Gotten as an online reader copy win, Cassette City V01 Ready, Cassette, Go! written and illustrated by Jarett Sitter is due March 2026. That is a pretty dull start to a not so dull story. Sure things are a bit slow and familiar if you are one who has read a lot of coming of age stories, but if you are new to the genre you will appreciate it.
The setting is fun (reminiscent of the 1980s and early 1990s) but sometimes the images are a bit crowded for my personal tastes. Yet, this mixed up mixed tape of a world has some fun moments that can make you forgive that. The characters are very diverse (we have humans, raccoons, mushrooms, tigers, possums, mad scientists, robots) and have very big problems: being the “dorky kids,” having to move to a new town, bullies, dropping drum sticks, not being able to get the hot new cassette tape of your favorite band.
So, nothing was WOW AMAZING WORLD CHANGING for me, but I did enjoy it. The beginning is a bit slow, the middle took off, then the ending had its ups and downs. I am not sure if I will find volume two when it is available, as I like how things ended. This band of misfit friends have their Happy Ever After (of sorts) so why do I want to lose that? However, I will be looking into finding more works by Jarett Sitter as they will be a voice for this generation.
