My review has been written and will be posted the week of publishing per the publisher's request :)
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Nothing Special: Volume One, Through the Elder Woods - Katie Cook Publishes March 5th, 2024

A truly fantastic book. Great for kids and adults this graphic novel is witty and powerful as it explores a fantasy world where fairies, nymphs and demons (just to name a few) live. The book explores themes of family, relationships,coming of age and love. I am so looking forward to the sequel !

I absolutely loved this. I have read lots of webtoons including remarried empress, my gently raised beast, and true beauty. This one and my gently raised beast are definitely my favorites. Nothing special has the lowest reading level I believe making it a great read for many ages.

The art is fun and pretty. With unique character art and creatures that enhance the lighthearted feelings of the whole story.

I love the sweet plot. About cute first love and a girl trying to rescue her dad. The relationship between the dad and daughter is so heart warming. Unique characters and character art I'venever seen before. And all of it told through a comedic lens. Lots of references are made with perfect comedic timing. My favorite being the wonderous plethora of lord of the Rings references.

Over all I had lots of fun. I laughed, I stared at the pretty art, and I cheared when a villian died. I will be recommending this to lots of people I think it is a great way to get into the genre.

Absolutely adorable!!
Such a fun story, excellent characters (I want a radish spirit to snuggle!!)
I can't wait for the second one to come out!

Thank you NetGalley and Katie Cook for the ARC of Nothing Special, Volume One. Pub Date March 5,2024.

Being a librarian I try to broaden my horizons and try new types of books. I have not read may grapic novels, but I am glad that I picked up this one. I will definitely get this one for the library. I loved the artwork, it is gorgeous. Great storyline - good vs. evil. Doing what is necessary to say others.

I loved the tree spirit and the radish. The radish brought a lot of humor to the story.

This story has me invested from the start! I instantly wanted to know what was going on and the story kept getting better and better. The art work is also amazing!

Super cute! I enjoyed the art style a lot and liked the character dynamics. I am looking forward to reading the next volume when it is released.

This was really cute! I really, really, really adored all the cute creatures - ghost radishes are just adorable.
As to the story itself, I think if I was following along as it each chapter was released, I'd be more into it but found myself wanting to skim through. It was predictable but fun fantasy!

That being said overall, this was a fun read. You learn to love the main characters but the creatures take the cake. The drawing style is a little bit like Neopets old school style which is fun but I would love to see an updated style version of this. I actually really loved the first 2 sketches at the end with the behind the scenes and think this is a great addition for young readers to see the process!

Overall I give it a 3.5 star rating because it was cute and I enjoyed myself.

Thank you NetGallery, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to review this!

The ghost radishes are one of my favorite things ever. The art is so cute and the faces have so much expressions. I enjoyed the story, but the art was the real star. I can't wait to add this to my collection.

4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. This was a fun and quick read. I had a lot of fun with the characters and the story. I loved the art style and the thought the story was whimsical. I can’t wait for the next one to come out.

I received an advanced copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Living in a magical and human world, teenage Callie believes she's no one special. Until her dad goes missing in the magical, enchanted world with talking vegetables. Callie and her friend Declan visit the other realm in search of her dad and meet all sorts of creatures of old. From a mysterious and rude character who wants Callie for his wife to a talking and possessive radish, Callie has her hands full. And what's with the glowing light bulbs?
As a major fan of the Webtoon app, Nothing Special didn't entice me as my other favorites from the app. With its short episodes/chapters and a simple palette of colors, this new graphic novel is for fans of fantasy, a little romance, and a whole lot of hijinks galore!

Truly beautiful art style that helps emphasize the humor in the story. The characters are well developed and intriguing. Very creative story line. I loved the little touches like spelling out action words in the environment.

This story follows a high school girl on her search to rescue her father. It reminded me of a improv fantasy podcast with quests that were a bit random, but fit the overall theme. I wasn’t sure the intended audience at first because parts felt middle grade (like the tone and humor) but other parts (like the romance and language) felt young adult. So I think the genre of young or new adult would work best for this.

