Oddly Normal, Volume 1

by Otis Frampton

Paperback, 2006

Status

Available

Call number

741

Publication

Viper Comics (2006), Comic, 128 pages

Description

Meet Oddly Normal, a ten-year-old girl with pointed ears and green hair -- a half-witch who will be the first to tell you that having a mother from a magical land called Fignation and a father from Earth doesn't 't make it easy to make friends at school! On her tenth birthday, she blows out her cake's candles and makes a disastrous wish. Now, Oddly must travel to Fignation to uncover the mystery of her parents ' disappearance. Join Oddly as she navigates a strange new school, monstrous bullies, and Evil itself on an unforgettable fantasy adventure through the vibrant world of Fignation in ODDLY NORMAL.

User reviews

LibraryThing member ohioyalibrarian

Oddly Normal is a half-witch who gets herself into trouble by wishing her parents would disappear. She gets sent to Fignation where everything is a figment of imagination. This is fun and has lots to say about all of us who just don't quite fit in!

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LibraryThing member anneklee

Oddly Normal, is anything but normal. Her mother is a witch, and her father is normal, making Oddly half witch with no powers. She is very unpopular in school, has green hair, pointy ears and no friends. Oddly makes a birthday wish which sends her parents away, and she is forced to live with her

aunt, and still remains odd. Despite all her hardships, Oddly learns that the only person she can and needs to believe in is herself.

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LibraryThing member sharmon05

What a delightful graphic novel. The plot is strong and moves quickly. There is a sense of mystery and suspense in the book that keeps you turning the page. However, I find that the layout of the book and text can be confusing. This would not be a good book for a child who is struggling with

concepts about print. The book builds for more novels that I am sure are going to be fantastic.

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LibraryThing member haldemac

Oddly Normal is the name of a young girl that is half witch and half human. She is an outsider that wants to fit in but doesn't know what world she belongs in.

LibraryThing member librarybrandy

Oddly Normal is a 10-year-old half-witch (her dad’s human; her mom’s a witch) who accidentally wishes her parents away at the end of a lousy birthday. With her parents gone, Oddly goes to live with her great-aunt in her mother’s homeland: Fignation. It’s an adventure, a fantasy, and a great

example of how much fun all-ages comics can be. And the art is amazing-—I love his coloring in particular. I’m very excited for the next volumes.

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LibraryThing member MeganLuke

The first graphic novel I have read. I am impressed by the was the story can be told through the pictures with the text being a highlight. I can see the appeal to kids these days. The character of Oddly Normal is well-developed and the reader is able to relate to her. The other characters are

pulled from various other stories which could provide additional reading for students who become attached to characters.

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LibraryThing member Karen59

Oddly Normal is a 10 year old girl whose mother is a witch from a place called Fignation and her father a "normal." With her green hair and pointy chin and ears she is an outcast at school. On her birthday she wishes that her parents would disappear and when they do she finds herself in Fignation

with her aunt. Culture shock and chaos ensues and Oddly Normal struggles to fit in here too. Though this graphic novel is considered all-ages it is really perfect for the 9+ girl or boy and up, but not for adults. There are witches, fairy tale characters, monsters and the like who will keep most kids interested and involved. The comic reads beautifully on Bluefire Reader app. The colors are saturated and Book 1 has a mysterious, spooky feel. It is short and just when it seemed that the action in Fignation starts the comic was over.

Thank you NetGallay for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

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LibraryThing member CareBear36

A nice simple comic. Interesting story with cute (yet awesome) artwork that is appropriate for all ages.

I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to continue the series. It is a fun short graphic novel that keeps you wondering what will happen next. Oddly Normal's character is likeable and

relatable.

Due to the short length of the book, some of the dialog felt rushed, but the point still got across without feeling dragged out.

A great graphic novel, especially for a young audience.

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LibraryThing member theindigoshelf

With a witty protagonist and a crazy awesome story the first volume of Oddly Normal is required reading for any imaginative and snarky child or teen.

As soon as I read the first few pages I knew it was a very well done story for young children. I really enjoyed it from beginning to end. The 10 year

old protagonist, Oddly was an intelligent and snarky young girl. Unfortunately she is "different", and that means she is bullied by her classmates. She comes home to her birthday party thrown by her parents, who love her dearly. But no one they invited shows up. Even though Oddly is stressed out from her parents' nonchalance towards the way she is treated by everyone in her life as someone "odd", she manages to keep her cool until she makes a wish that makes her parents disappear. This is where the world-building and character-driven story really takes it up a notch and shows us a unique world that is full of imaginative wonders. The art in this graphic novel is bold and easy to read.

I was generously provided a review copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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LibraryThing member mattries37315

The trials of middle school are front and center in Otis Frampton’s “Oddly Normal, Book 1”, but unlike other young adult reads the young protagonist just can’t find any luck in either our world or the realm of Fignation. As a fan of Otis’ artwork I’ve known about his relaunch of this

series for a few years, but I wish I had grabbed this book earlier than I did.

Oddly Normal, the non-magical daughter of a witch and a normal human, has green hair and pointy ears thus subjecting her to middle school hell. On her 10th birthday she wishes her parents would go away and strangely enough they do. Whisked away to her mother’s home realm of Fignation by her Great Aunt, Oddly enters a new school and finds herself back in middle school hell because instead of being a half-witch in the real world, she is a half-human in the imaginary world. And then she barely escapes an attack on her life.

This young adult graphic novel is not another story in which an social outcast goes to a new school and becomes someone special, it’s a story in which a social outcast goes to a new school and is still a social outcast…if not worse. The artwork and story by Frampton are both excellent and will draw any young reader in because at some time in our younger days we felt like social outcasts, but it seems that poor Oddly has it worse and that makes the reader want to see her overcome things and discover what happened to her parents.

If the ‘young adult’ tag puts you off personally from reading “Oddly Normal” then direct a middle school that you know towards this book and let them follow along as a green-haired, pointy-eared 10 year old tries to navigate not one, but two middle schools in which doesn’t fit.

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LibraryThing member krau0098

I got a sampler chapter of this graphic novel at Free Comic Book Day this year and really enjoyed it. It was actually included in the kid’s pack and my 9 year son immediately latched onto it on something he thought “Was really good.” I ended up checking the library to see if they had the full

graphic novel and they did. This is a beautifully drawn and colored graphic novel with a decent story that is fun and should appeal to the middle grade age group.

Many kids will relate to Oddly Normal’s feelings of not belonging or awkwardness. Many kids have also probably wished their parents would just “Go away and leave them alone”.

The book blends the social issues of “fitting in” with some excellent humor and ends up being a very entertaining read. I enjoyed all the crazy creatures in Fignation and how excited Oddly Normal is to finally be normal in this crazy school.

Overall this was a fun and cute graphic novel that will appeal to middle grade readers. I enjoyed the illustration and thought the story was cute. While it wasn’t something I found completely engaging (the story is just a bit too simple); I did enjoy it and think younger readers will enjoy it more than adult readers. I will probably read more of the series because these books are quick reads and my son enjoys them.

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LibraryThing member mirikayla

Well. I LOVED this.

LibraryThing member emeraldreverie

This was a bit surreal reading it. I really enjoy the more recent editions and can see why and how it was developed. This version has potential, but nowhere near the spark and joy that the new one does. Also, I appreciate the development in art style for the updated books.

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