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Crystal Cadets #1
Crystal Cadets Issue #1
Zoe is a shy girl, struggling to fit in at her new school, when she finds a mysterious gem left to her by her birth mother. All of a sudden, darkness-spewing dragons are chasing her down in the schoolyard, and a squad of crystal-wielding girls is there to save her! What does this mean for Zoe? Find out in the all-new Crystal Cadets #1
17 pages, ebook
First published October 13, 2014
8 people are currently reading
465 people want to read
About the author
Anne Toole
83 books20 followersAnne Toole is a WGA-nominated writer for computer games, one-hour television, comics, and short fiction. Anne started her career writing for DAYS OF OUR LIVES, then became Head Writer for a game based on the STARGATE SG-1 series. She's written a number of game titles, including the dark fantasy RPG, THE WITCHER, which earned her a Writers Guild nomination. Anne has spoken extensively on games and entertainment and contributed to books from the International Game Developers Association (IGDA). "
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
January 3, 2016
I actually really enjoyed reading this!
It's extremely fast-paced and fun.The story is very interesting and the artwork is soooo cute.There are so many funny moments,especially towards the ending of this volume ().I'm all about girl power and I really liked the characters,I just hope that we'll get to know all of them a bit better in the next volume.Also,racial diversity gives me life.♥
*E-copy provided by the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley.*
It's extremely fast-paced and fun.The story is very interesting and the artwork is soooo cute.There are so many funny moments,especially towards the ending of this volume ().I'm all about girl power and I really liked the characters,I just hope that we'll get to know all of them a bit better in the next volume.Also,racial diversity gives me life.♥
*E-copy provided by the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley.*
August 19, 2020
more of a 3.5
October 8, 2017
Zoe is just a regular girl who dreams of adventures. Unfortunately she's also a target for the mean girls, until a group of mysterious "transfer students" come to her aid. Then for her birthday she receives a Baby Book with a mysterious letter from her birth mother and some mysterious gem. What's going on?
She finds out the next day as she's attacked by a dragon??? And the transfer students have like, powers? What the heck?
Crystal Cadets #1 is just a cute comic with magical schoolgirls out to save the world. Diverse, cute magical schoolgirls. A fun beginning to a new series. I'm loving this.
She finds out the next day as she's attacked by a dragon??? And the transfer students have like, powers? What the heck?
Crystal Cadets #1 is just a cute comic with magical schoolgirls out to save the world. Diverse, cute magical schoolgirls. A fun beginning to a new series. I'm loving this.
January 22, 2016
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review
Crystal Cadets is a fun and cute graphic novel aimed at a Middle Grade audience, but as an adult I enjoyed it as well. It has beautiful colourful artwork and it was a fun and quick read. On the other hand I also felt it fell a bit flat, some scenes felt a bit rushed or the pace or time jumps could be a bit jarring. The story was entertaining, but it stayed a bit shallow and lacked depth. I wanted more out of it.
The story follows Zoe, she's a bit shy and get's bullied then some exchange students save her and once she get's home she learns she's adopted and get's a letter and a crystal from her mom. Then she finds out there is the darkness and the crystal cadets has to fight it. They rush off in search of other cadets and fight enemies. The concept was fun. There are girls with different powers, who all have a crystal that gives them powers and they search for the few missing cadets, while battling evil.
The characters where all nice, but I never felt like there was time to get to know them, the pace goes really fast and there's no time for extra conversation or relaxing and getting a feel for them and their daily life. They seemed like a fun cast of characters, but it was hard to get to know them well or get a feel for their personalities.
The artwork was pretty. The colours where bright and the I enjoyed watching the story play out. I did have some trouble following the right order at times as I am more used to reading manga's, which go from right to left instead of left to right. In the are there were a few uncoloured pages and that made me realize how much the colour added to artwork. The colours definitely made everything come more alive and brought colour and life to the pages.
The magical powers thing was fun, but never really got explained. They have crystals, but some have elemental powers, the other has arrows and Zoe has crystal dust. It just seemed a bit random. And then they all had a big pet like familiar. The world building didn't seem to make much sense and nothing got explained. We get a bit of background about the crystal cadets and how the powers get passed down, but that's about it. Then the whole concept of the darkness stayed really vague and to me it just didn't fully make sense. It also seemed weird they had to fight the darkness, while it was also mentioned they couldn't really fight it unless they eliminated the source, which wasn't something they could destroy with their powers, so why are they fighting it? It also seemed like a convenient way to have something dark and evil for them to fight against, without it really making sense or having an explanation or goal.
