Thank you so much to Penguin and Netgalley for approving me for this ARC. This one is going to be short...I didn't get it? Well I did, but it felt like there was no real plot to it.

Was it a love story? I had no clue who was in love with who.

Was it a quest? Kind of, but it was a bit overdramatic.

I didn't understand the apocalyptic aspect of the story. What was with the squirrels that had nothing to do with anything that was happening in the book? It being the end of the world had nothing to do with the storyline itself. It could have been any setting, and the story could have been the same.

I felt like each turn of the page felt like it was going somewhere different. It jumped so much between each comic box, that by the end I just didn't care.

I did enjoy the coming of age/going our separate ways/finding yourself aspect of the book, but it wasn't well executed. I wanted to love this so much, and I'm so sad I didn't.

Ty and Burger have been friends their whole lives. A year ago, they decided to take a gap year and apply to film school together. Using their phones, they start scrapping together footage of their dystopian present. While doing so, they see missing reward posters for a café owner named Fink. A legendary guy, Fink used to own the café where the two work. While uncovering clues about his disappearance, they discover an unsent email. They also encounter a millionaire’s castle, rabid squirrels with glowing red eyes, and more. Is Fink still alive? Can the duo figure out what happened to Fink and get the reward money?

The mix of detailed art and black lingering shadows creates contrast between the teens and their dystopic world. Quotes from famous characters and authors help the book to feel more realistic. The characters are engaging, relatable, and likable. The plot is confusing at times, but will appeal to fans of science fiction. Readers who like science fiction, adventure, filmmaking, and mystery will likely appreciate the science fiction reference and want to pick this one up. Coarse language, drugs, mild romance, and violence make this book most appropriate for high school and public library collections. Recommended for general purchase where such books are popular. Gr 9 and up.

I kind of liked this, kind of didn't. The fact that it takes during one day (or night in this case), and the fact it was focused on friendships and just figuring out life together, during an apocalyptic event.. But at the same time, the conversations and the movements of the plot felt disjointed, sometimes I had no idea what the kids were talking about, or why they were doing what they were doing. I guess the jokes went over my head. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't memorable. Kind of funny, with squirrels being the main event here.

I loved the premise of this and the art was incredible, the execution of the plot just fell short for me. It was confusing and the dialogue was clunky and a little bit trying too hard.

I read this in one sitting cause I couldn’t stop. It was giving “that 70s show” in a post apocalyptic world. I enjoyed the adventures and the banter between the 4 friends. The illustrations were also amazing! I loved how the illustration turned toddler-like during flashbacks, I thought that was a hilarious touch.

3.5 stars rounded up

I really enjoyed this story - I thought it was cute and unique and it was a great read

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This book. This book has my whole heart. I absolutely adored this! From the incredible characters, to the plot, to falling in love with everything so quickly- I couldn’t put this down. I highly recommend this! It really just sucks you in and makes you never want to leave. In my opinion, those are the best books and I couldn't get enough.

Thank you to Penguin Teen and David Arnold for an advance NetGalley copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The world has ended-well, almost, thanks to some super strange zombie squirrels, but things are healing. Sorta. A group of chaotic teenagers known as The Squad decides to make a documentary about their near brush with extinction-but they need the right gear to pull this off. This adventure leads them down a rabbit hole (squirrel hole?) that they never saw coming.

The answer in all of this goes from a chaotic mismatched documentary made by wild teenagers to a mosaic of where the world goes from here and how to rebuild, heal, and survive as Luminous Beings.

This book was absolutely beautiful-the art was one of my favorite styles and the colors were so perfect to blend with the new world and the layout. The muted tones paired against the sharpness of the undead aspect really worked beautifully and I was so impressed by this. The story was fun, if not a little chaotic and slightly hard to follow. Each character was unique with a lot of modern references and jokes-a few less of those might have been the ticket to being able to follow the conversations a bit easier.

Graphic novels can be hit or miss for me, and while I didn't love every single aspect of this, this was a refreshing take on an overdone apocalyptic trope while still being pretty fun and enjoyable. All in all, this was a new look at an old idea with beautifully done art as a companion.

A quick and easy read. It’s quirky and has a good bit of 80s and 90s pop culture references. I enjoyed the dystopian style, but the undertone of the overall message being about friendship and finding your own way in a world that feels like it’s destined to crash (all too real to be honest!)

I can’t climb onto a rooftop like Ty and Burger, but I can scream into the Internet how amazingly wonderful and heartwarming and adventurous and incredible this graphic novel is. It’s a love letter to Millennials in a squirrel-pocalypse, filled with laughter, mystery, joy, reminiscing, and hope for the future. It almost reads like a screenplay, which is originally its intent. It’s cinematic, the colors are fantastic, it is nostalgic even though it’s set in present day with teens. I just can’t express how much I love this book. I need everyone to read it so we can talk about it!

This was a goofy dystopian YA graphic novel. A world full of flying zombie squirrels and protection suits. A group of teens spend a night on a quest as one of them avoids telling their best friend that they got into college. There was some context left out like how did the zombie squirrel pandemic start and some other connections about the zombie animals that I would've liked to lear more about. Illustrations were great. It's a quick read and enjoyable.

LUMINOUS BEINGS had me grinning like a fool, while at times, making me entirely too emotional. It was so silly — the references & jokes are top-notch. I loved the characters & ended up feeling for them way more than I originally thought I would.

& oh my gosh, the art! ✨✨✨✨ This color scheme is flawless, unmatched, perfect — a 10 out of 10. LUMINOUS BEINGS felt so cozy, even when there were undead squirrels on the page 😅

This was not my cup of tea. I'm not usually into sci-fi anyway, but I thought David Arnold would have written a realistic fiction graphic novel so I was expecting on thing, but didn't get that so it was a personal thing, not anything against the book. It will go in my school library.

Luminous Beings by David Arnold is a visually stunning and emotionally resonant work that beautifully blends art with storytelling. Arnold’s imaginative narrative and striking illustrations create a captivating experience that is both thought-provoking and visually engaging.

I am a David Arnold stan, and I loved this graphic novel. I thought it was entertaining, interesting, and above all - witty. Classic David Arnold character snark & just plain good writing.

Not a huge graphic novel girly, but my daughter is and my students are, too. This is definitely one I'll get a physical copy of for the shelves!

4.25 ⭐️

Characters 8/10
Atmosphere 8/10
Writing 8/10
Plot 8/10
Intrigue 8/10
Logic 6/10
Enjoyment 8/10

Luminous Beings follows a group of teens as they search for their missing former supervisor. The apocalypse is here, and it involves zombie squirrels.

This was such a fun little read, I truly enjoyed the humor here. Watching the story unfold was hilarious and outrageous and unbelievable in the best ways. Definitely think this is something great to read when you just need a smile and to laugh at how ridiculous life is.

The writing style and dialogue (all the overly quirky curses/slang) was a bit off putting for me, but I did love the story (zombie squirrels!) and art style, and the color palette is to die for.

the artwork was beautiful and i was intrigued by the world but in the end, everything felt rushed and underdeveloped. it could have benefitted from being longer or even just an ounce more of world building

This was such a cute graphic novel. I love got the main characters learn to face their fears in the middle of an apocalypse.

I really enjoyed the premise of this GN but at the end of the day the story didn’t really stick with me. Given the dystopian and Sci-fi elements, I thought the story of the characters would match and I found myself not super invested in any of them.

I did love the artwork. I thought it matched the vibe of the story and gave a lot of extra umpf that was needed