Graphic Novel Review: 5 Worlds: The Sand Warrior by Mark Siegel and Alexis Siegel

Media Type: Print Book (ARC)
Title: 5 Worlds: The Sand Warrior
* Series: 5 Worlds #1
Author: Mark Siegel and Alexis Siegel
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Pages: Paperback; 256
Release Date: May 2, 2017
Source: Publisher
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Content Screening: Mild Violence

HDB Rating: 4 Keys to My Heart

Recommended to: Middle Grade readers who love action, and stories with a lot of heart.

Add it on: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

The #1 New York Times bestselling creator of Amulet, Kazu Kibuishi, hails this first book in this groundbreaking sci-fi/fantasy adventure series as a magical journey, as fun as it is beautiful! Think Star Wars meets Avatar: The Last Airbender!

The Five Worlds are on the brink of extinction unless five ancient and mysterious beacons are lit. When war erupts, three unlikely heroes will discover there s more to themselves and more to their worlds than meets the eye. . . .

The clumsiest student at the Sand Dancer Academy, Oona Lee is a fighter with a destiny bigger than she could ever imagine.

A boy from the poorest slums, An Tzu has a surprising gift and a knack for getting out of sticky situations.

Star athlete Jax Amboy is beloved by an entire galaxy, but what good is that when he has no real friends?

When these three kids are forced to team up on an epic quest, it will take not one, not two, but 5 WORLDS to contain all the magic and adventure!

Since you are all well aware of my obsession with Middle Grade fiction at this point, let’s go ahead and skip that. Can we instead please focus on the growing existence of Middle Grade graphic novels? I am so pleased that there are more and more of these out there, and I’m determined to champion all of them! Kazu Kibuishi’s blurb had me from the moment I saw this book. So I was thrilled when I was asked to join the blog tour. Warning: there’s some gushing ahead. Let’s go ahead and get the small qualms that I had out of the way first, though.

I think this graphic novel could definitely have benefited from a bit more action. It was heartening to see that the authors weren’t afraid to bring the real idea of war alive on these pages. I love when MG readers aren’t treated with kid gloves. However I think this book needed to move at a bit quicker of a pace. The illustrations are gorgeous, (I can’t wait to actually see them all in color.) but some of the filler panels felt like a bit much. I wanted more of Oona’s quest, more of their desperate rush to save the day, and just more tension in general. This first volume was missing that epic feeling that stories like this usually have for me.

That being said, the characters were absolutely lovely. Oona, An Tzu and Jax were all vivid, and easy to fall in love with. I loved how each of them came from a different background. The concept of race is alive and well in this book, and the idea of racism is gently touched upon as well. It makes me happy to see authors putting these things out into the world for readers of this age group to start to digest. Oona overhears people of different worlds talking badly about people of other worlds, and making mean jokes. She sees some people get upset about what others are saying. Young readers can start to get a grasp here on unity, diversity, and especially empathy. It’s an amazing thing.

Add in the fact that the ending of this book has a twist I wasn’t expecting, complete with a cliffhanger, and you have my complete attention. Mark Siegel and Alexis Siegel have started something beautiful and magical with the 5 Worlds series. They’ve opened up a dialog that I think is important, in a way that is easy to digest and a lot of fun to read! Readers, young and old alike, will love this series. My only regret is that there isn’t more of Oona’s story to devour yet. I NEED to know what happens next.

FTC Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for my opinion.

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