To summarize: Crystal cadets was a fun graphic novel, but it didn't hook me enough to really get invested in the characters, story or world building. The artwork was really pretty and colourful and it made the story come alive. The pace felt a bit rushed and jarring at times. I wished there was a bit more explanation and time to get to know the characters. The world building stayed pretty vague and didn't make much sense, especially the whole darkness thing they where fighting. I did enjoy it, but I am not sure if I would continue the series.
Crystal Cadets is a fun and cute graphic novel aimed at a Middle Grade audience, but as an adult I enjoyed it as well. It has beautiful colourful artwork and it was a fun and quick read. On the other hand I also felt it fell a bit flat, some scenes felt a bit rushed or the pace or time jumps could be a bit jarring. The story was entertaining, but it stayed a bit shallow and lacked depth. I wanted more out of it.
The story follows Zoe, she's a bit shy and get's bullied then some exchange students save her and once she get's home she learns she's adopted and get's a letter and a crystal from her mom. Then she finds out there is the darkness and the crystal cadets has to fight it. They rush off in search of other cadets and fight enemies. The concept was fun. There are girls with different powers, who all have a crystal that gives them powers and they search for the few missing cadets, while battling evil.
The characters where all nice, but I never felt like there was time to get to know them, the pace goes really fast and there's no time for extra conversation or relaxing and getting a feel for them and their daily life. They seemed like a fun cast of characters, but it was hard to get to know them well or get a feel for their personalities.
The artwork was pretty. The colours where bright and the I enjoyed watching the story play out. I did have some trouble following the right order at times as I am more used to reading manga's, which go from right to left instead of left to right. In the are there were a few uncoloured pages and that made me realize how much the colour added to artwork. The colours definitely made everything come more alive and brought colour and life to the pages.
The magical powers thing was fun, but never really got explained. They have crystals, but some have elemental powers, the other has arrows and Zoe has crystal dust. It just seemed a bit random. And then they all had a big pet like familiar. The world building didn't seem to make much sense and nothing got explained. We get a bit of background about the crystal cadets and how the powers get passed down, but that's about it. Then the whole concept of the darkness stayed really vague and to me it just didn't fully make sense. It also seemed weird they had to fight the darkness, while it was also mentioned they couldn't really fight it unless they eliminated the source, which wasn't something they could destroy with their powers, so why are they fighting it? It also seemed like a convenient way to have something dark and evil for them to fight against, without it really making sense or having an explanation or goal.
To summarize: Crystal cadets was a fun graphic novel, but it didn't hook me enough to really get invested in the characters, story or world building. The artwork was really pretty and colourful and it made the story come alive. The pace felt a bit rushed and jarring at times. I wished there was a bit more explanation and time to get to know the characters. The world building stayed pretty vague and didn't make much sense, especially the whole darkness thing they where fighting. I did enjoy it, but I am not sure if I would continue the series.
May 28, 2016
I received a copy of this book from the publisher for an honest review.
The things I liked about this book: Diverse characters! I loved that the cast of this story represented so many groups! No one was stereotyped or token and the interactions between characters focused on personality and not race. I also like the artwork. It was colorful and exciting and very cute, and it fits the story.
The things I did not like: The story for this was all over the place. Characters were poorly developed and things like motivations and relationship building, virtually nonexistent. While I appreciate that the author didn't just info dump at the beginning, the storytelling jumped around so much and often dialogue was just a character saying what they were doing. The mythos behind the Cadets' powers was interesting and should have been explored more. I understand if they are trying save that for further issues, but the first issue is the most important and needs to be grabbing. I found myself more frustrated than not reading this story.
I think young kids would be interested in reading these comics (2nd-3rd grade), especially those interested in formulaic series like Rainbow Magic or Puppy Place, but the lack of backstory and character development will turn off anyone else.
The things I liked about this book: Diverse characters! I loved that the cast of this story represented so many groups! No one was stereotyped or token and the interactions between characters focused on personality and not race. I also like the artwork. It was colorful and exciting and very cute, and it fits the story.
