Book Review #25: Rickety Stitch and the Gelatinous Goo– The Road to Epoli

What’s up, guys! This was a delightful read. More than ever it makes me really want to publish my first book. This one’s going to be pretty short, almost like a mini review.

STORY:

“You are someone, Rickety Stitch. That much I know.”

Rickety Stitch and the Gelatinous Goo: The Road to Epoli by Ben Costa & James Parks (208 pages) is about Rickety, a free-thinking skeleton who comically misses the point and has some disturbing dreams. Recently through a haunting song that stirs up memories in Rickety’s head and after being fired from a dungeon-keeper job, he decides to go on a journey to discover who/what he was before a singing skeleton.

I hadn’t expected too much out of this story besides some awesome art, but I found the story kind of heartwarming. To be honest not too much happens in this book. I will say it’s a great set up because I am eager for the second book.

CHARACTERS:

Hidden Gem #2: Our Cats are More Famous Than Us

I love Yuko Ota and Ananth Hirsh’s works and their individual ones as well. I literally have Buzz! and Lucky Penny on my bookshelf now. I didn’t know about their webcomic though. *whispers* I’m a Bad Fan.

STORY:

“I hate octopuses.

An animal that gross has no business being that smart.—John (pg 236).”

Our Cats are More Famous Than Us by Ananth Hirsh and Yuko Ota (416 pages) is about their day-to-day lives (really, there’s a lot of morning coffee drinking here) in comic form. Some of the comics focus on cultural things (between Japanese and Indian culture), apartment shenanigans, the art process, and, of course, their many cats. I’m not a cat lover, but I find the cat comics super adorable. Maybe it’s because they are drawn so cutely?

There’s even a surprise conclusion that’s pretty heartwarming. I didn’t see it coming. But I wish them happiness regarding it.

ART:

It’s grrrreat *in my Tony the Tiger voice*

CHARACTERS:

Well, these are all supposed to be portrayals of the real-life authors and their friends. Their friend John is absolutely hilarious. Everything he says (in the webcomic) sounds like the lead in an action thriller.

OVERALL:

Don’t be scared by the thickness of this omnibus. You can read this book so quickly because the comics themselves are usually between 3-5 panels.

I definitely recommend it. 😀

Monday: What I’m Reading Now 6/26/17

Hey guys, I thought I would give a little update because I’m always reading even if I don’t review.

What I’m Reading Now:

The Adventures of John Blake by Phillip Pullman (illustrated by Fred Fordham).

I have read 23 pages so far. I somewhat have an idea of what’s going on.

What I Read Last Week:

City of Saints & Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson

Pretty good! A little slow and dragged at times but good. I was so mad at first when I thought Tina was in love with her half-brother. I was like all these cute Kenyan boys and she got to like her brother!? With that being said (no, he wasn’t her half bro after all), I didn’t care for the romance at all and didn’t see why Michael was so pretty. Throw stones if you wanna, but the book could’ve done without Michael and not missed a beat.

I absolutely loved Bug Eye and detested Ketchup pretty much like everyone else did.

There were some heavy themes of rape, survivorship, and family bonds. I liked Tina, but I didn’t exactly care or not care for her. I know some people didn’t like it, but I was genuinely surprised at who the big boss was.

Overall, it was good (but too long) and I wouldn’t read it again.

Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven

People on Goodreads were so maddddT (yes, I meant the T) that a fat girl wanted a relationship and with a good-looking guy at that. What? Can’t round girls desire to be loved and be with attractive people? And yes, it’s dumb and unrealistic for her to think she would marry and have a kid with her (first?) boyfriend, but she was also a teenage girl. Let her have her dreams.

With all that being said, I didn’t enjoy this book. It was hard to read through Jack being so jerky (when he could’ve just told his family!). I liked Libby’s narrative better but she was whiny too.

