**SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t read The Lunar Chronicles or Wires and Nerve, Volume 1, you’re gonna wanna skip this review.
“Oh my stars!”
Title: Wires and Nerve, Volume 2: Gone Rogue
Author: Marissa Meyer
Illustrators: Stephen Gilpin and Douglas Holgate
Recommended to: Fans of the Lunar Chronicles
Book Type: Graphic Novel (from the library)
Rating: 5/5 stars
Once upon a time, I saw a book titled Cinder by Marissa Meyer sitting on display at my public library. Intrigued by the cover, which depicted a robotic foot in a red shoe, I checked it out and was immediately pulled into a sci-fi world where my favorite fairytales came to life – with a few twists. That was 2012. Since then, Meyer has turned written the rest of The Lunar Chronicles (Scarlet, Cress, Fairest, Winter, and Stars Above), plus the Wires and Nerve graphic novels – which follow Cinder and her friends in a post-Levana world.
Cinder’s android best friend Iko finally gets her time to shine in this graphic novel series as she and Kinney hunt down the rogue bioengineered wolf-soldiers, led by Alpha Lysander Steele. Steele’s threats become more personal and real, and tension grows between Earth and Luna as his pack shows no sign of stoping their reign of terror. Steele and his pack won’t stop unless Cinder can reverse their mutations – which is impossible. Now, Iko and Kinney along with the rest of The Lunar Chronicles crew must do the seemingly impossible – stop Steele and his pack, maintain peace between Earth and Luna, and make sure the Peace Festival can take place without incident.
Equally stressful and fun, Gone Rogue is engaging and near-impossible to put down. Meyer puts such life into her characters that they all feel real, and so do their problems and flaws. Iko learns more about herself and her programming, Kinney questions what he believes in, and everyone’s friendships come into question. Stephen Gilpin and Douglas Holgate illustrate this wonderful graphic novel and breathe even more life into Meyer’s characters. The facial expressions, action scenes, and emotional moments are full of detail and wonderful simplicity.
My expectations were high, as they always are with Meyer’s work. Meyer and her illustrators met and exceeded all of my expectations in this installment! Although Wires and Nerve takes on a different format than the original Lunar Chronicles books, the characters are still who they are, but they continue to grow and learn from one another. Gone Rogue is equally heart-warming and dark as its predecessors, and it does not shy away from some difficult topics such as:
-Questioning one’s morals.
-Questioning identity.
-Trust.
-Prejudice.
If you haven’t tried graphic novels yet, I suggest you read The Lunar Chronicles and then pick up the Wires and Rogue series. Anyone who enjoys a good story, especially twisted fairy tales, will quickly find themselves wishing they were on the Rampion with Cinder and her friends.
Love, always,
Syl
Syl Reads 