The Altered History of Willow Sparks

What if you could change parts of your life by simply writing in a book. Willow Sparks comes across a mysterious book that can do just that. Of course, her life is changed forever. Great responsibilities come with such powers. It's not easy to climb to the top of the social ladder at your high school without leaving some people behind.



This book has high school drama, bullying, and all those classic teen tropes. I would absolutely classify this as a Young Adult graphic novel. There are some great paranormal concepts added to the regular high school dynamic. I enjoyed that Willow works at a library and the library (as well as books) are heavily featured.



I give this graphic novel a 4/5. It has all the classic high school teen drama aspects with an added supernatural twist. Plus the artwork is beautiful.

A graphic novel about magical books?! Completely in my wheel house! And, it didn't disappoint. Love stepping into this world and I always enjoy an author's postscript about their inspiration and process.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel about a girl who discovers a magic book that will change her life! Willow is a nerd being bullied by the popular girls at school, but she has friends and a great job working in a library. The book gives her the power to rewrite her life, but of course, magic comes with a price. Willow uses the book to become one of the popular girls, and her life at school seems to be better, but at a cost. If only, Willow can realize the truth before it's too late, she might be able to salvage her friendships with the people who truly care about her.

I loved the struggle that Willow goes through! She has some really good character development, and I loved the complex relationships she has with her friends. It was really interesting to see Willow's perspective change throughout the book as she learns and grows.

I appreciated how the writing is concise but forceful, saying a lot in a few words, and delivering an emotional connection to each scene.

The artwork is wonderful, and really pulls you into the story. I like the muted colorscheme with gray and blue.

Disclaimer: I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts and are not influenced by anyone.

What a wonderful book, a beautifully illustrated modern story of friendship with more than a hint of magic. Willy (Willow) Sparks is a typical teen, suffering from self confidence and body image issues. She and her friend Georgia are bottom of the social totem pole and targets for the more popular kids. Working late at the library one night , a terrible accident reveals a life changing secret, the people of the town each have a book that describes their life. Unable to resist temptation, Willow decides to make a few changes to her own story, and while her popularity increases, she drifts away from Georgia who is struggling with problems of her own. Magic has consequences however, and soon Willow finds herself in need of help from someone with more experience , will she be able to fix her book and rebuild her life?
A clever and relevant story, well told and beautifully brought to life by the wonderful illustrations, this was a pleasure to read. I also particularly liked the artist's notes showing the evolution of the art, and how the book came together.

If you had the power to magically change things about yourself, what would you do? Pimples - gone. Injuries - healed. Sounds simple enough, except Willow Sparks discovers that forcing things into existence can mean the real things in life - true friendships for example - get lost along the way. This quick graphic novel is a nice story about friendship, contentment, and the danger of believing the grass is always greener on the other side.

The Altered History of Willow Sparks is one of those young adult books that feels timeless. The main character and her best friend work at a library after school, but only one of them finds the literal story of her life and starts making little edits.
The changes she makes, with clear skin and new clothes, lead to popularity, in that irrational yet predictable way of high school social scenes. Willow all but abandons her best friend and surprise, surprise, finds that there are magical consequences to changing the course of fate.
One of my favorite things about the book is that things aren't wrapped up in a neat bow at the end. Willow learns a lesson, but she isn't suddenly happier as a high school student with her socioeconomic status and acne. She's still got to deal with everything like a normal person. It's refreshing and, honestly, what makes this book stand out among a sea of graphic novels about friendship and self-acceptance.