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The Girl Who Owned a City: The Graphic Novel
A deadly virus killed every adult on Earth, leaving only the kids behind. With her parents gone, Lisa is responsible for her little brother, Todd. She has to make sure they stay alive. Many kids are sick or starving, and fierce gangs are stealing and destroying everything they find. Lots of people have given up, but on Grand Avenue, some kids are surviving. Because of Lisa.
Lisa figured out how to give the kids on Grand Avenue food, homes, and protection against the gangs. But Tom Logan and his army are determined to take that away and rule the streets themselves. How long can Lisa's group keep fighting them off? They need to find a place to live safely. A strong place. A secret place.
In a world like this, someone has to take charge. But does Lisa have the strength to take charge of a whole city?
Lisa figured out how to give the kids on Grand Avenue food, homes, and protection against the gangs. But Tom Logan and his army are determined to take that away and rule the streets themselves. How long can Lisa's group keep fighting them off? They need to find a place to live safely. A strong place. A secret place.
In a world like this, someone has to take charge. But does Lisa have the strength to take charge of a whole city?
128 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
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1243 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 411 reviews
February 1, 2022
An interesting story that steals from an old Star Trek story. Anyone over 12 has died from a virus leaving children to try and survive on their own.
This has some early Joelle Jones art. It's not as sharp as her current work. She has a problem drawing children's heads. They often look like adult heads on kid's bodies. Still it's not bad and she's grown into one of my favorite artists so I like to see all of her work.
This has some early Joelle Jones art. It's not as sharp as her current work. She has a problem drawing children's heads. They often look like adult heads on kid's bodies. Still it's not bad and she's grown into one of my favorite artists so I like to see all of her work.
March 12, 2015
I was actually really impressed by this. A good friend of mine LOVES the original novel, but I had never had a chance to read it. When the graphic novel version came across the new book shelf at the library, I swiped it and checked it out immediately.
It's a pretty standard dystopian story (one that seems to be repeated a lot as of late, but let us remember, this one came first) -- everyone over the age of 12 is dead, and the kids have to take over.
What I really liked about this is that it read a lot like a graphic novel version of the TV show "The Colony". Which is to say that it's not an action/adventure story, but rather an exploration of how society could possibly re-organize itself after a catastrophic event.
I also thought it was cool that the main character and the leader was a girl! And she was a totally bad ass girl with real feelings and doubts and leadership skills!
Also also, the art is FANTASTIC. I LOVE this art. Why don't more graphic novels have this kind of art? The people are stylized and interesting and expressive, and it's aaall in color. Every picture is beautiful and striking, and it's one of the few graphic novels I've read where I've spent just as much time looking at the art as reading the words (if you look closely enough, there's a little girl picking her nose in one of the frames, tee hee).
I'll have to go back and read the original to see how it compares, but I thought this was a remarkably well done graphic novel. If I ever get a chance to book talk to middle schoolers, I'll definitely use this one.
It's a pretty standard dystopian story (one that seems to be repeated a lot as of late, but let us remember, this one came first) -- everyone over the age of 12 is dead, and the kids have to take over.
What I really liked about this is that it read a lot like a graphic novel version of the TV show "The Colony". Which is to say that it's not an action/adventure story, but rather an exploration of how society could possibly re-organize itself after a catastrophic event.
I also thought it was cool that the main character and the leader was a girl! And she was a totally bad ass girl with real feelings and doubts and leadership skills!
Also also, the art is FANTASTIC. I LOVE this art. Why don't more graphic novels have this kind of art? The people are stylized and interesting and expressive, and it's aaall in color. Every picture is beautiful and striking, and it's one of the few graphic novels I've read where I've spent just as much time looking at the art as reading the words (if you look closely enough, there's a little girl picking her nose in one of the frames, tee hee).
I'll have to go back and read the original to see how it compares, but I thought this was a remarkably well done graphic novel. If I ever get a chance to book talk to middle schoolers, I'll definitely use this one.
January 9, 2015
So I am looking through the youth graphic novels at the local library (because this is where they keep adorable fairy tale books with morals and stunning visuals and Don't Judge Me, Okay)when suddenly I find myself looking at a girl with a rifle over a burning house and I have three separate thoughts.
1. This is totally B.A. with a BOLD B
2. This must have been shelved improperly
and, upon seeing that there was in fact a "Y" shelving tag for Youth GN
3. What in the Hell, Library? I don't think you should have this next to your illustrated Cinderella and Various Talking Animal tales!
But it was so.
And, to be honest, the book's cover does not much merit it being the badass tale I thought it would be. I understand it is based on a book, and I might endeavor to read it, but the story simply went off too quickly, without time for explanations or considerations, to be of much use as a graphic novel.
Main plot: an epidemic kills off everyone that is older than 12 years old for some reason, and obviously due to this society falls apart. The dead people are apparently turned into dust as a couple quick lines between characters suggest. This eliminates any views of dead bodies...so, not very much gore or scary elements to be had. The main problem comes in that children are not very adept to find themselves food (GOOD, nutritious food) and are therefore shortly starving to death. Into this picture comes our heroine, Lisa, who has the Idea and the Great Mind to make a society to keep everyone safe from harm and their bellies full. Great.
Except it's kind of not, you know, because she needs to work everyone to the bone to build her city, as she keeps referring to it, because she is so Brilliant and everyone else is so Lazy and goddammit guys can't you do anything right without her? Because the Great and Powerful Lisa does not share her food and supplies with people who haven't "earned" it. She "thought" about how to get these things, and they didn't so why should this ever-so-smart (read:self-obsessed) 10-year old share her overwhelming amount of goods? Nope, these kids gotta pay. Even the ones who are older than her bow down. So, whatever. They build her society to stay safe from wandering thuggy gangs (might I mention that the story takes place in the suburbs of Chicago...and if that's supposed to be some commentary on gangs...smdh). Anyway, the city gets ruined thanks to aforementioned gangs and Lisa and her ultraloyal minions decide to make a new community inside an abandoned high school.
