The Golden Twine by Jo Rioux
Series: Cat’s Cradle #1
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Age Group: Middle Grade
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Release Date: August 1st 2012
Synopsis: To most, Suri is just an orphan in a traveling caravan. But Suri is determined to prove she has the mettle of a monster tamer. When she unknowingly takes something valuable from a caitsith — a cat monster — she will have to quickly harness her powers … if she even has them!
My thoughts: Suri, an orphaned girl who lives in a traveling caravan, believes that she is a monster tamer. To the people around her, however, she is just a young girl. The persistent Suri is determined to prove to her peers that she really is monster tamer. One day Suri takes something very important from a caitsith without even knowing it. In order to protect herself, Suri must use her powers and skills as a monster tamer…
This was a fun, short graphic novel to read. The Golden Twine is certainly not a perfect graphic novel but it was still able to keep me reading until the last page.
Suri is a heroine that is easily likeable with her feisty and persistent personality. She is a very determined young girl and I like that about her…Even though that determination gets Suri into unneeded trouble most of the time. The caravan that Suri lives in was an interesting setting. It had a mix of a gypsy camp and circus-like feel to it and I absolutely adored that. It’s not everyday that I see a graphic novel with this particular setting.
The area that Rioux really excels in is art. The blending of colors is beautiful, and the color pallets chooses for each panel set the mood fantastically. Rioux is able to draw the expressions on the character’s faces clearly. The character designs are very pretty. I am particularly in love with Suri’s outfit. And the way the monsters are drawn make them look menacing and dangerous but not to frightening.The illustrations alone are a good reason to buy this graphic novel.
The only problem I had with The Golden Twine is that fact that it was so short. There isn’t much character development, and I wish that information about the fantasy world Rioux created was revealed slowly instead of being told all at ounce at the beginning.
Even though The Golden Twine does have its flaws I do want to spend more time with Suri, and read more about her adventures. The Golden Twine does end in a cliffhanger so that is another reason. So when the next installment comes out, I will be hunting it down.
*An advanced copy was given to me by the publisher via Netgalley