"Confetti Realms" is a moderately paced graphic novel that features a diverse teen cast lost in a magical realm populated by andromorphic animals. This book delivers a message of hope and acceptance that should be meaningful to all YA audiences, but especially so to those in the LGBTQ+ community. Unfortunately, the action and plot are uninspired and much of the dialogue and character interactions are stilted and unconvincing. However, the artwork, is for the most part compelling and eye-catching. Additionally, the creators should be commended for including a comprehensive list of mental health and crisis resources at the end of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Mad Cave Books for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

The perfect witchy read. Four friends find themselves in a graveyard on Halloween. When they get busted for drinking, they seek shelter in a large mausoleum which proves to be the best spooky escape... until a puppet comes to life. And of course, it leads to a quest into the confetti realms. A realm in which bargains are made with teeth. Yes, teeth. It's a bizarre and strange world where bears dance, birds talk and cats want to keep humans as pets. Can the humans navigate this realm, collect the teeth and return home?

Dark and spooky vibes.

I loved the art and the story in this graphic novel. I knew from the very beginning that I would like this graphic novel just from the sass and queer rep in the first few pages. I do wish we saw a bit of a deeper dive into the relationships between the characters. That being said, Confetti Realms tackled some serious subjects and did it well. I would definitely read a second volume if there is one in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

I'm not going to lie, I mostly wanted to read this because it was about some teenagers from New Jersey. This was an interesting tale and reminded me of a bizarre blend of Ride the Cyclone and Over the Garden Wall. The interpersonal relationships between the teens added an interesting tension and a realness to them. I did appreciate the message that was reinforced with each teen's back story; your actions don't happen in a vacuum and you can hurt other people without intending to. While this graphic novel does touch on deeper subjects, the overall tone is still very lighthearted. The only thing that irritated and threw me off was the ending. It was so abrupt that I thought I was missing pages in my copy/file. But no, it just ends incredibly abruptly in a very disappointing way. It makes you feel as if the story was never finished because they couldn't figure out an ending, so they just stopped in a random spot. Also, the fact that the teens were from Jersey isn't relevant to the story. Like...at all. I don't really care, but I found it funny that they ONLY mention the fact that they're in Jersey in a line where one of them says "I just want to get out of New Jersey!" No one time is the state mentioned or brought up again. The art style, however, I did really enjoy! The designs for the characters were great, both the main cast and the side characters.

This was a really fun and interesting graphic novel. The world itself was incredibly immersive and so weird. I love the “find these things to gain your freedom” type trope and this was a fresh spin on it.

There was a bit of confusing interpersonal back and forth at times where I couldn’t quite follow what everyone deciding regarding whether to stay or not. But other than that I really enjoyed the exploration of identity, mental illness, grief, friendships, love and expectations, and loss. It was a beautiful ride.

Thanks to NetGalley & Mad Cave Studios for the ARC in exchange for an honest and fair review.

I think conceptually this comic was great. I liked the idea of Confetti Realms; the characters, the new world, the designs. The storyline was good. The art was great.

Unfortunately it fell flat towards the end; character conflicts resolved too easily, an abrupt ending that left more questions than answers and a lack of development within the characters.

Thank you, Netgalley and Mad Cave Studios & Maverick for the e-Galley.

I wasn't sure about this graphic novel for the first half as I felt like I'd missed something, a previous volume or a a few pages....but it did come together and I really liked it. I liked that the main cast of characters were individuals, who had their own problems, their own back story and was a main character in their own right, no one's side kick. I did find I didn't enjoy all the secondary characters but that's not unusual.

The illustrations for the most part were really good, again for some reason the second half to me was better then the first, which is a little strange as the art style didn't change. Maybe I just liked certain characters that appeared in the second half more than the first half, I don't know. Overall, a pretty good graphic novel.

Confetti Realms is perfect for those who love adventure and comedy. It follows a group of friends, all with their own quirks, and their adventure looking for a certain peculiar item for a supernatural "demon". I don't want to say what the item is but once you read it, you'll see that the comic is supposed to be comical, and more humor than scary or spooky.

It wasn't my favorite, to be honest, but it wasn't necessarily bad or boring, I just expected something else. It has a lot of silly, college type humor so it may be great for a younger crown or people in high school or college.

The art was nice, no complaints. I wasn't too into the animal characters either.

If you like comedy, satire, found family, adventure and animals that talk, this may be your thing.

Perfect for spooky season this queer diverse graphic novel hit the spot. The artwork was stunning and the character development was well thought out. I loved to see the characters evolve and grow as the story went on. The pacing I feel falls between medium/fast. There are some very quick pieces of the story to absorb but some deep and memorable pieces that really get you thinking as well.

This one was for sure an interesting one. I loved the fall vibes we got and also all the magical characters. The art style was really good. I just loved one of the characters which is a cat dresses as a victorian lady. I liked that the story also has more serious topics and how it was executed. We had one of the teenagers who has a sick parent and also how teenagers that are part from the lgbt community deal with their sexuality.

This was a fun little graphic novel about a group of friends and halloween night!