The things I did not like: The story for this was all over the place. Characters were poorly developed and things like motivations and relationship building, virtually nonexistent. While I appreciate that the author didn't just info dump at the beginning, the storytelling jumped around so much and often dialogue was just a character saying what they were doing. The mythos behind the Cadets' powers was interesting and should have been explored more. I understand if they are trying save that for further issues, but the first issue is the most important and needs to be grabbing. I found myself more frustrated than not reading this story.
I think young kids would be interested in reading these comics (2nd-3rd grade), especially those interested in formulaic series like Rainbow Magic or Puppy Place, but the lack of backstory and character development will turn off anyone else.
July 1, 2018
Actual rating: 3.5/5 stars
This was so fun and cute!Review coming soon!
Thank you netgalley for providing me a copy in exchange of a honest review!
First, I had issues with this ARC. Not with the story or the characters or illustrations, it's just that, there was a page of illustrations and the next page was all text, and the text, sometimes, didn't add up. The formatting was rather... peculiar. But I nonetheless managed to understand the story. Maybe that has to do with my screen's resolution...? I don't know. But the last pages, even the uncoloured ones, were really good.
This graphic novel is perfect for those aged 7-10. My inner child definitely enjoyed this. The plot is really nice and the characters are so cute and innocent! The colours are vivid and pretty, and all together? They made out a pretty cool combo. Will buy it for my sister to make her read more english :D I am sure she is going to love it!
This was so fun and cute!
Thank you netgalley for providing me a copy in exchange of a honest review!
First, I had issues with this ARC. Not with the story or the characters or illustrations, it's just that, there was a page of illustrations and the next page was all text, and the text, sometimes, didn't add up. The formatting was rather... peculiar. But I nonetheless managed to understand the story. Maybe that has to do with my screen's resolution...? I don't know. But the last pages, even the uncoloured ones, were really good.
This graphic novel is perfect for those aged 7-10. My inner child definitely enjoyed this. The plot is really nice and the characters are so cute and innocent! The colours are vivid and pretty, and all together? They made out a pretty cool combo. Will buy it for my sister to make her read more english :D I am sure she is going to love it!
September 12, 2020
I actually read a volume of Crystal Cadets that includes several of these shorter volumes, but I don't see it on Goodreads, so I'll use this one as a placeholder.
The four stars feels a little generous, since I wasn't blown away by the art or story, but I really appreciate the good-heartedness (and diversity) of this series.
My full review is posted on No Flying No Tights.
The four stars feels a little generous, since I wasn't blown away by the art or story, but I really appreciate the good-heartedness (and diversity) of this series.
My full review is posted on No Flying No Tights.
January 1, 2019
I found this comic with others to read in my Hoopla account and I was excited to be reading different types of comics because I haven't read any in a long time. The story was nice and interesting. The art style was good. This comic was really short and to the point. Everything flowed smoothly and rather quickly to get this story moving along. I didn't expect it to get straight to the drama and all that magical things going on. Although, It was unexpected and fast paced. I liked the main character Zoe and the powers of the other three new girls were intriguing to me. I wouldn't mind continuing with this story.
I mostly rate this book a 3 or 4-star rating because I am caught between liking and really like it. There are just some parts that I think is okay. All in all, this was a nice read though.
I mostly rate this book a 3 or 4-star rating because I am caught between liking and really like it. There are just some parts that I think is okay. All in all, this was a nice read though.
July 30, 2023
I wanted to read this book for a bit, since it is drawn by Kay O'Neill, but not written by them. I did not really like this book, it went on really fast speed, I do not agree with the notion, that diamond should be the leader of the group and to "win" they should concentrate their energy on her. However, it was nice to see that not all cadets are girls, which seems to be a new thing in that story (is this going to be like a hint that there is going to be a trans character?). But yeah, it was not very good. I will not be continuing with the series.
December 24, 2015
I was excited when I first saw Crystal Cadets. Yes, it's for a much younger age group but I really couldn't help myself when I saw the cover with its racially diverse set of characters. When I was in elementary and middle school, there was about a handful of books that I read that had main characters that I could completely identify with. (It kind of reminded me of the W.I.T.C.H. series when I first looked at it.) This was definitely an incident where the book cover really drew me in.
