Crowyhead Reads

156. Truer Than True Romance: Classic Love Comics Retold! Jeanne Martinet (5/5)

I've read this book several times, and it still gets me giggling out loud. Martinet takes romance comics from the 50s and 60s and replaces the dialog to create new plots, often playing off the awkward artwork.

157-161. Bleach Vol. 11: A Star and a Stray Dog, Bleach Vol. 12: Flower on a Precipice, Bleach, Vol. 13: The Undead, Bleach, Vol. 14: White Tower Rocks, Bleach, Vol. 15: Beginning of the Death of Tomorrow Tite Kubo (4/5)

162. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the Eighth Dimension Earl Mac Rauch (4/5)

This book is full of pulpy goodness, making reference to Banzai's many other adventures and in general employing an entirely appropriate over-the-top atmosphere. Definitely recommended if you're a fan of the movie.

163. Impulse Ellen Hopkins (2/5)

This novel, written in free-verse poetry, is set at a mental institution and follows three teens who tried to commit suicide. Conner is a rich kid with a "perfect" life who tried to shoot himself. Vanessa, whose mother is also bipolar, is a cutter who went too far one day. And Tony, who lived on the street after being abused as a child, tried to kill himself with a drug overdose. Now they are all at a private mental hospital, trying to come to terms with what has brought them there.

I'd heard good things about Hopkins, but my ultimate reaction to this book was "bleh." I knew it was going to be a "problem novel," but I had hoped that Hopkins might do something interesting here. Instead, the characterization was often either flat (as in the case of Conner and his family) or full of holes (as in the case of Tony). Vanessa is the most well-fleshed-out character, but Hopkins leaves at least one major plot element just sort of dangling -- it's mentioned a few times, and then dropped. I suppose it might be in part due to the first-person nature of the narrative, but I was also disappointed by the way that Conner, Vanessa, and Tony seemed to be the only human characters in the novel. The other patients were characterized solely by their mental illnesses, and were very rarely treated with any kind of sympathy. I also didn't quite feel that Hopkins did a good enough job evoking the different voices of the main characters through the poetry, which was supposed to have been written by them: it all seemed as though it was written by the same person.

I think this could be popular with upper middle and high school students, but it's likely to rub some more mature readers the wrong way.

164. Heartsease Peter Dickinson (4/5)

This is the second book in Dickinson's Changes trilogy. The first book, The Devil's Children, took place immediately after the Changes that caused almost all inhabitants of England to hate and fear machinery. Now, in Heartsease, England has been plunged deeply into a pre-industrial state, and all complex machines are regarded as the work of the devil. This spells bad news for an American who's been sent into the country to investigate the Changes; he is stoned as a witch and left to die. Fortunately, he is rescued by two children -- but now they must all find a way to leave the country, because if the kids are found out, they could all be killed.

This is an excellent adventure story, and I loved the way that Dickinson slowly lets hints about what might have caused the Changes, how the outside world is reacting, and the ways the Changes may be reversed, filter into the plot. I'm looking forward to reading the final book in the trilogy. I also think it would be kind of cool to see these books revived -- I think they're out of print now -- but I haven't come across new editions.

165. Flight, Vol. 5 Kazu Kibuishi (5/5)

I always enjoy these collections so much. Definitely worthwhile if you want to dip into what's going on in the world of graphic novels right now, and HIGHLY recommended for libraries, especially those just starting to build a graphic novel collection.

149. Hikaru No Go Vol. 11 Yumi Hotta (4/5)

It still amazes me how intense this series is, given that it's about playing a game, essentially. :)

150. Adventures in Unhistory: Conjectures on the Factual Foundations of Several Ancient Legends Avram Davidson (5/5)

This may be my favorite book I read in 2008. Avram Davidson is known for his odd science fiction and fantasy short stories, which are often baroque and loaded with references to historical people and places both famous and obscure. This book is not a collection of short stories, it's not quite fiction, and it's not quite non-fiction, either. Instead, it's kind of like sitting down by the fire with an old crazy-yet-brillient uncle who is determined to tell you his theories about the origins of the Phoenix, werewolves, unicorns, and the actual properties of the mandrake root, to name a few. Davidson's writing style is conversational and peppered with very funny asides about conversations he's had and random things that seem to have just occured to him. The result is a book that I found completely absorbing and also had me giggling over and reading aloud sections almost every time I sat down with it. I will note that it is probably best read in small doses, rather than in large chunks, because otherwise it becomes slightly repetitive on occasion.

151. Escaping Toxic Guilt Susan Carrell (3.5/5)

This self-help book is a fast read and a little lightweight compared to some of the more in-depth books out there, but it would be an excellent starting point for anyone who struggles with feelings of guilt that are disproportionate, or who tends to be manipulated by others due to guilt. Carrell's writing style is very clear, and while this book is no substitute for a good therapist, it's an excellent way to start exploring the impact guilt has on one's life, as well as beginning to learn the difference between helpful guilt and destructive, toxic guilt.

152. Runaways Vol. 3: The Good Die Young Brian K. Vaughan (3/5)

Good wrap-up to the first major story arc. My only complaint is that I sort of wanted the arc to go on a little longer to build more suspense and reveal more about the Pride's origins. On the other hand, maybe that would've drawn things out too much. Anyway, good stuff.

153. The Dance of Intimacy: A Woman's Guide to Courageous Acts of Change in Key Relationships Harriet Lerner (4.5/5)

I really enjoyed this and found it very helpful, although now that I've read The Dance of Anger, I would recommend reading that one first.

One of the things I really like about Lerner is that she is very upfront about her qualms about "self-help" books and the way that they market almost exclusively toward women. She really emphasizes that she does not want her book to be about telling women how to change the people around them, or how to change themselves in a way that "improves" their relationships but damages themselves. Instead, her emphasis is on the reader becoming more aware of what she wants to change about her life, and the tools that she can use to effect these changes, as well as the challenges she may face along the way. This is a great, useful book, and I highly recommend both this and The Dance of Anger. Women will probably find that it aligns more closely with their life experiences, but I think a good many men could find useful tools here as well.

154. Runaways Vol. 4: True Believers Brian K. Vaughan (3/5)

Still really enjoying this series, and the art is definitely getting better, I think. I love the support group for people who were teen superheroes -- it seems that being a teen superhero is a bit like being a child actor, in some ways. ;)

155. All God's Children: Inside the Dark and Violent World of Street Families Rene Denfeld (2/5)

The more I think about this book, the more irritated I am by it. I do believe that Denfeld has brought attention to a legitimate problem, that of "street families" -- that is, small ganglike groups of young street people, often lead by charismatic individuals -- that contribute to crime and commit acts of violence. Denfeld focuses strongly on several vicious murders perpetrated by a man named James Daniel Nelson with the assistance of other street "kids" (most of the "kids" mentioned were in their late teens or twenties). But despite her protestations to the contrary in the introduction, Denfeld's book is a sensationalistic "true crime" book, not a work that promotes thoughtful discussion.

