Haru is a small blue bird whose best friend is a boar named Yama. Haru is a bird who cannot fly and does not know much about their background. As a result, Haru gets bullied by their classmates. One day, Haru and Yama find a strange objects and afterwards a series of strange events begin to occur. Both friends embark on an adventurous journey and meet other ingesting characters along the way. This book is about friendship, believing in oneself and overcoming challenges.
The book is a fast, easy read and illustration are a bit Ghibli style. Definitely looking forward to the next installment.

Thank you NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for sending me an ARC in exchange of an honest review of the book received.

I received this free from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Haru is a superb graphic novel that swings between a dark and colorful atmosphere as it follows the adventures of Haru, Yama and Goose. Tackling themes such as friendship and overcoming hardship, it's a story that will resonate with many people, young and old alike.

The only negative point I have, is Tha the pacing was sometime confusing and I had to take two seconds to understand the timeline.

It's a quick read, but engaging and touching. It's clear that this is just the beginning of their adventures, and with that cliffhanger I can't wait for the sequel!

This was such a wonderful and enjoyable read!!!! I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre. Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A ghibli-esque graphic novel about Haru the bird and Yama the boar on their journey to get rid of a powerful object, with the help of lovable, quirky characters.

I loved the style of the illustrations, they lent themselves well to both the cheery, happy-go-lucky scenes and the eerie, more atmospheric ones. I especially loved the quality of the colours, they were great in the way they were used to convey the different moods.

The plot is engaging, even though it's clearly only the beginning of the adventure.

Overall a very cute read I'd recommend to my younger cousins (but also to myself), I'm excited to see what comes next!

I received an advanced copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
For both friends, Haru (a bird who can't fly) and Yama (a talkative boar), life is lived in the shadows of their world. Even though they're bullied at school, they both have time for each other. When a mysterious artifact that looks like a thorned heart attaches itself to Yama, their world changes forever. As they travel the mysterious bogs, meet new strangers, and enter a ghostly mall, Haru and Yama are ready for their new adventure.
Beautifully crafted and designed. "Haru," book one, is fine detailed in the art of the land that Haru and Yama live in. Sometimes pastel and sometimes faded, these colors come together in a graphic novel made for all ages. As something sinister awakens, closely bonded pals Haru and Yama fight for what feels right. I highly enjoyed this one and can't wait for book two.

I loved this book so much! The art is beautiful and the characters are relatable and absolutely adorable. I honestly regret reading this so early because now I'll have to wait even longer for the next book, and I NEED to know what happens next!!😭

The artwork was in a bit of a different style than I usually see, but Yama was almost cuter than I could stand.

The story can get a bit dark, and a part of me was almost tempted to not finish. I'm so glad I stuck through to the end though, because there was a bright, hopeful ending. A powerful story of friendship and family, along with even deeper themes and broader appeal. I'm really looking forward to the next edition, and to seeing how they'll find a way to return the heart, and what might happen afterwards.

Cute book with a good story about two friends who go on an adventure. The art is really cute and pretty. It was an enjoyable read!
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for a digital ARC in return for an honest review.

With beautiful imagery and a great story, this is a story of friendship and overcoming. You are immediately drawn into the characters and can see yourself in them and their experiences. Although it's a fast read there is a lot of depth in the story and a true adventure. I'm already looking forward to the next instalment.

Cute illustrations, the color and art are ok. The pages are well designed with only 1 to 3 panels at most that shows well progression and sequence. I don't like the language as much, the "bro" and "dude"... It doesn't let me connect to the characters.
Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this e-ARC.

Book 1, Spring, follows Haru, their brother Goose, their friend Yama, and an interesting fungal character named Herb. Haru and Yama are outcasts, bullied, and can’t quite seem to get others to see their point of view. After a scary and strange event, the duo strike out to set things right - searching for a Beacon far away that can help. This story is dark and truly scary, but still kid friendly. Latham jumps naturally between humor and sweetness to doom and horror. This graphic novel really shines in it’s use of cell shaping throughout the book. At times the cells are loosely circular, the page with significant portions of negative space, reminiscent of watercolor picture books. Other times the cells are sharply square and packed tighter. Latham aptly changed styles and shapes to add to the atmosphere and pace of the story, almost like a movie’s score. This book was wild and I really couldn’t tell where the story was going next, I found myself at the end yearning to know what would happen. It feels intended for young readers, but adults will enjoy it too. While I initially picked the ARC for the cover, after reading the book, it felt a little underwhelming for all the individuality and range of the story within.

This was really fun.

I liked the art style and the characters. The friendship between Haru and Yama was especially nice to read about.

My only minor complaints are a couple of plotholes / weird changes between scenes and that the characters used made up swears. I don't mind swearing, but please go all in and don't use made up terms as a cop out.

Thenk you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for this ARC.

3 out of 5 Stars.

Story and Illustrations by artist Joe Latham.

This is a graphic novel about the characters 'Haru', a bird who dreams of flying, and their friend Yama, a boar, who are used to being on the outside. But when Yama finds a seed they are swept into a journey to save their world.

It's a seed, right? Esentially a seed of evil. Lmao.

First, I'd like to bring up the art. It's cute, but not terribly eye catching, which is one of the reasons I couldn't give this graphic novel a 4 or a 5 out of 5 like I usually would. I'm usually an easy win with graphic novels, but this honestly bored me. Cute, yes, but exciting and adventurious feeling? Nope. Just didn't take me there.

I feel bad, but I'm always Honest.

There was hardly any information at any time and they barely talked, considering one of them was supposed to be super talkative? The pig, right? Anyway. I made myself finish it, but felt no differently after.

This is a cute story with an awesome message. My 8 year old thoroughly enjoyed it! The illustrations are well done.

A cute and ominous cover, a good reflection of the story inside.

The illustrations inside this lengthy graphic novel, look like paintings in natural colors. Beautiful.

We follow the birds Haru and his brother Goose, a toadstool named Herb and a piglet called Yama (Haru’s friend).

Before their story starts, there’s an epic story about dark and light and one of the things the dark does before it’s defeated, is leave behind its heart wrapped in thorns. Yama finds this heart and tries to throw it away but it always comes back to her.

Yama and Haru go ask the oak tree for advice and that makes them go on a quest to get rid of the heart.

Goose is worried and tries to find his brother after school. He gets the help of Frei, a firebug.

Haru and Yama get in trouble (I wonder if that part isn’t too scary for kids) and Herb finds them. He then guids them part of their journey.

Who can they trust and will they make it?

This felt similar to Sam and Frodo, trying to get rid of the ring in LotR. But there’s enough difference between the stories.

I flew through this graphic novel. It’s fast paced and the beautiful paintings also make you want to keep reading!

It ends in the middle of their quest, I hope they make it!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this! It was a great combination of illustrations and text. Very enjoyable and sweet! Perfect for my niece and nephew who are newer to reading.