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Lumberjanes (Novels) #1

Lumberjanes: Unicorn Power!

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Welcome to Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types. The five scouts of Roanoke cabin—Jo, April, Molly, Mal, and Ripley—love their summers at camp. They get to hang out with their best friends, earn Lumberjane scout badges, annoy their no-nonsense counselor Jen . . . and go on supernatural adventures. That last one? A pretty normal occurrence at Miss Qiunzella’s, where the woods contain endless mysteries.

Today is no exception. When challenge-loving April leads the girls on a hike up the TALLEST mountain they’ve ever seen, things don’t go quite as planned. For one, they didn’t expect to trespass into the lands of the ancient Cloud People, and did anyone happen to read those ominous signs some unknown person posted at the bottom of the mountain? Also, unicorns.

This hilarious, rollicking adventure series brings the beloved Lumberjanes characters into a novel format with brand-new adventures.
 

258 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 3, 2017

106 people are currently reading
1784 people want to read

About the author

Mariko Tamaki

378 books2,227 followers
Mariko Tamaki is a Toronto writer, playwright, activist and performer. She works and performs with fat activists Pretty Porky and Pissed Off and the theatre troupe TOA, whose recent play, A vs. B, was staged at the 2004 Rhubarb Festival at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. Her well-received novel, Cover Me (McGilligan Books) was followed by a short fiction collection, True Lies: The Book of Bad Advice (Women's Press). Mariko's third book, FAKE ID, is due out in spring 2005.

Mariko Tamaki has performed her work across Canada and through the States, recently appearing at the Calgary Folkfest 2004, Vancouver Writer's Festival 2003, Spatial III, and the Perpetual Motion/Girls Bite Back Tour, which circled though Ottawa, Montreal, Brooklyn and Chicago. She has appeared widely on radio and television including First Person Singular on CBC radio and Imprint on TVO. Mariko Tamaki is currently attending York University working a master's degree in women's studies.

[MacMIllan Books]

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5 stars
315 (27%)
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428 (36%)
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335 (28%)
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65 (5%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 292 reviews
Profile Image for Hannah Greendale (Hello, Bookworm).
807 reviews4,203 followers
October 4, 2017
At Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thisle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types, five girls from Roanoke cabin – April, Molly, Mal, Ripley, and Jo – are hard at work earning scout badges. When they help a unicorn find its way home, they discover an enormous mountain that’s never been charted on any maps. Keen to earn the Extraordinary Explorers medal, April concocts a plan to climb the mysterious mountain with her friends, but the journey is more perilous than expected, and getting home may not be possible.

Lumberjanes is a popular series of graphic novels. Now, for the first time, the adventures of April and her friends are available as a full-length middle-grade novel. Lumberjanes: Unicorn Power! demonstrates progressive thinking and boasts a diversity of characters: Jo has two dads; Molly and Mal appear to have feelings for one another that exceed friendship; Barney – a recent addition to the camp – is a they rather than a he or she; the girls eat vegan chili while another sips soy milk; and rather than cursing, the girls say the names of famous women: “What the Ella Fitzgerald?!” she gasped. “I think my teeth are melting.”

Though the girls face many dangers, they rarely suffer harm. In fact, all physical action in the book reads like a cartoon.

It is very hard to go from traveling at superfast breakneck speed to a dead halt. Which is why Mal crashed into Molly crashed into Jo crashed into April.
“OOF!”
“OOOF!”
“OOOOF!”
“WHAAAH!”
By the last WHAAAH, they had all stopped. If by “stopped” we mean “crashed into each other.”
“Our mass-sprinting technique needs immediate and drastic improvement,” April groaned, crawling out from the bottom of the pile of Lumberjanes.


Despite being a fun read because of its comedic unicorn encounters and its emphasis on “learning, curiosity, and caring,” the lighthearted narrative and goofy story is occasionally shattered by April’s hyper-active personality (perhaps she has ADHD?).

“Okay okay okay.” April was so excited it was hard to talk or stand still or both of those things at the same time, so she jogged in place in the workshop, in front of jo, for a bit, saying, “Okay.”
“Okay. Okay. Okay so . . . okay.”
April closed her eyes; she could see the mountain in her mind’s eye now, as clear as anything. She pictured herself gripping the side of the rocky face, the wind in her hair. [. . .]
“Okay,” she said again. It was hard to think with all these voices jumping up and down in her head.


An ode to feminism, Lumberjanes: Unicorn Power! will surely delight fans of the graphic novels but may not appeal to older audiences experiencing Lumberjanes for the first time.

