“[Aya] wittily delves into both the political and the pop during an enchanted era when anything seemed possible.” —Vibe Vi...
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reviews
Dec 31, 2011
Sam
rated it: 
I read the first Aya book after several years of avoiding comics and really enjoyed it. The artwork was fresh, the story (though somewhat soap opera-ish) was enjoyable, and the world seemed familiar to Westerners yet distinctively African. I picked this sequel up after a few years of reading hundreds and hundreds of comic books and found it to be not at all what I was expecting it to be.
The artwork is ok but the story is just too slight to make up an entire book. Aya is an independent More...
The artwork is ok but the story is just too slight to make up an entire book. Aya is an independent More...
Jul 28, 2011
Javier
rated it: 
Aya
Written by Marguerite Abouet
Art by Clement Oubrerie
The standard narrative of any story set in Africa includes an empathy numbing array of horrors: Child Soldiers wielding machetes and AK-47's, famine, rape, AIDS, corruption, slavery. The desire to call attention to this awfulness is understandable, important even. Yet by having tragedy so omnipresent, it dehumanizes those dealing with that as a part of their life. Marguerite Abouet's series Aya consciously bucks thi More...
Written by Marguerite Abouet
Art by Clement Oubrerie
The standard narrative of any story set in Africa includes an empathy numbing array of horrors: Child Soldiers wielding machetes and AK-47's, famine, rape, AIDS, corruption, slavery. The desire to call attention to this awfulness is understandable, important even. Yet by having tragedy so omnipresent, it dehumanizes those dealing with that as a part of their life. Marguerite Abouet's series Aya consciously bucks thi More...
Nov 11, 2010
Gina
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Oct 01, 2008
Elie
rated it:
The artwork in this graphic novel set in Cote d'Ivoire makes this book worth reading. The plot started mid-way in the usual comic book cycle and there wasn't enough character differentiation to hold a rather jarred storyline peppered with the usual African stereotypes: the young single mother, the authoritarian father, the bad boy whose come back from overseas. I would look through the pictures in the other installments, but otherwise not bother.
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Jan 21, 2011
lesleymac
rated it:
I really regret having to read this book before the first book in the series ("Aya"). For some reason, my position on the hold list is going up, instead of going down.
"Aya of Yop City" was exactly as promised, and very enjoyable. It was the kind of story that could have happened anywhere, with strategic detail that placed in firmly on the Ivory Coast of the late 70's. The characters are interesting and three dimensional, and they change over the course of the sto More...
"Aya of Yop City" was exactly as promised, and very enjoyable. It was the kind of story that could have happened anywhere, with strategic detail that placed in firmly on the Ivory Coast of the late 70's. The characters are interesting and three dimensional, and they change over the course of the sto More...
Jan 15, 2009
Robin
rated it: 
As a friend who reads comics pointed out the other day, with a graphic novel, it can go wrong in two ways, the text and the illustrations. For me it's often very difficult to get past the illustrations if they don't interest me but that is NOT the case with these books. I love the pictures and it's just a neat slice of life story about the Ivory Coast in the 1970s. This book focuses on the paternity of Aya's friend's new baby but other secrets are revealed with the ending a bit of a cliff-hanger
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Oct 14, 2011
Stephanie
rated it:
Pretty delightful! I don't know how I came to pick up the second volume without any knowledge that it was a series, but while it was clearly picking up threads (that had been left off at quite a cliffhanger, I would imagine!) and didn't tie up all of its own loose ends, the action was surprisingly comprehensible. I'm curious to read both the first and later ones. I especially enjoyed not just the art but the cultural attitudes that are unapologetically embedded in the story--I've pretty much dou
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Jul 30, 2009
Angela
rated it:
Purely by accident I read Aya of Yop City before the original Aya. Clearly this volume is not meant to be a story in itself, as it opens in the middle of several characters' relationship dramas, most of which remain unresolved, and the story leads up to a beauty pageant that doesn't happen before the book ends. I'm not against serial stories, but in a hardback volume they can be a little frustrating.
