Two different stories told from opposite ends of the world grip the reader as they learn that the connecting factor linking them together is global warming. While some individuals claim that global change and global warming are just fictious, Yuki and Sami lives are living proof that it’s happening, and its effect is very real.

From “here” Sami is a fisherman, like his grandfather in the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean. The sea is once again pushing its way onto the banks of his village. The seawall is crumbling, and the houses will once again have to be moved more inland. Land is becoming scarce as the ocean claims everything around them. Fishing is their livelihood, their means of existence. The water that was once their friend has now become their enemy as a constant struggle occurs as they struggle to bring home enough fish to earn a paycheck and the ocean tries to claim their home. Just when Sami and his grandfather thought that they had caught the “big one” and their luck had changed, they realized that the water was not their only problem.

From “there” Yuki, his dog Lockjaw live with her parents inside the Arctic Circle in Northern Canada. With the warmer winters, the snow and sea ice are melting rapidly creating issues for the residents and the bears who rely on it. With less ice, the bears are moving into the residential areas to forge for their food. Yuki doesn’t like how the town addresses this issue, so she takes it upon herself to find a better solution. Bundled against the cold winter landscape, fourteen-year-old Yuki sets off with Lockjaw for the answer.

As Sami and Yuki shared their stories, their stories felt real. The details and the emotions that were expressed felt heartfelt and sincere. The illustrations in this graphic novel were terrific! You could feel the tension, frustration, and excitement within each text box. The colors used helped create this dramatic storyline and it was hard book to put down. I enjoyed the extra text pages at the back of the book as they helped explain the idea behind the book and about global warming. I really enjoyed reading this graphic novel. 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Kids for an arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion of this book.

GLOBAL follows the story of two children on different sides of the world whose lives are both impacted by the effects of global warming. Sami lives near the Indian Ocean with his grandfather, who makes a living by fishing. The more frequent and severe storms along with rising water threaten their village and make this increasingly more difficult. Yuki lives near the Arctic Circle where more ice is melting every day and bears who have lost their natural habitat are entering her community, where residents are threatening to kill them. The book moves back and forth between the two stories, showing the journey each of the children takes to address how these changes are impacting their lives and eventually intersecting at the end of the book. Both stories are compelling and help to bring attention to climate issues in a way that middle grade readers can access and learn from. The book will be an engaging vehicle for introducing readers to this important topic.

Two stories of two children from different parts of the world. Both children feel the climate crisis. Juki is looking for a hybrid bear in northern Canada. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, in the Bay of Bengal, Sami and his grandfather face a different challenge. The waves constantly wash away their home.

Illustrations are very good. Global is an excellent graphic novel and an important read. We should be aware of what we are doing to our planet.

This was requested when I first found out about NetGalley and I had requested so many ARCs that I could not get to all of them before they were archived. I really wanted to get to this one, as it seemed interesting. If I can find this somewhere for a reasonable price, I will try to get it! I am giving this book three stars, as I don't want to give it a good or bad rating, since I did not get to it and we have to leave a star rating.

This story invites us to explore the vastness of our world, both physically and emotionally, as we witness the remarkable bond between two extraordinary individuals. The book skillfully captures the essence of globalization, showcasing the interconnectedness of our world through the eyes of characters.

"Global" follows the stories of Yuki and Sami, two children living in completely different corners of the world. Yuki is a young girl living in the Canadian Arctic Circle, while Sami is a young boy living in a small fishing village in the Indian Ocean. Both Yuki and Sami's lives are impacted by the consequences of the climate crisis, with Sami suffering the effects more drastically - as it's more often than not the case for children from vulnerable communities. "Global" does a fantastic job of illustrating the impacts of the climate crisis and global warming on people and the planet, highlighting how changes to ecosystems on one side of the world can have drastic consequences in another corner entirely. I am excited to see a book like "Global" be available for readers of all ages, especially younger ones. The story is engaging and fun to read, the art is beautiful, and the message is on point. I loved it!