-
Note: Some parents may want to know that a line of the Lumberjanes Pledge is crossed out in the book (in two places) and replaced with a hand-written note that reads: Then there’s a line about God, or whatever.
Profile Image for Maddie.
558 reviews1,113 followers
Read
July 16, 2017
So lovely to read one of my fave graphic novel series in regular novel form! The new adventure felt very authentic to the Lumberjanes style, and their personalities consistent to the April, Jo, Mal, Molly and Ripley I already love. The little illustrations were such a sweet touch, and I especially loved the introduction of non-binary character, Barney. They were great, and I hope they turn up in the next book more!

Profile Image for Lata.
4,925 reviews254 followers
December 19, 2019
3.5 stars. With more enthusiasm than planning, the girls are off to climb a mountain, thanks to April's desire to do so and get another badge for doing so.
My first Lmberjanes story, I was a little overwhelmed at first by all the exclamation points, but got into the swing of the story. Silliness, with a ton of friendship, enthusiasm, acceptance and cheering of others.
Profile Image for Kitkat.
426 reviews110 followers
June 11, 2018
I loved this book so much but I feel bad for Lady Dana. Lady Dana became so enthralled to be the best that made her stay because there's no achievements for her at Lumberjane medals. It's depressing but I loved the lesson April learned that being the best is not always the most fun. I can't wait for the third book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Cyndi.
2,450 reviews123 followers
November 25, 2019
Ok. I love the Lumberjane comics. They are cute and imaginative. So when my wonderful librarian handed me this book, I fell on it. There is so much more story and back stories for the characters. We know about their lives outside of camp. I think I will appreciate the comics even more now.
Our heroines take off on an adventure to climb a mountain they find after following a unicorn. See? Imaginative!
Profile Image for laura (bbliophile).
856 reviews182 followers
August 23, 2017
This was a lot of fun to read! I definitely didn't like it as much as the graphic novels, but it was still a very fun, adventurous story full of the characters we all know and love. I'd definitely recommend this to other fans of the Lumberjanes series, but not to people who aren't familiar with the series yet. Full review to come soon.
Profile Image for Jeimy.
5,592 reviews32 followers
October 10, 2017
I breezed through these 150 pages where our heroines, once again, find themselves inadvertently in unimaginable trouble.
Profile Image for Jonny Parshall.
217 reviews13 followers
June 6, 2018
This book was great. It started out a little fanfiction-y, but ended up holding its own, bringing the reader closer to the characters, and providing some good lessons at the end.
Profile Image for Janie.
1,369 reviews131 followers
October 3, 2017
I was gifted an ebook via Netgalley.
This was my introduction to the Lumberjanes universe. Immediately following finishing this book, I read the first volume of the Lumberjanes comic by Noelle Stevenson. 3 stars may seem like I was meh about it, but honestly, I felt as though there was too much going on for it to be the best in a written novel format. Once I read the first volume of the comic, I knew that the book definitely would have been better in that comic form. The characters themselves are very colorful and words don't do them justice. I loved so much about this and hope to continue on with the comics and learn more about the characters. It sounds like there is a lot of diversity that isn't really stated black and white style. The Lumberjanes remind me of a mixture of Adventure Time and The Mighty B, which means my kids would definitely enjoy the comics too!
336 reviews2 followers
May 18, 2021
La ilusión que me hizo aprender que *the* Mariko Tamaki había escrito una novela de Leñadoras.
Leyéndolo, juraría que también hubiera escrito los cómics ya que la lectura se me hizo muy fluida y entretenida dado que el libro también aludía a algunos eventos que ocurrieron y los personajes estaban escritos con la misma esencia que ya llegamos a conocer en ellos. Por otro lado, las ilustraciones de Allen acompañan a la historia de una manera visualmente muy agradable y complementaria.
Totalmente worth-reading.
Profile Image for Brenda.
1,516 reviews68 followers
October 4, 2017
I am not the demographic for this, and that was painfully obvious to me when reading. What makes it worse is that I've heard glowing reviews for this so my expectations were high--and I knowingly kept them high because I thought the book would deliver.

These girls came across as idiotic and unrealistically hyperactive. If someone had told me this would read like a feminist Spongebob then maybe I would've accepted the story better. But as it was, I expected a good story with well-developed characters. A story about unicorns and clouds just shouldn't be annoying! And that's what it boils down to. The characters and their dialogue annoyed the crap out of me.

As a friend on Goodreads said, I'm sure this would do very well as an inane (but uplifting because feminism) animated show.
Profile Image for jess ~has abandoned GR~.
556 reviews116 followers
July 26, 2017
I really wanted to love this because so many people are into Lumberjanes these days, but overall, it was very "meh" for me. Maybe I overhyped it in my mind.

My main critique is that this doesn't read like the first in a series -- the reader is dropped into the middle of the setting with several characters as if we should already know who they are. The characters never developed for me, and I doubt the attention span of your average 10 year old is much better.

