Aya: Life in Yop City Paperback – Illustrated, September 4, 2012

My only complaint with this graphic novel is that it is not a stand alone book which means I have to buy the rest! Aya herself is a fascinating character, but just as fascinating are her friends and family who create a unique story experience that I have no experienced from other authors. This is a great read even without considering it as a new perspective to see stories from, but with that perspective it is even more invaluable.

Aya in Yop City is so vibrant and full of life!The solid color palette and articulate speech make for a smooth reading experience about urban life on the African coast in decades past during a peak of cultural influence through the eyes of a young woman and her family. Book shipped fast and came with no defects.

I absolutely adore these books and so I pre-ordered them here without closely reading the fine print AND ran from Manhattan to Brooklyn to a graphic novel/comics store I knew would carry them just because I was impatient with mail delivery. I figured I'd give the other copy as a gift. The store staff were just as annoyed as I was with the fat gleaming paperback that seems to be new work but is actually an omnibus of the first three volumes. There is new work coming in October. But I tell you between me, the staff and another lady there was nearly a riot in the store. LOL.The publisher needs to put some clear labels on the cover QUICK.

Wonderfully written and illustrated. Abouet tells a great coming of age story. It was the 3 volume set which means I could read them back to back. I would like to get my hands on the next 2 also.

This is one fantastic book. I read it for my graphic novels course, and it was really cool to see a perspective on Africa that Americans almost never see. It's not the most dramatic book in the world, with a casual tone that deals with everyday people with everyday problems. It's charming, interesting, and you care a lot about the characters too. Definitely give it a read.

Aya is a great set of stories, to be recommended wholeheartedly. But I should have read the titles more carefully: this is a reprint edition of the first three books. From what I can tell, if you've read the first three, then the final three will be collected in Love in Yop City, the final three chapters. Unfortunately, the similar names are potentially confusing, and someone who just sees the appearance of a new Aya book in English, as I did, can conclude that it is simply the next installment, which this isn't.

This book serves basically as a summary of the first two books, I did not know this when I purchased it, because I own the first two books of the trilogy (third book to be released November 2012). It was decent a precedent to the third book, but, because it is a summary, the book feels rushed, and does not give the complete scope of the characters that one gets after having read the first to books. My suggestion, get the first two books, then purchase the third book when available, skip the summary, it reads like Cliff's Notes! Lol

I loved this book, and the printing is very good quality. I'm going to get the second collection (Love in Yop City) so I can find out what happens to everyone!