Denfeld blames just about everything you can think of for the existence of these street families and the crimes they commit: Dungeons & Dragons, Wicca (and neo-paganism in general), Food Not Bombs, anarchists, public spaces like parks and squares, and shelters that offer health care, housing and food to teenagers without asking too many questions, to name just a few. ( Read more... )

I'm still playing catch-up on reviews from last year, because I'm lame like that. These are from November and December:

142. A Drowned Maiden's Hair: A Melodrama Laura Amy Schlitz (4/5)

The designation of this book as "a melodrama" kind of says it all. It's a marvelously baroque tale of orphanages, spiritualism, and family secrets, with enough of the supernatural to give the reader a slight shiver. While it is indeed melodramatic, it also at times genuinely tugs at one's emotions, and Maud, the main character, is a true delight.

143. The Annotated Brothers Grimm edited and annotated by Maria Tatar (5/5)

Another high-quality annotated volume. This collection is a good mix of very familiar Grimm fairytales, along with less frequently anthologized gems. Tatar once again shows herself to be erudite and entertaining in her annotations, and the volume includes many illustrations from various editions of the Grimm's stories. An enlightening short biography of of the Grimm brothers is included.

144. New Moon Midori Snyder (5/5)

Re-read. This is the first book in a trilogy, and if the other two are as good as this one, I'm in for some good reading. I believe this was originally published as a "regular" fantasy novel, and has since been repackaged as a YA novel by Firebird.

Two hundred years ago, the Fire Queen of Oran destroyed her fellow queens of Earth, Water, and Air, thus allowing the Fire Queen to retain control of her country even as it was overrun by a conquering race. Now she jealously guards her control, to the point of killing any children who show evidence of having elemental Gifts. Winds of change are blowing in her kingdom, however, with a revolutionary group called the New Moon causing chaos, and a group of street rats with secret powers...

This was just so great! The world is fascinating and fully realized, and there are a host of great characters. I would probably recommend it mostly for older YAs (highschool age), since there's a bit of sex and some fairly graphic violence.

145. Salamander Dream Hope Larson (4/5)

A wonderful, dreamlike graphic novel from the author of Chiggers and Gray Horses. It tells the story of a young girl named Hailey and her friendship with a wood spirit, Salamander, and how this friendship changes as both she and Salamander grow and change. It's told almost entirely in flowing, surreal images that evoke the natural world and the changing nature of Hailey's and Salamander's interactions. It's bittersweet, but clearly demonstrates that magic lives on and is passed on, even as we grow older.

145-146. Bleach Vol. 9: Fourteen Days for Conspiracy (4/5) & Bleach Vol. 10: Tattoo On the Sky (4/5) Tite Kubo

Not too much to say about these -- Ichigo and his friends begin their invasion of the Soul Society in an effort to rescue Rukia. Continues to be a fast-paced, fun read.

147. Gray Horses Hope Larson (4/5)

Another lovely waking dream from Hope Larson. Noemie, an exchange student from France, finds Onion City both disorienting and thrilling. There are new friends to be made, and there is the strange, handsome boy who seems to be following her... And at night, there are her dreams of a brave horse and a girl, fleeing mysterious danger. Larson's images flow together, and it is the pictures that truly tell this delicate story, rather than the sparse dialog.

148. The Ruby Key Holly Lisle (4.5/5)

I was initially drawn to this due to its lovely cover art (hey, I'm not immune!), but quickly discovered that it is a thrilling, fully-realized fantasy, set in a world that I absolutely cannot wait to learn more about. Lisle combines traditional lore about humans and faeries with her own imagination, and gives us a land where humans and Nightlings (inhuman creatures who are fair or frightening depending on their nature and glamour) exist in an uneasy truce. After a bloody war, a pact was struck between the humans and the Nightling race; humans own the daylight hours, and the Nightling own the darkness. Both sides pay tribute to each other, but humans must never be caught outside during the night, lest they disappear forever.

This system has worked for hundreds of years, but in Genna and Dan's village, it seems to be breaking down. Their father, who once led the village, took ill with a strange wandering illness and has disappeared, and their mother shows more signs every day of following him. Meanwhile, their uncle has taken over the village and rules much less wisely -- not to mention that he is pressing Genna and Dan's mother to marry him, in order to further secure his power. With an eye toward healing their mother, Genna and Dan do the forbidden: they slip into the forest at night, hoping to secure a cure. There in the forest, they meet a young Nightling slave, and end up striking a dangerous deal with Letrin, the lord of the Nightlings, which may spell either freedom or disaster for humans and Nightling both.

Both Genna and Dan are engaging and believable characters, who make mistakes and foolish decisions, but who ultimately are driven by their love for each other and their dedication to their village. While this book appears to be the first in a projected series, it is completely satisfying on its own, and deserves to be counted as among the best YA fantasies of 2008.

140. The Sky Inside Clare Dunkle (3/5)

Martin lives under a dome in the future version of a gated suburb. Everything is clean, everyone is nice (unless they aren't, in which case they tend to disappear), and all of the children have been genetically engineered to be good, healthy kids. The only source of strife is the most recent generation of new and improved children. These kids, like Martin's sister Cassie, just cause problems: they ask too many questions, they're much too intelligent, and they cause all kinds of problems because of this. No one knows how to handle them. Is a product recall in order?

I'd been looking forward to reading this, because I've greatly enjoyed Dunkle's fantasy novels, and I've found that even when she misses the mark slightly, her ideas are always fresh and her writing stands up well. I was disappointed when this novel didn't live up to my expectations. There are a lot of fresh, interesting ideas here, but they are jumbled up with cliches and entirely too many happy coincidences. The plot seems rambling, and all in all, this felt too much like the first draft of what might have turned out to be a really excellent YA science fiction novel. Instead, it's merely mediocre.

141. Death From the Skies!: These are the Ways the World Will End Philip Plait (5/5)

Phil Plait, the author of the blog "Bad Astronomy" (and of the book by the same name), takes a humorous yet scientifically accurate look at all the ways the world could be destroyed. From asteroid impact to black holes to the death of the universe, Plait discusses the likelihood of each occurrence and the theories and science behind them. The author never fails to have a sense of humor, and this is a great layperson's book about the workings of the universe. As in his blog, Plait never assumes that the reader is stupid -- you might be ill-informed, and you might need some help understanding complicated scientific concepts, but you are not dumb. The result is a book that's both entertaining and brain-stretching. Highly recommended.

137. Poe's Children: The New Horror edited by Peter Straub (5/5)

The title of this book misled me slightly, because I was thinking of "new horror" as in "new stories," rather than "stories in a new style of horror" -- and thus was surprised at first to find that some of the stories were at least 25 years old. It speaks to Straub's editorial skills, however, that the older stories blend seamlessly with the newer ones, and for the most part if I hadn't already been familiar with a few of the older stories, I might have thought they were brand new.

