I love the art within this graphic novel-- it's bright, colorful, and the style is charming and unique. The quirky settings are what really made it stand out for me, but unfortunately the story was a bit.. lacking.

I couldn't get invested in Mel. Or her character, rather. Because there's no emotional background to relate to. Or there's no reason WHY I should care about her journey. She's just.. the chosen one. Okay.. and what else? Is she clever, kind, compassionate, smart? Is that what makes her the chosen one?
Oh.. no.. because a bee loved her so much?
Oh, okay I guess. I mean it's a cute concept.. but.. come on.

Okay, I'm being too mean.
This book is unique, and the author (I feel) has a lot of potential. But the characters in here are so lack luster! Mel isn't given time to shine, nor do we get to see her normal everyday life. Show me (besides one argument) what the rest of her life is like. Why doesn't she have friends? Is it because she's suffering from the loss of her grandparents? Is it because she doesn't know how to make friends? Is it a combination of those things?
How does Mel feel about making friends across this journey? How does that impact her? Oh, and how do Mel's friends feel KNOWING that.

Look, I know I sound like an English teacher, but I'm saying all this stuff because I know this book can be better! The charm, the whimsy-- all of it, yes ALL of it, has so much potential! But we don't get to see that whimsy elevated/ be impactful because the characters themselves fall short. There's not only no emotional connection between them, but there's no emotional depth to them!
What sort of insecurities/ obstacles does Mel have to over come? How does this help her defeat the villain? She has to be more mature, you say?
Okay, SHOW that. Don't say it. SHOW it.
Show Mel acting childish-- selfish, spoiled, like a know it all, not being understanding, etc-- and then show her overcoming those traits, and realizing her mistakes. Bam. Maturity.
Oh, you're saying she has to understand that growing up is important?
What I said still implies. Mel doesn't grow up within the book, she more so just goes on a quirky quest that really doesn't hold any value.

I think that this story/ world is so cool and whimsical but it falls flat on its face because the characters are so one dimensional! We don't see Mel grow, or change, we don't see her make any good friendships, etc. Instead, we just see her go on cool adventures. Which is nice, but this book is trying to be more, but failing. I don't get to see how Mel's loss of her grandparents impacts her, or how her everyday life impacts her, nor do I get to see WHY she's worthy of being the chosen one.

Look. I've rambled enough. I just hope the author's next work is better, and for the lack of a better word, more mature. This book is cute, and fun, but nothing more. It could've been more if more time had been put into the characters in story. I hope to see more from this author, since they're very talented, and have so much potential. I do hope their next work is better.