Let's start with the artwork. I really love it! The colors, the designs...they were all very vibrant and crisp and it just oozed youthfulness. Unfortunately, the panel flow felt off. Granted, I was reading an ARC (Advance Review Copy) so it could be that the panel flow problem will be fixed in the final copy. Also, I read a lot of mangas which you read from right to left instead of left to right so that could also be me just awkwardly transitioning back to reading from left to right.
Okay, the plot. So knowing that this is for a younger audience, I wasn't expecting the deepest of deep in terms of plot but I felt that there were some areas that could have been improved on. I feel like with most stories targeted towards elementary and middle school students, the characters have very stereotypical personalities (the geek, the shy one, the sporty/athletic one, etc.). I understand that for a young audience that might be the best way to have the characters relatable but if that's the case, there were a few characters that were really hard to place. I mean, if that was the purpose then fine, I'm cool with that but if you're going to have a group of magical girls, I think all the girls' personalities should either be diverse or fit into the personality trope. Obviously, Zoe is the character that everyone is supposed to be rooting for, "the unsuspecting leader" of the group, but with such a diverse group of girls, it kind of sucks when some of the characters are forced into certain molds while the other girls are either being created to have more complex personalities or they just didn't have well thought out personalities. Personally, that felt like the biggest let down of the book. The "magical girl" and the "power of friendship" themes is nothing new and have been done numerous times before through different medias. Having a racially diverse group of girls doesn't, unfortunately, do much in terms of setting Crystal Cadets apart from the various other stories with similar themes. Honestly, there is one main male character in the story and I was either expecting him to pull a Tuxedo Mask and use roses as weapons or, in an even more impressive and shocking twist, have it be an opportunity to introduce a queer character. That would have definitely been impressive and a change from what's normally put out (that would have definitely been reminiscent of the later parts of Sailor Moon).
Also, I felt there was some inconsistencies in terms of their powers. Yes, there is one character who controls fire and it has been established that if it's raining or if she's drenched in water she's pretty much useless. However, the cadets all have these cool magical creatures/familiars that they can use to fight battles with. There was one time in the story where three of the characters were lost at sea, floating on basically a plank of wood. Okay, fire girl can't do anything because she's wet (okay, fine, makes sense with what has already been expressed) and shield girl (because I'm not sure what else her powers do other than create shields) doesn't use her magical creature powers because 1.) she makes a unicorn and that's apparently just too girly to use even in life or death situations and 2.) I'm going to assume that since unicorns don't have wings, her magical creature doesn't have flying capabilities. Okay, fine, cool, whatever, but the third girl on the raft, the "unexpected leader" has a gryphon which definitely has wings and can fly. I know, the main point of that story was to give the Cadets backstory of the history of their powers (because even though they know their parents were Cadets before them, they know no other information about their mission...another plot point that irked me with its sloppiness) however, there really was no reason why they couldn't just fly to safety on the gryphon. I don't mean to nag on the creators. What they produced obviously took time but little inconsistencies like that, especially when you're creating a story dealing with magic can sometimes make or break a story for the reader.
Overall, would I give this to a young girl in my life, or, better yet, a young Zo? Eh, maybe. Crystal Cadets was not a horrible book and as it is stated in the stats, there will be another book coming after this one so who knows, a lot of the character personalities consistency issues I had with this book may be improved on in the next one. However, if you were to put this book next to any other "magical girl" book that is currently out there, I'm not sure how much it would stand out from all the other ones. I would be interested in reading the next installment of the series and seeing where the creators take the story. It's not bad. Just need some refinement. Just because it's a story for a younger audience doesn't mean it shouldn't have effort put into it.
I received a copy of this book from the NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.
Let's start with the artwork. I really love it! The colors, the designs...they were all very vibrant and crisp and it just oozed youthfulness. Unfortunately, the panel flow felt off. Granted, I was reading an ARC (Advance Review Copy) so it could be that the panel flow problem will be fixed in the final copy. Also, I read a lot of mangas which you read from right to left instead of left to right so that could also be me just awkwardly transitioning back to reading from left to right.