Shit goes down. People get pissy. Lisa needs everything her way, and she makes battlements that involve attack dogs , the welding of metal to windows to protect them from projectiles and even vats of oil . So you just forget those old, antiquated schoolyard antics!
So yeah, basically, what the Fresh Hell.
As far as artistically, the style is suitable for a gritty apocalyptic story. Unfortunately, the story isn't as gritty or apocalyptic as it should actually be. I don't see anything dead, I don't see anyone hurt except the main bad guy (who need I remind readers is still a CHILD, since everyone under the age of 12 is dead and dust-ified). But the plot is so biased that these kids (even the littlest ones) need to WORK for what is owed them. I understand trying to promote the values of earning something for yourself versus stealing...but this graphic novel (and quite possibly the book its based on) keeps hammering on about how it's the people with Great Minds who run things and everyone else needs to get in line to prove themselves worthy instead of living off of others, that the whole thing reads like some Ayn Rand mindfuck for children.
1. This is totally B.A. with a BOLD B
2. This must have been shelved improperly
and, upon seeing that there was in fact a "Y" shelving tag for Youth GN
3. What in the Hell, Library? I don't think you should have this next to your illustrated Cinderella and Various Talking Animal tales!
But it was so.
And, to be honest, the book's cover does not much merit it being the badass tale I thought it would be. I understand it is based on a book, and I might endeavor to read it, but the story simply went off too quickly, without time for explanations or considerations, to be of much use as a graphic novel.
Main plot: an epidemic kills off everyone that is older than 12 years old for some reason, and obviously due to this society falls apart. The dead people are apparently turned into dust as a couple quick lines between characters suggest. This eliminates any views of dead bodies...so, not very much gore or scary elements to be had. The main problem comes in that children are not very adept to find themselves food (GOOD, nutritious food) and are therefore shortly starving to death. Into this picture comes our heroine, Lisa, who has the Idea and the Great Mind to make a society to keep everyone safe from harm and their bellies full. Great.
Except it's kind of not, you know, because she needs to work everyone to the bone to build her city, as she keeps referring to it, because she is so Brilliant and everyone else is so Lazy and goddammit guys can't you do anything right without her? Because the Great and Powerful Lisa does not share her food and supplies with people who haven't "earned" it. She "thought" about how to get these things, and they didn't so why should this ever-so-smart (read:self-obsessed) 10-year old share her overwhelming amount of goods? Nope, these kids gotta pay. Even the ones who are older than her bow down. So, whatever. They build her society to stay safe from wandering thuggy gangs (might I mention that the story takes place in the suburbs of Chicago...and if that's supposed to be some commentary on gangs...smdh). Anyway, the city gets ruined thanks to aforementioned gangs and Lisa and her ultraloyal minions decide to make a new community inside an abandoned high school.
Shit goes down. People get pissy. Lisa needs everything her way, and she makes battlements that involve attack dogs , the welding of metal to windows to protect them from projectiles and even vats of oil . So you just forget those old, antiquated schoolyard antics!
So yeah, basically, what the Fresh Hell.
As far as artistically, the style is suitable for a gritty apocalyptic story. Unfortunately, the story isn't as gritty or apocalyptic as it should actually be. I don't see anything dead, I don't see anyone hurt except the main bad guy (who need I remind readers is still a CHILD, since everyone under the age of 12 is dead and dust-ified). But the plot is so biased that these kids (even the littlest ones) need to WORK for what is owed them. I understand trying to promote the values of earning something for yourself versus stealing...but this graphic novel (and quite possibly the book its based on) keeps hammering on about how it's the people with Great Minds who run things and everyone else needs to get in line to prove themselves worthy instead of living off of others, that the whole thing reads like some Ayn Rand mindfuck for children.
June 4, 2018
Eek.
I don't remember how I came across this book. It's an adaptation of a novel first published in 1975. The wiki page about it has some interesting details. Apparently it's Wilson's only book. And the book takes place in a fictionalized version of his home town.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gir...
It's possible I got this one out of the library because I was looking forward to reading a comic book with a fierce female protagonist. What I got instead was a protagonist who believes in an absurd and faulty "merit based" system in which the "smartest" and most "resourceful" deserve to have power over everyone else.
Or, as GR reviewer Fran so wonderfully puts it:
"If Ayn Rand rewrote Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a post-apocalyptic plague story, it would read something like this."
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9...
There's a touch of Lord of the Flies to it, too, I suppose.
I found the book to be pretty cringe-worthy most of the way through. I know that a character can be problematic and it can have nothing to do with the author's ideology, but this book seemed to espouse the protagonist's ideology in a way that was pretty worrisome to me. And, more than that, the characters weren't complex enough to draw me into their world, and it wasn't, in my experience, a richly told tale.
I don't remember how I came across this book. It's an adaptation of a novel first published in 1975. The wiki page about it has some interesting details. Apparently it's Wilson's only book. And the book takes place in a fictionalized version of his home town.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gir...
It's possible I got this one out of the library because I was looking forward to reading a comic book with a fierce female protagonist. What I got instead was a protagonist who believes in an absurd and faulty "merit based" system in which the "smartest" and most "resourceful" deserve to have power over everyone else.
Or, as GR reviewer Fran so wonderfully puts it:
"If Ayn Rand rewrote Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a post-apocalyptic plague story, it would read something like this."
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9...
There's a touch of Lord of the Flies to it, too, I suppose.
I found the book to be pretty cringe-worthy most of the way through. I know that a character can be problematic and it can have nothing to do with the author's ideology, but this book seemed to espouse the protagonist's ideology in a way that was pretty worrisome to me. And, more than that, the characters weren't complex enough to draw me into their world, and it wasn't, in my experience, a richly told tale.
