Sorceline, written by Sylvia Douyé and illustrated by Paola Antista, is a middle grade graphic novel that is the first in a series. Welcome to the Island of Vorn, where mythical creatures roam free and only the brightest students are invited to study them. For as long as she can remember, Sorceline has had a knack for the study of mythical creatures. Now a student at Professor Archibald Balzar’s prestigious school of cryptozoology, she’s eager to test her skills and earn a spot as one of Balzar’s apprentices. But for all her knowledge of gorgons, vampires, and griffins, Sorceline is mystified by her fellow humans. While she excels in her studies, she quickly clashes with her classmates, revealing her fiery temper. When one of her rivals suddenly disappears, Sorceline must set aside her anger and join the quest to find her. But the mystery only deepens, leading Sorceline on a journey far darker and more personal than she expected.

Sorceline is a beautifully drawn graphic novel with some fun twists and turns, layers of mystery, and characters with potential for great growth and challenges. I enjoyed the story on several levels. First off the art work is wonderful, and I thought the use of cursive writing for Soceline's thoughts was very well done, but might throw some readers that have had less exposure to it. I thought the school themes of friendship and rivalry, and relationships in general was well done, but left many loose threads that will need to be looked at again in upcoming volumes. I liked Sorceline's personal journey of trying to figure out the mysteries surrounding her, and her own story and skills. II did think there could have been a bit more character development and world building, just a bit more set up, but I think it all still came together well and I trust there will be some questions answered along the way. thought everything was well balanced and highly engaging. I was left wanting more, and will be on the look out for future volumes.

Sorceline is a stunning read, both in artwork and story. I think many readers middle grade and older will greatly enjoy it.

This was such a an interesting read. I felt that the characters needed more depth and hopefully that will come with the second book. I really enjoyed the illustrations as they were gorgeous but I struggled with the story in and of itself. I felt that there could have been so much more to the story.


Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the read of this book for my own honest opinion.

Sorceline loved the forest and as Harry Potter attends Hogwarts this character attends a school for cryptozoology which works out perfectly for her because she loves animals, the forest, learning, and exploring.
Like many juvenile books the biggest problem she faces is the natural competition between students to be the best. In this case being the best means that she can get a lucrative apprenticeship with the professor.

We have some outside forces that are making trouble. Students are disappearing and there is a weird sickness that many of the mythical beasts seem to be suffering from. It may be Sorceline's fault!

This book was originally published in French and it is not surprising it did very well. The book is has lovely with whimsical illustrations that pair with easy to read text. As a fantasy fan I just loved looking at the pictures and imagining living in such a world. The characters are presented with emotions and individual traits to deepen the text and expand on every moment.

Perfect for middle grade readers. 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.

Story is just the first three Harry Potter books mixed together. You've got the goth teacher who is accused of being evil, a petrification mystery, and an entire school based around learning about magical animals. The main plot isn't very interesting or novel, and the pay some of the scenes were paced and switching settings didn't work for me.

Art is pretty decent, I'm not in love with it but there were a lot of cool designs for the magical creatures and that's really the most important part of a comic about caring for magical creatures.

It's kind of frustrating as a stand-alone, and I'm going to need the sequels to get localized ASAP. Lots of cool stuff introduced, and as the book goes on more stuff goes weird and new plots get introduced, but the book cuts to an ending with no proper resolution to any part of the plot introduced. If I could jump right into book two maybe my judgment on this book would be different but I don't feel like I got enough from just this first volume to form a positive opinion on the series

Sorceline is an apprentice of Professor Archibald Balzar.. Scoreline loves living on the Isle of Vorn. There are so many different cryptids on the island . She spots them easily and notes their odd behaviors. She discovers that her classmates are all in competition to win a spot to be the next assistant working with Professor Balzar. She doesn’t understand or know who her parents are, it is a mystery she would liked solve. When some of her classmates turned to glass, she wonders if she caused it, when classmates disappear, she decides to go looking for them. She goes out to a cryptid in the water to tell it that it must leave. Then Sorceline in the next illustration is lying n bed in a deep sleep. The professor tells his class they must say “goodbye” to her. Why?

This beautiful spooky dark illustrations are perfect for the graphic novel. The English translation of this graphic novel from the French language is well done. I enjoyed the learning of cryptids from Professor Balzar. It’s a fantastic graphic novel to read. It’s a story about cryptids. Cryptids are monsters. There are several mysteries in the story. It’s a story about magic and folklore. Some of the mysteries may be solved by the artwork though not all, I did have to go back to get these answers. At the end of the book here are still many threads not answered. This volume is worth reading even though it's sequel will be published when.

This seemed like a cute book, but it was missing too many pages to be able to follow along with the plot at all. I’m hoping it was a download error on my end.

