The Chancellor and the Citadel by Maria Frantz –NO

The Chancellor and the Citadel by Maria Frantz. 130 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL.  Iron Circus Comics, 2018 $15

Language: G ; Mature Content: G; Violence: PG

BUYING ADVISORY: EL – NOT RECOMMENDED

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Everyone lives in the Citadel and humans live outside of it. The mysterious Chancellor, a clocked and hooded woman, protects the Citadel. But even she needs healing on occasion and has a trusty friend Olive. When humans outside of the Citadel rebel, they Chancellor is in danger and uses violence to resolve the situation. She starts to question who is good and who is evil.

I put this as elementary since the publisher recommends it for 8-12 year olds but the book has an older feel with more of a political spin that might be better for older readers. That being said, I thought it was incredibly boring, confusing (humans live outside but the characters that live inside look human to me too), strange rather than mysterious or intriguing, and just depressing. I can imagine the cover appealing to young readers, but the content was not up to par. I am not saying there shouldn’t be graphic novels that question violence, but this one just doesn’t accomplish that goal for young readers.

Reviewer: Stephanie MLS & Author