There were a lot of interesting ideas throughout, but I didn’t connect with characters, as they felt a little flat and one dimensional. There were lots of Lord of the Rings, and general fantasy pop culture references, which sometimes were funny but maybe too much at times.

The art style was very cutesy for the story, when it didn’t always match the content. My review of this graphic novel ended up a lot like this book was: not all of it made sense, it was too long, but it was enjoyable enough.

(Thanks to the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.)

I love this book so much!! The story is ADORABLE! The graphics are incredible! Yet another beautiful wonderful whimsical magical graphic novel I fell in love with from the start and just want to “blue skadoo” into the pages and live there forever! I especially love the way the book portrays plants. Very important message to learn from that. Bonus points: It felt like I was living in a cute little video game. I was so immersed in this fantasy world, I could read it again and again! I even laughed out loud multiple times. I’ve never genuinely laughed out loud from a book before and this one did it for me. It was funny and heartwarming at the same time. (Make sure you read everything in the background of every picture! Some of the signs are hilarious) I love everything about this book. The only thing I don’t love is that I don’t own a physical copy. I received an ARC copy from netgalley but I want the physical book in my hands now! I’ll definitely be getting the physical copy when it comes out. “Nothing special” is definitely something special! ✨

This is the first volume of Katie Cook’s popular Webtoon series - Nothing Special. I was not previously familiar with this comic but so far the storyline is fantastic. I was drawn in from the first few pages and I look forward to the release of further volumes. (I may have to peek at the Webtoon to find out what happens next.)

The illustrations are a little more cutesy than what I am used to in a graphic novel but Nothing Special is geared toward the YA set. The style is unique and fits well with the fantasy, fairytale-like plot. There is some mild violence but it’s not gory.

This fun, action-filled graphic novel would be great for fantasy readers who are looking for something without anything spicy or overly graphic.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and Ten Speed Graphic!

Nothing Special happens to be something very very special. I have been a fan of Katie Cook's drawing for many years and I'm so happy to see it showcased in a book like this. The storytelling is superb, following our main little cast of characters with quirky personalities and big hearts. They go on a quest to save our main character's father who went missing. Along the way they find out about their special powers, fall in love, and more! This fun adventure is great for fans of Bone and other great all ages comics like that. I cannot wait for book 2!

This has becoming one of my favorite series. I can’t wait for read volume 2. The use of different monsters and creatures is amazing. I also enjoy the use of ones that aren’t the typical creatures used in books recently. The dynamic between the two main characters is so cute and heartwarming. The way they came together and became best friends was very fun to watch it all happening. The art style is very cute as well. I liked the use of the colors and the style.

The story is interesting and captivating. It makes me want to know what will happen next with every page turn. It goes from a loner girl making a true best friend, to an adventure to find her dad, a little bit a of a love story, and then has her finding out who and what she truly is and how powerful she is.

Joy in a book.

That is the best way to describe this fantastical book that will transform even the grumpiest of peoples' smiles' into grins.

Join Lyla as she embarks on a quest, discovering herself and many others along the way.

The illustrations are not only wonderfully drawn, but colourized spot-on. It honestly gives the feel of watching a movie with each page that is turned.

The plot if well paced, and has a great tongue-in-cheek sense of humour to it while also adding a touch of self-awareness that truly makes the reader be fully engrossed in the story.

Here's hoping that Nothing Special will have many more additions to a stellar book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ten Speed Press for the free copy of this book and the opportunity to provide my honest opinion.

This book was pretty cute. I loved the characters and the scenery. The story was super fun and the little creatures were so adorable. I loved the Composition Book part. So fun!!

I read a digital Advance Reader Copy of this webtoon turned graphic novel via NetGalley. The book is a playful fantasy with magic and romance. Two seemingly normal teens set out on an adventure of mythic proportions as Callie searches for her missing father with Declan’s help. They discover their own special capabilities and reveal their feelings amidst some quirky side characters like a ghostly radish spirit and a rather aggressively courting demon.