There’s a lot to appreciate about Kate Wheeler’s Goat Magic, a rather whimsical and magical fairytale-esque story that follows two girls on an epic journey. But there’s also a lot to feel quite meh about as they venture to return a princess to her home and save the kingdom along the way—moderately, I suppose, reminiscent of The Emperor’s New Groove, especially in how it falls in line with a very idealistic view of the ruling class learning to be better.

Perhaps this is a result of my being older or one of developed disillusionment as a result of the unending greed of those in power I’ve experienced so far in my life, but I can’t help feeling that it’s exceedingly unrealistic to hope that if you introduce a privileged royal to the horrors of what the powers that be have done to their people, suddenly said royal will be deeply invested in changing how things are. It instills what I believe to be a false hope in young readers, leading them only to extreme disappointment as they grow and learn more about the world.

I should know; I was one of them.

So, yeah. It’s a cute story. The girls and the magic are adorable. The artwork is creative and pretty and colorful. The journey their relationship and development take is nothing short of beautiful. But it’s idealistic to the point that I can’t help feeling how unfair it is for kids to grow up with these ideas surrounding them only to have those beliefs and ideals destroyed when they get older. It’s what the world should be, but it’s not what it is. And I suppose, with how often we see stories like this, it has just begun to feel disingenuous.

What I will give Goat Magic credit for, however, is the fact that there’s a true admittance to the fact that change—good change—cannot and will never happen overnight. It takes hard work and debate and argument and the right people fighting for change—and hopefully not finding themselves corrupted along the way.

I think, in the end, I can see Goat Magic as a starter story. But I implore parents not to forget to have a conversation about the world with their kids afterward.

This was a very cute and heartwarming story between a goat herder and a princess. Trill is disappointed that all her magic can do is take care of goats, however one day she runs into Alya who has been cursed into a goat. These two will have to work together to help Alya get her throne back and stop the rebellion.
Personally I loved the style of drawing this graphic novel has and I also loved all the goats. The premise sounded super fun and the story delivered just that!
I really liked both MCs and I think anybody can enjoy this story.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Oni Press for giving me a free copy of an eARC!

Goat Magic is a middle grade graphic novel about a goat herder girl Trill, and the palace princess Alya. The story is set in a magical world, where not everyone is allowed to use their magic, only the ones who are able to attend the magical school... For the rich.

Trill has magic, but she's "just" a countryside girl, with "goat magic" which makes her able to talk to her flock. It's a unique ability, though she's definitely undervaluing her skills, especially compared to other, fancier magic skills. Trill and Alya's fate collide after the princess' convoy gets attacked and the princess gets cursed and has to run.
The story was fast paced and cute. Other than the two main characters, a couple of other, interesting characters were also introduced, like the Moth lady, who helped out our two girls. And of course, the goats! If you love goats you'll probably love this little story, they're definitely a shining part of this graphic novel.
The art style is cute, it has its highlights too, with hilarious facial expressions, pretty landscapes and lovely panels. But unfortunately, for me, the art style was the weakest part of the reading experience, and I do feel bad about it. I think a little polishing could have helped and some more details here and there. Some panels felt a little bit too weird, i saw someone else mentioning this too, 'the side profiles with the open mouths' design choice was often quite often, but it wasn't working for me.
I have two more things to say about the plot itself:
Can't go into too much details about the villain without spoilers, but he did have good points. I'm not sure if it's the best message that the awful royal family's doing, who socially and/or magically excludes their own people based on position and money, can be changed by one person from the same royal family.
And I'm always down for a sapphic couple but i believe our main characters would have worked better as best friends in this one.

3.5/5 (rounded up)

absolutely adorable! gorgeous artwork and a story that is both reminiscent of other royalty-transforming-into-animals stories while also being its own wonderful thing!

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for the e-ARC of Goat Magic!
5 / 5 ⭐

I've been lucky enough to read quite a few Oni Press ARCs, and Goat Magic is probably my favorite! Sweet and gentle in a way reminiscent of the Tea Dragon Society but with a rapidly approaching deadline with real ramifications, Goat Magic is a perfect blend of cozy and adventure.

This was cute. As a big fan of goats, this called to me, and since the princess looks like my favorite goat, I was into it.

The art is fun, and it reminded me of Kay O'Neill's work (Tea Dragon Society, A Song for You & I, etc.). The world is interesting on a visual level, and there are some lovely two-page spreads of the fantastical landscapes. For a large portion of the story, I felt like the plot was pretty standard--not many surprises, but it is middle grade, and I've read more books than the target audience, so I was still having a good time.

