Reviewed by Gabriel Santos for Readers' Favorite

One hundred years from now, powerful monsters will annihilate humanity. The only hope lies with Jackie, a girl tasked with returning to the past and assembling a group of female heroes to prevent this tragedy. There are a few issues with this plan, however. The first problem is that Jackie is a sixteen-year-old with no field experience, but no one else is alive to do the job. The second problem is that, shortly after reaching the present, she has to face a rampaging monster without any preparation. Out of options, she picks a group of students to become female heroes... even though they’re all guys. Thus begins the graphic novel Jackie and the Magical Guys, by Amy Linsamouth, as Jackie and her new group of friends must use their abilities to save the world.

This first volume is a fast-paced introduction to the world, characters, and plot, not wasting any second in establishing the premise. I loved the short but action-packed time I spent with the story and characters. If you’re in the mood for a lighthearted romp filled with witty banter, eccentric personalities, and puns (lots and lots of puns), then look no further. Amy Linsamouth and Hamons, the illustrator, draw clear influences from anime and manga regarding character design, visual humor, tropes, and general style, so fans of Japanese media should find themselves at home. Overall, Jackie and the Magical Guys gave me a positive first impression, and I look forward to reading the following volumes.

Reviewed by Nino Lobiladze for Readers' Favorite

A giraffe received a tree as a gift after reaching adulthood. The giraffe ate all the leaves from the tree pretty quickly. Seeing how sad the giraffe was, other animals came out with different ideas and tried to help him spend the leaves effectively. An elephant suggested keeping a record of the leaves he ate. A lion offered a risky solution that included sales, while a chipmunk told the giraffe to save the leaves. Nothing seemed to work until a jay bird explained how to create a budget to the giraffe. But the giraffe found the jay's approach too complicated. Upon reflection, the giraffe finally resolved his problem. Aren't we all like this giraffe? How often do we stumble on the issue of spending our money more productively without feeling overwhelming guilt? The Happy Giraffe Budget by Nigel Bloomfield and Laura Bloomfield explains the main principles of budgeting to help us develop a better relationship with money.

I appreciated a simple yet profound fable about the giraffe and his struggles with leaves that represented money. Wonderful and expressive illustrations by the talented Jay Fontano complement this instructive story. In The Happy Giraffe Budget, Nigel Bloomfield and Laura Bloomfield offer an easy way to make a budget that relies on the giraffe's experience. The authors explain each aspect of budgeting in the short and straightforward chapters of this informative book. Nigel's and Laura's writing style is humorous, and the overall tone of The Happy Giraffe Budget is friendly. Nigel and Laura thoughtfully consider problems that can emerge even after applying the principles of budgeting described in the book. In The Happy Giraffe Budget, I found many easy-to-accomplish practical recommendations. The book is interactive, as the authors ask us to complete certain tasks and answer specific questions at the end of the chapters. I highly recommend The Happy Giraffe Budget to fans of the self-help genre and finance books.