Garvey's Choice is a beautiful coming of age novel about Garvey, who prefers reading sci-fi and playing chess instead of playing sports like his dad and sister. Over the course of the novel, Garvey gains self-confidence, new friendships, and discovers a new talent. Nikki Grimes' poems pair perfectly with Theodore Taylor III's illustrations. I truly loved getting to know Garvey as a character, and thought the graphic novel medium was a great choice for retelling this story. A great read!

Garvey’s Choice is a graphic novel based on the book published in 2016. Garvey is interested is things like astronomy and music, while his father would rather him be interested in athletics like his sister. Garvey must navigate his way through some serious issues like depression, overeating/crash dieting, and bullying in order to find his own path.

I feel like this graphic novel will be relatable to a lot of youth from middle grade and up with a great message. Unfortunately, I didn’t love the flow of the story. This could be due to the fact that much of it is written in tanka poetry form and poetry isn’t my thing.

I was given a free eARC copy of this book on NetGalley from Astra Publishing House in exchange for an honest review.

This graphic novel adaptation of the novel-in-verse Garvey's Choice pair's Nikki Grimes's powerful prose with appealing illustrations by Theodore Taylor II. This book will appeal to readers of the original format and new readers who prefer the graphic novel genre. As a returning reader myself I found myself once again moved by the story of a boy discovering who he wants to be, and also how to communicate that to his family. I also recommend checking out the sequel to the original story, "Garvey in the Dark" which continues Garvey's story as it unfolds during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns.

I loved the Garvey’s choice novel in verse and the graphic novel version absolutely held up to that love for the original. So glad this story will be brought to new readers in this way,

A lovely addendum to the Garvey chronicles that deals with the current pandemic situation in a relational and complex manner.

Lovely graphic novel about Black masculinity and youth. The themes of bullying, friendship, pursuing passions are so wonderful. The drawings are beautiful too! Thanks for allowing me to read this eARC!

4.5 stars

this was such a cute and quick read 💌

i love garvey and how we get to see him gain confidence on who he is throughout this book. i'm definitely going to make my niece read this book (when she learns how to lol) because it has such an important message on the importance of getting to know yourself and what makes you happy without caring what other people say.

I did not read the original Garvey’s Choice, but really enjoyed the graphic novel! Garvey is dealing with his weight, a father that doesn’t understand him and even a sister that makes fun of him. He turns to eating to feel better. Luckily he has a good friend that suggests he tries out for chorus. He makes it and it changes his life.

Great graphic novel with a great message! Highly recommend!

Fantastic graphic novel adaptation of Nikki Grimes’ original novel that will make this important and moving story accessible to even more readers. Highly recommend.

I love that this beautiful novel in verse is now a graphic novel! It will be fun to show students the book in two different forms. This is a fantastic graphic novel!

1st read of 2023! This wonderful graphic novel adaptation of @poetrynikki book Garvey’s Choice. A story of discovering yourself, not dictated by what others want while discovering a way to connect with others. This was beautifully illustrated, conveying Garvey’s frustration with his dad, his weight, bullying and how to overcome it all. Music and space were his escape. Best advice given by his best friend, “your voice is choice. You should let others hear it.” Not just his signing voice but his personal voice. This is one that will be added to my libary’s collection this year! (When the GN is added to GR, I will move this review over to that entry!)

I never got around to reading the original novel in verse, but loved this graphic novel adaptation. It explored great and timely topics such as Friendship, family expectations, bullying, and body image.

This is a very quick read with a wonderful, positive message. So many kids struggle with self-image, and I love how Garvey finally begins to accept himself as he is.

The original Garvey's Choice has been on my "TBR" list for years, but as much as I love Nikki Grimes, I kept putting it off reading it. So, when I saw this graphic version on NetGalley, I jumped at the chance to preview it. I immediately fell in love with Garvey and his well-meaning but somewhat clueless father (who as an adult, I can definitely relate to). Kids need to hear what Garvey does, that he's made in the image of God and that's good! I think this combination of graphics and poetry is a match made in heaven; the illustrations add details but still leave space for the reader's imagination. It will attract readers who would never pick up the non-illustrated version. I can't wait to introduce this to middle grade readers.

Having read the original book, this was a great adaptation into a graphic novel. Love the illustrations that went with the story. A must have in your graphic novels section of the classroom library.

I loved this book! I loved the adaptation. I can’t wait to add these to my graphic novel unit and classroom library.

I one hundred percent loved this book in both its original and comics adapted form — I also one hundred percent recommend it for young readers, from upper elementary on. A very necessary addition to school and classroom libraries, and a fine hybrid of verse and visual (love the ways symbols can be explored in the adaptation).

This is an excellent read for both adults and children. Here you have a young boy who wants to read and study, and a pushy father who wants his son to be more athletic. Seriously? What an irritating parent!

Garvey manages to hold his own even at such a young age, finding new experiences and making friends, growing and developing as a person, despite his father. The story is told really well with lovely artwork.

I really enjoyed reading this but I really disliked the father. Pushy parents irritate me. By all means encourage your children, but they are not extensions of parents, they are people in their own right and might not wish to live the way their parents do!

Rant over. Apart from not liking the father, I thought this was great and it has such a lovely ending.

Copy provided via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.