Most of the stories in this collection fall into the "weird and unsettling" category, rather than being out-and-out scary. Not all will be to everyone's taste, but there are a lot of gems here, and this is an excellent collection that I would recommend to those who enjoy weird literary fiction and speculative fiction, as well as horror fans.

138. The Diamond of Drury Lane Julie Golding (3.5/5)

Young Cat Royal has lived in the Royal Theatre ever since she was found abandoned on its doorstep, and acts as the theatre's "Jill of all trades" and mascot, although she has ambitions to become a writer of fiction and plays. When Cat accidentally discovers (well, she WAS evesdropping...) that the theatre's owner, Mr. Sheridan, is hiding a treasure somewhere in the theatre, she knows she must guard the secret closely. But of course, she can't resist conducting her own search for the treasure, and dangerously, she also can't resist spilling the beans to her new friend Pedro (a young violin virtuoso and freed slave). This sets off a chain of escapades and hairsbreadth escapes, during which Cat proves to be clever, resourceful, and loyal, not to mention plucky, although perhaps not as good at putting two and two together as the reader might hope.

I did enjoy this; the 1790 setting is carefully evoked, and the inclusion of plot-essential historical information is only occasionally heavy-handed. Cat's a fun character, and this book will appeal to young mystery lovers as well as those who enjoy period pieces. The reader will more than likely figure out the truth about the "diamond" long before Cat does, which is a bit annoying and causes the book to stretch out longer than it maybe needs to: it clocks in at a hefty 424 pages, which is a somewhat daunting size for the intended audience, regardless of the Harry Potter phenomenon. This is the first book in a projected quartet, and I'm curious to see how Golding chooses to develop the character further.

139. The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales Edited and annotated by Maria Tatar (3/5)

I usually love the Norton Annotated books, but this one was a disappointment. The first let-down was that Tatar also annotated The Annotated Brothers Grimm and </i>The Annotated Hans Christian Andersen</i>, and many of the same fairy tales -- with the same or nearly the same annotations -- are included here. Only about 1/3 of the book is not available elsewhere, mostly Charles Perrault fairy tales. In addition, usually the art reproductions in these books are excellent, but in this case many of them were so small that it was impossible to see any detail (basically, they were thumbnail size), and the reproduction was very dark. Frequently the annotations would mention details in the illustrations that were difficult or downright impossible to see!

This is a fairly good collection if you haven't already read the Grimm and Andersen books, but otherwise it's definitely not one I would recommend purchasing. I really wish Tatar had just done an "Annotated Charles Perrault" or "Annotated French Fairy Tales" instead of this somewhat lazy and slapdash volume.

I can't believe I'm still trying to catch up on October...

125. Lost Time Susan Maupin Schmid (3/5)
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126. Bleach Vol. 1: The Death and the Strawberry Tite Kubo (4/5)
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127. Bleach Vol. 2: Goodbye Parakeet, Goodnight My Sister Tite Kubo (4/5)

128. Bleach Vol. 3: Memories in the Rain Tite Kubo (4/5)

129. Bleach Vol. 4: Quincy Archer Hates You Tite Kubo (4/5)
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130. Bleach Vol. 5: Right Arm of the Giant Tite Kubo (4/5)
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131. Bleach Vol. 6: The Death Trilogy Overture Tite Kubo (4/5)

132. Buried Alive: The Terrifying History of Our Most Primal Fear Jan Bondeson (4/5)
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133. Bleach Vol. 7: The Broken Coda Tite Kubo (3.5/5)

134. Bleach Vol. 8: The Blade and Me Tite Kubo (4/5)

135. The Girl with the Silver Eyes Willo Davis Roberts (4/5)
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136. The Shamer's Daughter Lene Kaaberol (4/5)
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122. Wings Bill Brittain (1/5)

God, this was awful! I'm so disappointed; I love books about flying, and I have fond memories of Brittain's The Wish Giver. But this was just not good at all.

The basic premise is that the main character, after a prolonged period of frightening unexplained back pain, suddenly sprouts huge batlike wings. His family has always viewed him as an inconvenience, and now he is even more so. His father is running for mayor and is concerned only with that, his mother is cowed and uncaring, and his sister is supposedly the favorite child, although she never really is a presence in the book. The main character is befriended by a six-fingered hillbilly girl and her mother (or maybe it was grandmother), and through them learns to accept and even find joy in his "deformity." The time comes, however, when he must decide whether he will keep his wings and remain ostracized by his family and society, or have them surgically removed and return to normal life.

This book just left a bad taste in my mouth. All of the characters were totally one-dimensional; the boy's family is just unremittingly, flatly awful. The six-fingered girl and her mother are completely good. The main character seems to have no will of his own, and the decision he makes at the end was enough to make me write off any enjoyment I'd previously had in the book. Definitely not recommended.

123. Home of the Brave Katherine Applegate (4/5)

Kek, a young teen refugee from Sudan, is overjoyed to be reunited with his aunt and cousin in Minnesota. The world is alien, though; he is surrounded by cold and white, and he misses his brother, mother, and father. He witnessed the deaths of his brother and father, but clings to the hope that his mother may have survived. Lonely and confused, Kek gradually begins to adapt to his new world, finding solace in family, new friends, and a job caring for an elderly cow.

I was only aware of Katherine Applegate through her work on the voluminous Animorphs series, so I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The story is told entirely in free verse, which allows Applegate to evoke feelings and impressions in a way that might seem contrived in more straightforward prose. By the end of the book, the reader really feels that they have lived inside Kek's head for a time, and felt what he feels. The ending of the book struck me as a slightly contrived happy ending, but I was unwilling to begrudge Kek his happiness, and others will likely feel the same way.

124. Coraline: The Graphic Novel Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell (4/5)

This is a graphic novel adaptation of Neil Gaiman's excellent children's novel, Coraline.

While P. Craig Russell is one of my very favorite comic book artists, it took me a while to get into his style for this book, simply because Dave McKean's illustrations for the original novel are so firmly ingrained in my head. Russell is a much more straightforward, less stylized artist than McKean, and I really rather missed McKean's spookily angular figures. Leaving aside my prejudices and taking Russell's illustrations on their own merit, however, he's done a beautiful job.

Overall it's a pretty straightforward adaptation; there isn't much here that expands on the original novel, but it's an enjoyable read, and may draw in readers who would have passed over the book in novel form.

119. Shoot the Damn Dog: A Memoir of Depression Sally Brampton (4/5)

This is a biting, sarcastic, and incredibly honest portrayal of depression. Brampton refuses to pull any punches or give herself any slack. She describes how she was openly hostile toward treatment (with sometimes hilarious results -- as someone who's been tempted to derail Cognitive Behavioral Therapy out of sheer cussedness, I couldn't stop laughing about her stubbornness in group therapy), was frequently a dangerously noncompliant patient, and very nearly derailed everything by developing a massive drinking problem along with her depression. She also really gets at the physical feelings that accompany depression; the way that it feels as though not only one's mind, but one's body is rebelling.