I mean, it's not bad -- if it seems like your bag, go for it -- but it's just didn't do it for me.

received via Netgalley
Profile Image for Jasmine.
485 reviews17 followers
December 24, 2017
The first half of this book seemed to drag to me, but the second half was full of Lumberjane excitement. I might read the next book, but I don't feel too committed.
Profile Image for McKinlay.
1,152 reviews44 followers
February 8, 2018
i was worried i wouldn't love the novels as much as the comics but, no need to worry! I just adore all of these characters so much! FRIENDSHIP TO THE MAX!
Profile Image for Alba.
89 reviews3 followers
September 19, 2023
Me parece que el libro da una perspectiva nueva y diferente a los personajes de los comics que ya conocemos y queremos, que hace conocerlas y quererlas mucho más!!
20 reviews1 follower
November 17, 2024
Read this with my 8 yo. It was a cute story and great for a couple of Girl Scouts like us. It is hard to read out loud though. There is something that just doesn't flow and had me constantly stumbling while I read aloud.

Halfway through we learned it was a graphic novel series and this was the first book in the jump to novels and I think perhaps it wasn't successful from a writing perspective. After, I could tell it still reads very much like a graphic novel and the stumbling block is the author's attempt to fill in description and link dialogue that they formery could rely on illustrations for.
Profile Image for Jill Jemmett.
2,060 reviews44 followers
October 11, 2017
I’ve read a couple of the Lumberjanes graphic novels before. They’re so cute! So I had to get the middle grade novel when I heard it was coming out.

In this new story, the scouts find unicorns, not too surprising to fans of the series. What is surprising is that unicorns smell really, really bad (who knew!). They also find a mysterious foggy mountain. Let the adventures begin!

Since I haven’t read all of the graphic novels, I liked the way that there was a lot of background given on the characters and the creatures they have met in the woods before, such as Bearwoman. There are also great illustrations too, which are also helpful since I tend to get the characters mixed up sometimes.

Mariko Tamaki was a great choice to write this book. She’s so talented and she captured the Lumberjanes atmosphere and tone wonderfully in this story. I hope she continues to write the series.

This is the perfect middle grade novel for fans of the series and new readers!

FRIENDSHIP TO THE MAX!

I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for a review.
Profile Image for Madison.
991 reviews471 followers
October 25, 2017
As a big fan of the comics, I found this book really delightful. Like in the original series, they really throw you right into the story, which some kids might love and others might find confusing. I loved the additional illustrations--the design of this book is absolutely wonderful. I really hope this engages new readers!
Profile Image for Paula  Phillips.
5,665 reviews340 followers
February 16, 2019
A couple of years ago, I discovered the Lumberjanes comics and loved them. They are a group of girl scouts who besides trying every day to get their badges - they also find themselves on strange treks and in weird situations. Recently the library I work at got three books of Lumberjanes in chapter book format. I immediately grabbed all three to take home and read as I was in dire need of a Lumberjane fix. In Unicorn Power, it starts with the girls trying to get their Flora and Fauna badge, and while searching in the forest, they stumble across a Unicorn eating a plant called a Clowbell. BTW we are informed in this book that Unicorns smell like rotten eggs and blue cheese. The Lumberjanes follow the unicorn to a paddock and stumble upon a strange mountain. They return to camp, and that night April gets an idea for the girls to get a Unique badge to do with exploring. This leads the Lumberjanes to find the mountain and climb it. However, we are about to learn that this mountain is a magical one and with magical objects can come consequences. Will the Lumberjanes ever be able to return to camp or will they be stuck among the Cloudies forever? This book was perfect for any fan of the Lumberjanes graphic novels. The other thing that I loved about Unicorn power was that the font was different colors and that at the start of each chapter, they shared a different Lumberjane badge and how it could be earned. The Lumberjanes and written for all ages / both genders and suitable for 8+ .
Profile Image for Shay.
234 reviews36 followers
January 6, 2018
As a fan of the LumberJane graphic novels I was really looking forward to this novel buuut. It’s just not as good as the graphic novels. The writing was so annoying and while the characters came off mostly the same as in the graphic novel I just found them more annoying in this and not as well developed as I thought they’d be given that this is a book and has more time for that.

I am of course older than the audience this book is intended for but I expected this to be something I would’ve loved to read when I was the intended age and it just wasn’t that great all around. I wanted more adventure! I wanted more action! I wanted it not to jump around the way it did - which admittedly w little kid probably wouldn’t notice but I did. At the end of the day I do think young girls would probably enjoy this but I would recommend the graphic novels over this as I think they’re definitely a step above this story. It’s whimsical, it’s fun but there are better books out there. Another great alternative or just a recommendation if someone or their kid did enjoy this book would be Pip Bartlett’s Guide To Magical Creatures - it has a similar feel to this and is better written and more adventurous.
Profile Image for Alyssa Marie.
242 reviews58 followers
September 22, 2017
So I went into this book a little apprehensive. I hadn’t enjoyed the last lumberjane volume that much that I read and was worried I was tired of this series. BUT THIS BOOK BROUGHT IT ALL BACK TOGETHER AGAIN. It was SOO GOOD. It was honestly better than any regular comic volume I’ve read in this series. It made you love the characters even more which is so lovely. It’s just so much fun, the whole time. It’s honestly hard for me to get excited and wrapped up in action sometimes, but this really had me drawn in.

