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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
This book is about four people and their interwoven stories. There is Robin Hood, the art thief, who is recreating paintings so he can swap them out and take the money back to his community in Mexico. Next we have Instaking, who doesn't speak anymore. The third story is Inner Pulse, about a young girl who was involved in a nightclub shooting. Lastly, there's The Woodpecker, a hacker who is trying to expose a corporation who may have killed seven people.
Of all these stories I really enjoyed The Woodpecker and the Inner Pulse story lines the most out of the four. I also really liked the fact that all of the different stories were different colors. It really helped keep all of the different story lines separated. The stories were all pretty good but I didn't really connect with the art thief or the teenager that wouldn't talk (it was never revealed why he wouldn't talk either which was kind of annoying to me). Overall though I think think is a pretty great read for anyone. Because of the multiple story lines I think that a lot of people can find something to relate to.
Of all these stories I really enjoyed The Woodpecker and the Inner Pulse story lines the most out of the four. I also really liked the fact that all of the different stories were different colors. It really helped keep all of the different story lines separated. The stories were all pretty good but I didn't really connect with the art thief or the teenager that wouldn't talk (it was never revealed why he wouldn't talk either which was kind of annoying to me). Overall though I think think is a pretty great read for anyone. Because of the multiple story lines I think that a lot of people can find something to relate to.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really great story of four strangers who are all struggling with personal issues and whose lives intertwine through a radio voice. Very queer, very racially diverse. Not to spoil it too much, but happy ending all around. Easy read and great for if you want something that will give you a little bit of hope if you're going through something, or just want a story with characters who win in the end.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Racism
Minor: Gun violence, Sexual content, Blood
There is a brief moment of nudity between two characters, specifically a naked man is standing behind a naked woman, but no sex or sexual behaviors. I feel it's more appropriate for someone who is an older teenager, probably 16 and up. There are only two moments of graphic violence, but nothing too graphic. There is some cursing, but not constant and gratuitous.
Picked this up on a whim before the pandemic and I’m so glad I did — loving the morals and social justice themes. Things could definitely NOT play out like the scenarios in this book in real life BUT it was a really nice break and look into utopian and equitable outcomes. Sometimes we need unrealistic happy endings to get us through our daily hard reality.
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Ok, so there are more kinds of media called "Midnight Radio" than I realized.
Awhile ago, I read a comic called "Midnight Radio" by Ehud Lavski and Yael Nathan. I remembered the premise was intrique related to a mysterious late night broadcast. I think I rented this book thinking that it was a development of that one shot into a book. They're completely separate and unconnected works.
This book tells four interconnected stories. Three people happen to be listening to the radio when a shocking, life changing broadcast goes out. They all deal with the repercussions of how they choose to live their lives afterwards.
There's exploration of parental expectations, forcible rematriation of art, crooked cops, queer life post-Pulse, sibling sickness, doing the right thing, racism, misogyny, love, and death.
The ending came as a twist to me, but you can probably figure it out if you're expecting it. I just got engrossed in the story so I wasn't connecting the dots.
Awhile ago, I read a comic called "Midnight Radio" by Ehud Lavski and Yael Nathan. I remembered the premise was intrique related to a mysterious late night broadcast. I think I rented this book thinking that it was a development of that one shot into a book. They're completely separate and unconnected works.
This book tells four interconnected stories. Three people happen to be listening to the radio when a shocking, life changing broadcast goes out. They all deal with the repercussions of how they choose to live their lives afterwards.
There's exploration of parental expectations, forcible rematriation of art, crooked cops, queer life post-Pulse, sibling sickness, doing the right thing, racism, misogyny, love, and death.
The ending came as a twist to me, but you can probably figure it out if you're expecting it. I just got engrossed in the story so I wasn't connecting the dots.
The story was decent and will resonate with young adults, but the monochrome color palettes were EVERYTHING. Absolutely beautiful art.
