Minus is a graphic novel that is constructed well but one very messed-up story! Whatever your biases are will directly color and create your opinion of it.
Beck is a young girl who has convinced her overprotective father to let her go to college. She has been homeschooled her whole life and she is only seventeen, but knows she needs to do this. Even if she knows there are rules that will have to be strictly followed. On her way there a pit stop at a gas station ends with the store clerk shot, Becks father going missing and her phone is in their car that has been in an accident. Beck is resourceful and finally finds out answers to long-buried family secrets.
On the surface this is a great story. The messed-up part are all the coincidences and how neatly it wraps up. SPOILER. We learn Beck was kidnapped as a child and she has bonded to her kidnapper as if he was her biological father. The thing is, there really does not seem to be any Stockholm syndrome. Or is there? This is where your personal beliefs come into play. The other part that is, frankly, annoying is how everyone is connected: her “father” was married to the female police officer that finds Beck on the side of the road; who happens to be the ex-partner of her biological father. Beck’s online friend, Jeff, is boyfriend to the female officer’s stepdaughter. Then, the ending is pat and safe. Normal. The meat of the story turns me off. Yet, I think I like it a lot. Perhaps, I enjoyed the journey and experience of the book than the book itself, but either way, this is a graphic novel that will make you think.
I wish I could put ratings on each piece of the puzzle for this aged 14 (strong) and up read. Therefore, it would be:
- Art 4
- Panel placement 4
- Well written 4
- Plot points: 3.5 (few holes and way too many convenient coincidences)
- Likability of characters: 3
- Total: 3.5 rating (but giving it a 4 as there are no half points! )