Lifeformed
By Matt Mair Lowery and Cassie Anderson
Published by Dark Horse
Lifeformed stars Cleo, a normal human girl who's father is killed in front of her during an alien invasion. In the chaos, a rouge alien shape-shifter disguises itself as her now dead father, and the two of them set of on an adventure to try and stop this alien takeover/genocide in its tracks, all the while being hunted by other aliens hell-bend on their deaths.
The art is good, but nothing spectacular. The character designs are decent, but I've seen better. The backgrounds are fine, without being over detailed. The color palette is muted and dark, which clashes with the tone in some places. It never lets up, thus further muddying the tone. Some of the characters have bizarre shifts in opinion and action. Cleo's character has a radical shift in the middle of the book, which clashes with who she was before. The designs for the aliens is pretty generic, nothing to call home about. Over all, this book suffers from problems, but is generally alright.
TL;DR: 6/10
Knife's Edge
By Hope Larson
Published by Margret Ferguson Books
This is a sequel to the book Compass South. You can find the first review here. This book is a direct continuation of the first, following our intrepid heroes Alex and Cleo, who after reuniting with their father are determined to find their mother's long lost treasure. Along the way, they must continue to outrun the pirates following them, and maybe find a way to reunite with their long lost mother they've never met.
The book is about the same as the first. I like how the characters are more fleshed out now, and the chemistry is very good. The art is still quite pretty, and the story beats are well crafted. I did think there were a few too many odd coincidences and small deus ex machina moments, but over all it balances out nicely.
TLDR: 7/10
The Can Opener's Daughter
By Rob Davis
Published By Self Made Hero
This is actually a sequel to another book that I haven't read (The Motherless Oven). Keep that in mind.
I've read it twice and still don't completely understand what happened. The book stars Vera Pike, the daughter of what seems to be a powerful god, the weather clock. Throughout the book, she is trying to live in this world where death only comes via suicide, while trying to break away from her mother and find out how this dual layered world truly works. This is the best explanation I could give of the plot. It's a tangled mess that leaves a lot out.
I quite liked this book, but I do have very bizarre taste. I thought the world was fascinating and unique, and has a lot of places where it can expand. The characters are decent, all making sense in this world. The plot can be pretty obtuse, without a strong sense of time between the scenes, so you you can get a bit lost. This book does leave itself a bit too open-ended, but is weird enough to make it work. If you do pick this one up, read it twice. Even then I still don't entirely understand.
TLDR: 7/10
