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mfrisk's review
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I found the characters and the setting of this story great but the mystery itself fell flat to me and nothing felt very fleshed out. This book would have benefited from being longer and from a different villain/ending.
mehsi's review
5.0
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.
OMG, OMG, OMG, this was even better than I had hoped/dreamed it would be. I had heard about this one through twitter earlier, and I was already hyped. And then I spotted it on Netgalley.
Meet Jesse, Noah, Tony, and Kate. 4 teenagers stuck in fat camp. Yep, fat camp. But this year will be a whole lot more than losing weight, there is a murderer walking around, what is their plan, who is going to die next? These kids are going to solve it and find out who the murderer is!
I just love how the story was written. How directly from the start I had the feeling something was up. There are all sorts of hints thrown around even before the murder actually happens! I just adore that, sometimes books just go happy go lucky and then BOOM, murder. But now it was even more exciting as I was already trying to figure out the whodunnit from the start. :P
The four characters? I have to say Jesse was my absolute favourite (fashion girl, plus I just had a laugh how she had both her phone and candy hidden), followed by Noah (so shy and cute), Kate (what is up with this girl, she is hiding something and I love her strong attitude), Tony (addicted to the net + I just adore how hard he is trying to lose weight). I loved how these 4 got together and became very close very fast. How, even though they were scared as hell, they still went on to solve the mystery and who is doing all these things, and why!
I also liked that we find out more about the background of these characters. We find out something about each character, about how they got to be at the camp, how they got fat and how they feel about it.
Plus there is something else happening between two characters that just made me squeal in happiness.
The murders? The whodunnit? The mystery of why and how? It was terrific, and I did have some suspects, but in the end it wasn't until x scene that I knew who it should be, who the murderer was. So when another scene happened I was pretty much whispershouting (due to me being sick/throat hurting/lung infection) for our group to tackle that person and not fall for their tricks! Though I hadn't expected it to be because of that reason (or well, I hadn't expected those people to do x and y (and given the reaction of everyone, they also didn't expect it)). I could kind of understand the reasoning of the murder, it must have hurt that person a lot to find that out. :( Then again, that doesn't make murder OK to do. Murder is never OK. But I can imagine why that person spiralled out of control.
As you can see I am dodging expertly around all the topics, I just don't want to spoil anything, I want people to go into this one fresh without much information about everything. This book is just too awesome and I want people to experience the same feelings I had while I was reading.
The art is just perfect! I just adore how the artist(s) drew the characters, who, instead of so many other comics, don't look at all alike in their weight problems. You have chubby, fat, very much overweight, and everything in between. Plus I just love the designs of the characters, it fits so well with their personalities. And I love seeing the camp and the surrounding area.
The ending was both sad but also a happy one, and it also had me laughing when we found out that about Kate. :P
All in all, I could rave for a bit longer about this one, probably for hours. :P But I will just keep it at this and will recommend this book to everyone. Read this!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
OMG, OMG, OMG, this was even better than I had hoped/dreamed it would be. I had heard about this one through twitter earlier, and I was already hyped. And then I spotted it on Netgalley.
Meet Jesse, Noah, Tony, and Kate. 4 teenagers stuck in fat camp. Yep, fat camp. But this year will be a whole lot more than losing weight, there is a murderer walking around, what is their plan, who is going to die next? These kids are going to solve it and find out who the murderer is!
I just love how the story was written. How directly from the start I had the feeling something was up. There are all sorts of hints thrown around even before the murder actually happens! I just adore that, sometimes books just go happy go lucky and then BOOM, murder. But now it was even more exciting as I was already trying to figure out the whodunnit from the start. :P
The four characters? I have to say Jesse was my absolute favourite (fashion girl, plus I just had a laugh how she had both her phone and candy hidden), followed by Noah (so shy and cute), Kate (what is up with this girl, she is hiding something and I love her strong attitude), Tony (addicted to the net + I just adore how hard he is trying to lose weight). I loved how these 4 got together and became very close very fast. How, even though they were scared as hell, they still went on to solve the mystery and who is doing all these things, and why!
I also liked that we find out more about the background of these characters. We find out something about each character, about how they got to be at the camp, how they got fat and how they feel about it.
Plus there is something else happening between two characters that just made me squeal in happiness.
The murders? The whodunnit? The mystery of why and how? It was terrific, and I did have some suspects, but in the end it wasn't until x scene that I knew who it should be, who the murderer was. So when another scene happened I was pretty much whispershouting (due to me being sick/throat hurting/lung infection) for our group to tackle that person and not fall for their tricks! Though I hadn't expected it to be because of that reason (or well, I hadn't expected those people to do x and y (and given the reaction of everyone, they also didn't expect it)). I could kind of understand the reasoning of the murder, it must have hurt that person a lot to find that out. :( Then again, that doesn't make murder OK to do. Murder is never OK. But I can imagine why that person spiralled out of control.
