While I was surprised it wasn't a full comic, like ND's other books, it was full of the same heart and vibe as ND's former works. I loved the characters and the setting. The journey (for readers and the characters) is an excellent one. It reminds me of growing up.

Thanks to NetGalley & HarperCollins Children's Books for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Heads up: this is NOT a graphic novel unlike Stevenson's last book.

I really couldn't get into the dialogue-driven story. It's not bad per se, but I'm not super into pirates and I felt like it was just using all the pirate cliches possible. Maybe kids will like it because it's pretty easy to read and plenty of pictures throughout. I DNF'ed at 30% of the way through.

You just have to use the words "from the powerhouse creator of Nimona" and I'll be there, it's that easy. But I was surprised to see that Scarlet Morning is not the author's usual graphic novel or comic book, but a middle grade novel in prose. And maybe that's why I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would (Nimona and all of Lumberjanes are very dear to me). The story follows 14-year-old Viola and 15-year-old Wilmur who live on the miserable little island of Caveat where the streets are covered in salt and the sea is poisonous and where no ship would ever go. One day they finally get the opportunity to leave the island and so they join a chaotic crew of maybe-most-definitely pirates. I wouldn't call this book a pirate adventure, though. Viola and Wilmur don't stay with the pirates for too long, and they also split up and have their own story lines. The plot was, unfortunately, all over the place before the book then ended rather abruptly. The characters didn't really have a destination in mind when they boarded the ship, and I never felt like they had a personal goal. The entire story is them reacting to stuff that's happening or to people they meet, and they do meet a LOT of people. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that there were like 50 named characters in here, and that is simply too much for a 300-page middle grade book. The chapters with fewer characters were far better in my opinion, because I could finally get a grip on their personalities and backstories. I also liked that the traveling made room for many different environments and how the world was expanded through that. The sea was especially interesting, because it's a place of strange occurrences and creatures, but a lot was only told through a journal-like book inside the story. I wish that there was more showing than telling in general, but at least the illustrations were great and plenty, and I just loved to see the art of N.D. Stevenson again. I also have to praise the casual queer representation and I'm overall very glad that the author was able to publish this story after sitting on it since childhood.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books / Quill Tree Books for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was super cute! I don't often read childrens books (being Not A Child and also Child Free myself), but I love ND Stevenson's work and I thought it would be fun to read outside my genre.

What I discovered is that childrens lit is actually more advanced than I thought. I don't remember much about the kidlit I read As a kid, obviously, but this felt like a story I didn't feel out of place learning about. It was charming, the illustrations were the beautiful ones I've come to expect from ND, and overall this was really enjoyable. I look forward to anything else ND does, whether that's another novel or more graphic novels!

ND Stevenson and I go way back!! Nimona was one of my faves.

This is their first prose novel and I’m so proud of them.
However it did not work for me! From the very beginning I was lost. I couldn’t keep track of characters or the plot which took me out of it

Scarlet Morning is a fabulous illustrated novel! ND Stevenson takes readers on an adventure in a desolate land. It is cut off from the rest of world and most of the sea is solid salt. Viola and Wilmur are two 15-year-olds who having been raising themselves on a deserted spit of land – scavenging food and making up stories. Until one night a possibly a pirate person shows up at the door and adventure awaits. The names of all the pirates and not pirates are wonderful entertainment in themselves. This book is a great read aloud. A thorough joy and I can’t wait for book 2.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books for this DRC.
#ScarletMorning #NetGalley

This was a cute pirate adventure with amazing art strewn in. I didn't love this as much as Nimona, but it has the recognizable art style. The story got better as it goes along and leaves off in an interesting place.

I love that this is a book/story that the author had in their heads for years and that it's finally coming out.