Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and Humanoids Inc for the Advanced Readers Copy of this graphic novel in ebook form.

5 out of 5 stars.

What We Wished For by Ilias Kyriazis is an LGBTQIAP+ graphic novel about a group of friends who make a wish on a comet in a magic caves as kids and now thirty-five years later their wishes start coming true.

I would like to point out how beautiful the cover and illustrations are throughout the book and the colours are bright and attractive.

There wasn't a point that I was bored and wanted to put it down, in fact, quite the opposite. I had trouble putting it down.

The twists and turns throughout really caught me off guard and the plot was an amazing one. I really enjoyed reading it.

As well as being LGBTQIAP+ the novel also had characters of colour, characters with disabilities, and a large range of ages and races.

This is for adults and has sex scenes drawn out.

I would highly recommend this graphic novel.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ACR

My honest opinion 2.7/5 for me.

I loved the throughline plot. But what bothered me was the constant back and forth between the past and the present. It was fine during setting them up but then it felt too jarring. It felt too convenient.
The characters were so-so. I get what they were going through but I couldn't connect with them emotionally.

The art style is fun and light.

Overall, I would suggest this book only if someone asked me "What if what we wished for came true?" to which I would reply "I have just the comic for you."

Much more grim than indicated by the front cover! An exciting fantasy story about the wishes a group of friends made as children suddenly becoming true decades later, ultimately dealing with a lot of really dark stuff. Definitely check for triggers!

Publishing date: 09.07.2024
Thank you to Netgalley and Humanoids Inc. for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

The book as a meal: A bucket of popcorn wto go with all the drama
The book left me: Once again grateful that children can't make major life decisions

Negatives:
Story felt a little rushed and would benefit from a little more content and time with the characters
Artstyle is a little strange and might not be for everybody
Turns very dark very quickly

Positives:
Very reminiscent of old comics
Tangible consequences for innocent wishes

Features:
Triggers for anti-feminism and misogyny (from a woman), reminiscent of old-school comics, wishes and wants with severe consequences, multi-POV

Why did I choose this one?
Sick skater dude on the cover: had to get it. The whole skating thing is not heavily featured in the comic (sad face), but it has it's flashes. I am as mentioned in my earlier reviews of the year, back in my comic loving self from my early teens. This comic looked cool and had a great premise

Pick-up-able? Put-down-able?
Pick-up-able. The story is a quick read and can be finished in a single sitting, I finished it throughout the day as I was busier than expected. The pacing also benefits from reading it all at once, as there are no proper breaks in-between.

What was the vibe and mood?
Have you ever heard kids make wishes? Have you ever wondered what the consequences of those wishes were? Have you ever seen adults fumble and fail around sudden unforeseen circumstances? Well if you want to see these things, then read this. Absolute chaos.

Final ranking and star rating?
3 stars, C tier. This was okay. I had fun reading it, and I think I would recommend it. However, it was nothing groundbreaking. I feel like this story would benefit from a higher page count and more time to develop the characters. You just about have time to get to know them before the story ends. In and of itself the book is just fine, fun but fine.

This book went from oh what is going on to… WTF did I just read! We have a group of friends who are forced to go explore by their parents, and they come across something that tells them it will grant them a wish. However, by the time the last kid does, it's too late. Years later, their wishes come true and things just go crazy! The art is interesting, and the overall story was interesting.

What We Wished For is a vivid comics and fantasy journey with some dark corners of storytelling. The level of artistic detail was a compliment to the story — some mature themes and adult content.

Ilias Kyriazis' art is enchanting, and I picked up this book because of how vibrant and fun the cover was. I was not expecting this to get as dark and violent as it did, but I loved it anyway!

What We Wished For follows a group of adults who made a wish for their very own superpower during their childhood. Instead of getting their superpowers immediately, their wishes came true 35 years later. They've completely forgotten about the event by now, and as grown adults, they need to figure out how to adjust to the consequences of their wishes, and how their desires have changed after so many years.

Unfortunately, the book suffers from having too few pages for the large cast. Each character had so much potential, but any character exploration was cut short in favor of the plot. I love books that center on character motivations, so I would have liked to see more character depth and development. I've learned to expect this from self-contained graphic novels without a guaranteed sequel, so I'm not too disappointed.

Paired with the great concept and amazing art, the book is sure to leave an impression. Ilias Kyriazis is amazing at depicting expressions, and the characters' emotions show through their face and their body. Each character has a distinct character design, and they all express their feelings differently, and it's a nice touch to see that they aren't carbon copies of eachother. The art that depicts their childhood made me feel nostalgic and it reminds me of the cartoons I used to watch as a kid. The lack of detail and dot eyes really show how simple everything feels during your youth. The grittiness and detail in the art during their adult life is a jarring to transition to, but it's fitting considering the dark and violent events the characters experience. I loved both art styles equally.