As you can see I am dodging expertly around all the topics, I just don't want to spoil anything, I want people to go into this one fresh without much information about everything. This book is just too awesome and I want people to experience the same feelings I had while I was reading.
The art is just perfect! I just adore how the artist(s) drew the characters, who, instead of so many other comics, don't look at all alike in their weight problems. You have chubby, fat, very much overweight, and everything in between. Plus I just love the designs of the characters, it fits so well with their personalities. And I love seeing the camp and the surrounding area.
The ending was both sad but also a happy one, and it also had me laughing when we found out that about Kate. :P
All in all, I could rave for a bit longer about this one, probably for hours. :P But I will just keep it at this and will recommend this book to everyone. Read this!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
emrodav's review
4.0
This is maybe closer to 3.5 stars for me, because the plot was pretty rushed, but I rounded up because I LOVE seeing so many different complex fat characters in one story!
geekwayne's review
3.0
'Dead Weight: Murder at Camp Bloom' by Terry Blas and Molly Muldoon with art by Matthew Seely is a graphic novel mystery set at a summer camp.
Camp Bloom welcomes a diverse range of campers every year. What brings them together is losing weight. The camp has some counselors who have been very successful at losing weight. It also has some secrets, like the cook who sells candy to the campers, and it hides a murderer. A group of kids find a dead counselor, and now they want to find who did it before the killer strikes again.
It's a decent mystery and kept me guessing. The cast of characters is diverse. The art works for the story. I liked the story and characters.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Oni Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
Camp Bloom welcomes a diverse range of campers every year. What brings them together is losing weight. The camp has some counselors who have been very successful at losing weight. It also has some secrets, like the cook who sells candy to the campers, and it hides a murderer. A group of kids find a dead counselor, and now they want to find who did it before the killer strikes again.
It's a decent mystery and kept me guessing. The cast of characters is diverse. The art works for the story. I liked the story and characters.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Oni Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
theangrystackrat's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
gggina13's review
3.0
This was.. okay. It could have benefitted from being much more fleshed out. It’s hard in a stand-alone graphic novel, I know, but I didn’t connect with any of the characters.
mae_is_my_cat's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
nerdbrarian's review
5.0
***I received a free copy of this title in exchange for my honest opinion.*** For fans of Lumberjanes and Nimona comes this standalone comic about a diverse group of “fat camp” attendees who witness a murder, only to have the body disappear and a faked note saying the counselor had in fact gone home in a hurry. To find justice for their murdered camp counselor and prove what they are capable of, the group pulls together to solve the crime, even as more counselors start dying. I loved the art and the characters. The mystery was fairly classic, with clues sprinkled throughout the beginning and plenty of red herrings to keep readers guessing. Beyond a simple murder mystery, diverse issues such as obesity, homosexuality and effect of your culture and ethnicity on your lifestyle are discussed, without them veering into “diversity for diversity’s sake” territory.
booknerd_lifestyle's review
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
What happens when a bunch of teenagers go to a weight loss camp for the summer? Of course, someone dies!
DEAD WEIGHT: MURDER AT CAMP BLOOM is an entertaining YA sleuth graphic novel. It has a collection of diverse characters and a fairly fast-moving plot. About halfway through their summer camp, one of the adult camp counselors is murdered. When two of the teenagers witness it happen, they - along with two of their camp-mates - start investigating.
I liked that, even though Jesse wasn't too happy to be at "fat camp" in the beginning, she wasn't this angry teen throughout the entire book. She opened up to a few of the other campers and I enjoyed her character.
The illustrations are very well-done, with expressive faces and a creepy atmosphere as they're investigating the murder. This might be a little bit spooky for young teenagers but most of it is entertaining and mystery-ish. The full camp map on the inside front and back covers was a nice addition, along with a behind-the-scenes after the story.
DEAD WEIGHT: MURDER AT CAMP BLOOM is an entertaining YA sleuth graphic novel. It has a collection of diverse characters and a fairly fast-moving plot. About halfway through their summer camp, one of the adult camp counselors is murdered. When two of the teenagers witness it happen, they - along with two of their camp-mates - start investigating.
I liked that, even though Jesse wasn't too happy to be at "fat camp" in the beginning, she wasn't this angry teen throughout the entire book. She opened up to a few of the other campers and I enjoyed her character.
The illustrations are very well-done, with expressive faces and a creepy atmosphere as they're investigating the murder. This might be a little bit spooky for young teenagers but most of it is entertaining and mystery-ish. The full camp map on the inside front and back covers was a nice addition, along with a behind-the-scenes after the story.