July 20, 2016
If Ayn Rand rewrote Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a post-apocalyptic plague story, it would read something like this. I feel as thought I would have loved this if I had read it as a pre-teen, but as an adult, Lisa comes off more arrogant (and annoying) than worldly. Lisa is in dire need of some Scoobies to remind her of the importance of working together, trusting others, and to get over her own specialness.
November 24, 2011
Got an ARC from NetGalley. Expected publication is in April 2012.
So, after I finished reading this, I saw on the last page that it had been based on a novel from 1975. I have not read the novel or ever heard of it, so I don't know what the similarities and differences between the original and graphic novels are. Whether the flaws in the graphic novel are in any way the fault of O.T. Nelson––the original author––I don't know.
Anyway, to briefly summarize the plot:
The Girl Who Owned a City is the story of a grim, futuristic world in which a mysterious virus kills all the adults and turns them into piles of dust. Our protagonist is a girl named Lisa Nelson who is determined to find and protect as many surviving children as she can. But she is rivaled by another gang, led by a boy named Tom Logan who wants to steal her power and form some kind of dictatorship over all the other kids.
I obtained a digital version of this book via NetGalley, which is like my new best friend in website form. After I downloaded it I decided to look through it––so of course, I ended up reading the entire thing in one sitting.
This is an exciting and fast-paced read, and it's fairly short. So, it's something I would recommend if you were looking for something quick and fun. And what with the current dystopian craze, I could see this being a successful graphic novel.
Lisa is a likable main character, although I'm not sure how realistically she's portrayed. I don't think her age is ever defined, but supposedly she's younger than 12. (Otherwise, she would be a pile of dust.) I spent the whole book assuming she was around 14 or 15, because she seemed to be acting a little more like a teenager. Then, of course, I realized that wasn't possible. Granted, she seems to have gone through a lot so I wouldn't be surprised if she'd matured early. But regardless of her age, Lisa is easy to relate to. The reader can feel her stress and frustration as she tries to keep everything together and keep everyone safe.
However, I thought the other characters could have been fleshed out more. At least the relationship between Lisa and her little brother Todd was pretty nicely done, and Lisa's friend Craig was also somewhat interesting. But in the short span of the book, I didn't feel like I quite knew most of the characters. Most of them just seemed to be there to be Lisa's little helpers and not to have personalities of their own.
As for the plot ... It's not the most original thing in the world. Basically, this book is Lord of the Flies, Gone, and Maximum Ride combined. Once you've read Lord of the Flies, you've pretty much read all the books with the "Oh no! All the adults are gone!" plot, so you can probably already guess what this book is like. As for the similarities to Gone (by Michael Grant), it has the same premise where all the adults conveniently just "disappear" and there is only a vague explanation as to why. (More on that in a minute.) I guess I'm kind of stretching it with the comparison to Maximum Ride, but the whole time I was reading this, I kept thinking that Lisa is pretty much the same character as Max. She has the same tough-girl attitude where she doesn't want anyone to help her, and she wants to handle everything by herself, etc. And it didn't help that Craig kind of has a Fang-ish attitude with his whole "Let's just forget everyone else and live by ourselves!" attitude.
Anyway, as I was saying, I have the same issue with this book as I had with Gone by Michael Grant: the reason for the adults disappearing makes little sense to me. I believe that in Gone, the author blamed it on a nuclear chemical spill or something strange like that. In The Girl Who Owned a City, this is the only explanation the author makes: "for some strange reason, the sickness is not fatal to children."
You know, for once I would like to see one of these "post-apocalyptic-worlds-where-there-are-only-children-left" books where there is actually a believable explanation as to why all the adults are gone. Not only that, but it would make more sense if the adults didn't just "vanish." It would make more sense if it was like the Black Plague all over again, with rotting corpses all over the place. Disgusting? Well, yes. But far more realistic. I can't bring myself to believe that there would ever be a disease that would literally just turn people into dust.
The originality and lack-of-explanation issues aside, I think my biggest problem with this book was the lack of emotional reactions in the characters. At the beginning, Lisa informs us that it's only been a few weeks since the plague killed all the adults. Yet, none of the kids seem extremely upset. They all focus solely on surviving and don't seem to remember anything that happened before they were left by themselves. You don't have little kids crying for their parents all over the place. I can't recall any point where Lisa and Todd had a conversation about their mom and dad. It was like the author was so focused on making the story "kickass" that he completely ignored the realistic, emotional impact of the story. I understand if the kids are in shock or in denial or something, but at least a little more effort could have been made. I mean, in such a horrible situation, I really wanted to know how the characters felt. How on earth would it feel to see your own parents turn into dust? Because I'm pretty sure it would be devastating.
I swear I'm almost done ranting now. There's only one more thing I have to criticize, and that's the ending.
Well, of course if you're going to read the book, don't read the spoiler. Just know that, it's a total cop-out, in my humble opinion.
So, in conclusion, I think this book had some potential in its premise, but there were a lot of issues with its execution. However, I still found it enjoyable. It was an easy, fun read and something that could keep you entertained for an hour or two. Even though the characters aren't totally fleshed-out, at least they're likable.
And if all else fails, the illustrations are pretty cool.
So, after I finished reading this, I saw on the last page that it had been based on a novel from 1975. I have not read the novel or ever heard of it, so I don't know what the similarities and differences between the original and graphic novels are. Whether the flaws in the graphic novel are in any way the fault of O.T. Nelson––the original author––I don't know.
Anyway, to briefly summarize the plot:
The Girl Who Owned a City is the story of a grim, futuristic world in which a mysterious virus kills all the adults and turns them into piles of dust. Our protagonist is a girl named Lisa Nelson who is determined to find and protect as many surviving children as she can. But she is rivaled by another gang, led by a boy named Tom Logan who wants to steal her power and form some kind of dictatorship over all the other kids.
I obtained a digital version of this book via NetGalley, which is like my new best friend in website form. After I downloaded it I decided to look through it––so of course, I ended up reading the entire thing in one sitting.