Liked the diversity of the individual stories in this collection, but I was expecting them to connect in some way or tie into the Lion Forge Catalyst Prime series ... and I was let down on that front. And the art left me wanting a little more line definition. (e-galley from NetGalley)
Midnight Radio is a short, thought-provoking graphic novel that is beautifully illustrated. It follows four characters who currently find themselves lost or in difficult social and personal situations that they're struggling to navigate or deal with. Each storyline is rich with emotion and the issues that the characters face are very relevant to modern times; especially with how easy it is for people to pretend to be someone they're not with the use of social media and the internet, and the pressure to conform to society's idea of "normal" (whatever that is), instead of just being their individual selves. I really enjoyed Stephen's storyline (yellow!) and I probably liked Seika's (blue) the least, as it felt the least genuine (imo).
To be honest, I found it quite difficult to follow the storylines and to keep up with what was happening with each character, but the "Oh!" moment towards the end was very well done. Everything clicked into place without me even having to look back at earlier pages. I liked that despite the characters all living very different and separate lives, there was one element that connected them all, and it wasn't done in a contrived way.
I thought that the illustrations, while not the clean sharp lines that I usually love, added a sense of fluidity to the movement of the characters. At first, the use of the bright neon-colored boxes for the different characters was slightly jarring, but I ended up appreciating how it made it easier for me to follow the storylines--I am also just generally a fan of bright colors! I have to say that there is a lot of text in these pages, that initially put me off because I find it tiresome to read such small text cramped together in a small space, but I'm glad that I kept reading! Perhaps the concept of the storylines weren't anything new or extra special, but I was still able to enjoy it because I haven't seen it done in this format before.
A review of this book will be posted on my blog (http://dinipandareads.home.blog) closer to the release date. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
To be honest, I found it quite difficult to follow the storylines and to keep up with what was happening with each character, but the "Oh!" moment towards the end was very well done. Everything clicked into place without me even having to look back at earlier pages. I liked that despite the characters all living very different and separate lives, there was one element that connected them all, and it wasn't done in a contrived way.
I thought that the illustrations, while not the clean sharp lines that I usually love, added a sense of fluidity to the movement of the characters. At first, the use of the bright neon-colored boxes for the different characters was slightly jarring, but I ended up appreciating how it made it easier for me to follow the storylines--I am also just generally a fan of bright colors! I have to say that there is a lot of text in these pages, that initially put me off because I find it tiresome to read such small text cramped together in a small space, but I'm glad that I kept reading! Perhaps the concept of the storylines weren't anything new or extra special, but I was still able to enjoy it because I haven't seen it done in this format before.
A review of this book will be posted on my blog (http://dinipandareads.home.blog) closer to the release date. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Midnight Radio follows four young adults dealing with some distinctly millennial problems. Steph, an Instagram star, only speaks through his posts but has gone silent IRL ever since his little sister got sick. Seika, a Japanese immigrant, faces deportation unless she agrees to help with an undercover sting operation, but then finds herself siding with the moralistic vigilantes she's supposed to be targeting. After running away from tragedy, Joanne is living a listless life without passion-- other than anger towards her bigoted family. And Mike is an anarchist turned corporate drone, working IT for a corrupt big pharma company until a hacker reminds him of the things he used to care about.
I liked the art style, and that each character's chapters had a particular color palette. The storylines felt mostly derivative, without enough depth to the characters to make up for it. Steph's chapters were the most interesting to me and I wish his story had gotten more development than it did. Overall, an unexciting read but quick read, with nice artwork and okay stories.
TW: homophobia, mentioned transphobia, referenced hate crime (shooting at a gay club), nudity, hospitalization of a family member
I liked the art style, and that each character's chapters had a particular color palette. The storylines felt mostly derivative, without enough depth to the characters to make up for it. Steph's chapters were the most interesting to me and I wish his story had gotten more development than it did. Overall, an unexciting read but quick read, with nice artwork and okay stories.
TW: homophobia, mentioned transphobia, referenced hate crime (shooting at a gay club), nudity, hospitalization of a family member
I love when books give me an existential crisis and make me question everything I have or haven’t done!