There was a sprinkle of diversity since Jack and his brothers were multi-ethnic and a few diverse school friends. I was surprised when Carolina the super-model pretty, popular mean girl was dark-skinned because generally that character trope is written as a blonde or brunette white girl. Anywho, Carolina was too flat of a character to really care.

I had never known about prosopagnosia, so this book definitely brought awareness to me.

Overall, I don’t recommend the book because it ended too cliche and high school love is oh-so-special and long-lasting. And I just couldn’t STAND Jack’s cheating dad. He just burned me up.

Kid Savage by Joe Kelly and Ilya

Hated it. I didn’t like the art, story, or characters. Would not read again.

Street Angel: After School Kung Fu Special by Rugg and Maruca

It was okay, pretty cute. I found Jesse’s school friends to be adorable.

Kidlit version hosted by Kellee Moye of Unleashing Readers and Jen of Teach Mentor Texts; original version hosted by Kathryn at Book Date.

Book Review #24: Genius: The Game

This book needed some mayonnaise or BBQ sauce because it was dry!

STORY:

“Cameras are eyes… Microphones are ears… (pg 294)”

In Genius: The Game by Leopoldo Gout (320 pages), Rex Huerta’s a regular sixteen-year-old boy who has a knack (and need) for hacking. Unfortunately, his parents are at risk for being deported from the U.S, Teo, his older brother, has run away from home, and school isn’t much fun for him. With all these things weighing on Rex’s shoulders, the announcement of the genius Kiran’s youth-hacking competition sounds promising, not to mention he needs a quantum computer. Of course, Rex’s internet hacker friends Tunde and Painted Wolf are going to be there for their own reasons.

This book needed more detail. To know a character is “tall, thin, and broad-shouldered (pg 125)” is not enough for me! Does the character have dimples, sunken in cheekbones, and are their clothes loose or ironed to perfection? These are the things I want to know!

The visuals like the diagrams, drawings, and photographs were a nice aesthetic, but they felt like a crutch sometimes.

Also, Rex’s—actually, everyone’s— narrative was dry. And there were too many info-dumps that could’ve been weaved into the story better.

There’s a little attraction between Rex and Cai (Painted Wolf). I mean they were alright. Depending on how old Kiran was, I liked him with her better if only for the Batman/Catwoman angle.

CHARACTERS:

This book has a bunch of diverse characters! Yay! The three main leads are respectively Mexican, Nigerian, and Chinese! Within the Genius competition, there are South Americans, Egyptians, South Africans, and Haitians and others.

Still, I had no favorite character.

Rex is okay, I guess. But he doesn’t really have a personality. He just reacts to the things that happen around him.

“I do not like the term junk. It implies inherent uselessness and I have come to find that nothing is inherently useless. It is only a matter of finding the time, functionality, and place of the object” (pg 40).

I did like Tunde the most due to his sense of wonderment. I didn’t mind his not-translated Nigerian slang because I could figure out most of it from context.

Cai (Painted Wolf) was supposed to be this baddie/vigilante chick that I just did not get or care about.

Kiran was interesting just a smidge.

OVERALL:

I’m sorry guys, but I could not wait for this book to be over. It took me 9 days to finish this because I had to force myself. It was almost a DNF, but I hoped it would get better.

Not a bad idea but I wished it could have been executed differently (and with more detail)! I might read the sequel.

Book Review #23: Recess Warriors: Hero is a Four-letter Word

This book was so dumb in the best way possible. It had a Codename: Kids Next Door meets Teamo Supremo meets Recess feel. The story’s so surreal! The line between what’s real and imaginative is seriously blurred, and that makes things so entertaining!

STORY:

“I love the beginning of things…I just hate endings” (pg 123).

In Recess Warriors: Hero is a Four-letter Word by Marcus Emerson (144 pages), recess is serious business because it’s when Bryce a.k.a James Scrap (minus the James) does his vigilante business. He’s accompanied by his much more qualified best friend— sidekick— Yoshi (Caitlyn Yoshimura), and the two have to navigate through a cooties epidemic that’s affecting both boys and girls and a shady pirate gang.

