Booknote: Robert Heinlein's Citizen of the Galaxy

Robert Lazaro, Robert Heinlein's Citizen of the Galaxy. San Diego, CA: IDW, 2015. ISBN: 9781631403613. 

Genre: comics and graphic novels
Subgenre: science fiction, literary adaptations
Format: E-book galley
Source: Provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

From the book's description:

"Just outside our galaxy the atrocities of slavery thrive, and young Thorby is just another orphaned boy sold at auction. But when he crosses paths with a mysterious crippled beggar, his destiny is forever changed." 

This is a graphic novel adaptation of the classic Robert A. Heinlein novel. This is one of his juvenile pieces. It is a coming of age story. I have not read the novel, but when I saw this available, I figured I would take a chance.

Thorby is bought at a slave auction by a beggar who can barely afford him. In fact, the only reason the beggar is able to buy him is because the price on him is way low and no one else wanted to buy him. However, it turns out this beggar is more than what he seems, and soon Thorby is involved in quite an adventure and a quest to fight against slavery.

This is a good read. I think it may be a good read for reluctant readers, and if you prefer to read graphic novels over the full novel, this may be a good choice as well. The story was good and engaging. As we learn more about the beggar, the story gets deeper and grows in complexity. There were a couple of small details here or there about the free traders I was not all sure about (I wonder if it is a bit of losing some detail when you take a novel and compress it into a shorter graphic novel, but that is a side thought), but I was able to follow the story well overall.  The art was very good and went well with the tale. It is a good, solid science fiction story, and a nice adaptation on a classic.

For libraries with collections of graphic novels, especially public libraries, this is a good choice. It is one I would consider getting for our library, so I would say academic libraries could choose it as well if they collect graphic novels. It is a juvenile selection, so good for your teen readers. Also, a library collects other graphic novel adaptations of classic literature, it should get this one as well. 

I really liked this one, so I am giving it 4 out of 5 stars.

This book qualifies for the following 2015 Reading Challenges: