Motteux, Léo Schilling, Joseph Laredo. Magnetic Press (224p) ISBN: 9781962413572. Graphic Novel, read 20/04/26, ebook ★★★★☆

Hana and Taru

Once more it was the beautiful cover art that drew me to this immediately, all that green and light making it irresistible.

Motteux follows the promise of the cover throughout the book, encompassing a lush, green landscape, marauding beasts, and the full range of emotions on all the characters in the books. This is so expertly done that you could probably follow the story without the text!

Hana is a captive of the forest giants and Taru is the daughter of the chief of the village of hunters and has been assigned to be Hana’s jailor.

Currently there is a rampaging group of giant forest beast that have been destroying the village bit by bit and the chief is determined to hunt them until they are no longer a threat.

But outside of this Taru is going to be told to kill Hana, but she has built a relationship with her and escapes the village.

The story is full of adventure, discovery, developing of found family, developing of independence, and striking out alone and looking at problems from a different angle to find solutions.

It also feels like a statement about ongoing climate change which can cause so many changes in our natural world and the behaviour of the creatures who live there.

I really enjoyed this from start to finish, it was well-paced and had enough peril and mystery to keep you hooked. I had to finish it in two sittings (why do we have to work?).

Perfect for lovers of Studio Ghibli, Naussica and Princess Mononoke come to mind immediately, strong young women and environmental perils.

I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Published on 12th May 2026