I struggled at the end, though. The message of this book, more or less, seems to be that if you can just prove to the oligarchs in power that their deliberately unfair system is hurting people, then they'll stop doing the bad thing. Possible mild spoiler ahead: This was one of those books where I felt like the "bad guy" had a point, and while I'm not saying we should all come up with elaborate and needlessly complicated plans to curse our political enemies, I didn't love that the story re-consolidated power into the hands of the ruling class. The end felt extremely wishy-washy, and while I liked the characters, I wish that Wheeler hadn't fallen into the tired rut of this narrative that a benevolent ruler will save us from the ravages of a corrupt ruler without any other substantive changes to the system. There were also a number of plot holes that you can't look at too closely or the story falls apart, though at the risk of further spoilers I'll leave it at that.

Anyway, cute goats, cool world, but I feel like the narrative itself could have been stronger.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for the ARC.

This was a beautifully written and illustrated fantasy graphic novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. The characters were well developed and the world building was solid. Plus there were goats aplenty!

Definitely add this one to your TBR.

Thank you Oni Press and Netgalley for the eARC and because I have a teenaged daughter that is expertly teenaging at the moment (send help or alcohol), I have left an honest review

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc!

goat magic was a fantastic coming of age, middle grade graphic novel, full of mischievous goats and magic.

i loved the character development, the art style, as well as the expressions of the characters!

This is an adorable graphic novel full of friendship, adventure and the importance of believing in yourself. The art is really lovely, especially the backgrounds and settings. I enjoyed the political aspects of the story; one of the main characters is a princess and over the course of the book finds out that her family's rule doesn't benefit everyone the way it benefits her family. The story is all ages; it would be a fun book to give to a child, but adults will also find plenty to enjoy. My favourite part is the goats; they are such fun characters with so much personality!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for me to review!

This was sO cute, the art is adorable and there are tons of cute goats and a nice lil queer side plot. There are some moments where it seems like parts of the story were skipped over, and some of the art is sketchier than the rest. However overall it is very cute and not terribly graphic.

This has a fairly common plot for fantasy books - somebody is going after a royal who has to be in hiding and teams up with a commoner who helps them see the truth about their family's reign. There also happen to be goats involved.

There's romance at the end that felt completely unnecessary and came out of nowhere. It seemed like the characters were going to be each other's first close friends, but instead they have to kiss.

The art is fine, but the characters are often shown in profile with their mouths open and no teeth and it looks weird to me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital review copy.

J'ai beaucoup apprécié cette BD, elle me fait pensée a ces nouvelles BD jeunesse plus longue et très bien construite. Les personnages ont un design simple mais des caractères forts et intéressants. Le développement de la princesse et somme toute assez classique, mais je trouve que l'univers est très bien approfondit.
Je suis très heureuse de voir ce genre d'histoire en format de Bande Dessinée être de plus en plus publiée, elle me rappelle le travaille de Kay O'Neill ou Molly Knox Ostertag avec leurs histoires pleines de douceurs et de personnages à la fois complexes et attachants.

Inclusive LGTBTQIA2S+ friendly fantasy story about a peasant who doesn't think much of her magical abilities with goats and a princess who is turned into, you've got it, a goat. The art style is warm and almost friendly, the plot moves quickly and the slight twist at the end was appreciated.

I received a free copy from the publisher through Netgalley and voluntarily reviewed it. All opinions are my own.

This one caught my eye when I spotted it on Netgalley, the title and cover just sounded so fun and I knew I had to read it. I am so glad I got approved for it as I had a fun time reading this one. It's a fun fantasy adventure type story following a goat herder with special magic that let her talk to her goats and a princess who gets cursed to turn into a goat during the day.

I liked Trill from the start, she's just such a fun character with her goats and her magic and her desire to explore the world and do something more. She has some self esteem issues as she always was made to feel her magic and powers weren't enough, but she does have a supportive mother. Alya is the princess of the kingdom, she is called the "Ordinary Princess". She struggles really feeling like a princess and when she gets cursed to turn into a goat during the day and only be in her human form at night she meets Trill while she's a goat and joins the herd. This set up gave me a bit The Emperor's New Groove vibes, which I liked.

I liked reading about these character and especially the character related plot lines and seeing them grow throughout the book. Alya has been a bit sheltered and now that she travels throughout the world she hears of people havign issues with the way the kingdom is governed and hearing their complaints and seeing different sides. While Trill gains in confidence during this journey and realizes how handy her magic can be. There are quite some interesting parts to the story like who the villain is who cursed Alya and why, his motivation makes sense too. There also is the whole part about the magic schools and Alya wanting to change how the kingdom is ruled and slowly growing into her confidence as a princess too.

Next to the bigger plot and adventure there are all these quieter and cozier scenes as well and I thought those were great. I liked seeing Trill and Alya grow closer and be there for each other. There's even a bit of romance there. There also are some fun side characters along the way like the moth lady they go to for advice. And ofcourse all the goats are so fun to read about and they have their own personality as well.