Okay, the plot. So knowing that this is for a younger audience, I wasn't expecting the deepest of deep in terms of plot but I felt that there were some areas that could have been improved on. I feel like with most stories targeted towards elementary and middle school students, the characters have very stereotypical personalities (the geek, the shy one, the sporty/athletic one, etc.). I understand that for a young audience that might be the best way to have the characters relatable but if that's the case, there were a few characters that were really hard to place. I mean, if that was the purpose then fine, I'm cool with that but if you're going to have a group of magical girls, I think all the girls' personalities should either be diverse or fit into the personality trope. Obviously, Zoe is the character that everyone is supposed to be rooting for, "the unsuspecting leader" of the group, but with such a diverse group of girls, it kind of sucks when some of the characters are forced into certain molds while the other girls are either being created to have more complex personalities or they just didn't have well thought out personalities. Personally, that felt like the biggest let down of the book. The "magical girl" and the "power of friendship" themes is nothing new and have been done numerous times before through different medias. Having a racially diverse group of girls doesn't, unfortunately, do much in terms of setting Crystal Cadets apart from the various other stories with similar themes. Honestly, there is one main male character in the story and I was either expecting him to pull a Tuxedo Mask and use roses as weapons or, in an even more impressive and shocking twist, have it be an opportunity to introduce a queer character. That would have definitely been impressive and a change from what's normally put out (that would have definitely been reminiscent of the later parts of Sailor Moon).
Also, I felt there was some inconsistencies in terms of their powers. Yes, there is one character who controls fire and it has been established that if it's raining or if she's drenched in water she's pretty much useless. However, the cadets all have these cool magical creatures/familiars that they can use to fight battles with. There was one time in the story where three of the characters were lost at sea, floating on basically a plank of wood. Okay, fire girl can't do anything because she's wet (okay, fine, makes sense with what has already been expressed) and shield girl (because I'm not sure what else her powers do other than create shields) doesn't use her magical creature powers because 1.) she makes a unicorn and that's apparently just too girly to use even in life or death situations and 2.) I'm going to assume that since unicorns don't have wings, her magical creature doesn't have flying capabilities. Okay, fine, cool, whatever, but the third girl on the raft, the "unexpected leader" has a gryphon which definitely has wings and can fly. I know, the main point of that story was to give the Cadets backstory of the history of their powers (because even though they know their parents were Cadets before them, they know no other information about their mission...another plot point that irked me with its sloppiness) however, there really was no reason why they couldn't just fly to safety on the gryphon. I don't mean to nag on the creators. What they produced obviously took time but little inconsistencies like that, especially when you're creating a story dealing with magic can sometimes make or break a story for the reader.
Overall, would I give this to a young girl in my life, or, better yet, a young Zo? Eh, maybe. Crystal Cadets was not a horrible book and as it is stated in the stats, there will be another book coming after this one so who knows, a lot of the character personalities consistency issues I had with this book may be improved on in the next one. However, if you were to put this book next to any other "magical girl" book that is currently out there, I'm not sure how much it would stand out from all the other ones. I would be interested in reading the next installment of the series and seeing where the creators take the story. It's not bad. Just need some refinement. Just because it's a story for a younger audience doesn't mean it shouldn't have effort put into it.
I received a copy of this book from the NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.
February 5, 2019
As a Steven Universe fan I thought this series might appeal to me.
I was surprised how short and fast this story was. We're thrown into Zoe's world of bullying when she finds a crystal from her biological mother on her birthday.
While I don't think the world needs a whole lot of explanation, everything happens pretty fast so I fee like I didn't get to know the characters.
I was surprised how short and fast this story was. We're thrown into Zoe's world of bullying when she finds a crystal from her biological mother on her birthday.
While I don't think the world needs a whole lot of explanation, everything happens pretty fast so I fee like I didn't get to know the characters.
May 3, 2020
This was eh. It's an intresting premise and the art is beautiful but the story is way too rushed and we really don't get anytime to get to know that characters. It also reminds me a bit of sailormoon which i like but idk if i'm going to continue on.
February 14, 2021
I didn’t care for this book. A group of dead mothers leave behind stones/gems for their “daughters” to become new crystal cadets and fight “the darkness” it was slow at times and very disjointed. I won’t be continuing this series.
July 22, 2022
It's cute, but the conflict isn't very dramatic, and the world and characters should've been developed more. No one really has a distinct personality. I read the whole book, yet I don't remember anyone's name. The plot could've used more development, too.