This book evoked a sense of nostalgia in me, and I felt like I was a kid again in my bedroom, eating goldfish crackers and downing a Capri Sun. Everyone probably won’t have that same sentimental feeling, but I did find the storyline silly and interesting.

CHARACTERS:

Bryce/Scrap is indubitably dumb and funny.

I liked Yoshi a lot! Even though she was a great leader and a skilled fighter (she can do some serious biz with her jump rope), she didn’t come off as a know-it-all or a brat. Sometimes, she’s just as confused as us (read: readers) with the junk that goes on during recess.

Clinton was my favorite. Anti-heroes are always cool in any form.

Juliet should have been a grating character, really, but with how she was presented I was able to take her lovesick personality.

ART:

I like the wonky, blocky, and angular style. It has that Saturday morning cartoon feel. Sometimes, the faces look a bit sunken in during close-ups though. The backgrounds and color direction are vivid and fun.

OVERALL:

Some kid (or adult or teen or elder or alien or….) is really going to have fun reading this. I am excited for the next book in the series.

Book Review #22: Learning to Swear in America

I saw this on display at my local library, so I decided to read it.

STORY:

“So he had two problems. He had to save the world, and he had to save himself” (pg 50).

In Learning to Swear in America by Katie Kennedy (346 pages), Yuri Strelnikov’s been brought from Russia to stop an asteroid from utterly destroying California. Along his two weeks, he has to deal with condescending NASA workers, freeing his emotions, and a Russian professor back home trying to steal Yuri’s life research on antimatter. Not to mention he finds a cute girl with brown and yellow hair, a tongue stud, and hippie parents, and NASA bureaucratically kidnapping him.

I really liked the artistic/creative way Dovie (and her family) tried to teach Yuri to deal with his emotions.

The first half of the story was great, interesting and a bunch of anticipation. However, I didn’t like the other half, and it was a struggle to finish. I started skimming through pages that I should have wanted to devour. I like a little romance in my books a lot, but I just did not care for the romantic subplot that began to take over the main plot. Like, why would someone goof off at a high school with their GF when the fate of the world is in their hands? SN: Dovie caught feelings for Yuri way too fast.

There were a few “suicidal” jokes that albeit weren’t particularly bad, didn’t need to be made.

CHARACTERS:

Mini Review #5: American Street

STORY:

“Chantal is Brains.

Donna is Beauty.

Pri is Brawn.

I am Brave. No one has to tell me this. I know it for myself” (pg 317).

American Street by Ibi Zoboi (336 pages), was…Whoa. I thought it was brilliant. A real thriller with some gut punches.

I disliked Fabiola’s cousins except for Chantal. I just…Even though they were joking, they just came off as awful a lot of the time.

I loved Kasim as much as Fabiola.

It had a bit too much cursing, but I enjoyed the storyline immensely. And Fabiola was such an adorable, sweet girl.

SN: Donna and Dray were mad dysfunctional.

OVERALL:

This book definitely has to be added to your tbr (to-be-read).  Even with that ending, I liked this story.

Book Review #21: The Sweetest Sound

STORY:

“You know, church is like that. Sometimes the pastor is talking and all you can think about is eating pancakes when he is done. But sometimes he says something and, just like that, it feels like he’s talking absolutely, positively to you!” (pg 17)

In The Sweetest Sound by Sherrie Winston (272 pages), Cadence Jolly is tired of adults giving her “motherless child” pity. She’s also trying to break out of her perpetual shyness enough to own her beautiful voice. In a fit of frustration and later regret, Cadence films herself disguised singing on Youtube. Of course, now her church choir is trying to find the little girl with the big voice, and Cadence doesn’t know if she will be able to own up to it.