This is an exciting and fast-paced read, and it's fairly short. So, it's something I would recommend if you were looking for something quick and fun. And what with the current dystopian craze, I could see this being a successful graphic novel.
Lisa is a likable main character, although I'm not sure how realistically she's portrayed. I don't think her age is ever defined, but supposedly she's younger than 12. (Otherwise, she would be a pile of dust.) I spent the whole book assuming she was around 14 or 15, because she seemed to be acting a little more like a teenager. Then, of course, I realized that wasn't possible. Granted, she seems to have gone through a lot so I wouldn't be surprised if she'd matured early. But regardless of her age, Lisa is easy to relate to. The reader can feel her stress and frustration as she tries to keep everything together and keep everyone safe.
However, I thought the other characters could have been fleshed out more. At least the relationship between Lisa and her little brother Todd was pretty nicely done, and Lisa's friend Craig was also somewhat interesting. But in the short span of the book, I didn't feel like I quite knew most of the characters. Most of them just seemed to be there to be Lisa's little helpers and not to have personalities of their own.
As for the plot ... It's not the most original thing in the world. Basically, this book is Lord of the Flies, Gone, and Maximum Ride combined. Once you've read Lord of the Flies, you've pretty much read all the books with the "Oh no! All the adults are gone!" plot, so you can probably already guess what this book is like. As for the similarities to Gone (by Michael Grant), it has the same premise where all the adults conveniently just "disappear" and there is only a vague explanation as to why. (More on that in a minute.) I guess I'm kind of stretching it with the comparison to Maximum Ride, but the whole time I was reading this, I kept thinking that Lisa is pretty much the same character as Max. She has the same tough-girl attitude where she doesn't want anyone to help her, and she wants to handle everything by herself, etc. And it didn't help that Craig kind of has a Fang-ish attitude with his whole "Let's just forget everyone else and live by ourselves!" attitude.
Anyway, as I was saying, I have the same issue with this book as I had with Gone by Michael Grant: the reason for the adults disappearing makes little sense to me. I believe that in Gone, the author blamed it on a nuclear chemical spill or something strange like that. In The Girl Who Owned a City, this is the only explanation the author makes: "for some strange reason, the sickness is not fatal to children."
You know, for once I would like to see one of these "post-apocalyptic-worlds-where-there-are-only-children-left" books where there is actually a believable explanation as to why all the adults are gone. Not only that, but it would make more sense if the adults didn't just "vanish." It would make more sense if it was like the Black Plague all over again, with rotting corpses all over the place. Disgusting? Well, yes. But far more realistic. I can't bring myself to believe that there would ever be a disease that would literally just turn people into dust.
The originality and lack-of-explanation issues aside, I think my biggest problem with this book was the lack of emotional reactions in the characters. At the beginning, Lisa informs us that it's only been a few weeks since the plague killed all the adults. Yet, none of the kids seem extremely upset. They all focus solely on surviving and don't seem to remember anything that happened before they were left by themselves. You don't have little kids crying for their parents all over the place. I can't recall any point where Lisa and Todd had a conversation about their mom and dad. It was like the author was so focused on making the story "kickass" that he completely ignored the realistic, emotional impact of the story. I understand if the kids are in shock or in denial or something, but at least a little more effort could have been made. I mean, in such a horrible situation, I really wanted to know how the characters felt. How on earth would it feel to see your own parents turn into dust? Because I'm pretty sure it would be devastating.
I swear I'm almost done ranting now. There's only one more thing I have to criticize, and that's the ending.
Well, of course if you're going to read the book, don't read the spoiler. Just know that, it's a total cop-out, in my humble opinion.
So, in conclusion, I think this book had some potential in its premise, but there were a lot of issues with its execution. However, I still found it enjoyable. It was an easy, fun read and something that could keep you entertained for an hour or two. Even though the characters aren't totally fleshed-out, at least they're likable.
And if all else fails, the illustrations are pretty cool.
April 15, 2020
So, apparently if women owned cities they would turn into benevolent dictators.
Sorry, couldn't resist.
I think I'm officially turning into a GN snob. A really great friend and librarian colleague of mine recently read this and loved it. I just kept seeing the flaws.
I get that this came first. That it's a dystopian tale about all the adults dying and the kids having to figure out how to survive and it stars a GIRL and the original book came out in 1975. I totally like the feel of the art. And THE COLORING is freaking awesome. MAJOR props to Jenn Manley Lee.
But here are my complaints...
1. Sizeism. Granted, food is hard to come by when society is falling down around your ears. But all of the major characters are thin and attractive. Also pretty darn diverse for Illinois.
2. Publishing quality. My copy had several entire pages slightly out of focus. Hate that.
3. Nit-picky Panel-level storytelling. There was one specific panel where I stopped and just couldn't believe that experienced graphic novelists had packed that much of an important speech at a pivotal moment into one tiny panel in the corner of a page (pg 16, bottom right). Take some time. Let her get a panel for each sentence. Using several panels spaces out how much time it's taking for the character to say the lines (some tips might be taken from Jason Shiga). Don't make us think about how much of a speech you're putting in one panel in the first place.
Also, images are recycled, which always bugs me when I notice it (pg 119). Oh yeah, and the lettering isn't hand-drawn. Which bugs me.
4. Didacticism. Granted this came out in 1975, but I felt like it was screaming for an adult to ask the kid "Do you think that the heroine was right or wrong to do what she did and claim what she claimed?" I wanted some subplots to distract from the agenda.
5. Violence. Granted, I'm extrasensitive to anything that involves dogs, but I didn't like that the dogs were merely one more weapon and were trained to be vicious. Also, zero thought or attention was paid to how violent some of the kids defense methods were - guns galore, boiling oil, explosives... Violence doesn't normally bother me (I LOVE the Gone series by Michael Grant, for example), but in a book that felt so "message-y" I wanted there to be at least a nod to how violent the world became. Maybe it's in the prose.