Other reviews have mentioned that the author behaved selfishly, foolishly, and was incredibly self-absorbed. Yes, yes, and yes. This is one of the reasons I loved this book. It really gets at the simultaneous self-loathing and self-centeredness that characterizes severe depression, and I applaud Sally Brampton for having the guts to portray herself as thoroughly unpleasant.

The only real flaw in the writing is that this book could probably have stood a little more organization; Brampton occasionally jumps around in time, making it a little difficult to discern which hospitalization she's talking about, or how long many of her issues persisted. It's not nearly as bad in this regard as Teri Cheney's Manic, but it could still stand some tightening up.

My only other issue is that she describes her depression as medication-resistant -- which definitely happens -- but doesn't really make a strong connection between the meds not working and the fact that she was drinking enormous amounts of alcohol at the same time. I have to wonder if, now that she is sober, she might have more success with antidepressants. On the other hand, she has found other effective ways of coping with and controlling her depression, so I can't really blame her for not wanting to get on the meds-go-round again.

Oh, one last comment -- this is really random, but I loved that she pointed out that meditation, while very effective for doing mental housecleaning once one is in recovery, can actual be detrimental if one is in the throes of a deep depression. A great number of people have suggested meditation to me as a means to heal my depression, not realizing that someone who is deeply depressed is not particularly adept at clearing their mind and thinking calming thoughts, etc., and it may actually just offer an opportunity for uninterrupted destructive thinking.

120. Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree Lauren Tarshis (4/5)

Emma-Jean Lazarus is what one might term an odd duck, and she's rather proud of it. She doesn't really understand the social lives of her fellow seventh graders, or what their motivations are, except in the way that one might understand the social lives of small mammals after observing them for a while. Her attitude is one of not getting involved -- until she comes across Colleen Pomerantz, one of the popular students, crying in the girl's bathroom. Emma-Jean's demonstrating to Colleen effective ways of hiding the fact that she has been crying leads to Colleen pouring out her troubles, and Emma-Jean finds herself drawn in. Colleen is a nice person, and certainly doesn't deserve to be made to cry. Perhaps Emma-Jean can solve her situation...

Emma-Jean learns, of course, that it doesn't always work to apply logic to human problems -- and she also learns that once she gets involved in one problem, it means she will be involved and entangled in many, which is not a particularly comfortable place to be.

This is a sweet book, and in some ways it reminded me a bit of E.L. Konigsburg's The View from Saturday for the younger set, although it is not so masterfully written. Still, I highly recommend this to middle readers and those who enjoy well-crafted fiction for young people.

121. Nurk: The Strange, Surprising Adventures of a (Somewhat) Brave Shrew Ursula Vernon (3.5/5)

Nurk is a classic children's book hero: he has always longed for adventure, but he remains at home, contemplating the fact that adventures probably involve a lack of dry socks. Still, he feels slightly ashamed that he has not lived up to the example of his grandmother, who was an adventurer extraordinaire. When a letter arrives with a blurred address, Nurk opens it. It is a plea for help from downstream -- but it is meant for his missing grandmother, not to him.

After panicking for a day or so about the potential legal consequences of opening someone else's mail, Nurk decides that since his grandmother is missing, it is up to him to answer the call for help, or at the very least return the letter and apologize for opening it. And thus begins his strange and surprising adventures.

There are no real surprise twists or unexpected turns in the plot, but this is still a highly enjoyable adventure story for young readers. It is made even more enjoyable by Ursula Vernon's wonderful illustrations and quirky sense of humor, and while I don't know that it will become a classic, it will certainly make an impression on any kid who picks it up.

Books Purchased
The New Annotated Dracula Bram Stoker, edited & annotated by Leslie Klinger
The Demolished Man Alfred Bester

Books Read
Runaways Vol. 3: The Good Die Young Brian K. Vaughan & Adrian Alphona
The Dance of Intimacy Harriet Lerner
Runaways Vol. 4: True Believers Brian K. Vaughan & Adrian Alphona
Truer Than True Romance: Classic Love Comics Retold! Jean Martinet
All God's Children: Inside the Dark and Violent World of Street Families Rene Denfeld
Bleach Vol. 11: A Star and a Stray Dog Tite Kubo
Bleach Vol. 12: Flower on a Precipice Tite Kubo
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai: Across the Eighth Dimension Earl Mac Rauch
Bleach Vol. 13: The Undead Tite Kubo
Impulse Ellen Hopkins
Bleach Vol. 14: White Tower Rocks Tite Kubo
Bleach Vol. 15: Beginning of the Death of Tomorrow Tite Kubo
Heartsease Peter Dickinson
Flight Volume 5 Kazu Kibuishi, ed.

116. The Navigator Eoin McNamee (3/5)

Eoin McNamee brings us a good first venture into the realm of middle-reader speculative fiction. There are elements of Philip Pullman and Garth Nix here, and it also reminded me a bit of Jeanette Winterson's recent children's novel, Tanglewreck. It's less ambitious than Tanglewreck, though, and I'm inclined to see that as a good thing, since that one really got mired down toward the end.

In contrast, The Navigator moves along at a fast clip and refuses to get too involved in the mechanics of the world (which is not to say that the background is not detailed), and it's a cracking good yarn for younger readers. As an adult, I felt that at times the author relied too heavily on coincidence (or providence?) to move the plot along, but that didn't keep me from devouring this in short order. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel eventually, but I didn't feel the need to rush right out and get it. Overall, this is a seriously solid novel and well worth reading, but it's nothing breathtaking.

117. Bone Vol. 8: Treasure Hunters Jeff Smith (4/5)

The Bone saga continues, as Bone, his cousins, Thorn, and Gran'ma Ben finally reach the city of Atheia, where they join the throngs of refugees and attempt to keep a low profile. All is not well in the city, however; honoring the dragons has been outlawed in the city, and its ruler is determined to prevent anything resembling a challenge to his authority. Meanwhile, the Rat Creatures and their allies march on the city, and it's not entirely clear whether its defenses will hold.

I really wish these collections were longer! Each entry is great, but I'm always left chomping at the bit for the next installment.

118. The Discworld Graphic Novels: The Colour of Magic & The Light Fantastic Terry Pratchett, illustrated by Steven Ross (3.5/5)

This is a decent adaptation of the first two Discworld books. There are a few hiccups in the quality control -- there are a few times when people's clothing changes color from one page to the next, and at times the reproduction is a bit blurry -- but overall the adaptation is a good one. Steven Ross's beefcake-fantasy style art is an excellent choice for these two books, which parodied so many cheesy fantasy tropes. The contrast between Rincewind and Twoflower and the fantasy characters they meet (such as the dragonriders and various barbarians) is hilarious, with these two little dumpy figures being surrounded by improbably muscled men and gravity-defying, scantily clad women.

