Marjorie Liu’s Wingbearer (Wingbearer Saga #1)
Description
The tree is a Great Haven – each leaf a home to the spirit of a bird before it is reborn – but even the tree now feels echoes of destruction.
Zuli, a Featherless Two-leg has grown up in this tree that exists outside of the world. Not a bird, spirit, or one of the tree’s many guardians, she longs to know where she came from and if there are more like her. When the tree starts growing black leaves that house no bird spirit, the guardians know the spirits of all birds have somehow been prevented from returning. Someone must travel to the world, find the spirits, and restore their ability to return to the tree.
Zuli sets out to the world determined, curious, and entirely unprepared for what and who she will find.
Disclosure
I borrowed this book for free from our library system, it was provided for my personal use. There was no agreement with the author, publisher, or any third party that I would publish a review. The following review is unsolicited, unbiased, and all opinions are my own.
Review – Spoiler Free
I usually read graphic novels with our young kids but, with some darker imagery, Marjorie Liu’s Wingbearer may not be for everyone. While our oldest would have been unaffected by it, our youngest would have had a hard time, so I read this one on my own.
In Wingbearer, Liu has created a world full of interesting creatures, peoples, and races. She has already introduced Zuli to dragons, griffins, goblins, wraiths, and other fantastical creatures. And Tenny Issakhanian’s illustrations add so much color and vibrancy to the characters and the world in the perfect way. As the first book in the Wingbearer Saga, Wingbearer is definitely building to something bigger.
Coming into the world, Zuli is met head on with death and destruction which grieves and confuses her. Wingbearer is a coming-of-age story in so many ways as she tries to discover herself and the world at the same time.
I loved the character interactions – both written and illustrated – some characters, like Zuli, are discovering, some are already saddled with the burdens of the world, and others dance the fine line of adding levity by sprinkling in sarcasm.
Wingbearer starts out slower, but as soon as Zuli entered the world, the pace picked up and kept going through much of the book. With the exception of a few spots where its hard to determine how much time has passed, Liu’s writing is smooth, easily drawing the reader along as the story progresses.
Overall, I liked Marjorie Liu’s Wingbearer, and am interested to see where the story goes in book 2, Wingborn. I would recommend it to those looking for a graphic novel with a young protagonist that is full of fantasy creatures in a world to be discovered. I would not recommend it to people who would be concerned with the darker visuals – while they are only sprinkled throughout, they can be intense.
Quote
“Each day is new. And there’s always a surprise.”
Zuli (Wingbearer, Marjorie Liu)
Ratings
- Quality of Writing – 3
- Plot – 3
- World Building – 4
- Characters – 4
- Ease of Reading – 4
- Pictures/ Illustrations – 4
- Overall Enjoyment – 3
- Final Rating – 3.5 (Actual: 3.5) – Liked It / Really Liked It
Want to learn more about the numbers I use for rating, and the qualities I’m thinking about when writing a book review? Check out my post How I Rate and Review.