Pleasantly surprised. Filled with wanderlust and lovable agents of chaos. The main character Safia is blind, but it's not the focus of the story.

In fact, the story explored Safia's want to travel and need for connection with others. The prologue also has a sing-songy, fairytale narration in the beginning that I thought was fun. ( )

When 11-year-old Safia's parents tragically die in a fire at their bookstore, she is sent away to live with a distant aunt she's never met before. "Aunty Whismy" tells Safia, who is blind, that she was disfigured years ago and thus lives as a hermit, while the reader can see that Aunty Whismy is indeed a goat-like, horned monster. What the reader doesn't know is how an adventurous but otherwise perfectly normal woman became such a creature ...

This book is as if Indiana Jones met Scooby Doo, with the dry humor of A Series of Unfortunate Events and the whimsical magic of Tea Dragon Society. Readers will be turning each page expectedly, waiting to see what happens next as mysteries unfold and villains are unmasked.

The story ends with a satisfying conclusion that leaves just enough open for future volumes if the author decides to keep exploring this world and these characters. ( )

A one-time adventurer has become a recluse in a mansion on a hill, bitter and lonely, until a visit from a sibling's child reopens their eyes to a life of adventure. With its echoes of Uncle Scrooge McDuck's first appearance in "Christmas on Bear Mountain" with his nephew Donald Duck (for DuckTales enthusiasts, there's even a housekeeper with a mysterious background and special skills), I was primed to like this book.

The characters and their relationships are good, with the lead being a blind girl who yearns for travel and adventure, but I only wish less time was spent on the ocean cruise to the actual adventure (nearly half the book!) and more time on the action finale.

I'd certainly like to see the sequel hinted at in the closing pages. ( )

A quick, quirky, and colorful read with a touch of sadness and hope. I enjoyed the story and the art style, though if it becomes a series I'd borrow them from the library vs owning them. I did appreciate that the MC was blind as well, not something I've come across in a graphic novel before. Definitely check it out if you're interested in the plot. ( )