…you are unlike anyone who has ever existed, and that makes you exactly like everyone who has ever existed. Petrichor is outstanding in this one she gets to be maternal and brave and fierce and vulnerable and horny and so many other things, including deeply relieved Obviously, hazel is great here, she always is, but she’s also wrestling with some pretty big questions that no one really has the answers for. and yes, i gave the entire volume five stars despite the last two being less shiny, but i’m terrible at math and -oh no! are those dung people?īasically, the inclusion of dung people rounds any book up to an automatic five stars.īut there are plenty of other things here helping earn that five stars.Īlso, there are so many wonderful moments of underplayed reactions throughout this series, but there are some particularly funny ones this time outĪnd hazel’s fumbling attempts at cussin’ are endearing enoughīut not as endearing as the contrast between what her parents identify as the teaching momentĪll of the abortion town/badlands parts were handled so well - providing a variety of cultural perspectives on the abortion issue that are consistent with other things we know about the values of these different realms, plus some insight into the individuals involved, and a perfect balance of heartbreaking stuff and … less heartbreaking stuff

#43-#46 are excellent and i would only have been frustrated by how short they were and how cliffhanger-y their ends, but #47 and #48 would have felt like total letdowns on their own, just because of who’s there, who’s not there, and as a contrast to how very strong the first four segments of this collection were. and for the first time, i’m deeply glad i didn’t read these as individual comic book issues. There is so much in this one, it makes my head spin.

Or worse, for some “cause.” If we were all a little more selfish instead of being in such a hurry to defend everything to the death, the universe would be a much less scary place. When did you first know that you’d give up your life for someone? Okay, maybe you’ve never felt that way, but parents usually say that about their offspring, right? Personally, I think it’s almost always a dumb idea to sacrifice your own existence for others. Oooh, goodreads choice awards semifinalist for best graphic novel 2018! what will happen?

Saga, Volume 8 by Brian K. Vaughan