Changing Moon

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Overview

In Alta Donna,the weather is great, the sunsets are super, and the stars twinkle brightly. Perfect, right No! It's super boring. Nothing real ever happens. Everybody says I spend too much time daydreaming in my own little world. At least my dreams are more interesting than Alta Donna.

But what if Alta Donna is hiding a secret The two new kids in town are up to something. No one could be as good a baseball player as Damiano, and no one could be as charming as Inés. The moment ...

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Overview

In Alta Donna,the weather is great, the sunsets are super, and the stars twinkle brightly. Perfect, right No! It's super boring. Nothing real ever happens. Everybody says I spend too much time daydreaming in my own little world. At least my dreams are more interesting than Alta Donna.

But what if Alta Donna is hiding a secret The two new kids in town are up to something. No one could be as good a baseball player as Damiano, and no one could be as charming as Inés. The moment they arrived, life in Alta Donna stopped being perfect and started getting weird. Who are they really

I always say, if you need a puzzle solved, look for someone with a BIG imagination. And that's me. Nola.

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Editorial Reviews

Kirkus Reviews
Bubble-gum–tinged whimsy abounds in this stylish French graphic-novel import. Cotton-candy–tressed Nola spends her days dreaming in her peaceful town, Alta Donna. Her world is cozy and ordinary until she meets the aloof and mysterious Damiano and Inés. Nola quickly learns that there are strange forces after the siblings and is determined to get to the bottom of this mystery. Nola and her friends radiate a funky fashion sense, constantly changing clothes and hairstyles; it's hard to imagine a reader who wouldn't want to raid her closet. This first installment propels forward with the force of a rocket--albeit a very pink, fanciful one. Luckily for the ravenous reader, the whole trilogy releases simultaneously (#2, Ferrets and Ferreting Out, PLB: 978-0-7613-6504-4; #3, Even for a Dreamer Like Me, PLB: 978-0-7613-6505-1). Though it's a fantastic visual experience, the actual plot is thin; even as Nola delves into the mystery in the subsequent volumes, the narrative never really gains any degree of complexity. However, with its upbeat palette (courtesy of Pop), manga-inspired art and hip characters, this charmer is sure to please preteen girls. (Graphic fiction. 9-12)
Publishers Weekly
Nola York-Stein may have an unrealistic cartoony look and salmon pink hair, but adolescents will find plenty to relate to in this appealing new graphic novel series. Taking place in the formerly dull coastal town of Alta Donna, she finds a mystery to keep her busy. Nola introduces herself as someone habitually late for school and always struggling with one thing or another, although she's clearly smart and means well. She doesn't like school and has a stressful home life; with her parents divorced, she seldom sees her father, and her mother pays more attention to her job than to her daughter. But when the school librarian is attacked, Nola decides to play detective. The librarian gives a few cryptic clues, and though those around him are quick to say it's no big deal, Nola believes otherwise. While there's a mystery afoot, the biggest pull for the book is the relatable main character and her situations. An offbeat humor to Nola's difficulties gives a light feel to the whole story. Previously published in France, two subsequent volumes are also available. Ages 11–15. (Nov.)
Children's Literature - Kathie M. Josephs
Nola is a teen-age girl who is being raised by her mother who is a single parent. Unfortunately, her mother works all the time, which leaves very little quality time for the two of them. Nola is known for being late to school; she has dyed her hair pink, and one might call her spacy and she definitely has attitide. Many students tease both her and her best friend Pumpkin and that just adds to her boring latch-key life. One day in algebra class, Nola was able to help a new boy named Damiano. After that, Nola saw Damiano's sister living on the bottom floor of her apartment complex and she knew that Damiano lived on the fifth floor...what was going on? Strange things begin to happen. The librarian passes out on the floor, Daminio starts hitting baseballs like Babe Ruth, and space aliens start to appear in her town. This was too much for her to resist and Nola decides that she must investigate. As she digs into the mystery Nola find that her town is a buffer between the Land of Stories and the Real World. This is what I would call a cozy mystery and has little suspense or thrills in it. The author does a good job at holding the readers attention; however, it is was the art work that was fantastic. This book is the first in a series and the ending promises much more to come. I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed the last eight pages of the book which explained in words and pictures how the book was put together. This added a nice touch. Reviewer: Kathie M. Josephs
VOYA - Laura Panter
According to Nola, nothing exciting ever happens in Alta Donna, which is why she has to dream up fantastical stories to make her life interesting. When new students Damiano and Ines move to town, Nola suddenly finds herself in the middle of the biggest mystery ever to hit this utterly boring town. Villians who should not exist are chasing her. Ferrets can talk and are apparently running the city from underground. The school librarian has lost his mind, claiming that characters have jumped out of books, and it is up to Nola to save her new friends, Damiano and Ines. The only problem is that no one believes Nola's stories about a border that keeps the world of stories separate from the real-life world. Her mother is never around and is too self-absorbed to listen to any details of her daughter's life, especially her dramatic stories. Her father thinks buying gifts and giving her money make up for him being an absentee parent, and her best friend, Pumpkin, never sees the strange sights that Nola witnesses. Her only hope is for Damiano and Ines to tell her the truth so she can make Pumpkin realize that this is more than something her imagination has dreamed up. Mariolle constructs a clever storybook concept, but the plot never really hooks readers to keep them absorbed. The landscape illustrations in this graphic novel are well done; the characters' emotions, however, need some work, as does the appearance of the characters—at times, some look completely unlike themselves. The dialogue boxes jump around, making it hard to follow the story for students who may not be seasoned graphic novel readers. This series targets novice middle school graphic novel readers, but many times the characters act like they are in high school, not middle school. This is not a must-read but will suffice as an additional purchase for young middle school girl readers looking to try graphic novels. Die-hard graphic novel readers will most likely skip this series. Reviewer: Laura Panter
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780761365389
  • Publisher: Graphic Universe
  • Publication date: 11/28/2010
  • Series: Nola's Worlds Series
  • Pages: 136
  • Sales rank: 1,367,544
  • Age range: 9 - 12 Years
  • Product dimensions: 5.80 (w) x 8.40 (h) x 0.40 (d)

