Drama Llama: The Epic Conclusion

Yes, I've reached the end of my journey with Jillian Tamaki. I just finished her first work with her cousin Mariko entitled Skim. One thing is for certain...Tamaki has the corner market on teenage angst. (As you can probably tell, I'm over the angst.) The story follows a girl named Kim who is your typical teen who believes she's a practicing witch. (Normal for Willow on Buffy the Vampire Slayer so...) You might be wondering why Kim is nicknamed Skim. Me too. The explanation given didn't make much sense to me so I'm not going to even bother telling you. In Kim's school there is a preoccupation with suicide and depression. Most of the other students believe that Kim is at risk and as a result a lot of unwanted attention is turner her way. She develops an unconventional relationship with someone (I'm vague to avoid spoilers) and her relationships with others suffer. SO MUCH ANGST. I did enjoy this one more than This One Summer but it is by no means the best graphic novel I've ever read (that honor goes to Through the Woods by Emily Carroll). If you like manga type illustrations then you might enjoy this one for the aesthetic value alone but if you're looking for a WHOA kind of book then you might want to keep looking.

An example of the artistic style:

Source: http://theliterarysisters.wordpress.com

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

This is not Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters

At first blush, I didn't think I was cool enough to totally get this book. It starts off fast-paced and in your face. The humor is quite specialized...I don't know how else to describe it except 'hipster'. That doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy it, however. One of my favorite booktubers (look it up), Ariel Bissett, kept talking about the graphic novel SuperMutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki and how much she loved it. She flipped through its pages and the artwork which is primarily in black and white really appealed to me. The story follows a group of high school seniors as they navigate their way through the pitfalls of youth...except they're in a school full of mutants and magicians. After a time you forget that it's unusual for a character to be able to change its shape at will or travel through space. It becomes more about the relationships between the characters. My three favorites were Frances, Marsha, and Cheddar. Their cynical worldview and sarcastic wit had me chuckling with glee while on the train. Frances is a performance artist whose expression changes little from panel to panel. Marsha is in love with her female best friend and instead of telling her derides her at every opportunity. Cheddar just wants to get out of high school and undermines his teachers every chance that he gets (like Bender in The Breakfast Club). There are poignant moments about the fleetingness (I Googled this and its a real word so there) of youth and the seeming insignificance that most teenagers (and adults) have felt at one time or another. I do want to warn those with sensitive sensibilities because there is vulgar language and dirty jokes but since this is about teenage angst I think it's to be expected. (When does that kind of humor cease to be funny? For me, it't still going quite strong.) Overall, a quick, witty read that I think will appeal to those with an ability to laugh at themselves.

Here are two quick peeks:

The smoker is Frances. I love her.

See what I mean about the wit?

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

A case of reading withdrawal

I know what some of you are saying. "How on earth could you have reading withdrawal when you have so many books on your TRL?" Well, I'm talking about that feeling after you've read a really excellent series and you know that it's finished and you're filled with despair. (Harry Potter anyone?) That's the withdrawal that I refer to in today's post. Now on with the review!

Just to catch you up on the first part of The Lunar Chronicles series:
Cinder: Prejudice, Plague, and a Prince + Witches, Oh My!
Scarlet: A book series that should be made into film
Cress: When you read a book about a place you've just visited OR I love England
Fairest: Exercising Positivity

As you can see, I very much enjoyed The Lunar Chronicles. It has everything. I'm talking adventure, dystopia, romance, comedy, political upheaval, mutants, heroines, mental health issues, racial misunderstanding, and SO MUCH MORE. (No, this isn't a commercial.) The final book in the series, Winter, was a whopper at over 800 pages (Harry Potter anyone?) and Meyer covered a lot of ground. Not only did she have the gargantuan task of fleshing out the character of Winter as she had done with the first 3 (4 if you count Fairest) but she also had to tie it all together to bring a conclusion to the overarching struggle of the series. Will Levana succeed in marrying Kai and becoming Empress of the Eastern Commonwealth? Do Thorne and Cress have a chance at a happily ever after? Can Scarlet be saved from Winter's menagerie? Will Winter's Lunar sickness ultimately result in her complete break from reality? GO READ WINTER TO FIND OUT!

UPDATE: I just found out that Meyer is coming out with a collection of short stories set in the world of The Lunar Chronicles and the cover has been revealed today. You can click here to see the cover of Stars Above!

UPDATE DEUX: I just looked back through my posts and I already knew about Stars Above...I just completely forgot about it. ;-/

When you read a book about a place you've just visited OR I love England

Before I get into what the title of this post suggests let me give a quick review of Cress which is the third installment in the Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer. For the uninitiated, head on over to my reviews of Cinder and Scarlet for some background info. I really like the way Meyer is able to balance out the primary focus of each book (in this case Cress) with the overarching theme of the series and all of the characters that have made appearances throughout. While this story is set in Earth's future and it deals with a race of people who dwell on the moon (Lunars) it is easy to slip into this reality. Yes, there are cyborgs. Yes, some people have the power to manipulate bio-electricity and therefore control people. However, the themes that are being discussed are easily translatable. Racial prejudice for one thing is very real in today's society and it's an important aspect in the Lunar Chronicles as a whole. Cress grew up in isolation with a tyrant as her one and only connection to the outside world. She was emotionally, verbally, and at times physically abused and this caused her to retreat into herself and create a fantasy world. This, in large part, is why she wants to help the Earthens and the ragtag band of misfits who are on the run from the authorities. War is now a certainty and the clock is ticking for Cinder before she must confront the Queen. Next in the series is Fairest: Levana's Story. I already have it on hold at the library. :-D

I recently went on a trip to the United Kingdom which of course meant visiting various and sundry bookstores. While I was in Carnforth I stopped into one that had a gargantuan used books collection and the very first book that I laid my hand on was called Mere and Moorland: The Northern Counties which was the 4th book in a series entitled A Breath of England by Norman Wymer. (I really do love series don't I?) The real coincidence about this particular book is that I was at that moment making a bit of a tour of the Northern counties of England. It was written in 1951 so it's a wee bit out of date and the pictures included (while glossy) were in black and white only. BUT I loved it. It was amazing to read about the places I had been to personally as well as those I hadn't. Learning about the various traditions, industries, and superstitions of each of the counties was very interesting. It made me want to go back and visit all of the places that I hadn't had a chance to see. I just love English history!! (Also, the countryside. I really, really love the English countryside and Wymer was all about the countryside.)

