Reviews Week 21

  Reviews Week 21

May 22nd-28th

Book 76: Spider-Man & Venom: Double Trouble

By Mario Tamaki

Read May 22nd

Pages Read: 112 

📚📚📚📚

This is a cute child-friendly story dealing with Spider-Man & Venom. It is an enjoyable read with a fun little adventure. I really like this Double Trouble series and am looking forward to reading the next one with Miles and Peter ganging up.

Book 77: Disney Hamlet, starring Donald Duck

By Giorgio Salati

Read May 23rd

Pages Read: 72

📚📚📚📚

I’ll always be a fan of the old Disney cartoons and comics dealing with Donald Duck, Scrooge, Mickey, Goofy, etc. This book was a fun take on Shakespeare’s Hamlet with Donald Duck as the main character. It has everything you would think would come in a retelling of its nature, with changes made for children. I recommend going into it expecting a cute retelling of Hamlet with some famous Disney characters.

Book 78: The Annotated American Gods

By Neil Gaiman

Read May 21st-24th

Pages Read: 656

📚📚📚

This was a bit of a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, I loved some of this story's mythological aspects. Mythology will always be a selling point for me in books. Also, this is described as a road trip of sorts, which are books I am always looking for. So, American Gods had everything in it that I thought I would adore. Though I must say, I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted. 

Neil Gaiman's writing was strong in many parts of the book, as it always is, but I could not help but think that it was too much at times. It was disjointed throughout, going between many scenes/characters, which I usually do not mind. This book dragged for me a lot in the middle, with all the flashbacks and little stories. I would have enjoyed this book better if some of this was cut out. I would have rather it focused on Shadow and stuck to his story. American Gods was not for me.

Book 79: Johnny and the Dead

By Terry Pratchett 

Read May 24th-25th

Pages Read: 224

📚📚📚

The second book in the Johnny Maxwell series was another good middle-grade novel. It had much of Terry's trademark humor as it continued with Johnny's story. Instead of being able to talk to aliens in a game, this time around, Johnny can speak with the dead. With his newfound ability, he tries to help the dead in the cemetery in town. I enjoyed his dynamic with the elderly "dead" people (they don't like being called ghosts) and how he related to them.

Book 80: Douglas Adams Live in Concert

By Douglas Adams

Read May 25th

📚📚📚📚

Review from May 25, 2023

It was highly enjoying listening to this live reading from Douglas Adams of scenes from his Hitchhiker’s novels. I particularly enjoyed the first and the final parts of this reading. He was one of the most entertaining authors of literature and I love celebrating his life on Towel day every year. 

Review from September 11th, 2020:

I really enjoyed listening to Douglas Adams read some excerpts from his novels. Wish I could find the audiobook versions that he read himself of all of the books. This was just so entertaining and funny. I really enjoyed it.

Reviews Week 20

 Reviews Week 20

May 15th-21st

Book 72: Time Will Tell

By Courtney Peppernell

Read May 15th-16th

Pages Read: 224

📚📚📚📚

Time Will Tell is a cozy little poetry collection that touched me. I related to many of the poems and the emotions that Courtney is expressing in them. There were so many poems that I know that I will reread repeatedly. I’m definitely going to pick up a copy for my poetry collection and I cannot wait to read more of Courtney’s poems. 

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC of the book.*

Book 73: You Are Your Own Fairytale

By Amanda Lovelace

Read May 16th-18th

Pages Read: 464

📚📚📚📚

You are Your Own Fairy Tale is definitely my favorite of Amanda’s poetry collections so far. I really enjoyed each of the books throughout this trilogy, especially Break Your Glass Slippers. This book had many beautiful illustrations to go along with Amanda’s powerful words. I have seen many of these poems before online but they hit even harder in context with the other pieces in this collection. 

I adored how Amanda used the fairy tales throughout each of the books and how they connected with her poems. This was clever and stood out so much. I will definitely be picking up a copy of this for my poetry collection. 

Book 74: Descender: Deluxe Edition Vol. 1

By Jeff Lemire

Read May 19th-20th

Pages Read: 400

📚📚📚📚📚

Review from May 19th-20th, 2023

I highly enjoyed my reread of this wonderful graphic novel and cannot wait to finally finish this story. It has such beautiful watercolor illustrations that stand out throughout the entire volume. Even the most grotesque scenes, look great here. I loved the storyline with TIM-21 and the rest of the characters, especially how information is slowly revealed throughout the volume. I forgot some of the details and they hit hard again. 

Review from December 13th, 2017

A young robot boy named TIM-21 is a companion robot of a boy named Andy. In a universe where androids have blown to pieces the way of life for many, the robots are outlawed and hunted by bounty hunters. The graphic novel follows Tim and his companions as they struggle to stay alive in a universe with so much war.

