Member Reviews

When the world you know suddenly turns against you, what lengths will you go to in order to make your way back home? Yuki and Sami are sent on vastly different, yet intersectional adventures initiated by the impacts of climate change. Yuki, a young man living in the Bay of Bengal, sees his home repeatedly ravaged by fierce typhoons and has to compete with an increasing number of migrant refugees for shelter and resources. On the other side of the world, Sami's Arctic village is threatened by bears who are losing their habitat to shrinking polar ice and sets out to document the impact.
The compelling stories of these two young people are complimented by gorgeous graphic art and a supporting resource for ways to get involved and make a difference. This is a great way to introduce concepts to young people or to reiterate how impacts that seem small in some parts of the world are already a matter of life and death in others.

ARC received from NetGalley in return for an unbiased review.

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Okay listen, climate change is an incredibly hard topic to make interesting so even children will get invested in it from an early age but? Global? Somehow made that work out perfectly!
I was so entranced by the story and learned more about climate change than I did back in school so I really hope that schools in particular will share this book with their students. I feel like it highlighted how much one person can make an impact and that every single effort counts, even if you can't tell it in the beginning.
Yuki and Sami show such different places of the world, and different understandings of what it means to have power over the earth's progression. I really hope children will love them as much as I did.

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Was able to borrow this from Hoopla and thank goodness I did because it was so good!! I'm glad I sought it out elsewhere after publication because I could NOT handle the formatting in the e-book (see below). Two kids on opposite sides of the world struggle with the effects of climate change. Very real, very touching.
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NetGalley e-book review:
I can’t really review this because the formatting on this ARC was HORRENDOUS. I don’t know what happened when this got converted to Kindle but sentences don’t match up, wRiTiNg Is LiKe ThIs and all of the words are on separate pages from the pictures. I got 26% through. It was a nightmare. I’ll have to find a finished copy to read and review.

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I would like to thank the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the ARC of this book. I read an advanced copy of this book, so the final edition of the book might be slightly different. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

One of the most important things that books and comics can provide is glances into lives and parts of the world that we might not otherwise be able to see or understand. This comic focuses generally on climate change and its effects, but does so by focusing on people and areas of the world that are currently being heavily impacted. I feel like a lot of media focusing on climate change often focuses on the future, of the impacts that the Western world will see in the next years, decades, or centuries. This comic ends by explaining how everything in the comic is actually happening right now, caused by humanity and our lack of care for our planet. It gives more urgency to the problem, highlighting the struggles of people currently struggling, not just explaining what might happen in the future if we don’t do anything. It also humanizes these people, showing us the viewpoint of kids (as this is a comic aimed at kids), and makes it easier to relate to and connect with their struggles. Often when it comes to difficult events and horrible things happening around the world, the humanity of those suffering often gets lost in the sheer number of people suffering and the statistics behind the event. Narrowing down to a single person or two, and sharing their specific experiences, can often make stories like this hit harder, because you connect with those people individually, and feel their pain and struggles more deeply because of it.

Overall, I thought that this comic did exactly what it set out to do, and it’s a great introduction to the issue for those that might not know that much about it. Even for people who have been learning about climate change for years will also benefit from this comic, and a reminder of the people themselves that are suffering, and not just the suffering itself.

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Not much like the rest of Colfer's work. However, this is a serious issue and parts of the book are a bit scary.

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This is a graphic novel for middle grade readers that talks about climate change through alternating storylines. The two main characters live in different parts of the world experiencing different but related climate change issues: extreme cold and extreme flooding. The book does a good job teaching about the way the world is interconnected. Because of climate changes, animals migrate, people migrate, snow melting in one area creates extreme weather and flooding on the opposite side of the world. It was a fast paced read, and I especially loved the scientific explanations at the end of the book. Making the science of climate change easy to understand and relatable to younger generations is so important because this is the world they are inheriting.

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book (even though I’m reviewing it after the publishing date).