Super interesting idea! This comic reminded me a lot of Eight Billion Genies, but on a smaller scale. I think some characters and plot points could have been fleshed out more, but it concluded the story quite satisfactorily.

Fans of The Goonies and other classic comic books will love this! This story was personally not for me, but I think it was well done and a fun read.

This graphic novel was way darker and sadder than I was expecting, but I’m glad I read it. The premise was so unique and it’s one that I think will stick with me for a while.

At first I didn’t love the art style, but it did grow on me the more I read. The drawing style (especially of characters faces) really matches the tone of the story well.

While I did think parts of the ending were a bit rushed, I loved the final page.

This was a lot darker than I had anticipated. Even though it wasn't the cute little story I had expected, it was still a great idea and a good read.

What a bizarre story. A group of childhood friends find a cave and make wishes. many years later their wishes come true and result in absurdity and madness. This book was unfortunately not for me. I found it to be too rushes and disjointed and there was a disturbing quality to everything that i didn't enjoy. I don't mind getting gritty but this was unsettling and never found its footing for me.

A group of children stumble into a cave, the night a comet goes by, and discover that they can each get a wish. One wishes for endless cakes. Another wishes their parents won’t divorce. A third asks to be a particular superhero. One of the youngest girls wants to be a boy so she can do stuff that girls aren’t allowed to do. And the last boy thinks really hard, and finally wishes that he could be the best skateboarder, ever. But as the words leave his mouth, the comet has passed, and they dont’ get their wishes.

But the good news, sort of, is that when the comet returns 35 years later, or so, they finally get their wishes, for better or worse. Some enjoy their new skills, others use them for harm.

Interesting take on wishes, and where they go. Very quick story. The bad people are really bad, and the good people are really fun.

I enjoyed it. It felt as though it could have gone on longer, but it did wrap up everything in one volume, and perhaps the author wants to do another one later, but for now, it all worked, and was enjoyable.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book came out the 9th of July 2024.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read an advanced copy of this.

This graphic novel sadly had everything in common with the comics I've grown to dislike the more that I read. In centering the story to be the aftermath of childhood wishes, it lent itself to the comedic quips, utterly mundane, or simply gross features of the consequences. Which normally wouldn't be wrong, except the establishment of the characters had to be trimmed down to roughly two-to-three pages per character including a flashback of the reasoning for their wish.

I don't think I would have had such a reaction if the plot had handled the storyline between Angie's horrible stance on feminism and Dale becoming a disabled abuser a little bit better. Instead of resolving Angie's issues within again two pages, giving that more and fading to black a little sooner with Dale being such a creep. Or show more of them fighting Dale and winning. The resolution was also rushed super quickly, the characters that were barely known within 140-ish pages got their storylines wrapped in a neat bow while also changing such little things about their surroundings aside from managing the harm they caused.

Again, this wasn't the book for me. The art style and the color scheme reminded me of newspaper comic strips which was fun, but ultimately just not something I wish to pick up again.

3.5

Firstly, I feel like this story could have become a classic if it was given more space to breathe. There are so many characters, you don't get to learn more aside from basic plot-building elements. All of the characters feel very real, while also feeling like you know almost nothing about them. However, I did really enjoy this story. It shows how we were treated as children can affect us when we become adults. The magic wish part of the story is honestly pretty silly, but I feel like it's a decent way of balancing just how serious this story can get. There were elements of this story that got way darker and way more adult than I expected them to be. The story also tries to show how Incel Culture and Alpha Male Culture destroy both men and women alike. This story tries to make a lot of relevant points, but almost too many. I understood what they were going for, but it feels like none of the points got the space to really be fleshed out. I feel like this story would do very well as a movie or television show.

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

This probably was one of the weirdest books I've read in a long time!
It's so bizarre but also relevant? Seeing young children's wishes turn out to be coming true and what powers they hold was fascinating and horrifying at the same time. Very abstract with very cool designs and diverse, fully developed characters.

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced ARC of this graphic novel

This was an interesting read that didn't connect with me but has an engaging story for the right audience, the characters all are dealing with things and some action happens in fights and also in an NSFW way a little too so this is not for children or anyone Under 18 years old I think because of just some scenes... but I can see this being loved by some people I know

An interesting take on "be careful what you wish for," and an interesting look into how your childhood friends drift apart and end up in places you never imagined. It wasn't really my cup of tea, but I really enjoyed the gritty realism and critique of modern society.

I loved reading this story. It had a good pace and characters that I easily connected with. I read it pretty quick and thought it was well written. Definitely an interesting premise that I enjoyed watching playing out. Comics with a good story are always a fun read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

Please check content warning before reading as abuse, misogyny and death are included in the story.

I got this as an arc on Netgalley and it has since come out. This comic made me make feelings. It was so good. That ending. It's not a light read. But it has so many important things in there.