It was kinda generic and messy.
It was kinda generic and messy.
April 4, 2023
This was cute, especially the colours and art style! The plot however felt a little too fast paced and it lacked character development and relationship development between the girls. I still enjoyed it and would recommend!
September 14, 2020
i love this book
July 17, 2021
DNF'd at around 50%
This has serious pacing issues.
This has serious pacing issues.
February 22, 2022
consider my interest piqued!
its like steven universe meets sailor moon and i kind of love it! origin story :)) looking forward to seeing how the story continues to develop!
its like steven universe meets sailor moon and i kind of love it! origin story :)) looking forward to seeing how the story continues to develop!
June 18, 2023
This book is amazing even though I haven't. read it yet i know that it will still be AMAZING!😍
December 3, 2023
Super cute little comic! Another one by one of my favourite graphic novelists.
August 21, 2025
found my niche of lesbian monster fucker magic girls (im projecting none of that happened) (...yet)
October 8, 2015
Featured on All Our Worlds!
This comic interested me from the first glance, and not only because of the colorful art and badass magical girls. I already knew the illustrator from the adorable webcomic Princess Princess, so I expected good things from Crystal Cadets.
The story takes magical girl cliches and embraces them wholeheartedly, a refreshing turn away from the cynicism of many new stories. Schoolgirl Zoe finds she has magic powers and joins a secret society of Crystal Cadets who use their gemstone-based powers to fight the Darkness. The Darkness feeds on bad behaviors like greed, lying, cheating. Only friendship and magic can defeat it.
My favorite thing about this world was the girls’ steeds. Each Cadet’s power set comes with a flying magical creature: pegasus, phoenix, butterfly, unicorn, and so on. The bright and expressive art style makes these even better.
And that’s without even mentioning the casual diversity! The cast is extremely racially diverse, and it’s all taken in stride, with no stereotypes in sight. And the Darkness causes trouble all over the world, so the settings are diverse as well.
I do think that there could have been more characterization. Because the plot focused on so many Cadets all busy on their mission, we didn’t get much of a chance to see their individual personalities. But this is only the first book- we’ll probably get to know them more over time.
(Review copy from Netgalley)
This comic interested me from the first glance, and not only because of the colorful art and badass magical girls. I already knew the illustrator from the adorable webcomic Princess Princess, so I expected good things from Crystal Cadets.
The story takes magical girl cliches and embraces them wholeheartedly, a refreshing turn away from the cynicism of many new stories. Schoolgirl Zoe finds she has magic powers and joins a secret society of Crystal Cadets who use their gemstone-based powers to fight the Darkness. The Darkness feeds on bad behaviors like greed, lying, cheating. Only friendship and magic can defeat it.
My favorite thing about this world was the girls’ steeds. Each Cadet’s power set comes with a flying magical creature: pegasus, phoenix, butterfly, unicorn, and so on. The bright and expressive art style makes these even better.
And that’s without even mentioning the casual diversity! The cast is extremely racially diverse, and it’s all taken in stride, with no stereotypes in sight. And the Darkness causes trouble all over the world, so the settings are diverse as well.
I do think that there could have been more characterization. Because the plot focused on so many Cadets all busy on their mission, we didn’t get much of a chance to see their individual personalities. But this is only the first book- we’ll probably get to know them more over time.
(Review copy from Netgalley)
November 18, 2015
What a great Graphic Novel series for girls. I hope there are more because we did not really get to know the girls well in this action packed story.
Zoe starts at a new school and is immediately hassled by some soccer playing girls. She is rescued by a group of exchange students. As she heads home, she is grumbling that it is her birthday. At home her parents give her a gift from her Birth Mother. This is when she reads a strange letter and gets a Diamond Gem. She is not sure what to make of it. When she returns home the next day there is something wrong with her parents and a black dragon demon is after her. Once again being rescued by this group of girls she finds out they are part of the Crystal Cadets and that is one of them as well. The dragon represents The Darkness that feeds upon bad behaviors like greed, lying, cheating. Only friendship and magic can defeat it. They are still searching for more cadets.
Each girl has specific powers and rides upon a magic creature such as a unicorn, a butterfly, pegasus etc. As another reviewer mentioned, the cast is extremely racially diverse, and it’s all taken in stride, with no stereotypes in sight. And the Darkness causes trouble all over the world, so the settings are diverse as well.