Midnight Radio is an illustrated story that follows the perspective and stories of four vastly different yet similar characters that while they intersect at times, they’re entirely separate. There’s a man that’s a game developer that works for a corrupt corporation with blood on their hands; a queer woman with big dreams, bigger fears, and a lot of doubts; a Japanese woman blackmailed by cops into cooperating with a sting to keep her visa; and a selectively mute Instagram star with a sick sister and an overabundance of emotions that has led to his isolation from even his best friend. All four of these characters live in an impasse in their lives, moving without really going anywhere as they struggle with social and personal issues. When there’s a sudden disruption on a radio station, the hasty and passionate message left by an anonymous voice resonates with the characters and haunts them until things start clicking.
The artwork was done in a loose line kind of style, semi-realistic polychrome with strict color tones for each character that kept them distinct and separated. Rather than done in a spectrum of colors, each character’s chapters are done in a specific shade (Mike = green, Joanne = red, Seika = blue, Stephen = yellow) and I want to say this was an underhanded psychological thing, too, since *gestures vaguely* there’s a proven science to certain colors eliciting certain emotions so it provided a strange kind of depth to each character’s story.
Though it did tend to favor a cliché approach to the misanthropic view of social media so there was nothing unique there, I did really like this more than I was expecting to. Which really isn’t saying much considering I actually had no idea what I was going into (what can I say, I have the attention span and memory of a toddler on a sugar high so it’s like I never even read the summary to begin with), but my point stands anyway.
So all in all, this was a good plot with beautiful artwork that I would definitely recommend for a quick read.
Midnight Radio is an illustrated story that follows the perspective and stories of four vastly different yet similar characters that while they intersect at times, they’re entirely separate. There’s a man that’s a game developer that works for a corrupt corporation with blood on their hands; a queer woman with big dreams, bigger fears, and a lot of doubts; a Japanese woman blackmailed by cops into cooperating with a sting to keep her visa; and a selectively mute Instagram star with a sick sister and an overabundance of emotions that has led to his isolation from even his best friend. All four of these characters live in an impasse in their lives, moving without really going anywhere as they struggle with social and personal issues. When there’s a sudden disruption on a radio station, the hasty and passionate message left by an anonymous voice resonates with the characters and haunts them until things start clicking.
The artwork was done in a loose line kind of style, semi-realistic polychrome with strict color tones for each character that kept them distinct and separated. Rather than done in a spectrum of colors, each character’s chapters are done in a specific shade (Mike = green, Joanne = red, Seika = blue, Stephen = yellow) and I want to say this was an underhanded psychological thing, too, since *gestures vaguely* there’s a proven science to certain colors eliciting certain emotions so it provided a strange kind of depth to each character’s story.
Though it did tend to favor a cliché approach to the misanthropic view of social media so there was nothing unique there, I did really like this more than I was expecting to. Which really isn’t saying much considering I actually had no idea what I was going into (what can I say, I have the attention span and memory of a toddler on a sugar high so it’s like I never even read the summary to begin with), but my point stands anyway.
So all in all, this was a good plot with beautiful artwork that I would definitely recommend for a quick read.
Warnings: nudity, homophobia/transphobia (mentions of parental abuse and homophobic remarks in general), gun violence, mention of a mass shooting (I think this is meant to be in reference to the Pulse shooting), use of racial slurs
Rep: POC main and secondary characters, queer MC, and a trans woman as a secondary character
In Midnight Radio, we follow four different people who listen to the same broadcast show.
This was so interesting, I was instantly hooked. I really liked the characters and the themes explored and I loved the art style, distinguishing the characters by their colour was an amazing idea. The only thing I would point out is that I would've liked to see some more intersection in these people's lives. But, aside from that, everything was great and I loved it.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Diamond Book Distributors for providing me with this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
This was so interesting, I was instantly hooked. I really liked the characters and the themes explored and I loved the art style, distinguishing the characters by their colour was an amazing idea. The only thing I would point out is that I would've liked to see some more intersection in these people's lives. But, aside from that, everything was great and I loved it.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Diamond Book Distributors for providing me with this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!