Honestly, I was shocked that the creators had the GN cred they did when I read their bios at the end. It felt like a project that was a publishers idea, in a bad way. A mostly successful one, but one that didn't quite hit it for me.
Sorry, couldn't resist.
I think I'm officially turning into a GN snob. A really great friend and librarian colleague of mine recently read this and loved it. I just kept seeing the flaws.
I get that this came first. That it's a dystopian tale about all the adults dying and the kids having to figure out how to survive and it stars a GIRL and the original book came out in 1975. I totally like the feel of the art. And THE COLORING is freaking awesome. MAJOR props to Jenn Manley Lee.
But here are my complaints...
1. Sizeism. Granted, food is hard to come by when society is falling down around your ears. But all of the major characters are thin and attractive. Also pretty darn diverse for Illinois.
2. Publishing quality. My copy had several entire pages slightly out of focus. Hate that.
3. Nit-picky Panel-level storytelling. There was one specific panel where I stopped and just couldn't believe that experienced graphic novelists had packed that much of an important speech at a pivotal moment into one tiny panel in the corner of a page (pg 16, bottom right). Take some time. Let her get a panel for each sentence. Using several panels spaces out how much time it's taking for the character to say the lines (some tips might be taken from Jason Shiga). Don't make us think about how much of a speech you're putting in one panel in the first place.
Also, images are recycled, which always bugs me when I notice it (pg 119). Oh yeah, and the lettering isn't hand-drawn. Which bugs me.
4. Didacticism. Granted this came out in 1975, but I felt like it was screaming for an adult to ask the kid "Do you think that the heroine was right or wrong to do what she did and claim what she claimed?" I wanted some subplots to distract from the agenda.
5. Violence. Granted, I'm extrasensitive to anything that involves dogs, but I didn't like that the dogs were merely one more weapon and were trained to be vicious. Also, zero thought or attention was paid to how violent some of the kids defense methods were - guns galore, boiling oil, explosives... Violence doesn't normally bother me (I LOVE the Gone series by Michael Grant, for example), but in a book that felt so "message-y" I wanted there to be at least a nod to how violent the world became. Maybe it's in the prose.
Honestly, I was shocked that the creators had the GN cred they did when I read their bios at the end. It felt like a project that was a publishers idea, in a bad way. A mostly successful one, but one that didn't quite hit it for me.
February 8, 2022
This graphic novel is based on a novel by O.T. Nelson, adapted by Dan Jolley, and illustrated by Joëlle Jones. I enjoyed the illustrations and the plot. Think what would happen to a world where the older human being is 12 years old. Lisa, the main protagonist, is wiser beyond her years and she means well in trying to save those who ally themselves with her. Her leadership skills are at time immature, but we see her grow and mature as the story evolves. The book is suitable for tweens, teens, and is a bit young for adults but has its merits. A post-apocalyptic graphic novel showcasing survival of the fittest can put things in perspective, especially during a pandemic.
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March 12, 2019
Wow. What a trash heap. This is a graphic adaptation of a novel I read in middle school. What I remembered fondly was a post-apocalyptic, bad ass 11 year old girl taking charge and kicking ass. What I found upon reread was a carefully shoehorned, children’s Field guide for Libertarian philosophy and narcissism.
A sudden outbreak of a new, deadly plague takes out all the adults on the planet. The oldest living people left are 12 years old. With only children, food is scarce and street gangs form. Our VERY clever heroine happens to be smarter than the other kids and knows where to find food. She stockpiles all she can get her hands on and when asked why they can’t share by her younger brother, she simply explains she deserves it, because she is so smart.
Baby Ayn Rand then does decide to recruit other kids to do her bidding and builds a city in a school. She emphasizes how much happier everyone is when they have a job. After a division of labor and functional society is created, she makes sure to tell anyone who listens that it is her city, no one else’s.
Once again when faced with starving kids they could easily help, they resort to militia tactics and medieval torture. “Freedom is more important than sharing,” as Lisa would say.
Crazy how I didn’t remember what a subliminal, little manifesto this was. What’s even better is remembering I was taught this in school.
A sudden outbreak of a new, deadly plague takes out all the adults on the planet. The oldest living people left are 12 years old. With only children, food is scarce and street gangs form. Our VERY clever heroine happens to be smarter than the other kids and knows where to find food. She stockpiles all she can get her hands on and when asked why they can’t share by her younger brother, she simply explains she deserves it, because she is so smart.
Baby Ayn Rand then does decide to recruit other kids to do her bidding and builds a city in a school. She emphasizes how much happier everyone is when they have a job. After a division of labor and functional society is created, she makes sure to tell anyone who listens that it is her city, no one else’s.
Once again when faced with starving kids they could easily help, they resort to militia tactics and medieval torture. “Freedom is more important than sharing,” as Lisa would say.
Crazy how I didn’t remember what a subliminal, little manifesto this was. What’s even better is remembering I was taught this in school.
July 22, 2020
Short and sweet, The Girl Who Owned a City, is the story of Lisa and how she handles life after a virus eliminates all people over about the age of 12. She must take care of not only her younger brother, Todd, but watch out for other younger and weaker children while avoiding the various gangs that have popped up. She creates the Grand Avenue Militia and comes up with sustainable plans for their uncertain future.
Written in the POV of Lisa, I enjoyed this look into a dystopia that has little room for growth. It is unclear if the children will die once they reach 13 so the hope of repopulation of Earth is grim.
I liked the audio version on this title. My only regret is I didn't get to see any of the art of the graphic novel by reading it in this format. I will definitely check out a hard copy so that I can appreciate the artist as well.
Written in the POV of Lisa, I enjoyed this look into a dystopia that has little room for growth. It is unclear if the children will die once they reach 13 so the hope of repopulation of Earth is grim.