I would not recommend reading this in place of the actual novels, since stuff is left out (of course), but this volume stands alone quite well, while also appealing to diehard Pratchett fans.

Purchases

Read
The Diamond of Drury Lane Julia Golding
The Sky Inside Clare Dunkle
Death from the Skies! Phil Plait
The Annotated Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm, annotated by Maria Tatar
The Annotated Classic Fairytales annotated by Maria Tatar
A Drowned Maiden's Hair: A Melodrama Laura Amy Schlitz
New Moon Midori Snyder
Salamander Dream Hope Larson
Bleach Vol. 9: Fourteen Days for Conspiracy Tite Kubo
Bleach Vol. 10: Tattoo on the Sky Tite Kubo
Gray Horses Hope Larson
Hikaru No Go Vol. 11 Yumi Hotta & Takeshi Obata
The Ruby Key Holly Lisle
Adventures in Unhistory: Conjectures on the Factual Foundations of Several Ancient Legends Avram Davidson
Escaping Toxic Guilt Susan Carrell

114. Any Given Doomsday Lori Handeland (2/5)

This was an Early Reviewer book from LibraryThing.

I suspected I might be in trouble when I read the author's note on the back of the book, citing Laurel K. Hamilton as her biggest influence. I don't mind some romance thrown in with my paranormal action/adventure, but Hamilton has never really struck me as the world's greatest wordsmith. Still, since I was asked to review the book, I thought I'd give it a go. I'm sorry to say I didn't like it much.

The characters are very one-dimensional; they are more like cardboard cut-out ideas than actual believable people. For example, Elizabeth Phoenix, the protagonist, has a complicated history, but it is all introduced very clumsily and flatly. Instead of giving the reader the impression that we have joined a character's life midstream, it just feels like what it is: backstory. Handeland's efforts toward creating a unique mythology for her world are well-intentioned, but jumbled, and like the backstory it feels like an excuse for how things are, rather than a believable reason.

There's a lot of explicit sex here, which is unsurprising, and which is fine if that's your thing, but I was bothered by the amount of nonconsensual sex, as well as by the role that sex plays in Liz coming into her powers (I don't want to say more for fear of spoilers, but let's just say I was rolling my eyes heavily).

Finally, and this is really nit-picky, but for all the inclusion of 21st century technology -- everyone has a cell phone, etc. -- parts of this book struck me as distinctly early 90s, which was jarring. The main character wears a fanny pack, and people actually say "Not!" Seriously, when was the last time you saw a woman in her mid-twenties sporting a fanny pack when she wasn't jogging?

Overall, I won't be seeking out the sequels, but if you enjoy sexy paranormal fluff, you can probably get a couple good hours out of this.

115. Chiggers Hope Larson (4.5/5)

What a beautifully drawn, lovingly related book! I enjoyed this graphic novel immensely. Hope Larson's artwork reminds me a bit of Craig Thompson's, but less angular, and I fell in love with the easy lines and bold black and white illustrations.

Abby is back at the camp she goes to every year, but she's feeling a little out of place. One of her former best camp friends is now a junior counselor and doesn't have much time for her, and her other friends seem to be moving out of pre-adolescence and into teenagerhood faster than Abby can keep up. Abby befriends her bunkmate, Shasta, but Shasta is that unfortunate combination of beautiful, strange, and not-quite-believable that causes other girls' hackles to rise. She claims to have been hit by lightning, she has a long-distance boyfriend who's in high school, she says she's part Cherokee, and she seems to suffer from a long list of ambiguous ailments.

The book is laced with ambiguity, which might frustrate some readers; there are hints of magic, and there are hints of things that Shasta might be hiding, but very little is actually confirmed. This didn't bother me, though, since it just seemed to feed into the strange limbo-like feeling of teetering on the brink of adolescence. Definitely recommended.

Books Purchased

Books Read
Any Given Doomsday Lori Handeland
Chiggers Hope Larsen
The Navigator Eoin McNamee
Bone Vol. 8: The Treasure Hunters Jeff Smith
The Discworld Graphic Novels: The Colour of Magic & The Light Fantastic Terry Pratchett, illustrated by Steven Ross
Shoot the Damn Dog: A Memoir of Depression Sally Brampton
Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree Lauren Tarshis
Nurk: The Strange, Surprising Adventures of a (Somewhat) Brave Shrew Ursula Vernon
Home of the Brave Katherine Applegate
Coraline: The Graphic Novel Neil Gaiman, illustrated by P. Craig Russell
Lost Time Susan Maupin Schmid
Bleach Vol. 1: The Death and the Strawberry Tite Kubo
Bleach Vol. 2: Goodbye Parakeet, Goodnight My Sister Tite Kubo
Bleach Vol. 3: Memories in the Rain Tite Kubo
Bleach Vol. 4: Quincy Archer Hates You Tite Kubo
Bleach Vol. 5: Right Arm of the Giant Tite Kubo
Bleach Vol. 6: The Death Trilogy Overture Tite Kubo
Buried Alive: The Terrifying History of Our Most Primal Fear Jan Bondeson
Bleach Vol. 7: The Broken Coda Tite Kubo
Bleach Vol. 8: The Blade and Me Tite Kubo
The Girl with the Silver Eyes Willo Davis Roberts
The Shamer's Daughter Lene Kaaberol
Wings Bill Brittain
Gentlemen of the Road Michael Chabon
The Mammoth Book of Best New Manga 2 Ilya
InuYasha Vol. 1 Rumiko Takahashi
Flight Volume 4 Kazu Kibuishi
Poe's Children: The New Horror edited by Peter Straub

110. Pharos Alice Thompson (4/5)

This is a brief, atmospheric ghost story. The setting, a lighthouse on a small island off the coast of Scotland, is deliciously remote and helps give the novel a dreamlike, timeless quality. The only denizens of the island are Cameron the lighthouse keeper and his apprentice, Simon, until one day a mysterious woman washes up on shore. They call her Lucia, as she has no memory of who she is or of her previous life.

Cameron and Simon feed and clothe Lucia and treat her kindly, but life on the island becomes increasingly odd and dreamlike. Lucia keeps seeing a young girl on the island, who the others insist doesn't exist. She is also beginning to get the feeling that while the two men have posed no threat to her, they also very much do not want her to leave.

This is a perfect book for a cozy evening under the blankets with some tea. It's not scary, but it's spooky and mysterious and beautifully written.

111. Offbeat Bride: Taffeta-Free Alternatives for Independent Brides Ariel Meadow Stallings (4/5)

I'm getting married in August 2009, and I needed some guidance in planning, but I quickly found that most bridal magazines and books were dedicated to planning weddings I would have no interest in attending, let alone planning for myself. Fortunately, I stumbled across Offbeatbride.com, a website started by a woman who had precisely the same problem.