The first issue opens before the war when a group of planet-sized robots called the Harvesters come and destroy civilization's way of life. We skip ahead ten years and meet TIM-21, who has been asleep for the past ten years. He and "his family" lived in a mining development. He slowly discovers what has happened since he was "sleeping" and is trying to find his companion and mother. Bounty hunters come and attack him, and the adventure continues from there. 

The writing style of each issue in this deluxe edition is quite interesting. I liked how the writer relieved information throughout the story. As we get introduced to more characters, we slowly learn more and more about their identities and backstories. As the series continues, more reveals come out in the writing. The story never feels bogged down with this information, and it all feels essential to get to know the characters and where they are coming from.

Another aspect of the writing that sticks out throughout is the characters. We follow along with TIM-21 throughout the entire piece but also his companions. Each is developed and has characteristics that make them intriguing to continue to read about. The characters range from humans to many sorts of alien races and many types of robots. Each has their own motivations in the wars and struggles that have been happening since The Harvesters came and destroyed many of their lives. An integral part of the overarching story is the fact there are both good and evil characters on both sides of the battle. Not all androids have done horrible things, and not all humans and aliens can be trusted at face value. The idea of grey areas of thinking can be seen throughout the entire story. Neither side can be considered either good or evil.

The magnificent illustrations drew me to this graphic novel from the first page. The art style is beyond stunning, even with some more grotesque scenes. Each panel has a simplistic painted background that helps each character and other details come alive over it. The watercolor feel of each panel makes a stunning story stand out even more.

Many characters get different types of lettering depending on who they are. The aliens and the humans have one kind, and then many of the androids will get a more synthetic font. The only android that seems not to is Tim. Tim is one of the androids that is humanized more; we are meant to symphonize with his character.

Overall, this is an incredibly made series that I cannot wait to continue with. I enjoyed reading about everything that has happened in this universe since The Harvesters started wreaking havoc. Each character was complex and brought different sides to this story, making it a joy to continue reading. With a great mixture of story development and stunning graphics, this is a graphic novel that I cannot recommend enough. If you are a science fiction fan, you should pick it up. I believe that you will be impressed by it.

*I was given a copy of this graphic novel for free for an honest review.*

Book 75: Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith, Volume 1: Imperial Machine

By Charles Soule

Read May 20th-21st

Pages Read: 154

📚📚📚📚

This graphic novel was a great read that I enjoyed. I have been wanting to read more Star Wars content like this and I will continue to look for even more. Can’t wait to continue on in the next volume and see what happens next. It’s interesting to see Darth Vader right after the events of Revenge of the Sith and this is exactly what I was wanting from a comic about him. I definitely recommend this one. 

Reviews Week 19

  Reviews Week 19

May 8th-14th

Book 70: The Sun and the Star

By Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro

Read May 7th-9th

Pages Read: 480

📚📚📚📚📚

It's such a joy to be in the world of Percy Jackson again, and I'll never get enough of these characters. I remember when Rick first said he would write a book on Nico and Will, and I have been awaiting it ever since. This is the perfect story for them. Nico has been a character that I loved from his introduction in The Titan's Curse. He has grown so much ever since that book. I adore him. 

I was nervous about their journey into Tartarus, especially after Percy and Annabeth's, but I was thrilled to see Nico and Will on an adventure together. I love how this book starts in media res, with them telling stories to Gorgyra. It was great to see this continue throughout the book as Nico and Will got further along in their quest.  

The book has a lot of the humor you expect from a Rick Riordan book, but it also has hard-hitting material. Nico has been through a lot and is dealing with the grief from it all. He has emotions that he is trying to unpack, along with getting through Tartarus with himself and Will intact. It is sometimes hard to read, but it is entirely worth the journey. 

Nico deserves to have his story told in such a beautiful way. Rick and Mark did such an incredible job with Nico and Will's story.

Book 71: Hilda: The Trolberg Stories: Hilda and the Bird Parade/Hilda and the Black Hound

By Luke Pearson

Read May 10th

Pages Read: 96

📚📚📚📚📚

Loved volumes 3 and 4 from the Hilda series. These were great little adventures for Hilda in the town of Trolberg. Also, Luke’s illustration style just keeps getting better as the series goes on. I love this world and I hope that we get more of it in the future, after volumes 5 and 6. 