So... I loved this graphic novel! It has everything I look in a good book: adventure, magic, mystery and friendship!
Until the last pages the mystery has to be solved and, even though some plot twist were predictable, I was always pretty entertained.
Without any doubt, it's a book I'll suggest to other people.

This is definitely a great readalike for someone who has just finished reading Coraline. It’s also a great introduction for readers who are reluctant to start graphic novels. Fantastic character dynamics, cryptozoology, interesting mystery. I really enjoyed the color palette of this book. There’s also promise for a future sequel! Four stars.

Welcome to the Island of Vorn, where everything is super fantastically spooky, just the way Sorceline likes it. She studies cryptozoology under a zoologist named Archibald Balzer, a grouchy old man who acts as a professor to her and a few other budding cryptozoologists.
When her classmates start to turn disappear, Sorceline joins in on the mystery and ultimately realizes that she might just have something to do with what's happening, or so she thinks.

This MG graphic novel is perfect for fantasy lovers!
It's filled with cryptids, or creatures that people claim to have existed but can't be proven, such as fairies, pixies, unicorns, vampires, etc. Unfortunately, a serious mystery is affecting these cryptids, and Sorceline and her classmates must figure out what it is before it's too late for them all!

I loved everything about this from the illustration style to the characters to the plot. It's a bit of a dark fantasy for young readers and has a lot of mystery and magic.

The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous! You can get a good idea from the creatures on the cover but that is really just a small sampling of the brilliance in this book.

Sorceline is studying cryptozoology on a creepy island. The students in her class are competing to see who will win the coveted role as the professor's assistant, so there's a lot of backbiting among the group. Things take a turn for the worse when some of the kids are turned into glass. Who or what is doing this? Is it the gorgon who's recovering in another room? One of the students? Or even Sorceline herself?

I think this is meant for a different audience than myself, so I'll rate it four stars. Middle-grade readers should love all the magic and fantastical creatures, while everyone can appreciate the stunning artwork by Paola Antista.

Overall, I think this graphic novel will be enjoyable for the audience it was written for. The art was the strongest part of the book. The backgrounds were beautiful, the characters were cute and had personality and the colors were vivid. I read a lot of middle grade and a lot of comic books, and love anything magical themed so this book interested me. This graphic novel is split into 3 parts. I liked that each wrapped up an aspect of the story by the end of the part. There was the feeling of a conclusion with a connected starting point in the next parts. My biggest problems with this book was the story as a whole and Sorceline's characterization.

Part 1 was very predictable with step by step conflicts. While middle grade is for children it does not have to be boring or the same stories told again and again. There are so many amazing middle grade books that tell original stories in new and exciting ways. While I think a child will find this book interesting, it could have been more. In part 2 the story got more interesting; there was a mystery the kids were trying to solve. The story flowed much better during this part and I found it more engaging. I liked how part 2 ended. Up until part 3 the writing and plot had been easy to follow. Part 3 was just really confusing. Tried to do a twist which kind of canceled out the ending of the previous part but wasn't explained well enough. If the writer had explained more in the 3rd part or just ended that one aspect of the plot at part 2 I think it would have been a much stronger story. I am a little interested in where things ended with Sorceline and might check out the next volume.

My last problem with the book I wanted to mention was Sorceline as a character. She could be interesting, but the writer didn't really give her any depth. She is a bunch of YA fantasy cliches, the chosen one, good at everything, and all the boys love her right away. Beyond those aspects there is nothing. I hope in the next volume she gets more personality.

So, I had issues with this graphic novel, but I still think people in the age range will enjoy it. It wasn't bad just had some things that made it average.

Sorceline is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel tackling identity and friendship against a magical backdrop and featuring a hair-raising mystery.

I was drawn to Sorceline because of the beautiful cover art, topic of cryptozoology, and vibrant characters. This graphic novel is the first in a trilogy, translated from French, about a girl named Sorceline who travels to a mysterious island to become a cryptozoologist, but stumbles on a mystery plaguing her classmates that might be related to her own past.

I absolutely adored the characters as they were introduced, they were well-rounded preteens each with their own flaws and desires. Willa, particularly, was one of my favorite characters, she had a very well-rounded personality and felt human. One of my favorite aspects of the novel is the wonderfully colorful setting and rich description and illustrations of the cryptids!

There were, unfortunately, some weak aspects of Sorceline. Scenes tend to jump cut back and forth with no transition panels, sometimes leaving the reader confused. A few times I did have to flip back and make sure I didn't miss a page. I think this, in turn, makes this book a slower read, as it takes longer to keep pace with the quickly moving plot. Unfortunately, the translation of the dialogue also slows this read down. The dialogue occasionally feels childish, even for a middle grade book. I feel like this would be fine, but the subject matter is already catering to preteens who have an interest in mythology and folklore, the characters don't need to be simplified for the audience.