Using a graphic novel format, Colfer tells the stories of two children, one on either side of the world. Sami lives off the Indian Ocean and he and his grandfather fish for a living. The rising waters and warming temperatures will make fishing impossible as well as impacting where they live. On the other side of the world, Yuki lives in the wilds of northern Canada,in close proximity to polar bears. With the shrinking ice, the polar bears come closer to the villages, causing more harm to themselves and the villages. Each child lives daily with the environmental damages.

The illustrations are excellent and definitely help tell the story. At the end of the story, there are clear explanations for the terms used in the book, along with a bonus cartoon. This would make an excellent book for classroom discussion of changing environmental issues.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I found this book hard to read because it is all so true. Climate change is making it harder for people and animals to survive in the north, and it's sad and hard to watch. This book is, however, great for kids who want to learn more in a real-world setting.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced review copy of “Global” by Erin Colfer and Andrew Donkin. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a compelling read about two teens is different parts of the world and how global warming impacts their daily lives. Global warming impacts all of our daily lives and it’s important to have these conversations and try and stop future damage if we can. Approaching these issues through graphic novels is a great idea. I thought both stories made me want to keep reading. I didn’t mind how they jumped back and forth and I liked how they connected.

I guess my main issue is while this comic does show some of the many issues global warming causes, I feel like there’s such a sense of helplessness on the individual level when it comes to climate change. I wish there had been more emphasis on needing change at the level of big corporations who are the ones doing the most damage. While someone reading this is taking a great step to get informed and want to look into other ways to help, it’s hard to feel like one person can make a difference when corporations have so much power to harm so many of us and our planet with their selfish actions.

4/5 stars

I thought this was a super solid adventure/survival graphic novel to recommend to readers, and I'm excited to share it with the older middle grade readers at my library. The climate change angle was handled well, and added an extra sense of urgency -- with practical advice for kids.

I was drawn to Global because of the author and was pleasantly surprised by what I discovered. This is a stunning and timely look at the on-going impact of climate change in two very different locales. Choosing the Canadian Arctic and the Bay of Bengal gives a strong picture of the far reaching affects of global warming and how seemingly unrelated natural events are in fact related. Yuki and Sami’s struggles are engaging and memorable. Perhaps the biggest selling point of this book are the graphics. Wow, every page is eye catching. This is a “two copies needed” book for any library and a book that is definitely not just for kids. Thank you to Net Galley and the author for the advance copy.

⭐⭐⭐.5

This past year, I have been exploring the world of graphic novels, so I was eager to dive into ‘Global: One Fragile World: An Epic Fight for Survival.’ Overall, I found it to be an enjoyable read. The artwork in the book is stunning, capturing the attention with its beauty. The story itself is a quick read, allowing the reader to easily engage with the narrative. The topic addressed in the book is undoubtedly heavy, but necessary, as it sheds light on the pressing issue of climate change. As the characters, Sami and Yuki, face the challenges caused by rising oceans and melting ice, the urgency of the situation becomes apparent.

The authors, Eoin Colfer, Andrew Donkin, and Giovanni Rigano, have done a commendable job in conveying the gravity of the situation through their storytelling and artwork. Despite being a graphic novel, ‘Global: One Fragile World’ successfully tackles an important subject matter, highlighting the impact of climate change on different parts of the world. It serves as a reminder of the delicate balance between humanity and the natural world.

In conclusion, ‘Global: One Fragile World: An Epic Fight for Survival’ is a solid graphic novel that raises awareness about the urgent need for environmental action. Through its beautiful illustrations and compelling storyline, it effectively conveys the seriousness of climate change. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in exploring the graphic novel genre and those concerned about the state of our planet.”

**ARC Via NetGalley**

"GLOBAL is not a story about what might happen in the future; all the climate change issues in this book are real and they are happening right now."

In the Bay of Bengal, Sami and his grandfather try to survive among rising tides as increasingly frequent, and more powerful storms devastate their village.

Meanwhile in Northern Canada, inside the Arctic Circle, young Yuki struggles to prove that grizzlies and polar bears have mated, producing a more aggressive creature that fights hard for its dwindling territory.

The dual stories are suspenseful, chilling, and mesmerizing. As an added bonus - the artwork by Giovanni Rigano is SPECTACULAR.

"Over one billion children are at an 'extremely high risk' of suffering the impacts of the climate crisis."