CHARACTERS:

The cast is very diverse with Cadence and her family being African-American, Faith, a Dominicana, Zara, bi-racial (black mom/white dad), and Mei-Mei and Sophie, Chinese.

Some of the best singers (and def your faves) started singing in church, and Cadence is no different. Cadence was very shy but prideful, and I actually like that combination. She was also an avid reader, always mentioning classic books, and wanted to be a writer.

I couldn’t stand Faith. At all. Little girl be happy for your friend.

Zara wasn’t memorable but at least she was sweet.

Cadence’s dad was well-meaning but overbearing. Still, he was okay in my book. I didn’t care about his little romance though.

Random note: I kept reading Sofine as So-Fine. :p

OVERALL:

“…Learning to be strong didn’t mean changing everything” (pg 259).

This book was a little dry. Too much poetry and way too much irrelevant junk. It was really hard for me to push through and finish it.

I don’t like giving stars, but this one is about a 2.5. Still, I’m sure it will make some kid’s day.

SN: THAT COVER! (ღ˘⌣˘ღ)

Cadence has the cutest pixie cut!

Everything, Everything was okay. (Movie thoughts)

This is somewhat a movie review! I don’t plan on doing more movie reviews in the future, but I did see Everything, Everything and wanted to say my thoughts.

Everything, Everything was okay.

So, I saw the movie yesterday with a theater full of teenage girls, parents, and grandparents.

The movie didn’t have nearly as much detail as the books, but the visuals were beautiful. The location and room-building were excellent. I wanted Maddy’s room (or better yet her house). And if it was the movie’s purpose to make Hawaii seem like the best tourist attraction ever, it succeeded.

Consumerism was very low. But I wished it had been higher. All of Maddy’s outfits were so cute!  Where are they from? Forever 21? I would love to buy some of the dresses she had especially the yellow one with the zipper.

It had a nice soundtrack too. I definitely perked up at hearing Ari Lennox’s distinct voice in the movie.

There were some major pacing issues. Introducing Rose (who is only mentioned in the book) was cool, but not at the expense of cutting out major moments, which are in the spoiler section.

The kisses were good. The love scene was tasteful.

I loved the inner-thought bubbles when Olly and Maddy had like their third meeting. The direction the director took to show their text messages was creative too.

I liked the ending a lot more here! The book’s ending felt too open-ended.

Overall: Not totally exciting unless you have read the book, and then you might feel disappointed because some of the best parts were condensed or passed over. Still, I am glad I got to see it. I haven’t been to the movies in a while.

[SPOILERS INSIDE]

Book Review #20: The Saga of Rex

Okay, this was cuter than expected. Also, no quote this time because this book is 98% no text.

STORY:

In The Saga of Rex by Michel Gagné (200 pages), basically, a frog-like God of some alternative universe akin to Noah’s ark created and paired animals together (the beginning had me confused but who cares). Also, somehow the God collected/teleported real creatures to the world. Anyway, Rex, a cute little fox creature, got teleported to the weird world and was paired with a purple-shapeshifting squirrel-fox, Aven. Rex doesn’t have a clue about his new surroundings, but he just wants to follow his new mate.

I hadn’t expected there to be such a violent part in the book (a creature was about to be sacrificed, a creature was pierced through the stomach with a bloody knife, and a creature died), but it was okay because nothing stayed too sad for long.

ART:

The art was very beautiful! There’s a climatic part when Rex loses a unicorn horn that is just mesmerizing to see. When Rex and his mate become one (nothing vulgar or sexual; kids won’t even pick up on the symbolism) was another beautiful part. I loved the color direction in this book as well.

CHARACTERS:

Rex was an absolute cutie and Aven seemed to be a lot of fun.

OVERALL:

To sum this book up, it’s message was “travel all you can with the one you love.” Or maybe it was really “this book was kind of weird and I didn’t understand most of it, but I loved the pictures.” Either way, it’s worth picking up! I found the ending so sweet.