I think this series would be devoured by young girls as well as empowering them to become better people to try to stamp out the darkness in our own world.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Zoe starts at a new school and is immediately hassled by some soccer playing girls. She is rescued by a group of exchange students. As she heads home, she is grumbling that it is her birthday. At home her parents give her a gift from her Birth Mother. This is when she reads a strange letter and gets a Diamond Gem. She is not sure what to make of it. When she returns home the next day there is something wrong with her parents and a black dragon demon is after her. Once again being rescued by this group of girls she finds out they are part of the Crystal Cadets and that is one of them as well. The dragon represents The Darkness that feeds upon bad behaviors like greed, lying, cheating. Only friendship and magic can defeat it. They are still searching for more cadets.
Each girl has specific powers and rides upon a magic creature such as a unicorn, a butterfly, pegasus etc. As another reviewer mentioned, the cast is extremely racially diverse, and it’s all taken in stride, with no stereotypes in sight. And the Darkness causes trouble all over the world, so the settings are diverse as well.
I think this series would be devoured by young girls as well as empowering them to become better people to try to stamp out the darkness in our own world.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
December 29, 2015
Got an ARC from Net Galley.
I really love the artwork. It is very colorful and I think will appeal to a younger audience even though I did enjoy it myself. I think this would be a fun way to get your child to start reading because the pictures are so great and before you know it your kid might realize how awesome reading is.
It kinda reminds me a little bit of that show Witch that was on Disney. Zoe's life changes when she gets a crystal on her birthday. She finds out that she's part of a group of girls who each have crystals and powers that help them protect the world from the darkness. It was a cute and fun read although I have to say the formatting was really strange in the ARC.
http://www.ficgal.com/book-club/cryst...
I really love the artwork. It is very colorful and I think will appeal to a younger audience even though I did enjoy it myself. I think this would be a fun way to get your child to start reading because the pictures are so great and before you know it your kid might realize how awesome reading is.
It kinda reminds me a little bit of that show Witch that was on Disney. Zoe's life changes when she gets a crystal on her birthday. She finds out that she's part of a group of girls who each have crystals and powers that help them protect the world from the darkness. It was a cute and fun read although I have to say the formatting was really strange in the ARC.
http://www.ficgal.com/book-club/cryst...
February 23, 2016
I received an AR copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.
Crystal Cadets caught my eye right away because of the artwork, which is good all the way through the story. I really enjoyed how bright and colourful it was, and the characters were all quite cute to look at as well. I was really happy to see such a diverse cast of characters, as the leads are all different nationalities, which is always a cool thing to see.
The story isn't overly complicated, but I think that will make it easier on the younger readers, and even as an adult, I found it entertaining to read. I know I would have absolutely loved it when I was a teen.
Definitely would recommend this book! Hope to see more from this artist/author in the future. Four out of five stars from me.
Crystal Cadets caught my eye right away because of the artwork, which is good all the way through the story. I really enjoyed how bright and colourful it was, and the characters were all quite cute to look at as well. I was really happy to see such a diverse cast of characters, as the leads are all different nationalities, which is always a cool thing to see.
The story isn't overly complicated, but I think that will make it easier on the younger readers, and even as an adult, I found it entertaining to read. I know I would have absolutely loved it when I was a teen.
Definitely would recommend this book! Hope to see more from this artist/author in the future. Four out of five stars from me.
August 17, 2017
This was a pretty good comic. The fact that it was still an ARC copy and really wasn't fully completed made it a somewhat difficult to read. The story was complete but the drawings and bubbles were not.
The story is cute though and I think young kids would really enjoy it.
I received a copy from NetGalley for an honest review.
The story is cute though and I think young kids would really enjoy it.
I received a copy from NetGalley for an honest review.
December 27, 2015
A cute story that has a diverse set of characters. Kind of reminded me of the show Trollz.
I received a copy in exchange for my opinion.
I received a copy in exchange for my opinion.
May 8, 2016
-Review to come-
October 23, 2017
Beautiful artwork and a fun story for girls. Love the racial diversity. So fun that each girl has a different stone, mount and special ability. I'm looking forward to more in the series.
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