Ariel Meadow Stallings's book, a companion to her website, describes the process of planning her own wedding, a decidedly nontraditional affair. The book is not so much a wedding planning guide as a book that says, basically, "This is what I decided to do, and this is what some of my friends have done, and maybe these are some things you should think about, too." At times, I wished for a little MORE in the way of checklists and advice, but since traditional wedding planning resources are available elsewhere, it wasn't really necessary to include them here. The book is very, very funny, and certainly got my brain working!

112. The Book of Lost Things John Connolly (4/5)

I really enjoyed this novel, which I've been describing to people as being "a children's novel in the same way that 'Pan's Labyrinth' is a children's movie." Twelve-year-old David has recently lost his mother, and is hurt and angered by his father's subsequent remarriage and the birth of a new stepbrother. He begins to have strange fits in which the books on his shelves seem to whisper to him, and in which he sees a menacing figure that he thinks of as the Crooked Man. When the family moves to an old house outside of London, David's strange experiences intensify: he sees the Crooked Man moving about in the house, and even stranger, he swears he hears his mother's voice calling to him from someplace distant. Finally, he follows the sound of his mother's voice through a portal in the garden and into a fearsome fairy tale world. There are elements from familiar tales here, but they are twisted and strange, and David must learn who he can trust and how to navigate this world, as he seeks out a mysterious king who may be able to help him return to his own world.

I found this book utterly absorbing. There were only a few weak points. Once or twice, the fairy tales (particularly Snow White) had been changed in such a way that I found jarring in a way that was not in keeping with the rest of the book. I also felt that the very ending of the book was slightly weak and unecessary, but otherwise, I found this immensely satisfying and had difficulty in putting it down.

113. Raw Head, Bloody Bones: African-American Tales of the Supernatural Mary E. Lyons (3.5/5)

A collection of African-American tales, collected from a variety of sources. The stories here are fascinating, and my only disappointment is that they are not as good for reading out loud as I had hoped.

107. This Gaming Life: Travels in Three Cities Jim Rossignol (3/5)

I was all set not to like Jim Rossignol. When someone opens a book with a description of how they lost their job because they spent all their time playing Quake instead, it doesn't quite win my sympathy or admiration. Rossignol was lucky, though; through his connections in the gaming world, he eventually landed a job working for a videogame magazine and writing about his travels in the world of gaming.

Out of this came this book, a "tour guide" of three different gaming communities. The cities he travels to are Seoul, London, and Reyjkavik, but the only time his actual location really matters is in Seoul, where gaming culture is like nothing US or Europe has ever seen. What's more important are the games. Rossignol explores the world of people who mod games like Quake, in effect creating entirely new games based off of the platform of the original. He tries to describe the density and intrigue of EVE Online, and the politics of this and other online, multiplayer games.

Those who are interested in the shifting nature of videogames, of the ideas behind player-driven games, and the weird politics of online gaming, will enjoy this book. However, if you have already done any in-depth reading in the field, you probably will not find anything here that you haven't already run across.

108. The Boy Who Couldn't Die William Sleator (3/5)

After 17-year-old Ken's best friend, Roger, dies in a plane crash, Ken becomes obsessed with death and is constantly afraid of dying. This finally leads him to Cherie Buttercup, a creepily sweet old psychic who promises him that she can store his soul for him, thus rendering him invulnerable. At first Ken is thrilled with his new power, but as one might expect, it turns out that the price is more than he bargained for.

This is an enjoyably creepy YA thriller from a master of the genre. What's funny is that I could have sworn I saw this book on the shelf when I was a kid, but according to the copyright information, it was only published a few years ago, so I'm probably thinking of a different Sleator novel or something. Anyway, it's good fun.

109. The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals that Protect Us from Violence Gavin de Becker (4.5/5)

The more I think about this book, the more impressed I feel with how useful it is. So often, information about avoiding danger that is given to people, particularly women, is unhelpful, dangerous, sexist, and/or serves only to feed into paranoia.

De Becker, in contrast, draws a strong distinction between the culture of fear that we live in (where TV news and email forwards cultivate fear of dangers that are unlikely to occur), and fear as an instinctive tool one can use to protect oneself. He points out repeatedly that there is a difference between helpful fear and anxiety/worry, and that one must learn to quell the voices of paranoia that (for example) tell one that every individual walking down the street is a potential attacker, so that when one encounters someone who actually is a potential attacker, one can "hear" one's fear.

In addition to advising the reader to listen to his/her fear, de Becker also gives helpful tips regarding behaviors to watch for. Does someone refuse to accept "no" for an answer, after it's clearly stated? Do they seek to allay your discomfort by creating camraderie where there is none (using a lot of "we" statements)? Do they seem overly interested, or supply way too many details for someone you've just met?

De Becker doesn't just focus on encounters with strangers or near-strangers (such as dates one has just met). He also spends a great deal of time discussing domestic abuse and child abuse and the way fear functions in these relationships. There is also a great deal of information on workplace violence and ways it can be avoided, which should be required reading for any manager or hiring officer. The only time the book seemed somewhat irrelevant was in the later chapters, where de Becker discusses celebrity stalking and assasinations/assasination attempts. These chapters are interesting from a human behavior standpoint, but are less readily applicable.

Overall, I would recommend this to everyone, but particularly to women like me who sometimes have trouble balancing safety with the desire not to let anxiety rule their lives.

103. Rat: How the World's Most Notorious Rodent Clawed its Way to the Top John Langton (1/5)

Well, this was a big disappointment. I'm fascinated by rats, and tend to grab any new books about them that come out. I found this book to be sensationalistic and at times almost offensive, however.

Langton is a great lover of hyperbole, and while the exerpts from various government reports and academic articles that he quotes at the beginning of each chapter are documented, the other statistics and facts he mentions throughout the book are not. They are also often stated in such a way as to sound frightening, but to be completely meaningless. For example, he states that "according to a 1995 study, 10 to 100 percent of pet rats and 50 to 100 percent of the wild rats in any given population in North America carry the rat-bite fever virus. It's fatal in 13 percent of caes in humans, despite antibiotic treatment." There are several huge problems with this statement. 1) Langton never cites his source. 2) Rat-bite fever in North American is most commonly caused by Streptobacillus moniliformis, which is a bacterium, not a virus (Langton should have caught this in particular, since viral infections can't be treated with antibiotics). 3) According to the CDC, UNTREATED rat-bite fever has a mortality rate of 7-10%, which makes his reported mortality rate of 13% in treated cases unlikely. 4) And finally, the statistic "10-100%" is just completely meaningless and meant as a scare tactic. "It might be a small number of them, it might be ALL OF THEM! WE JUST DON'T KNOW!" The fact that one paragraph contains so many factual errors and exaggerations forces me to question the quality of research in the rest of the book, particularly since it is not in any way documented.
( More of the review under the cut... )

104. Grotesque Natsuo Kirino (4/5)

Two prostitutes are murdered, within months of each other. Both went to a prestigious Japanese girl's high school. One, Yuriko, was preternaturally beautiful. The other, Kazue, was not beautiful but she was smart and striving. What was the connection between these two women? What drove them to become street walkers?
The story of Yuriko and Kazue is mainly told by Yuriko's older sister, an embittered woman who decided when she was young that Yuriko was grotesquely beautiful, a monster.

