Book: Lumberjanes, Vol 7: A Bird’s Eye View by Shannon Watters, Kat Leyh, Noelle Stevenson (Creator), Grace Ellis (Creator), Carey Pietsch (Illustrator), Ayme Sotuyo (Illustrations), Maarta Laiho (Colorist), Brooke Allen (Creator)

Where I Got It: I borrowed the paperback from the library

Series: Lumberjanes Collected Edition #7

Genre: YA Graphic Novel

All Lumberjanes are on deck when the High Council comes to camp for inspection!

The High Council is coming to camp and counselor Jen is determined to make everything perfect, even though a storm is brewing and kittens from the boys’ camp are manifesting magical powers. It’s every Lumberjane on deck as the girls do their best to prep the grounds for inspection . . . but there are some storms no one can prepare for.

This New York Times bestseller and multiple Eisner Award-winning series is a story of friendship, hardcore lady-types, and kicking a lot of butt. Don’t miss out on the continued adventures of the Lumberjanes written by Shannon Watters and Kat Leyh (Super Cakes) with stories illustrated by Carey Pietsch (Adventure Time: Marceline Gone Adrift) and newcomer Ayme Sotuyo.

Collects issues #25-28.

Volume 7 is cool because 1- crazy kittens and 2- a visit from the Lumberjanes Grand Lodge.  They’re pretty cool, and while we might not see them again, I hope we do.

I mean, these ladies are clearly friends, and have been for a long time.  I can totally see our campers becoming these ladies when they’re older.  I hope that’s their future, because they’re pretty cool, and they have this great friendship.  I love that they have to go rescue the grand lodge, and that Jen wants them to pretend like they’re actually good, and that nothing weird happens.  I feel like the Grand Lodge would totally be okay with the weird goings on.

Can I talk about the magic kittens?  Because THEY’RE KITTENS AND THEY’RE MAGIC!!!!  Sorry, magic kittens are pretty cool.  Especially magic kittens at camp.  They’re pretty cool, and I wouldn’t expect anything else.  I can’t wait to see what happens next, considering how this one ends.  I’m pretty sure that we’ll see that in the next volume, and I’m curious to see where it goes.  It was definitely unexpected, which I think describes Lumberjanes so well.  It’s a good and fun unexpected, though, which makes this series fun.

4 stars.  MAGIC KITTENS!!!  Clearly, I loved the magic kittens, but this has been a fun series to read so far.  I can’t believe I’m almost all caught up, because it means I have to wait for each one to come out.

Book: Lumberjanes, Vol 8: Stone Cold by Shannon Watters

Published February 2018 by BOOM!Box|112 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the paperback from the library

Series: Lumberjanes Collected Editions #8

Genre: YA Graphic Novel

Five best friends at summer camp take friendship to the max when they team up to defeat the strange forces lurking within the surrounding forest.

Excited to have Barney starting their first week at the camp, the Roanokes run over to the Zodiac cabin, only to find everyone turned to stone! Between strange shadows and Diane being back, it looks like April, Jo, Mal, Molly, and Ripley are going to have their hands full trying to find a cure for their friends . . . as long as they don’t look the wrong thing in the eye first.

This New York Times bestseller and multiple Eisner Award-winning series is a story of friendship, hardcore lady-types, and kicking a lot of butt. Don’t miss out on the continued adventures of the Lumberjanes written by Shannon Watters and Kat Leyh (Super Cakes) with stories illustrated by Carey Pietsch (Adventure Time: Marceline Gone Adrift).

Here’s the thing.  I’m all caught up on Lumberjanes, at least what’s been collected into the larger volumes.  But…as much as I’m enjoying Lumberjanes, and as much as I really like Lumberjanes, I’m starting to think that reading all of them so quickly, and so close together, worked against it a little bit.  It’s definitely gotten harder to review each volume, to the point where I’m not really sure what to say.

I did like seeing what was going on with Diane, and how the Roanoke cabin tried to get the Zodiac cabin back.  I love how they stuck together to help out a neighboring cabin, and how important this little camping community is to all of the girls.  I liked seeing them work together, and seeing how close all of the girls are has been one of my favorite things about the Lumberjanes.

One thing I do miss seeing is the description of the different badges before each chapter.  We saw it in some of the earlier volumes, where a different badge was featured, and it always seemed to relate to what was going on in that particular chapter.  Now that I think about, we didn’t see it in Volume 7 either.

I know Noelle Stevenson has only been listed as a creator on the last 2 or 3 volumes, and I’m wondering if maybe she was the main one behind it, and if she’s not as involved in the series now as she was before.  I liked it, and I’m a little sad to see it go, but I’m hoping it comes back.

I also liked all of the Greek mythology in this one, and I’m glad that we learn more about Diane and what was going on with her.  I hope she sticks around, because she’s pretty cool.  And I like how friendship is really important in this series.  I really feel like it doesn’t come up as strongly or frequently as it does in this series.

4 stars.  I really liked Volume 8, but I miss seeing all of the different badges the girls can earn while they’re at camp.