Overall, I would give this graphic novel four stars! I enjoyed it, it was a pleasant read, but it did have it's issues. Still, I loved the creatures, the mystery, and the island of Vorn. I can see myself picking up the second volume to see where the plot takes Sorceline and what new creatures the other characters encounter!

A variation of this review will be posted on my social media during the week of May 16. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with a copy to review!

Wow do I love this!! I really enjoy the art style the most, and every page is just gorgeous to look at! The story is also really fun and engaging. I love the mystery aspect of it and that we can learn about different mythological creatures and cryptids while trying to figure out what is going on. It's everything I wanted when I decided to read it. I'm definitely looking forward to the next installment, because this is one series I am totally here for.

Grateful to have received a digital copy of this book from NetGally & Andrews McMeel Publishing

An intriguing tale of an apprentice cryptozoologist, Sorceline, and her magical adventure with her professor and classmates. The mythical creatures, magic and mystery keep you turning the page to see what will happen next. The graphics and illustrations keep you enchanted long enough to thoroughly enjoy the mystical environment the story is taking place in.

If you enjoy Harry Potter, Sabrina the Witch, Owl House or just love everything witchy and magical, you are sure to love Sorceline.

The cover art for Sorceline drew me in. The art style for this graphic novel is beautifully expressive, colorful, and energetic. In my opinion, it's the main positive aspect of Sorceline.
While the story has some interesting elements overall, the execution feels messy to me as a reader. The pacing is inconsistent in a way that often feels jarring. The way the story is laid out makes it difficult to put pieces together, even when they're being explicitly presented to me. At times it feels like things that should be given attention are glossed over or pushed to the backburner. There are a lot of story elements happening simultaneously and it feels a bit cluttered.
I'm torn between liking the characters because they're very vibrant in their personalities and disliking them because they feel almost like caricatures.
The art is beautiful though, and despite my complaints the story itself (once you figure out the pieces) is interesting, so I do intend to continue the series once I have the chance.

Sorceline is a sumptuously rendered middle grade graphic novel full of magic and whimsy - a school for magical vets on a mysterious island, a vampire, lots of magical creatures, a curse, a mystery to solve - it's all here!

Notable is that this volume is actually translated from French. I don't think I've ever read graphic novel in translation before, so that's pretty cool

I really enjoyed the feel of this one. Who doesn't love a fantasy set in a magic school?? The artwork is absolutely stunning, with rich colouring and a fairy tale feel.

There's a lot going on plot wise and at times it did feel a little too much. It veered towards cluttered and messy, and it was a little hard to keep up with all the various threads. There were a couple of transitions that were a bit confusing.

This volume ends unresolved on a cliffhanger, so be aware this is the first in a series and you'll be left with questions. I was also veeeeeery concerned that a "and then she woke up and it was all a dream" direction was being hinted at towards the end and I very much hope that's not the case, because it's literature's all time worst cop out of a trope, imo.

Despite all this, it was just such a beautiful world to inhabit for an hour or two, in terms of visuals and magic feels, that I'd still say overall I enjoyed it very much.

Thank you so much for providing me with this comic book. I absolutely loved the art. The story is just so cute. I am in love with it.

Oh how I wanted to love this graphic novel. It is the perfect premise; magic, mythical creatures, curses, and just the right amount of creepiness plus some of the most amazing illustrations I have seen in a graphic novel. What's not to love right? Sigh. Unfortunately, so much.

While one is completely enchanted by the illustrations, the story is severely lacking. You don't feel any connection to any of the characters, the story is extremely disjointed and chaotic and not even remotely fleshed out. It just bops from one thing to another and acts like we should already know what is going on when we are all still pretty clueless. Add in that it ends on a freaking cliffhanger and it became a really disappointing read for me. Even wanting to know how it ends and the knowledge of amazing illustrations will entice me to read the next one - this was just way too jumbled for my liking.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sylvia Douya, Paola Antista - Illustrator, and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows Sorceline, a student in professor Archibald Balzar’s prestigious school of cryptozoology. Sorceline is there to study magical beings, whilst competing with her classmates in order to become the next assistant to the professor she admires. However, nothing goes smoothly when weird things start happening within the walls of the school.

I really liked this book! The artwork was beautiful, vivid and magical. I really liked the school setting and the mystery, which with it’s many twists and turns had me at the edge of my seat.
Very fun, fast paced and whimsical.

I loved reading this book. The mystery was thrilling, the twists and turns kept on my toes, and the amazing illustrations drew me into the atmosphere and the world. I could not put this book down until I read the final page! The characters were endearing, and I am excited to get to know them better when the rest of the books are translated. I found the illustrations beautiful, atmospheric, and drew me right into this magical world.