Image Description: the book-cover of Lumberjanes – Volume 2: Friendship To The Max. The cover focuses on how Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley are climbing up on a high rock. Molly is standing in an archery pose while holding a bow and arrow. Jen is standing at the base of the rock looking alarmed.
Title: Lumberjanes – Volume 2: Friendship To The Max (Book #2 of The Lumberjane Collections)
Creators: Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, and Brooke A. Allen
Social Media: Goodreads
Publisher: BOOM! Box
Format and Price: Paperback from my local library
Rating: 5 out of 5
About The Book:
What a mystery!
Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley are not your average campers and Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady-Types is not your average summer camp. Between the river monsters, magic, and the art of friendship bracelets, this summer is only just beginning. Join the Lumberjanes as they take on raptors and a sibling rivalry that only myths are made of.
This New York Times bestseller and Eisner Award-nominated series is written by awesome all-star Noelle Stevenson and brilliant newcomer Grace Ellis, and illustrated by the tremendously talented Brooke Allen.
Lumberjanes, Vol. 2: Friendship to the Max includes issues 5-8 and the first fourteen pages of Giant Days, Vol. 1 by John Allison.
General Observation:
~Story Structure and Plot: I’m going to be honest, while I enjoy the narrative structure and plot, I can see why other readers may find it disorientating and difficult to read. The plot elements that were introduced in volume one were addressed in volume two, with the exception of the Bear-woman (I have no idea what her deal is).
I don’t want to spoil anything, however, remember the dust-up that occurred with the boy-scouts in volume one? That’s explained. It’s also explained what those golden discs are. There is a lot of foreshadowing and nearly all the Chekov’s guns are used. To be honest nearly all the issues brought up in volume 1 are resolved quite nicely.
~Humour: The humorous elements of the graphic novel are what I enjoy most. The writers do a great job with the dialogue, if you’re looking to improve upon your own dialogue skills, I highly recommend reading this series.
~Character: At the end of volume 1, Jen kind of demands to be told what is going on, and eventually she does get informed about what’s been going on, but there’s also the fact Jen is kind of put in an odd position.
She’s the cabin leader, so Jen is apart of the Lumberjane’s squad, but it also kind of feels as though (at times) she’s not truly apart of the Lumberjane squad either. To me, Jen is in this position of being both scout and leader, which sometimes means she’s doesn’t feel like she belongs to either group.
By the same token, Jen is the one who solves the problem of the constellation chamber and she manages to outwit the antagonists. That’s not to say that the other characters don’t contribute, all the girls have to come together to help deal with the problem, even when April is upset with Jo for withholding information, they’re still working together.
All in all, enjoyable but strange adventures at one of the weirdest summer-camps ever, highly recommended for those interested in Young Adult summer camp adventures featuring female protagonists.
Available for Purchase: Amazon
Ambiguous Pieces 