The artwork was pretty and fit the story well. It was all full color and the story really came to life with the help of the artwork. I liked seeing the different scenery along their adventure. And I liked seeing all the different facial expressions of the characters, the art could convey so much and it was just nice to look at it all.

To summarize: I had a great time reading Goat magic, this was such a fun book. It features two likable characters who grow a lot and learn about themselves along the way. The plot is a fantasy adventure style with a villain who curses one of the main characters, the villain has a solid motive. There is a touch of romance as well. I liked reading about the characters and their adventure and learning about this world. There are lots of fun side characters like the goats and the moth lady. The artwork was beautiful and I liked how the art added to the story, I liked being able to see all the different scenery as well as the character facial expressions. All in all I had a great time reading this one, it's a fun read and the artwork looks great.

Goat Magic is a wonderful middle grade graphic novel fantasy adventure! With goat magic, gorgeous illustrations that bring to life all of the fantastic creatures, and royal assassination plot, Goat Magic held my attention from page 1. I loved the way the 2 protagonists worked together even though they were from completely different worlds, they both had so much heart in this book! Overall, definitely one I would recommend!

Thanks to Netgalley, Oni Press, and Kate Wheeler for the chance to read and review. My opinions are my own!

This was such a great story! So many elements of this story that I adored, the magic system being one of the big ones. The magic system in the book is so well done, and I think some elements have a basis in real-world "folk magic" pagan practices. The journey of this story does remind me faintly of Emperor's New Groove, but it's mostly the "royalty gets turned into an animal and has someone of a lower social status help them return to a human" concept that's doing that. I love that Alya learns more about herself, her people, and the state of her country on the journey to become human again! You can watch her grow as a person and a ruler. She doesn't shy away from the truth and tries to accept it honestly. I also adored that Trill learns to step into herself, and learn to accept herself and her magic. The way they both think of themselves as lesser, and together learn that no, they are NOT lesser, and it is so sweet to read. I also enjoyed the art style. It was a bit simple, and there are sketches of them prior to the book that had a style I adored. But the art is honestly great with how it handles page flow. Nothing is confusing, and there is equal attention paid to the details of characters and cities. I honestly think this book would do amazing as an animated movie or series!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

"Goat Magic" is a middle grade graphic novel by Kate Wheeler. Princess Alya is called the "ordinary princess" because she doesn't seem to de talented at anything. Trill, a goatherder, is very talented in goat magic and speaking to her goats. When Alya is turned into a goat and runs into Trill, they try to find a way to turn Alya back. Along the way, Alya learns a lot about how her kingdom is failing her people. Can she turn things around? This was a beautiful and well-written story. A recommended purchase for middle grade graphic novel collections.

Trill's life and magic are tied to goats—which she loves, but she also dreams of something more. And she just might find that when her story intersects with that of Alya, who is usually a princess but currently a goat...

This was super cute. I love the way Trill in particular is drawn, and her attitude is great—she's competent and a bit snarky; she's practical and stubborn in a way that she miiiight have learned from her goats. Alya has a bit more to learn; she's lived a privileged life but never had to prove herself in a real way. If anything, life as a princess has set her up to be a disappointment, and finding a way to de-goat-ify herself (and, oh yeah, save her kingdom and her mother in the process) is the first time she's had to step up in a way that has stakes.

The villain is intentionally tricky (and that's all I'll say about that), and there's plenty of tension to carry the book through. I didn't really need the romance (a platonic friendship story would have been just fine), but as written it's sweet and low-key, and very little of the tension is relationship drama, which is nice. Really, I'm mostly only sorry that "Goat Magic" wasn't longer—it felt complete, but I would have kept reading.

I hope this one makes it into a lot of middle school libraries.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

'Goat Magic' is a really fun and really sweet graphic novel that I devoured the second my request was accepted.

I love goats! I love graphic novels! I love magical girls turned into goats!

This was so fun, had a pretty artstyle and a really touching relationship between our two mc's - an ever present reminder that you can find your place, even if that place is in a different herd.

This Graphic Novel is visually stunning with many of the background behind the panels having colour, or blending with the panels to extend the art. This is also a very unique art style which I can appreciate as some all blend together after a while. The fact that the main characters are also unique in their styles is also refreshing as you can really tell that they belong in this world.

A goat herder, Trill, and a princess Alyannu (that has fallen under a curse where she becomes a goat during the day), travel together to try and find a cure and get back to Alya's mom who has been injured in a road side attack.

The troubles that they have on the road, and at the capital are understandable (nothing can ever be easy on a quest), but it also helps the characters come into their personalities and show their true potential!

A wonderful graphic novel for those that want some adventure with coziness sprinkled in.