Quite recently I reviewed Susanna Clarke's debut novel (which blew my mind) and upon researching to see when/if she was writing anything else I discovered that she had written a book entitled The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories. From what I can tell, it's a collection of stories written in the same universe as Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (in fact J.S. makes an appearance as well as the Raven King). I have high hopes for this one especially as we are getting more of a glimpse into Faerie...let's get to it!!

** If you're interested in a book like Mere and Moorland, you can click here. This will re-direct you to AbeBooks. This is a website which I have used to purchase used books many times. Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following this link. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Can you ever truly know another person?

It must be said that John Green is an absolutely phenomenal writer. The only experience I had with his writing was The Fault in Our Stars which is completely different from Paper Towns (except for the main characters being teenagers). There is another similarity in that you are made more aware by reading this book. It's an excellent book for introspection. You're almost led to believe that the book is about Margo Roth Speigelman when in point of fact it's about Quentin "Q" Jacobsen and in actuality he is really just a stand-in for the reader. (This book is also a love letter to Walt Whitman. Seriously.) This is the story of someone who everyone felt they knew but at the same time was unknowable. It is more the story of someone who wanted to know that person as utterly and completely as they knew themselves. We are all so many facets and pieces put together and what we choose to show to the world may not even be a true reflection of what lives inside of us. John Green somehow articulates this and makes it okay that it is not always possible to get to the root of a person and that even if you do you might discover that what you find there is nothing like what you imagined or hoped. 10/10

I'm definitely the kind of person that sees a commercial for a film or tv series and when I see that it was based off of the book I immediately write down the title. That's how I came to discover Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. This book is 1,006 pages long. Nope, that wasn't a typo. It's the story of two very different magicians living in the early 19th century in England. They join forces to fight in the war against France but for one of them there is a pull toward the dark side of magic and everything is in danger of collapse. I like magic. I like the early 19th century. I definitely like England. This should hopefully be a no-brainer.

If you're a longtime reader of the blog, thanks for making my blog a part of your life and I hope that you're getting as much out of it as I am. If you're new, I encourage you to take a look through my posts either randomly if that's your thing or by using the search bar to look through the tags. No matter what camp you fall into I hope that you drop me a comment and let me know if you're reading the same book or if you have any recommendations for me. HAPPY READING!!

Umm so young adult romance...I'm into it I guess? Wait, that came out wrong!

If you race home, drop everything, and immediate dive back into a book it's a pretty safe bet that you're 'into it'. Girl Online is one of those young adult novels that sucks you right in and makes you fall in love with the characters right off the bat. Penny is a completely believable character. This is an important point to make because in a lot of novels it's like the characters are too much if you get what I mean and it makes it difficult to put yourself in their place. It's not like that with Sugg's protagonist. I found myself alternately smiling from ear-to-ear and blinking back tears. It's exactly what being a teenager was like for me...except more English. lol The format of narrative interspersed with blog posts wasn't disruptive to the flow either which I appreciated. I predict that a lot of teenagers are going to be talking about this one (if they're not already). If I were you, teen, grownup, geriatric, android, I'd give this one a read. Oh and did I mention that Zoe is already working on a second book? I sure hope it's a sequel!!

Girl Online really put me in the mood for reading more young adult fiction so I'm finally picking up a book that I've had lingering on my shelf for quite a while: Divergent by Veronica Roth. I know what you're thinking, "Holy cow! You're just now reading this?!" I had meant to read this before the film came out earlier this year but other books called my name louder and...well I'm getting to it now, okay! From what I've gathered, this is like The Hunger Games meet The Giver...or did I totally just make that comparison up? Well, if it turns out to be true I'm totally giving myself a gold star. I'll let you know some of the bare bones in my next post. Until then, HAPPY READING!!

I'm typing this on an iPad in the airport...

...and it's not even my iPad.

As you might have guessed this is a post from the road...sort of. I quickly finished up Beautiful Creatures before I left home and I am seriously jonesing for the next book in the series, Beautiful Darkness. So I guess that tells you what I ultimately thought of the book. Full of angst that only a teen romance seems to deliver and bursting with elements of the supernatural, Beautiful Creatures was an absolute delight. For a book with over 500 pages, I certainly didn't feel the burden of reading to the end. The characters were relatable (despite supernatural powers), the setting a perfect backdrop for drama, and the love story enchanting. GO AND READ.

In lieu of having the next book in the series I thought I'd change gears and read a memoir. This is one that I've been wanting to read for quite some time. It's Russel Brand's My Booky Wook: A Memoir of Sex, Drugs, and Stand-Up. Yes, it's that Russell Brand. The opinionated, slightly off-kilter glam rocker who occasionally plays parts remarkable dissimilar from himself (or entirely too similar if you've seen the movie Arthur). If you've ever seen his interviews you know the man is not entirely what he at first seems. He has a sharp mind and an even sharper tongue. I know that I'm in for quite an adventure with this one.

Now it's time for the wait for the plane. 1 hour and counting...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!