Book Review: Last of the Sandwalkers

I had no idea what to expect when I opened up Jay Hosler’s Last of the Sandwalkers.  I’m not a huge fan of graphic novels, mainly, I think, because I am a very quick reader and I think that the format slows me down a little and I really don’t spend the time I need to looking at each panel.  That being said, I found  Last of the Sandwalkers to be adventurous, entertaining, educational and so much fun.

If you think about Disney’s A Bug’s Life with a little bit of a more mature theme, it’s a pretty apt description for this book.
Jay Hosler is no joke – he’s a biology professor, which means he knows what he’s talking about and it shows.  I learned more about beetles than I probably ever needed to know, but Jay did it in a way that makes it fun and not like “learning” at all.  I also think the layout is really well done in this book, I was able to follow along with each panel.  Sometimes when I read graphic novels, it can be difficult to figure out what to read when, but the illustrations and the layout worked really well in this book.

Let me give you a quick synopsis, Lucy has lived all her live in Coleopolis, until she convinces a group of peers that there must be something else, living past the palm tree on the edge of the desert.  And the group goes out with Lucy as the leader to make a scientific discovery that could change their civilization as they know it.  The characters are as realistic as they can be for bugs, well developed, interesting, and I wanted to know more about each one.  And Jay did a great job of pacing the story to keep the characters involved in so many different parts of what was going on.  

I don’t want to say too much, to give it away, only that it was very well done.  The group of explorers learn more about the outside world than they ever expected and in a way, learned more about Coleopolis than they ever knew.  An amazing story of a strong leader, who doesn’t always make the best choices, but isn’t afraid to take ownership of her mistakes in the name of scientific research.

Twitter Booktalk (140 characters or less): Lucy may be small, but she has the heart of a leader in the face of danger. Check out Sandwalkers by @01FirstSecond #kidlit #graphicnovel

Title: Last of the Sandwalkers
Author: Jay Hosler
Publisher: First Second
Publication Date: 2015
Page Number: 312 pgs.