Clementine: Book One
by Tillie Walden
Clementine is struggling to survive on her own in a world full of zombies. She has had one of her legs amputated, and has to hobble along travelling north. Sometimes she meets people, but is reluctant to trust anyone. Amos is an Amish teen, leaving his homestead community to look for work in the mountains. They travel together for a few days and develop a tenuous friendship. But the world is cruel and people can’t be trusted.
I was not a fan of the graphic violence and profanity in this book. I understand that obviously a book about zombies is going to have some serious violence, so I expected that. But the profanity was just completely unnecessary. If it had been just one or two words, then I might have overlooked it; but it got worse as the book went on.
I liked Clementine’s character and I felt pity for her. Everyone is broken and crazy and just trying to survive. Clementine probably has PTSD and she sometimes seems emotionless, like she has lost all feeling, but then she will overreact to something small and her anger comes pouring out. I liked that her character has a lot of depth, and this story is not afraid to explore these dark emotions.
A lot of people die. A lot. So that made me not connect to any of the other characters, because I kept thinking that there’s no point in getting fond of anyone because they will just die in the next chapter.
The plot is okay, but it sort of meanders around. I didn’t care for the dialogue sometimes, because it felt like it was trying too hard to be philosophical or meaningful, and missing the mark a bit. And sometimes the characters are so cryptic in their dialogue that I couldn’t follow what they were talking about or what was happening.
I didn’t care for the artwork. It’s well done, but the style is just not my personal preference. Maybe if it were color instead of black and white, then I might have been able to keep track of the characters a little better. They are all bundled up in jackets and hats, and sometimes I couldn’t tell who was who.
Overall, I did not enjoy this graphic novel. But if you love zombie stories and you don’t mind violence and profanity, then you might like it.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.
Luminous Libro 
I didn’t know there was a graphic novel based off The Walking Dead video game! Loved Season 1 (especially Lee), and the death, violence, and bleakness seem on par with the game. Unfortunate that it wasn’t for you, but we all have different tastes and sometimes we can’t like everything we read.