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Global is a graphic novel that follows 2 kids in separate parts of the world: Yuki, from the Arctic Circle and Sami from somewhere in the Indian Ocean. Yuki sets out to prove that the bears near her village are grolars, a mix between a grizzly bear and a polar bear. She and her dog Lockjaw go on quite an adventure trying to track down the bear. Meanwhile, Sami lives with his grandfather on the Indian Ocean and they are fishermen. Because of more and more severe storms, Sami’s village is always having to rebuild and repair their houses and boats. When Sami takes off one night to find a knife his mom once had, he gets caught in a storm. Yuki is caught in the path of the bear she is trying to save. Will they each make it back safely? Would all these things be happening if it weren’t for global warming? Both kids learn important lessons about their families and how they are being affected by events around the globe. And, their paths cross in a neat way at the end of the book.

This is a great way to introduce kids to the effects of global warming and how it impacts different people around the world. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

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Adored this nonfiction graphic novel at global warming. We don't always get to see the history behind it and this did a fantastic job of showing what our future looks like as well. Can't wait to read the next from this duo.

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really liked it, stuck with me & would recommend

Set in both a village along the Indian Ocean and in the far north of Canada, this graphic novel tells the story of two courageous children, Sami and Yuki as they face the effects of climate change and their desire to do something about it.

The artwork was really great and complemented the writing beautifully. I loved the line work and the color schemes. I clearly undertood where we were, who was speaking, and what was happening.

I enjoyed the character development and the exploration of the overall themes of climate change and immigration. I even learned a few things.

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Kids, NetGalley, and authors Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin for providing me with a digital ARC copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review. Global is out April 11, 2023.

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Sami lives with his grandfather in a fishing village on the Baay of Bengal. As the sea rises, cyclones buffet the coast with increasing ferocity, the two bring in fewer fish. It is making survival difficult. Thousands of miles away, in Northern Canada, in the Arctic Circle, Yuki, an Inuit is determined to save the emerging and struggling grolar bears (a polar bear–grizzly hybrid). The grovels don’t fish for food or do as the grizzlies hunt for food causing them problems for the Inuits. The stories mirror each other, pitting individuals and communities against themselves and nature itself as their worlds change faster and more quickly than they can adapt to. Why? The consequences of climate change is shown into the stories by Sami and Yuki.

The author writes about global warming and. Illustrations that brings it to life. It’s an amazing book to read as I felt the hardships that both characters had to deal with. There isn’t any happy ever-after ending as the book has no answers for their problems. It and excellent book as it reminds us what climate changing can do.

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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.

The adventures and scrapes they each get into are a bit unrealistic, but then this is meant for kids and isn't intended to be completely realistic. After the end of the story, the book contains educational information and action items, which was a nice addition.

I highly recommend this graphic novel for middle grade readers, and people of all ages. The artwork is beautiful, the story is adventurous, informative, and hopeful.

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*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free comic*

"Global" is a graphic novel that offers a glimpse of the future when we continue to mess up our planet. The illustrations are great, I just had trouble to read all the text because of the Netgalley Shelf App and my phone being too small. The story is a bit predictable but this is a great comic to introduce especially teens to the issue. Climate change is being explained at the end, which makes it all very accessible. Also bonus für a cute side-kick doggo.

4 Stars

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The art style was interesting, and I liked the color scheme of the first scene in the boy's room. However, I generally found the story difficult to follow, particularly with the jumping between settings. It felt very wordy, with blocks of small text sometimes taking up an entire art square. The message was certainly important, but I could see it being difficult for children to get engaged with.

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This graphic novel follows two youngsters as they battle the effects of climate change from two different parts of the world. Sami faces rising sea levels and dangerous storms in the Bay of Bengal while Yuki witnesses melting glaciers and permafrost in Northern Canada.

Though the characters are sympathetic, I didn’t always find the plot convincing. Both the storytelling and images are clunky and/or chaotic at times. My favorite character is Yuki’s dog, Locky, whose illustrations charm. I also appreciate the information about climate change at the end of the book.

While I (as an adult) did not love “Global,” it will probably work for the younger audience for which it’s intended.

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I love suggesting Illegal to my students and I will be super happy to suggest Global. I love the how educational this book is while also telling compelling stories. The art is fantastic and the two stories and great.

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That last page gave me actual goosebumps all over my skin. I'd had no idea how the two protagonists' stories were going to intersect.

The text is small and the artwork is good but, I think, unexceptional. On the other hand, kids would do well to read this book and start thinking about the horrific effects of climate change on indigenous inhabitants of both tropical and frigid environments, as well as the terrestrial and marine animal populations.