Basically this book is a novel story of the lumberjanes!

It has all the fun, great things about the lumberjanes and then some. It was more fleshed out, which it obviously should be cause it’s not a graphic novel. The storyline was cute and fun and I LOVED EVERY SECOND. I really had thought about giving up on this series, but I’m definitely continuing! THAT CLIFFHANGER?! Ugh I need more stat. If you’ve read lumberjanes and enjoyed it, I can’t recommend this enough!
Profile Image for Dev.
2,462 reviews187 followers
January 15, 2018
While I really hate to give this only 3 stars, I just don't think Lumberjanes works as well in prose format. And I KNOW this series is actually for middle-grade children and I'm an adult reading them but even so, this novel read 'younger' than the comics do for me. I don't really know how to describe it but I think that in trying to keep with the 'feel' of the comics the author dumbed down the writing a lot, so there's just a lot of short sentences and exclamations and parts where she's trying to very quickly describe all the characters' reaction to something and it gets all muddled, whereas in the comic you could just look at their faces / positions etc. It was still a fun read, but I found myself wishing I was reading it in comic form most of the time.
Profile Image for Danielle.
976 reviews
July 29, 2021
"It was a perfect day to be a Lumberjane, frankly, because every day, if you use it right, is a perfect day to be a Lumberjane. Because Lumberjanes are awesome: dedicated to friendship, learning, curiosity, and caring, to jumping into adventure with full hearts."

I ordered this book from Scholastic this spring thinking it was a graphic novel spinoff I hadn't heard of yet. Imagine my surprise when I found out this is a full-length novel featuring the lovable characters of Roanoke cabin! I was apprehensive to experience the Lumberjanes in full novel form, but I knew I had to try it. I'm so glad I did! I really enjoyed getting more details about the adventures of April, Jo, Mal, Molly, and Ripley. We meet some new characters in this story, but we also get to experience Jen, Barney, and Rosie in all of their Lumberjane glory. I really appreciated the frequent illustrations sprinkled throughout this book.

This book was so much fun. Fans of the original Lumberjanes series will love this full-length story about their favorite campers. I am very much looking forward to reading the other three full-length novels to extend my summer with the Lumberjanes.
Profile Image for Laura Noakes.
Author 4 books48 followers
June 19, 2017
This book captures the spirit of the Lumberjanes comics so perfectly. I absolutely loved the plot of this middle grade novel, really enjoyed seeing more of the character's backstory and the drawings throughout were awesome. Basically, if you're already a fan of the Lumberjanes comics, you'll love this, and if you like girl power, friendship, kindness and unicorn-laden adventures, you need to read this book ASAP!
Profile Image for April.
1,281 reviews19 followers
January 2, 2018
Super fun story adventure with the lumberjanes from the comic. April is determined to climb a new mountain to get an amazing rare badge and wants to drag all of Roanoke cabin with her. There are unicorns; cloud people; mountains that may or may not exist and through it all a mantra of Friendship to the max. Really good with lots of humor and a sprinkle of life lessons mixed in. Totally sunny, dude!
Profile Image for Magen - Inquiring Professional Dog Trainer.
882 reviews31 followers
April 13, 2019
This is really just a long version of the comic books, which I feel like should be read (at least one of them) before reading this. I was hoping for more depth in the books than in the comic books, but unfortunately, there's no additional depth - no explanation of the world or insight into the characters. That was disappointing. The story was fun and if that's all you're looking for, I recommend this.
Profile Image for Courtney.
956 reviews23 followers
August 3, 2017
Hooray! The Lumberjanes have a whole novel to adventure around in! Everyone's favorite, supernatural-mischief-prone campers are at it again. April, Mal, Molly, Jo and Ripley run into a real, live unicorn (because of course they do) and discover an enormous mountain that, for reasons unknown, does not appear on any map. Every the over-achiever, April becomes determined to climb the mountain, so the whole gang sets off to climb a really weird mountain (after greeting the herd of unicorns who live at the mountain's base, naturally). For once, the adventure is intentional, but that doesn't make it any less unexpected.
So, it's always fun to visit Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types and this outing is no exception. I was a little worried about whether I'd enjoy a non-comic version of my favorite kid's comic series. Tamaki captures the essence of each character very well and the zany plot featuring unicorns (who apparently smell really, really bad, btw), improbable mountains, and a fun array of new characters, is classic Lumberjanes material. Fans won't be disappointed, but even newbies will be charmed by this fun and funny adventure.
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