Still, the art is good and the storyline is intriguing; the 1970s Ivory Coast setting More...
Still, the art is good and the storyline is intriguing; the 1970s Ivory Coast setting More...
May 04, 2010
Sarah
rated it:
I love my library but there are some shelving decisions there that baffle me. Graphic novels, for instance, are shelved separately but within reach of fiction for middle grades and young adults. Adult graphic novels though are put with the nonfiction according to their Dewey decimal call number. Because they aren't put near fiction I had no idea there were any adult graphic novels until I happened to see the cover of one from the reading area at the back of the library.
The cover I ha More...
The cover I ha More...
Jul 26, 2009
Rachel
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Sep 29, 2008
Nathaniel
rated it:
"Aya of Yop City" is a playful, lower-class soap-opera style introduction to West Africa. Abouet conjures three interrelated families, focusing her attention on one young woman from each family all of whom are trying to navigate their way towards dependable spouses in a landscape of dirt bags and forced marriages. The writing is light and conversational, leaning towards slang, with absolutely nothing brooding, poetic or introspective about it (thought bubbles do not appear at any time)
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Jul 24, 2010
Eric
rated it:
How refreshing to read a book about Africa based on universality of experience, warm family ties, and beautific commonality. Of course conflict and class are never far away (just as in the US and elsewhere), but Abouet succeeds admirably in telling stories of people that are familiar and friendly. At the risk of losing some of the gravitas that other tales of war-torn Africa carry, this book tells a relatively simple story (several stories, actually), but in that simplicity lies the agreeable co
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Sep 16, 2009
Hester
rated it:
This book is so close to being good. The illustrations are lovely and I have never read a book set in Cote d'Ivoire. The story, however, had plenty of plot lines, only one of which was resolved. I enjoyed the supplemental information at the back more than the tale itself. It is a pleasant way to pass an afternoon, but it raises more questions than it answers.
I recently discovered there is another book by the author, "Aya." If this is a sequel, then I may need to rewrite the
I recently discovered there is another book by the author, "Aya." If this is a sequel, then I may need to rewrite the
Aug 11, 2010
Jake
rated it:
I gave the first Aya book 3 stars mostly because it seemed to lack closure. Now that I know that this slice-of-life ensemble story is a series, it makes much more sense. This second Aya volume is as gorgeous as the first and slowly builds out the title character's web of friends and families and their secrets with humor and love. I see on D&Q's webpage that there's at least one more volume. I could keep reading these volumes indefinitely and be happy.
Jan 14, 2010
Molly
rated it:
Why did I start with the second book? I didn't know any better. But it was alright- it's not like there was alot that couldn't be figured out. I was worried it would be like those books that depict Africa as either a land of people who talk in parables and eat yams, or everyone is starving or has AIDS. This definitely avoided those stereotypes and really just depicted a group of likable people and their (mis)adventures of daily life. Not bad.
Dec 01, 2008
sweet pea
rated it:
this volume is much more compelling than the first. the story continues to follow the lives of Aya's friends and family (while barely following the life of Aya herself). the slice of middle (and upper) class life in Côte d'Ivoire is illuminating. the illustrations are often beautiful, although the characters' rudimentary eyes continues to disappoint. the extras at the end aren't quite as fun as last volume, but still are cute nonetheless.
Jan 20, 2009
Alisa
rated it:
Both Aya books were good, but the 2nd one was much more complex, running several story lines simultaneously, based on character knowledge acquired during the more conventional and slower-paced first book.
It was really fun to learn about the Ivory Coast in the 1970s, and I especially enjoyed the notes at the end of the story about customs (like the print of your pagne literally advertises how you're feeling about life and love).
It was really fun to learn about the Ivory Coast in the 1970s, and I especially enjoyed the notes at the end of the story about customs (like the print of your pagne literally advertises how you're feeling about life and love).
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Jul 20, 2011
Margot
rated it: 
Oh, the ups and downs of family life are universally human, and Abouet gives us a look at some everyday interactions in the Ivory Coast that don't center around violence.
