Penny, The Review Group's reviewer Penny for Your ThoughtsThe Review Group
Children's ✦ Penny’s Take

Bolivar

Sean Rubin · 2017
92/100
👍 Worth It

Sean Rubin's debut graphic novel earned three starred reviews and nominations for the Eisner, Ringo, and EGL Awards — and it deserves every bit of that attention. Sybil notices her neighbor Bolivar is a dinosaur; no adult in New York City does. The story's real subject is introversion and the ache of wanting to be seen, and Rubin's intricate crosshatched illustrations — capturing actual NYC street life in panoramic detail — make the book as rewarding for adults as for the children nominally in the audience. The New York Public Library named it a Best Book of 2017. The caveat is small: the hybrid picture-book and graphic-novel panel format can initially confuse very young readers unfamiliar with comics conventions. Give it a few pages and they will find their footing.

✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
Public sentiment (open_library)90
Public sentiment (amazon.com)96
Penny’s verdict92
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