I liked the audio version on this title. My only regret is I didn't get to see any of the art of the graphic novel by reading it in this format. I will definitely check out a hard copy so that I can appreciate the artist as well.
October 1, 2020
A strange illness sweeps the planet and everyone over the age of 12 turns to dust, leaving children to fend for themselves or starve. Lisa uses her wits to find food and supplies for her and her brother, but a local gang has targeted them and Lisa comes up with a plan to start an army of her own.
An interesting look at what might happen if kids were left alone in an end-of-the-world situation.
It's a good story, albeit a little predictable in 2020. (I feel like this is a little of every post-apocalyptic / zombie movie that has come out in the past decade, just with kids.)
The art is fantastic. Incredibly well done. I loved the expressions and body language used and the coloring was fantastic as well.
An interesting look at what might happen if kids were left alone in an end-of-the-world situation.
It's a good story, albeit a little predictable in 2020. (I feel like this is a little of every post-apocalyptic / zombie movie that has come out in the past decade, just with kids.)
The art is fantastic. Incredibly well done. I loved the expressions and body language used and the coloring was fantastic as well.
December 29, 2018
Read more of my reviews at Cornerfolds.com!
I found The Girl Who Owned a City while searching for one more book to complete this year's graphic novel challenge. I was looking for a dystopian story and this one grabbed my attention with its amazing cover! Unfortunately, what was inside wasn't as good as I'd hoped.
The Girl Who Owned a City takes place in a world that has recently lost all of its adults. The children are left behind to fend for themselves and Lisa is no different. She and her brothers are fighting to defend their home and supplies, but gangs are popping up all over and Lisa knows she has to do something to keep them safe.
Characters are really the most important part of a book for me. Although I like my books to be plot driven, the characters have to be sympathetic and relatable. Lisa is neither of those. For whatever reason she decides to take the formation of "her" city into her own hands, failing to accept input from her friends and ignoring them when they voice valid concerns. Even once she takes control of "her" city and proclaims its citizens are her responsibility, she continually throws herself into harm's way at the expense of her people. The villain of the story is also ridiculously simplistic and wishy washy.
This book is kind of a mess. I guess it's based on a 1975 young adult novel and maybe that's better, but I just could not get into the story. It's choppy and quick and nothing is explained. Lisa goes from trying to defend a street to running a city/fortress inside of a school. Things happen too quickly, which I guess may be due to the graphic novel format. Then again, I've read many graphic novels that were much better written than this.
I also hated that the epidemic itself, the one that wiped out everyone over a certain age (12, I think?) is never delved into. Why did the adults die? How did they die? Is this a worldwide epidemic or is it confined to Lisa's town/state/coast? What is even going on in this world?? As a lover of dystopian fiction, my favorite books are always the ones who build complex worlds that are at least somewhat believable as a potential future.
I didn't go into The Girl Who Owned a City with any expectations, but of course I did hope to enjoy it. Sadly, it was too rushed with characters and a world that were very much lacking in development. The art was pretty for sure, but that may be the only thing I liked about it.
Actual rating: 1.5 stars
I found The Girl Who Owned a City while searching for one more book to complete this year's graphic novel challenge. I was looking for a dystopian story and this one grabbed my attention with its amazing cover! Unfortunately, what was inside wasn't as good as I'd hoped.
The Girl Who Owned a City takes place in a world that has recently lost all of its adults. The children are left behind to fend for themselves and Lisa is no different. She and her brothers are fighting to defend their home and supplies, but gangs are popping up all over and Lisa knows she has to do something to keep them safe.
Characters are really the most important part of a book for me. Although I like my books to be plot driven, the characters have to be sympathetic and relatable. Lisa is neither of those. For whatever reason she decides to take the formation of "her" city into her own hands, failing to accept input from her friends and ignoring them when they voice valid concerns. Even once she takes control of "her" city and proclaims its citizens are her responsibility, she continually throws herself into harm's way at the expense of her people. The villain of the story is also ridiculously simplistic and wishy washy.
This book is kind of a mess. I guess it's based on a 1975 young adult novel and maybe that's better, but I just could not get into the story. It's choppy and quick and nothing is explained. Lisa goes from trying to defend a street to running a city/fortress inside of a school. Things happen too quickly, which I guess may be due to the graphic novel format. Then again, I've read many graphic novels that were much better written than this.
I also hated that the epidemic itself, the one that wiped out everyone over a certain age (12, I think?) is never delved into. Why did the adults die? How did they die? Is this a worldwide epidemic or is it confined to Lisa's town/state/coast? What is even going on in this world?? As a lover of dystopian fiction, my favorite books are always the ones who build complex worlds that are at least somewhat believable as a potential future.
I didn't go into The Girl Who Owned a City with any expectations, but of course I did hope to enjoy it. Sadly, it was too rushed with characters and a world that were very much lacking in development. The art was pretty for sure, but that may be the only thing I liked about it.
Actual rating: 1.5 stars
November 30, 2011
I got an eGalley of this graphic novel though NetGalley(dot)com. I have never read the original work by O.T. Nelson so I can't compare to that. This was a very entertaining read though; the art was well done and I really enjoyed it.
Something horrible happened and everyone over the age of twelve died and turned into dust. Now the kids are left to survive on their own. Lisa decides to claim a building as her own and build a city for kids to come and shelter at. She organizes the city and gets it running to provide food, protection, and shelter for all of the kids that dwell there. When a opposing faction from the city comes and tries to take over Lisa's city, Lisa and her kids find themselves in a lot of trouble.
The art throughout this story is very well done. The art is easy to follow, done in beautiful full color and matches the tone of the story well.
I thought the story itself was a bit un-realistic and unbelievable. Especially the way Lisa resolves the competition between her city and the opposing army; I thought this was anti-climatic and unrealistic. The idea of a world where only kids survive is an interesting one though and being that it is kids trying to deal with all of this some of the immature decisions the characters make ends up making more sense than you would think.