I particularly enjoyed the "Ivoirian Bonus" at the end of the book, including tips on how to carry your baby on your back, some recipes, and interviews with the authors.
I particularly enjoyed the "Ivoirian Bonus" at the end of the book, including tips on how to carry your baby on your back, some recipes, and interviews with the authors.
Jan 02, 2009
Qiana
rated it:
Not as lovely as the first, but Abouet is clearly setting things up for the third volume of the series. This one seems to move too abruptly between story lines and characters, and I was especially disappointed to see that Aya doesn't play a very larger role in the narrative. Let's hope the next book pulls everything together nicely. I love the premise and setting of this comic so much, that I'm still looking forward to reading more.
Jul 24, 2009
Anna
rated it:
I liked this one even better than Aya the original. This is the second of a three-part graphic novel series that features characters from 1970s-era Cote D'Ivoire. It's a really neat concept and the storytelling is done so well in this graphic novel format. It's easy to picture what it must look like and the characters seem so universally appealing and REAL!
Feb 10, 2012
Eve
rated it:
Love these books! Strong (especially female) characters, engaging story with interesting socio-cultural and political commentary worked in and informing it seamlessly, and beautiful illustrations. Love the setting, the history. Great! I'll need to brush up on my highschool french so that I can read the 4th and 5th in the series, as I'm on the 3rd now and will be so 'triste' when it's done. WINK.
Jan 25, 2012
Elizabeth
rated it:
This graphic novel is the #2 book in the Aya series. The story continues from where the last book ends, and the father of the baby is resolved. Like book #1, I enjoyed following the lives of Aya and her friends and am looking forward to seeing how the cliff hanger at the end of the book is resolved.
Jan 11, 2011
R
rated it:
My one problem with these books is that there seems to be no likable male characters. They're all kind of the same lecherous, disgusting douchebag.
But whatever, there's so many awesome female characters I kind of don't care. (You hear me, comics industry? AWESOME FEMALE CHARACTERS.)
But whatever, there's so many awesome female characters I kind of don't care. (You hear me, comics industry? AWESOME FEMALE CHARACTERS.)
Feb 28, 2010
Emilia
rated it:
Just as pretty, and to my bad memory, just as incidental as the first -- a positive, but measured view of Ivorian life. And babies! I kind of want there to be more of these, but I also sort of want more to happen in them and to care about the characters more. Ah well, they're pretty.
Dec 20, 2009
Jessica
rated it:
I didn't realize this was the middle of a series, so I was a bit confused by the abrupt ending, but otherwise really enjoyed the book. I have to get the other two books in the series from the library to orient myself better in the story and characters. I loved the art.
Apr 24, 2009
Destiny
rated it:
Even though I haven't read the first Aya volume, I found this to be easy to follow and enjoyable. I enjoyed the cast of characters, and following them through their daily dramas. The art was colorful and engaging. I also loved the humor that permeates the whole work.
Mar 18, 2009
Meri
rated it:
This is a graphic novel about every day life on the Ivory Coast. It's touted as the Persepolis of Africa, but there's not nearly enough political action to really say that. It's more like the To Kill a Mockingbird of Africa, but without the rhetoric.
Aug 26, 2009
Citizen
rated it:
Such a fun read and amazing art! You have to read Aya first because this is a continuation of that story. Kind of sad that they're so short. I love the Ivorian Bonuses at the end that provide some tidbits on African culture in this region (seeing as I'm an ignorant Westerner).
Jun 25, 2009
Angela
rated it:
Didn't realize until I got it home that this was the second in a series. It was easy enough to pick up the storyline, but it felt very much like I was only getting part of the story. Might pick up the first in the series if I happen to see it.
Apr 05, 2009
Malbadeen
rated it:
2 stars + quick read + colorful pictures + bits of insight in to another culture = keep reading the series.
*I know, another in depth/thought provoking review by Marie Sweeney...how do I do it with my busy schedule?!
*I know, another in depth/thought provoking review by Marie Sweeney...how do I do it with my busy schedule?!
