.

Official title: Small World
My title: Piedro’s Lost Kids
Author: Jean David (JD) Morvan
Illustrator: Toru Terada
Publisher: Diamond Book Distributers
Fav character: Baby
Readability: Smooth
Type: Graphic Novel
4.3/5

🌱Peter pan retelling, but give it drugs, make it bloody, savage and graphic novel-y. ✨💫✨

Silly, sheltered and stupid child of rich parents, Kumiko, bites off more than she can chew when she meets the bad boy escapee Piedro, whom she first met in her controlled dream session, and invites herself and her little siblings to visit the world Piedro’s friends were shot and stabbed in 12hrs ago - “Small World”.

In this sunken world where boys are more often abandoned than girls, young women are hookers and pimps and there is a code among thieves, there are those who try to keep the order - el crocodilo - and those who kill indiscriminately but who have powerful and willfully blind friends - Gancho.

They’ve dragged themselves into more danger that they can handle, after all, head-shot Gancho is after Piedro and the Pirates of Small World may not be a match even for them. While the drama unfolds, as more lost boys get killed in front of Kumiko’s eyes, she’ll focus on the important things… like, how Piedro REALLY feels about her… having known her for 16hrs or less. 🤦 (*ancestors protect me*)

Ignore your sane moral impulses for this one and allow yourself to be caught up in an adventure… while rules may keep us sane, for Piedro, drugs, his mom’s fairy and the disorder he has been forced to know will lead him to choices away from Kumiko.

🌱For lovers of comics who don’t mind lots of violence and children dying.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Small World by Jean David Morvan is a sci-fi graphic novel/manga hybrid that will appeal to fans of science fiction anime like Akira and Ghost in the Shell. It is illustrated by mangaka Toru Terada, so I would consider this authentic manga instead of manga-inspired. The story revolves around a future in which rich kids virtually visit "Small World," the slums to check out the fashion. Yumiko and her brothers are surprised when Piedra, their local guide to the slums, shows up unexpectedly one day, running away from a gang of villains. Soon, they're on the adventure of a lifetime.

Overall, Small World is an innovative and interesting science fiction graphic novel/manga that will appeal to fans of Japanese culture everywhere. It is a stunning blend of Asian and European influences, and I hope that more cross-cultural projects and collaborations like this will be coming out in the future. One highlight of this book is the lovely visuals. The birds-eye view of the futuristic city, combined with the chibi-esque characters, make for a visually-stunning book. I took off 1 star, because it was a bit too violent and gory for my taste, but that's my personal preference. If you're intrigued by the description or if you're a fan of manga, you can check out this book when it comes out in November!