I'm hoping this book will not only increase awareness of the climate crisis, but engender empathy for those who cannot relocate to escape nature's wrath.

This one should be in every library.

'Global' is another excellent graphic novel title from the team behind 'Illegal." At a time when global climate-related policies and issues are becoming more and more critical, this visual story does an excellent job of illustrating the consequences of climate change through young people's perspectives. This is a must-have for middle-grade and young-adult collections.

I received this as an ARC before publication, and found it intriguing enough to go to my local bookstore and purchase a copy to share with my son. I re-read it from the paper copy sitting at the kitchen table and handed it to my 10 year old son, who immediately read it in one sitting. He then proceeded to regale me with stories from the novel and the after matter about climate change. If that's not a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is! This is clever and well-paced, with both stories ending nicely in terms of resolution and building up to similar (though different) climaxes. This series is sharp and well-researched and is absolutely appealing to its target demographic... and their parents. Five star read, and hand it to the environmentally curious kids in your life. They'll devour it.

This is a gorgeous graphic novel about climate change and how it impacts Yuki, a girl in the Canadian Arctic and Sami, a boy in the bay of Bengal. The impacts of climate change are global, as the title suggests, and it's interesting to see how the changing weather impacts Yuki and Sami in different, but also similarly powerful, ways.

I really enjoyed, thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with a free advanced reader copy of this book.

The dual story line was very intriguing. I absolutely loved the graphics which held its own in telling the story. This narrative is so new to me that it opened my eyes. Living in a tropical state, I didn’t know much information about how changes in the climate are affecting the bears.

A graphic novel about climate change, it follows a girl in the Arctic Circle and a boy in the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean. The storyline and the artwork are really well done. Everything seemed age appropriate, but I would have liked the actions at the end to put more emphasis on the fact that companies and developed countries are responsible rather than emphasizing one person's protests or eating less beef. Worth reading.

A heart-wrenching story of empathy and interconnectedness presenting the impacts of the climate crisis that are already in effect now, told through the story of two children living in two very distant and distinct corners of the planet.

Yuki is living in Canada within the Arctic circle, seeing the effects of melting ice day by day and decides to go on a quest to prove that the bears living near her town are grolars (interbred species of polar and grizzly bears due to both species wandering out of their natural habitat zone because of lack of food) in order to protect them.

Sami is living in poverty at the shore of the Bay of Bengal, trying to make a living from fishing, struggling day by day due to the fish going scarce and the hardships caused by poachers and big companies overfishing. Also, their homes are freqeuently washed away by storms and the rising sea level. Sami also goes to a quest out to the sea in the hope of finding better luck for his family in the future. The extreme circumstances and struggles they have to face might even seem as a dystopian future, but unfortunately, this is the reality for millions of people at the moment.

And when finally we learn how the two stories become connected, it is such a cathartic moment that I feel tears welling up in my eyes every single time I think of it,

There're wonderful examples of showing empathy in dire circumstances, from Yuki when she refuses to let the grolar killed even after she was nearly killed by the bear several times; and from the grandfather of Sami who always shares the very little they have with those who are in an even worse situation and shows that an act of kindness is sometimes even able to reverse hostility and turn people to cooperate instead of conflicts.

Though the comic style usually uses traditional panel layouts there are some interesting and spectacular visual solutions. Also the overall art style is really harmonic and beautiful.

There's just one odd thing for me in the narrative: the characters are narrating the events with their thoughts almost all the time, explaining what is happening even in cases when it is clear from the pictures. This felt strange for me and a bit tiring as well but I guess it can be very useful for people getting familiar with comics for the first time or for those who find it harder to process comics because how their brain usually processes texts is hard to attune to processing information from both text and images at the same time.

At the end of the book there's a short, illustrated 101 on the reasons and effects on climate change suitable for younger readers who might be unfamiliar of the exact processes behind climate change but also useful for all kinds of readers by concisely explaining the connections and how it affects now all areas of our lives.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing the ARC.,

A fascinating and insightful look at the consequences of global warming. This was such a powerful story that really broke down how climate change impacts people's everyday lives and how communities are being affected. The beautiful imagery really captured the struggle and the changing ecosystems around us. I was impressed by how much emotion this story invoked. A story I won't soon forget.