Reviews Week 18

 Reviews Week 18

May 1st-7th

Book 67: Painted Devils 

By Margaret Owen

Read May 1st-3rd

Pages Read: 512

📚📚📚📚📚

This was an excellent sequel to one of my two favorite books from last year. I fell in love with Vanja and Emeric’s story from the first page last year and was excited to continue that in this beauty. Painted Devils starts with Vanja accidentally starting a cult, and the rest deals with the repercussions of this on her life, the lives of the people in the town she’s in, and of Emeric. 

Vanja is a character that you can’t help but love. She has done terrible things but is trying to improve her life. Over this book and the previous one, she has become one of my favorite female protagonists. I cannot get enough of her voice and character. 

I loved the little stories that Vanja told again throughout this book and what they added to her overall story. We also got a lot of Vanja’s past that I will not spoil here. The humor in this book had me laughing out loud at times, and the heartfelt moments made me happy and worried for characters I have come to love with all of my heart. 

The world that Margaret has created here is one that I hope she continues after the third book (which I hope will come out next year!!!). I don’t know how, but I would love to see glimpses into it again, especially with the lore of the goddesses and gods. There was a lot of that here, and it was so intriguing. I loved what she did in Little Thieves and how she continued with that in the plot of this book. One of my favorite things is when a fantasy writer creates mythology and focuses on that throughout a book. I could not get enough of it in this book, especially with the Scarlet Maiden. 

Along with Vanja, I adore Emeric and the relationship that they are building with each other. They had a great hate-to-love romance in the first novel, and I loved seeing how that grew throughout this one. Emeric is one of the sweetest characters, and I love their dynamic. It’s a lot of fun to read their banter. 

Margaret has created a world you fall into in this series, and I know I didn’t want to leave. Along with Vanja and Emeric, we get a lot of familiar faces, along with some great new ones. I cannot wait to see what will happen in the final book, whenever that will come out. My copy of this beauty cannot come soon enough. 

*Thank you to Netgalley for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*

Book 68: Big Tree

By Brian Selznick

Read May 4th

Pages Read: 528

📚📚📚📚📚

Brian Selznick’s books are always an absolute delight and this one was just as great as usual. I love how he uses the illustrations along with the words to tell his story. This story was beautiful, touching, emotional, and it hit me hard. Definitely, one of his best (though The Marvels will probably always be my favorite of his). I highly recommend this beauty.

Book 69: The Essential Peter S. Beagle Volume 1: 

Lila the Werewolf and other Stories

By Peter S. Beagle 

Read May 5th-6th

Pages Read: 352

📚📚📚📚

I fell in love with Peter S. Beagle’s writing last year when I read The Last Unicorn for the first time. It was exciting to see this and the second volume of stories on Netgalley, and I had to request them both. This collection was a delight to read, and I loved seeing the very different stories throughout. My favorites from the volume were “Come Lady Death,” “Gordon, the Self-Made Cat,” and “Four Fables” (The Fable of the Moth, The Fable the Tyrannosaurus Rex, The Fable of the Ostrich, and The Fable of the Octopus). 

My favorite aspect of this collection is that each of the stories feels so different from each other. There are children’s, young adult, and adult stories. You get a collection of stories like “Four Fables,” which were simple tales with humorous morals at the end, and then a story like “Come Lady Death.” I loved this gothic and suspenseful tale that kept me wondering what would happen next. Also, I enjoyed the introductions before each of the stories that give the reader context. 

This was a wonderful collection of fantasy stories that would have something to appeal to many readers.

*Thank you to Netgalley for my ARC of the book. All opinions are my own.*

May 2023 TBR

 

April 2023 Reads

Review Weeks 16 & 17

Reviews Week 16-17

April 17th-30th

Book 65: Enter the Body

By Joy McCullough

Read April 16th-23rd

Pages Read: 336

📚📚📚📚📚

 Enter the Body was an interesting take on many of Shakespeare’s plays and heroines. I really enjoyed the way Joy used verse and also dialogue between Juliet, Cordelia, Ophelia, and Lavinia. Though, I do wish that Lavinia would have been given some way to voice her opinions, I think that it was powerful to see her silencing throughout the entire book. Speaks volumes. 

One of my favorite aspects of this book was the fact that we got the original versions of the plays told in the words of each of the characters. Then, in the second half we got the versions that the girls wish they would have gotten. This was a beautiful book with deeply heavy messages that hit hard. 

Book 66: The Wonderland Trials

By Sara Ella

Read April 28th-30th

Pages Read: 368

📚📚📚📚

Great twisting of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and I loved seeing Sara Ella’s take on the characters from the original story. I will always be a sucker for a great retelling and I love seeing the way an author will take elements from the original and use them in their own stories. I believe that Sara does a great job of this. 

 My favorite part of this book is the relationships, especially between Alice and her sister Charlotte. I cannot wait to see what happens next in the sequel and where the trials go from here.