Lisa is a complicated character; she does some good and some bad. She is trying hard to help the kids survive but the fact that she wants her city to be a sort of dictatorship really makes you stop and think. The side characters are all fairly interesting as well; I was surprised at the depth of the story and at how many different societal and survival issues it tackles.
Overall this was a very entertaining reading. The illustration and art throughout the story is detailed, colorlful, and beautiful...I really enjoyed it. The story itself has more depth than you would expect and tackles some interesting societal and survival issues. I had some trouble swallowing parts of the plot though; certain parts were just too unbelievable and too unrealistic. The part of the book where Lisa and the enemy army finally resolve their conflict delivered an interesting message but felt completely contrived to me. This book is appropriate for young adult and older. I recommend it for readers who enjoy post-apocalyptic fiction with a touch of a dystopian feel to it.
Something horrible happened and everyone over the age of twelve died and turned into dust. Now the kids are left to survive on their own. Lisa decides to claim a building as her own and build a city for kids to come and shelter at. She organizes the city and gets it running to provide food, protection, and shelter for all of the kids that dwell there. When a opposing faction from the city comes and tries to take over Lisa's city, Lisa and her kids find themselves in a lot of trouble.
The art throughout this story is very well done. The art is easy to follow, done in beautiful full color and matches the tone of the story well.
I thought the story itself was a bit un-realistic and unbelievable. Especially the way Lisa resolves the competition between her city and the opposing army; I thought this was anti-climatic and unrealistic. The idea of a world where only kids survive is an interesting one though and being that it is kids trying to deal with all of this some of the immature decisions the characters make ends up making more sense than you would think.
Lisa is a complicated character; she does some good and some bad. She is trying hard to help the kids survive but the fact that she wants her city to be a sort of dictatorship really makes you stop and think. The side characters are all fairly interesting as well; I was surprised at the depth of the story and at how many different societal and survival issues it tackles.
Overall this was a very entertaining reading. The illustration and art throughout the story is detailed, colorlful, and beautiful...I really enjoyed it. The story itself has more depth than you would expect and tackles some interesting societal and survival issues. I had some trouble swallowing parts of the plot though; certain parts were just too unbelievable and too unrealistic. The part of the book where Lisa and the enemy army finally resolve their conflict delivered an interesting message but felt completely contrived to me. This book is appropriate for young adult and older. I recommend it for readers who enjoy post-apocalyptic fiction with a touch of a dystopian feel to it.
May 1, 2012
Dannielle Nebinski (the Girl Who Owned a City)
Genre: Graphic Novel
Lisa Nelson is a 10 year old girl, who along with her little brother Todd, are trying to survive in a Chicago suburb after a deadly virus Killed everyone in the world over the age of 12. They survive by looting abandoned houses and shops. With chaos and sickness ensuing, Lisa must protect Todd and make sure that both stay alive. While kids have given up and are dying, those who live in Lisa's neighborhood are surviving, because of Lisa. But, while Lisa is busy protecting and saving the children in her neighborhood, Tom Logan and his gang are determined to change the role that Lisa plays as their leader. So now it is up to her to find a safe place to live and rebuild society, before she loses the fight with Tom and his gang.
Overall I enjoyed the book and found it to be very appropriate for the younger spectrum of the young adult genre. While some of the characters lacked depth, the storyline itself made it easier to get through. There were also missing details, such as the origin of the virus, that I would have liked to have known more about, but these missing details weren't enough to deter me from reading on.
Genre: Graphic Novel
Lisa Nelson is a 10 year old girl, who along with her little brother Todd, are trying to survive in a Chicago suburb after a deadly virus Killed everyone in the world over the age of 12. They survive by looting abandoned houses and shops. With chaos and sickness ensuing, Lisa must protect Todd and make sure that both stay alive. While kids have given up and are dying, those who live in Lisa's neighborhood are surviving, because of Lisa. But, while Lisa is busy protecting and saving the children in her neighborhood, Tom Logan and his gang are determined to change the role that Lisa plays as their leader. So now it is up to her to find a safe place to live and rebuild society, before she loses the fight with Tom and his gang.
Overall I enjoyed the book and found it to be very appropriate for the younger spectrum of the young adult genre. While some of the characters lacked depth, the storyline itself made it easier to get through. There were also missing details, such as the origin of the virus, that I would have liked to have known more about, but these missing details weren't enough to deter me from reading on.
July 22, 2023
Where has the novel that this was based on been all my life? I am assuredly sure that I will find fault with it when I do read it, but this 100% would have been my favorite book when I was weird adolescent super-into post-apocalyptic survival and nobody else was. This graphic novel is definitely a rough sketch of a fascinating mess of a book. I enjoyed it, implausibility and all. No one over twelve survives! Twelve is the worst age. There is a through-line in this graphic novel where people keep calling out Lisa because she says "my work, my resources, my city." Twelve-year-olds are starting to grow but they're so freaking selfish. Kids younger than twelve can barely find their shoes. Humanity is in for a rollercoaster here. None of my questions were answered: Water? Sewer? Heat? Gasoline? How do you transport a warehouse full of food into a school without anyone noticing? Lisa feels that it's her food because she looked the grocery distribution center up in the phone book in this post-apocalyptic wasteland before anyone else did. There's a deep concern about running out of band-aids in the beginning of this book. Not antibiotics? Is this how kids think or were band-aids a bigger deal in 1975? There are some contemporary updates in the graphic novel: I assume the diversity is new and an SUV flips over. If you want crops, don't you have to plant crops before you want them? Do these kids know this? But Lisa pulls it all together and runs her society of tiny children against piles of adversity and in the future the Chicago gang is going to show up and take over but we're not there yet. Plato dreamed of this society, but he said no one survives past ten. Eleven and twelve year olds are ruining the potential for a perfectable humanity. Short and pretty good.
