Estranged (Estranged, 1)

I feel that I might be a bit biased considering I am a big fan of Ethan's art work. I actually own a few prints by him and hope to continue to grow my collection. This being said, I have had his book on pre-order since the day it was available and I was super excited when the ARC arrived on my door step.The ARC is in black and white, which doesn’t let me see the novel in its full and magical glory - even though I've seen it on tumblr and his Patreon.What's nice about this middle grade graphic novel is that it teaches the importance of families. The ones we are raised in and the ones we chose. Through the story, Edmund and the Childe bring up what it means to be part of a family, and who really belongs to the human family. The Childe, who never really had that experience or relationship, learns that it means more than being born to someone - and honestly it is beautiful.The most majestic and unique part of this novel is that it’s 95% done with traditional water color illustrations. In a world where everything is digitized and on photoshop this little book is odd but perfect. Aldridge's art reminds me a lot of E. H. Shepard's Winnie the Pooh art style with the thick ink strokes and beautiful colors.It's truly modernized nostalgia filled with magic.I really don't want to spoil too much of the story, because it's wonderful and I want the whole world to read it. What you really need to know is that it is a fantasy story filled with changelings, golems, witches, sibling love, trolls, evil aunts, rats, fights and a DRAGON.I look forward to reading it again in its full color glory. I also look forward to the second book - since there are so many loose ends that need solving!

The beautiful cover artwork drew my eye to this graphic novel. I actually got it for my 11 year old son for Christmas since he loves fantasy graphic novels. We both thought it was okay but not great.The story is a pretty basic one about two boys (one faerie and one human) who are swapped at birth. As events unfold the human child is forced to seek out his human family displacing the faerie brother who has been living with them all these years.While there are good themes about the meaning of family and friendship, the story is pretty basic.The illustration was easy enough to follow but wasn’t my favorite style. It has a very “sketched” look to it and the colors are washed out. The effect was very unfinished looking artwork that seemed a bit weak to me.Overall this was a decent fantasy graphic novel. The story is pretty basic and the artwork was good but not great. Both me and my son thought this was good and interesting but didn’t love it.

In the fall of 2019, I did an independent study for college that involved reading fairy tales and retellings of all kinds to help me with my thesis writing. In searching for books that would fit the bill for this class, I stumbled upon ESTRANGED and am so glad I did! The story is amazing, the artwork is phenomenal, plus the characters are well developed and relatable (tough to find this combination with great writing AND great artwork in a graphic novel). I actually loved it so much that I pre-ordered the second book as soon as I finished this one!

I loved reading Estranged! I thought the plot line was original and engaging. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful and I've enjoyed pouring over the details. I feel like the story is very relatable and beautiful. The theme of family and friendship was touching. It was fun to go on a little adventure.

We saw the author on JJK's drawing class. My 8 yo sat down when we got the first two books and read them immediately. Good books.

I really enjoyed this book and looking forward to reading the second one in the series. Interesting story line with well developed characters. Great art. Well worth the price.

My daughter finished this book within hours! Its a quick read and is on the list for her summer reading. HOWEVER the book was delivered a day too late and we were already on a plane home...so my sister had to forward it to me.

Excellent imagery and great storyline. Kudos to Ethan for a great piece of art.

Estranged has absolutely gorgeous artwork; the style and details are incredible. Often, I just stared at the art instead of continuing the story because of how intricate it all is. The artwork is definitely one of the best parts of this graphic novel, however, the storyline and characters are not far behind. Aldridge weaves a story with depth about identity and formation of families, about accepting and finding oneself.Edmund and Childe were swapped at birth, so Edmund has spend his life as changeling and Childe has spend his as human pet in the high court of fae, where he wasn't even given a name. Both struggled with their identity and place in the world, and I absolutely loved how deep and meaningful it all was. There's also a plethora of interesting side characters; Whick, a wax golem and Childe's only friend, and Alexis, Edmund's sister. I especially loved how smart Alexis is - she's older and actually knew myths and legends because she had studied them, and I could easily relate to her determined mindset to protect her little brother.Estranged is beautiful and adventurous story, which I really loved. I cannot wait for the sequel!

My son loves these graphic novels.