I wasn't the biggest fan of this graphic novel but I have had a fun time reading it. I loved the illustrations and art style and the plot was also very interesting. I also liked how diverse the set of characters is and the representation, That said, the characters themselves were not very likeable.

The concept of the world was also super interesting and I really enjoyed seeing all the anthropomorphic animals.

Thank you netgalley for giving me an ARC of this novel! All opinions are my own :)

This had the potential to be a lot. It raised all the right questions, had all the right tensions. Entered me in to a fantastical world and put the main characters in real peril that could have had all the right tensions and payoff and then it just, didn't deliver. I really wanted it to. A comic about the underlying rage and guilt and fear that can eat a person up with a coraline-esque horror fantasy background sounds so good, like right up my alley, but I found myself wanting for so much more, quite literally. The biggest problem here is that this is too short. Problems don't have time to be problems or have stakes and payoffs because its rushing. And the end is unclear, possibly on purpose but it really failed to give that away through the story. It might have all been mass dream? They might just be trapped forever? These questions don't feel like they get to be explored enough to make an open ended conclusion payoff the way it should, it felt like it just ended there because the story ran out of steam before it could end anywhere else. I wanted to like it, a lot. But it needs more meat to it.

This is certainly a strange graphic novel, but I did ultimately enjoy it. A group of four teens with complicated relationships get dropped into a fantastical realm and need to find their way back; it's a common premise, but a lot about Confetti Realms was original and interesting. I liked the world building - the weirdness of using teeth as currency went a long way in establishing the vibe, and the little details like the grasshopper clarifying that "Hops" is a frog surname, not an insect one, really made it feel fleshed out and complex. The fantastical elements and fairy tale-esque premise of needing to find people, complete tasks, and receive rewards in order to get home were enjoyable - a familiar trope in an original setting, but the true success was the way the author wove in the personal struggles and conflicts of the four teens in a way that seamlessly blended the mundane and the fantastic, while also doing a nice job showing how teenagers can be both mature and wise and dense and self-centered all at the same time. It was also a nice bit of casual LGBTQ+ representation, where the characters' identities were important, but not the focus. Ultimately, all the elements worked well to explore the central theme - if it's hard to be yourself, is it worth fighting for? I didn't know what to expect going in, but I quite enjoyed the book.

First I'd like to thank Netgalley and Mad Cave Studios for the ARC copy of this ebook. This in noway alters my thoughts or options.

This was such a cute book! It was about finding yourself and finding self confidence. It had a great story and the characters were so well written. The artwork was beautiful and so was the meaning behind the book its self.

I hope we get a sequel to this lovely book in the near future.

This was a nice comic about friendship and being who you are and being true to yourself. I enjoyed the characters and the overall story.

It did feal a bit unfinished but perhaps this is the first in a series?

Confetti Realms was an interesting and dark story about teens who find themselves in another world in search of teeth for an automaton. The journey is more about them thinking on their choices and their relationships. This was a nice blend of weird and reflective with cool art and some good messages, though it would have been better if the characters were built up a bit more so that the messages had more impact.

Note: arc provided by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for honest review

Thank you to netgalley for the ARC!

This was a fun graphic novel! I almost always focus on the art, and the style was fun and innovative. The story was interesting as well. A nice pick!

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for an eArc of this graphic novel.

Pros:
-Loved the art and character designs
-Queer rep for days
-The Confetti Realm was an interesting and unique world

Cons:
-Characters were defined by one or two traits
-Could have included more backstory
-The world itself needed more building - those mice were totally cutting human meat, right?
-Short with an abrupt ending

3.5 rounded up for the artwork. A good read for teens, but I wish it went deeper into the creepiness of the Confetti Realms.

Sit down because we are going on a ride of the mixed feelings bus. 2.5/5 but I couldn't quite find it in me to round up.

Things I liked: the nonsensical yet vibrant world; several of the side characters (the bird family was great)

Things I was okay on: the art is quite serviceable; I appreciate the diversity of characters (but have other issues with them); I like the themes the author was going for but don't feel like they were executed very well

Things I didn't like: the characters all fell a little flat to me - all defined by one or two traits. I know developing characters deeply is probably more difficult in a graphic novel versus a traditional novel, but it was still hard for me to feel particularly attached to any of the main cast (though I probably would read a book about the bird family...) I think the lack of depth in this novel is probably the most damaging thing about it, because I like the ideas conceptually, and I like the world conceptually, but I didn't feel much emotion with anything happening because I just wasn't attached to the main crew. I also felt like there were very good intentions with the themes around mental health but they also felt a bit surface level.

Overall, I think this author has potential (and also very good intentions). Deepening the characters would go a long way in making future novels better.

First of all I LOVED the art and character design. Especially the mice in maid outfits and the little Cat Boy in a Raincoat. SO CUTE! It also had some very funny scenes which made me laugh out loud.
But I also thought this would be more halloween focused or a little more spooky from the set up at the beginning of going to a cemetery during halloween and trying to summon a ghost. Instead this was more about the trauma these teenagers have and how they end up in a fantasy realm and need to confront their fears and feelings, which I didn't enjoy and didn't care about.
The ending was very abrupt and left way to many open questions for me.
But it's still an enjoyable queer read to end pride month with.