November 5, 2021
Based on the 1975 novel, this is the story of 12-year-old, Lisa and the other children of her community learning to live in a world where all the adults have been killed off by a deadly virus. The children have formed different gangs and not all get along. Food sources are also difficult to come by. So, Lisa hatches an idea to bring people together but a rival gang wants none of that and it becomes an all-out conflict.
My thoughts: I never read the original novel but I did enjoy this very quick and engaging graphic novel. Does it hold up in our world today? Well, that seems to depend on which stories each individual reader wants to use for comparison. As far as I am concerned, I felt the illustrations were eye-catching and I was invested enough to see the story progress to its ending.
Goodreads review 05/11/21
My thoughts: I never read the original novel but I did enjoy this very quick and engaging graphic novel. Does it hold up in our world today? Well, that seems to depend on which stories each individual reader wants to use for comparison. As far as I am concerned, I felt the illustrations were eye-catching and I was invested enough to see the story progress to its ending.
Goodreads review 05/11/21
October 27, 2021
Lord of the Flies on a global scale is a fine story nugget, and the wholesome naivety in the lead may have worked 40 years ago, but it is painful to read today.
September 24, 2017
I actually enjoyed this. The pictures fabulous work of art. The story nicely done. With kids just trying to survive on their own. But of course others go want what you work so hard to get in order for them to survive but Lisa the leader wouldn't give up on the kids. They depended on her a lot.
Nice
Nice
July 24, 2017
The art style was very cool and I liked the whole concept of this graphic novel but it went by way too fast I would have liked a lot more depth in plot and a longer graphic novel but overall fun read for the first of my booktubeathon reads!
July 28, 2017
I liked how badass she was, but there was really no plot. :/
March 3, 2018
Today I finished the book it had a plot twist and the end
May 27, 2022
An impressive story with strong characters. It is a quick read and the art is great.
In a post-apocalyptic dystopian world where a virus has wiped out everyone above the age of 12, kids are left to fend for themselves. Food, water, and living conditions are all struggles. It has become a battleground for these kids to survive every day. And in all this, we have our strong female main character.
The main lead is a girl who is named Lisa. She is a smart, badass, hard-working, level headed, positive influencer who is also fearless and strong. She does things her way and it's the right way. Or so she thinks. She does have survival skills. She is set on building a city. Her city. Glenbard. How she was able to do it? Read on.
Highly recommend it for young adults.
In a post-apocalyptic dystopian world where a virus has wiped out everyone above the age of 12, kids are left to fend for themselves. Food, water, and living conditions are all struggles. It has become a battleground for these kids to survive every day. And in all this, we have our strong female main character.
The main lead is a girl who is named Lisa. She is a smart, badass, hard-working, level headed, positive influencer who is also fearless and strong. She does things her way and it's the right way. Or so she thinks. She does have survival skills. She is set on building a city. Her city. Glenbard. How she was able to do it? Read on.
Highly recommend it for young adults.
March 22, 2024
What an incompetently told graphic novel adaptation. It reads sparks notes rather than a professional adaptation. There’s hardly any classic story elements like character development. It's just a robotic retelling of what I can only assume are the significant plot points of the book.
There is also the weird despotism philosophy thrown in. I get how working and accomplishing tasks can be pleasant, but this book takes it to an extreme, seemingly suggesting pleasure can only be obtained through work and that democracy is for idiots. The book sets up a fair amount of straw men to bash down.
There is also the weird despotism philosophy thrown in. I get how working and accomplishing tasks can be pleasant, but this book takes it to an extreme, seemingly suggesting pleasure can only be obtained through work and that democracy is for idiots. The book sets up a fair amount of straw men to bash down.
Read
March 15, 2019I've just read a review (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) that mentions liberatian views being fed throughout the original book, I just didn't enjoy it much to begin with.
I did like it over all, and the art is stand out in the graphic novel adaptation (no real surprise, it's Joelle Jones) but I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. If you like Joelle, go read Catwoman!
I did like it over all, and the art is stand out in the graphic novel adaptation (no real surprise, it's Joelle Jones) but I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. If you like Joelle, go read Catwoman!
February 2, 2021
This was cute! If you remember that this is for kids, it's an intriguing (though quick) read. I thought it would be interesting to hear more about the virus that has killed the adults, but I did like how the glimpse of it was presented at the start. I also appreciated the amount of conflict throughout the book, because realistically, children having to organize and fend for themselves WOULD come with fights and drama and anger, and the author didn't pull away from that for the sake of a clean ending (as in, all problems solved, no issues, no sequel).
November 13, 2022
I remember reading the original book (first published in 1975) in elementary school. Either the book hasn't aged well (quite possibly!), or the adaptation was missing key parts, but this version didn't quite satisfy. I think to really get into the story and characters, it needs a lot more pages / break the story up into issues. It's like taking a whole season, or two, of The Walking Dead and publishing a 125 page "synopsis."
December 15, 2025
This is our school districts upcoming summer read for middle grade. I decided to read the graphic novel version to get an idea of it, perhaps I should have read the written book because I felt like this girl was very unfair and didn't learn any type of "moral lesson". Yes, she was the leader but that didn't mean everything was hers, she received a lot of help.
December 25, 2019
This graphic novel really took me by surprise. Great story, great art. It can be read by a kid and adult. Not overly juvenile while also showing good themes for kids. I didn’t realize this was an adapted book from a novel until I read the back. A lot of great work was put into this.
July 31, 2023
I read the original novel over 20 years ago in grade school and it always lingered in my head. I was so happy when I found this graphic novel at my library. I could be remembering wrong, but it felt like this graphic novel went heavier on the darker themes than the novel did, which I really enjoyed. The Girl Who Owned a City and The Giver started my love of dystopian books. It was so nice to revisit something I loved so much when I was younger.
March 6, 2019
Loved the art but didn't love the story. Feels so immature, especially with an extremely unlikable main character.
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