Strawberry Moon is a very simple easy-to-read story, a visual feast with soft colors and it's children-friendly. Laia's art and writing definitely takes you back to the times when you read fairy tales and other fantastic stories about mysterious creatures before bed and put the book under your pillow before falling asleep. Reading it reminded me of how much a part of me still has a soft spot for stories like this one. I plead guilty to looking at all the artworks prior to reading the book because I was so excited.

I absolutely love the art of Laia López (I know, I'm biased) and I was looking forward to reading Strawberry Moon to see more of her work. I do wish we had more chubby sirens - except for Isla all the others are really skinny - but the plot was interesting and the ending left me destroyed and eager to get the sequel on my hands.Īll in all, thank you Laia for creating the world of Strawberry Moon - I'm pretty sure she's gonna be one of the biggest influences in the illustration/comic/graphic novel circles in the future.Īlso, publishers everywhere, GET THE RIGHTS ASAP!

I was actually amazed at how, even if Laia is an illustrator, the story and characters were so fleshed out and rounded. I understand making a comic instead of an illustrated novel takes a loooot longer and it's much harder, but maybe someday we will see a full-colour version of this book and I'll be the happiest alive. The characters' descriptions, the pace of the story and the descriptive way everything is told make it feel like this book was meant to be a comic from the very beginning (which I would have loved because Laia's artwork is amazing and so, so aesthetically pleasing!). To be honest, the book reads like a comic from the get-go. Although the plot and storyline seem quite simple for most of the book things take an interesting turn mid-way and I couldn't put it down until I had read the whole thing. The book follows Diana and her group of mermaids trying to live a normal life at University. So yeah, I kind of spoiled myself a bit of the story, but it was really worth it.

So obviously I rushed toward the bookshop on release day to get Strawberry Moon and (although she was horrified when I told her this) went through ALL the illustrations in the book the moment I held it on my hands. I am completely biased because I've followed Laia for a long time and I am a bit obsessed with her art style.

Strawberry Moon by Laia López