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Two contrasting stories combine in this graphic novel. On one hand is the child of a fishing family in India, whose parents both died in a storm, and who thinks he can take his granddad's boat out to find the luck he needs for their life to change; it's resting at the bottom of the swollen ocean, in his mind. The other concerns an Inuit child, adamant he can help protect the grolar bears – the weird combination of polar and grizzly that the climate crisis allowed to happen.

Clearly both tales show young innocents in peril due to rising ocean levels, but for a long time the connection between the two is very much missing. Throughout we see the results of this problem – ecological migrants, a lack of solid ice – but things are too far separated for this to feel like it works. And a further problem is that both scenarios feature a stupid level of risk, meaning neither character really gets to feel all that deserving of our sympathy. Even if the Inuit child knows far too much than seems realistic about methane as a greenhouse gas.

Another sin, unfortunately, is that the art is nowhere near good enough to convey what is happening when a bear attacks, as it is bound to do, meaning not one but two large action scenes are really not done as well as needed. (And elsewhere, what is up with the image made to think he'd lost the boat, when it turns out he has the boat but is just afraid of a bit of lightning?!) All told, this is lively enough to appeal, but lacking in the execution, both in the ultimate contrivance and in the visuals, and for all its many good intentions I can't see this as much over three stars.

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This is a serious book with lot more to learn from on climate change. This is an amazing work on eye-opening theme for conservation of nature and saving Earth for real. Those who knew it already can get it soon, for rest, this is a way to let them learn with story.

It is a story of a girl, Suki and boy, Sami from two exotic places experiencing two varied topographies. One with ice-stocked Arctic and another is a village (probably India) in an Indian ocean, respectively. At one place ice is on melting resulting less habitat for bears and increase in danger for ozone layer sustainability and at another ocean level is on rise resulting nearby habitat went down under water, sunken for loss of land affecting food chain and resources.

Life on earth is all about maintaining the balance in natural resources that have been gifted to us from our almighty God. We do not need to do anything else but keep our actions in check to sustain what is good for nature. However, what we actually doing is depleting each and every single gift of god and consistently exploiting the resources which nature provided us for free. Moreover, we're showing-off for status-quo that it is us, creating resources, ironically, rather than saving it. We’re just custodian not owner of nature. Increase in usages of fossil fuels and increase in luxurious life lead us to the brink of extinction soon enough.

One thing that I literally like to point out that just blabbering names of few illiterate child activists doesn't give us better future conservationists. 'Greta' for say, is none other than a person I mentioned in previous sentence. With her and other few like her, we're setting very wrong examples for our future generations who in spite of working on real ground to save the nature will stop learning by restricting themselves from schools and in the name of getting fame will know nothing on how this whole natural system of flora and fauna works. We need to make our future children educate on the subject and let them learn more and contribute much more to give way to better life here, instead of writing 'idiotically' on paper "Save Trees" to show that they are saving nature. I would like to cut one mark for this non-serious guidance.

For rest, there is nothing that I say wasn't appropriate. It was good for all to read, learn and act of ground level to make our Earth a better place to live-in.

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Yes, this is a graphic novel about the effects of climate change - about the way the lives of people and animals everywhere are impacted by rising waters and sinking glaciers. And yet, it’s also a great thriller, with two parallel adventures surprisingly linked together.

In the north, a girl tries to save the famishing bears whose food is becoming scarcer and scarcer as the ice melts - little does she know that sneaking into the woods for a quick photographical expedition would turn into a long fight for survival.
In the south, a boy tries to become a fisherman like his grandfather - but fishes are harder and harder to find, and the Indian Ocean destroys their village over and over again.
Kids versus nature, then, in a tense book that I couldn’t stop reading until the end. The art is great, the writing is crystal clear, and the message of the book is one that everybody should listen to - after all, we have only one Earth.

I decided to read this on a whim, but I really liked it, even though I’m way off its intended audience (middle grade kids). Well done, gentlemen. Now I HAVE to look up “Illegal”... :)

Disclaimer: I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. This didn't influence my opinion in any way.

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I really liked this graphic novel, and the two parallel stories. The illustrations are beautiful, and I think this book will be enjoyed by multiple age groups. Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book for review!

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