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corky12's review against another edition
1.0
TLDR: Increasingly ableist, shallow and personality-less characters, and breakneck pacing of a nonexistent plot
I picked up Adora and the Distance so excited about a fantasy graphic novel with a biracial girl protagonist. I could not have been more disappointed. The story’s pacing is breakneck, to the point where I could barely understand the plot. Said plot itself is so vague, it feels nonexistent. They’re escaping, then running toward The Distance whatever that is, and it wants Adora. This vagueness is because the whole thing takes place in Adora’s head, but that makes it seem even more ableist to me. So because she’s autistic, she can’t come up with a consistent story in her own mind?
The characters are shallow. Despite a diverse cast, I kept confusing the characters. None of them had fleshed out personalities or backstories. When they died, Adora moved on without a single tear. When they betrayed her, she immediately forgave them as if she saw it coming. Even Adora herself had no real conflict in the story. She stayed the same calm collected girl throughout the narrative, despite friends dying around her.
Now for the biggest issue, the ableism. Adora and the Distance was written by an author who has an autistic child. In my experience, these are the worst authors to depict children with disabilities, especially autistic children. (See my review on Rules for another example.) These parents only see the outside tendencies of their autistic kids. Where an autistic writer could flesh out Adora’s personality, a parent would only see the lack of outward personality (for lack of a better term). I am not autistic nor do I presume to speak for the autistic community. However, when you create a character that wishes an autistic child was neurotypical and base your entire story around that, that is automatically ableism in my mind.
Unless you get this book for the pretty art, don’t bother.
I picked up Adora and the Distance so excited about a fantasy graphic novel with a biracial girl protagonist. I could not have been more disappointed. The story’s pacing is breakneck, to the point where I could barely understand the plot. Said plot itself is so vague, it feels nonexistent. They’re escaping, then running toward The Distance whatever that is, and it wants Adora. This vagueness is because the whole thing takes place in Adora’s head, but that makes it seem even more ableist to me. So because she’s autistic, she can’t come up with a consistent story in her own mind?
The characters are shallow. Despite a diverse cast, I kept confusing the characters. None of them had fleshed out personalities or backstories. When they died, Adora moved on without a single tear. When they betrayed her, she immediately forgave them as if she saw it coming. Even Adora herself had no real conflict in the story. She stayed the same calm collected girl throughout the narrative, despite friends dying around her.
Now for the biggest issue, the ableism. Adora and the Distance was written by an author who has an autistic child. In my experience, these are the worst authors to depict children with disabilities, especially autistic children. (See my review on Rules for another example.) These parents only see the outside tendencies of their autistic kids. Where an autistic writer could flesh out Adora’s personality, a parent would only see the lack of outward personality (for lack of a better term). I am not autistic nor do I presume to speak for the autistic community. However, when you create a character that wishes an autistic child was neurotypical and base your entire story around that, that is automatically ableism in my mind.
Unless you get this book for the pretty art, don’t bother.
la_de_cha's review against another edition
2.0
I normally don’t write reviews. But what started as a nostalgic with art that reminded me of the Prince Valiant comic strip of my childhood turned into some ableist crap. I don’t think neurotypical people should be writing about neurodivergent people’s experiences, even if they are non-verbal. So much ableism.
thenextgenlibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful graphic novel that takes us on Adora’s journey to outrun the Darkness. Great fantasy GN!
tombs's review against another edition
1.0
Some very mixed feelings about this book. Fantastic art that increased my rating. I bought the book because I read they had a autist protagonist. Autistic myself, I rarely find comics with autistic characters being the hero of their own story.
But as I kept reading this book I started to wonder when what I heard about it would kick in…
…And then it turns out the story is “what if this nonverbal girl is verbal and ‘’normal’’ in her mind”. And then the outro text talk… Well, I’m just disappointed.
But as I kept reading this book I started to wonder when what I heard about it would kick in…
…And then it turns out the story is “what if this nonverbal girl is verbal and ‘’normal’’ in her mind”. And then the outro text talk… Well, I’m just disappointed.
jkenna1990's review against another edition
2.0
Yeah I was enjoying this until I got to the “plot twist” at the end. Autistic reviewers have said plenty and their reviews are the ones you should be reading.
The two stars are only for the artwork.
The two stars are only for the artwork.
sparklemaia's review against another edition
1.0
This was a miss for me. I found the premise intriguing and a lot of the art is really beautifully rendered, but I just wasn't emotionally invested in the plot. The characters didn't really have enough time to establish much depth or to develop their relationships, and so the emotional plot points fell kind of flat. [Vague spoilers ahead:] I also didn't love the sudden surprise ending -- I get what the author was trying to do, but it just felt uncomfortably like a gotcha, with the added discomfort of realizing that the whole story was, in a way, a reimagining of a neurodivergent character as neurotypical, rather than just allowing her to be wholly neurodivergent from the beginning. I would be very curious to hear from autistic readers how they felt about this story.
lobeliaparides's review against another edition
1.0
I, honestly, don't know how to rate this one. The illustrations are beautiful, I enjoy a good fantasy world and this book does provide just that. However, the ending and twists are something I am really struggling with. I can understand someone escaping into their mind and fictional worlds on a regular basis because of things they face in their worlds - I was doing just that with this book before reaching the twist. That's something many of us, I think, can get behind. But, the twist ending makes me very uncomfortable and, in reading the reviews from others, it 100% makes others uncomfortable if not angry for the same reasons. My experiences with Autism are through conversations with those who have it or in readings I've done, so, I really don't have a say in this. I can understand now why the book is considered controversial.
I want to give the book full stars for the art alone, and I can understand to an extent the author's intentions through the notes at the end. But, that twist and having that poor girl struggle at the end ruined the story for me.
I want to give the book full stars for the art alone, and I can understand to an extent the author's intentions through the notes at the end. But, that twist and having that poor girl struggle at the end ruined the story for me.
bookbrig's review
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
This was an interesting read with a bit of a twist I didn't expect. I don't quite know how I feel about the premise after reading the end, but the art is really lovely. I also really enjoyed Adora's character. Kind of on the fence about whether I'd recommend this to patrons though.
thenextgenlib's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful graphic novel that takes us on Adora’s journey to outrun the Darkness. Great fantasy GN!
katsmedialibrary's review
2.75
Ummm is it just me or is it kinda ableist to take it upon yourself to imagine your autistic kids inner world? Idk man I think nonverbal autistic folks still have agency