Meet the Author

Mathieu Mariolle was born in 1978 in Paris, France. After studying to be a translator, he returned to his childhood dream of writing books. He had been passionate about graphic novels ever since his father gave him a copy of the long-running Wild West comic book series Blueberry when he was five years old. His graphic novels include the series Pixie (with art by Aurore), published by Delcourt in French and TokyoPop in English. He blogs at petitsbiscuits.blogspot.com.

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Customer Reviews

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Sort by: Showing 1 Customer Review
  • Posted September 9, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    A good start to a new series

    Nola York-Stein was buried under her covers determined to be late for school again. Nothing new there. She lived an utterly boring life in a small harbor town, Alta Donna. According to her best friend, Pumpkin, she tended to cultivate "this weird little antisocial attitude" that made them an "easy target for jokes." Helena, her Mums, was always trying to be her best friend, but she was rarely around except when they shared a couple of pieces of toast every morning. She was simply a big businesswoman with the "maturity of a 14-year-old." And Mums was still nuts about her ex, Nola's father, even though they'd divorced years ago. Such was life, but soon something would happen that would make Nola much more enthused about it. Her algebra teacher, who was nothing more than a "30-year-old neurotic," was trying to get the new boy, Damiano to answer a question (better you than me). A couple of hand signs later and he had the answer . . . from Nola. It wasn't long before she spotted his sister, Inés, who lived on the first floor of their complex, while he lived on the fifth. What on earth were they hiding? Next thing you know, the librarian was practically out cold on the floor muttering something like, "A giant mouse . . . the passage . . . three little cats." Nola was going to have to mount a "meticulous investigation" to figure out just why two weird things could happen in one day. Naturally Damiano caught her spying as she crouched behind a few potted shrubs. After he asked, "Are you a bumbling PI, or are you hunting for aphids on that plant for lunch?" she decided 'discreet' was in. She allowed him to walk her home and actually went shopping with his shopaholic sister. Things were starting to get really weird when Damiano, who didn't even know what baseball was, started hitting the ball like Babe Ruth and could field like a pro. Between Damiano's increasingly odd behavior, Inés's overly exuberant behavior, and the space aliens that were starting to show up around town she had her work cut out for her. Agent Nola Stein, PI, had her binoculars (courtesy of dear old dad) and was ready to work. Perhaps the Alta Donna Psychiatric Institute had a few answers... This is a very interesting start to a series *starring* Nola, a regular old latchkey kid from boring Alta Donna. If anyone is into anime/manga and the graphic novel, they will find this mini mystery to be quite fascinating. I liked the light mystery aspect of the novel and found myself totally immersed in the life of Nola, the daydreaming wanna be PI. The artwork was mangamongously appealing and some of the full page panels were quite stunning. "Nola's Worlds" is not a high action, superhero graphic novel series, but is rather one that has a charming, quirky, mysterious storyline that many are really going to enjoy. Quill says: This is the first in a series of three "Nola's Worlds," a series you just are going to have to sample to totally appreciate!

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