This is a fascinating, slow-moving novel. It has more to do with the intricacies of family and the competition between women than it does with murder, and it is told through a series of wildly unreliable narrators. It's comprised of the story as told by Yuriko's sister, journal entries from Yuriko and Kazue, even the murderer's life story in his own words, and no one's story quite matches up. The reader is left to wonder and to try to piece together the story behind the story.

It's not for everyone, and I think many readers would be left a little cold by it, but it's a fascinating narrative and very difficult to put down.

105. The Drama of the Gifted Child Alice Miller (3/5)

This was a bit heavy on psychoanalysis for my taste, although I've read that Miller eventually distanced herself from psychoanalysis (as opposed to psychotherapy) as a viable method of treating mental illness. Miller seems to believe that most forms of mental illness result from childhood trauma, a view I'm not particularly comfortable with, as I believe most if not all mental illness has a biological component. Still, there are positives here, as well; Miller's exhortation to both parents and mental health providers to examine one's childhood in order to avoid projecting problems onto one's own children or patients is a point very well taken. Still, I am uncomfortable with the idea that if one has mental health problems, one must have suffered some kind of abuse (either emotional or physical), whether one consciously recalls it or not. I think it is helpful to reflect on the past and realize that the unspoken lessons we learn in childhood have long-lasting ramifications, but I also think that there is ample evidence that one does not have to have been damaged by one's parents in order to suffer from depression or anxiety.

106. I Don't Want to Be Crazy Samantha Schutz (4/5)

When Samantha Schutz started college, she began to have frightening episodes for which she had no explanation. She would become fearful, particularly during class, have difficulty breathing, experience heart palpitations, and sometimes pass out. Every episode made things worse: fear of having an attack could trigger an attack. Eventually, Schutz learned that she was having panic attacks, and she suffered from panic disorder.

This is a frank, heartfelt memoir, told in free verse, that describes Schutz's college years and her struggle with anxiety and panic. I was dubious about the poetry format -- who wants to read someone else's poetry about their depression and anxiety? -- but it actually works really, really well. Schutz is able to capture moments and episodes in her life with wrenching clarity, and out of the short poems a complete portrait emerges. I think this is a particularly important book because there are so many memoirs of depression, and comparatively few that describe what it is like to live with unending anxiety. This was published as a YA book, but I would recommend it to just about anyone.

101. The One Left Behind Willo Davis Roberts (3/5)

Through a series of miscommunications among her large family, eleven-year-old Mandy has been left alone for the weekend at her family's home on the shore of Lake Michigan. It soon becomes evident that she is not as alone as she first thought, however -- someone is lurking in the woods and along the shore near her house, someone who doesn't want to be found.

Roberts wrote many thrillers for young audiences, and this was her last. I haven't read her other books, so I don't know how it compares, but for me the actual thriller/mystery aspect of the book was its weakest element. Where Roberts really shines is in describing the beauty and loneliness of the northern Michigan location, and in describing the feelings of her protagonist. The plot is pretty generic and kind of unbelievable, but I still enjoyed the novel due to Roberts's descriptive powers.

102. Missy Violet and Me Barbara Hathaway (4/5)

The country is in the middle of the Depression, and even if it wasn't, it would still have been difficult for Viney's family to pay Missy Violet, the midwife, for the birth of Viney's newest sibling. In lieu of payment, Missy Violet takes on Viney as an apprentice, and teaches her the ways of "baby-catching."

I think this slim little book, which won the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent award, will probably gain a place on reading lists and as a read-aloud in classrooms in the coming years. It is very short, and told in an episodic manner, but it becomes clear very quickly that this is the story of Viney's journey toward confidence and a sense of purpose. At first she is frightened by the noise and mess of childbirth, but gradually Viney learns to be a true assistant to Missy Violet. Hathaway is able to use few words to tell a gentle, interesting story that evokes all the sights, sounds, and smells of a Depression-era black community.

Books Purchased

DomiKNITrix: Whip Your Knitting Into Shape Jennifer Stafford
Knit So Fine Lisa Myers, Carol Sulcoski, and Laura Grutzeck

Books Read

Grotesque Natsuo Kirino
The Drama of the Gifted Child Alice Miller
I Don't Want to Be Crazy Samantha Schutz
This Gaming Life Jim Rossignal
The Boy Who Couldn't Die William Sleator
Pharos Alice Thompson
Rat: How the World's Most Notorious Rodent Clawed its Way to the Top John Langton
The Book of Lost Things John Connolly
Raw Head, Bloody Bones: African-American Tales of the Supernatural Mary E. Lyons
Offbeat Bride: Taffeta-Free Alternatives for Independent Brides Ariel Meadow Stallings
The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals that Protect Us from Violence Gavin de Becker

97. The Arm of the Starfish Madeleine L'Engle (3/5)

This is a sort of a thriller, with hints of science fiction and romance. I didn't like it quite as well as L'Engle's more speculative stuff (there's a reason I never read any of these as a kid), but it was still a good story. Sometimes the main character seemed frustratingly naive, but I guess he IS just a teenager

98. Martha Quest Doris Lessing (3/5)

This is the coming-of-age story of Martha Quest, who is growing up in colonialist Africa. It follows her from the age of fifteen, as she reads voraciously and tries to define who she is in relation (or perhaps opposition) to her parents, until she is eighteen and trying to live on her own in the city.

This was an odd book to read, because I enjoyed Lessing's writing style and I thought she had profound things to say, but I detested Martha as a character and wanted to shake her constantly. I think this is partially the point; I think Lessing is purposefully pointing out that the atmosphere in which Martha (and many other young women) is growing up is stifling her and keeping her from becoming a self-determined and well-rounded person. This doesn't stop the book from being something of a frustrating read. On the other hand, it's also a weirdly compelling read, and I find myself planning on reading the sequel in the near future.

99. Autobiography of My Dead Brother Walter Dean Myers, illustrated by Christopher Myers (4.5/5)

Walter Dean Myers has done it again. This is the touching, realistic story of a young man, Jesse, growing up in a neighborhood fraught with violence, who must rely on his family, friends, and his own good sense in order to survive and prosper. When his oldest friend, Rise, starts getting involved in drug-dealing and violent crime, Jesse is almost unsure whether to truly believe it's happening, since Rise has always spoken out against drugs and gangs. But Rise thinks he sees a way to get out of the neighborhood, a way to make something of himself, and Jesse must decide exactly where his loyalties lie. One of the highlights of the book is that Jesse is a budding artist, and Walter Dean Myers's son, Christopher Myers, has amply illustrated this novel with Jesse's illustrations, notebook doodles, and comic strips. It's a wonderful, realistic book, and it's beautifully executed.

100. A Separate Peace John Knowles (3/5)

One of the community challenges on 50bookchallenge last month was to read a book that one was assigned in highschool and disliked, and discover whether it was still as unlikeable.

A Separate Peace was one of those books I clearly remembered actually throwing across the room when I finished it, but there were also images and incidents from the novel that had stuck with me ever since. It seemed like a good candidate for re-reading.

I'm glad I did. There really are wonderful images and incidents here, and up until the last twenty pages or so I couldn't recall quite what had pissed me off so much when I read it years ago. Then I got to the end. I'd forgotten that Knowles basically decided that the metaphors and themes were not obvious enough already, so he pounds on them all for the last chapters of the book, removing most of the subtlety and nuance. I didn't detest the book as much this time around, but I did remember why it had gone across the room -- I felt at the time that it insulted my intelligence and that the author took an easy out at the end, and I still feel the same way, to a certain extent.

91. In the Coils of the Snake Clare Dunkle (3.5/5)

I liked this one better than Close Kin, despite my disappointment at the relative absence of familiar characters.

Miranda has been raised in the human world, but ever since she was a child she has been groomed by Marak to become the human wife of his son, Catspaw. But when Catspaw, now the Goblin King, discovers a that a living, civilized group of elves has returned to their old territory, he cannot pass up the opportunity to arrange a truce in exchange for an elf wife. Suddenly robbed of her destiny, Miranda flees the goblin world and runs straight into Nir, the new elf lord, who magically binds her to him for reasons even he doesn't understand.

In some ways this is more slowly paced than Close Kin, but the story is tighter, and the political wranglings of the goblins and elves are fraught with tension. Dunkle does a better job here, I felt, handling the issue of captive brides; we learn some of the history of the practice, and the ways in which it has been both the savior and the downfall of both the goblins and the elves. Which still doesn't address the issue of how eventually all the women in the books happily settle down into their new life, but it's a start, and it also serves to emphasize that the goblins and elves are not humans dressed up in pretty clothes or ugly costumes.

92. Heaven Angela Johnson (5/5)

This was such a sensitive and delicate little novel that I checked several times to see if I was actually reading one of Jacqueline Woodson's best.

Fourteen-year-old Marley lives an almost idyllic existence in the little town of Heaven. Her parents love her, she gets along with her brother (mostly), and she's built a family of friends of all ages who watch out for her. Plus, there are the letters from Uncle Jack, who she's never met, but who writes her regularly and tells her about his life on the road and his dog named Boy. When Marley learns that everything about her family isn't the way it seems, it forces her to re-examine life and her place in it.

This is a novel that, despite its brevity, does not go for easy answers or one-dimensional characters. Everyone has a depth to them. Marley's voice feels authentic; while she is clearly intelligent and sensitive, she is also fourteen and confused, and it comes through beautifully. I loved this book.

93. Runaways, Vol. 1: Pride & Joy Brian K. Vaughan (3/5)

Most teenagers are disillusioned when they discover their parents are not who they thought they were, but in the case of Alex, Nico, Karolina, Gertrude, Molly, and Chase, the disillusionment is particularly shocking: their parents are actually supervillains, part of a syndicate known as The Pride.

It takes a little bit for this to get going, and this volume deals mainly with the unmasking of their parents as villains, and the kids uncovering their own special powers. The artwork for the most part is good; occasionally people's mouths protrude in ways that I found odd, but on the other hand, the kids basically look like actual people in terms of their varying body types.

I've really enjoyed Brian K. Vaughan's writing on other series (Ex Machina, Y: The Last Man), so that's mostly what prompted me to pick this up. Now I'm rather hooked, and I plan on reading any of the volumes I can snag through the library.

94. Runaways, Vol. 2: Teenage Wasteland Brian K. Vaughan (3/5)

In this, the second volume of the Runaways series, the Runaways are still functioning basically in crisis mode, as they try to figure out how to stay out of the reach of The Pride and generally keep themselves alive. Life is further complicated by the arrival of Cloak and Dagger, who have been hired by the L.A. Police to hunt the kids down.

I am really looking forward to reading the third volume of this series. It's basically candy, but it's very tasty candy.

95. Death Note, Vol. 1 Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata (2.5/5)

This is an intriguing premise: a Death God has purposefully dropped his Death Note, a notebook that allows the bearer to sentence anyone to death simply by writing their name in the book. A young man named Light picks up the book, and after a few false starts, embarks on a mission to kill all of the world's most notorious criminals and create a utopia. Interpol, however, considers the deaths to be the act of a serial killer, and a mysterious supersleuth known only as "L" is brought onto the case.

I enjoyed the art, and like I said, the premise is intriguing, but I wasn't entirely satisfied with the overall execution. There is very little complexity to the plot thus far, and the way the author continues to add on additional rules regarding the use of Notebook feels like slapdash writing instead of trickiness on the part of the Death God. I think I'll give the next volume a chance, but I don't really anticipate getting super into this series.

96. Jackie Ormes: The First African American Woman Cartoonist Nancy Goldstein (3/5)

This is a somewhat lackluster treatment of a fascinating and important woman.

First, the positives: Jackie Ormes, who worked as a cartoonist in the black press for nearly three decades, definitely is past due for a full book-length treatment. Because her work was mainly single-panel cartoons, and because she did not work in the mainstream press, Ormes has often been overlooked in discussions of the history of comics and cartooning. It's wonderful that this has been remedied. The book is a thing of beauty, as well; nice glossy pages, big margins, and a large enough format that the sometimes-muddy reproductions of Ormes' art (muddy because they have been reproduced from microfilm, not due to any fault of the author or the artist!) are intelligible and as clear as possible. There are eighty reproductions of Ormes' popular "Patty-Jo n' Ginger" single-panel comic, as well as representative samples of her serial comics "Dixie to Harlem" and "Torchy in Heartbeats."

Nancy Goldstein's writing, however, is pedestrian, and she frequently repeats the same information. The first section of the book, a biography of Ormes, is something of a slog because of this. Perhaps the biggest problem, from my perspective, is that Goldstein originally came to the topic of Ormes' life through interest in doll collecting and the Patty-Jo doll. Thus, Goldstein's analyses of Ormes' talents and role as an artist are pretty shallow, and frequently glossed over in favor of discussion of the fashions displayed in the comics and information about the Patty-Jo doll. The book tends to feel a bit like it's neither fish nor fowl; the biography is pretty sketchy, the art isn't deeply analyzed, and even the interesting historical and sociological aspects of the Patty-Jo doll are often glossed over.

In all, I would tend to think of this book as a good start. Ormes deserved the book-length treatment, and perhaps this volume will spark interest in her life and artwork, giving rise to better books in the future.