Book Review #76: Besties: Work it Out

look at that cover!

Besties: Work it Out by Kayla Miller, Jefferey Canino, and Kristina Luu (216 pages)

This was gold! Besties: Work It Out impressed me with its themes and thoughtful characters. I loved seeing a kid acknowledge how hard her mom was working and wanting to take care of her.

The story showed perfectly the deeper awareness you get as a kid when you realize the weight of adult responsibilities and MONEY. Some of us discover it earlier depending on our circumstances, but the conclusion is usually the same.

Chanda and Beth were so much fun together. They were chaotic and quirky but loved each other. The artwork was better than ever. The lines were sleeker (I see you Clip Studio Paint), and the color direction was phenomenal.

Something I also enjoyed was the fresh take on the “lying, and I hope they don’t find out” trope. It didn’t end as I expected.

I’m always game to read more from the Click series and now Besties! Definitely worth reading.

5/5

---

Reminder: Yolk’s on Me out now!

Book Review #29: The Last Black Unicorn

I think this is my first non-fiction review? So yeah!

The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish (288 pages) is an interesting read or, better said, an interesting life story.

Be aware there’s a bunch of cursing and crude language, almost excessively. The appeal of the humor is all the messed-up/f’ed up junk that happened in Tiffany’s life. Oh my God. Sometimes, it got heavy. Nothing is politically-correct (disabled jokes, poop in shoes, etc) and a lot of trauma is present through carefully covert jokes.

But real life can’t be censored.

Anyway, I like the choppy, episodic chapters because it’s easy to put down and start reading again. Honestly, many of the sentences are written in AAVE, which is cool.

Three stars out of five!

 

Monday: What I’m Reading Now 1/8/18

First one of the new year!

What I’m Reading Now:

All’s Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson (248 pages)

Interested in reading this. I have read 0 of 248 pages so far.

What I Read Last Week:

Tune: Still Life (Tune #2) by Derek Kim (208 pages)

Much more entertaining than the first but a bit too crude for my taste…Too many poop jokes for me. :p Anyway, I did find Dash very fun with her childlike wonderment. I guess I’m stuck waiting for the third because these books never get to the meat of the story.

 

The Professor’s Daughter by Joann Sfar (80 pages)

Beautiful artwork though the story jumps a bit sporadically. It has a sophisticated, quirky feel to it, and Imhotep’s father couldn’t have given a single care. He was also the highlight of the story if you ask me.

 

Making Scents by Arthur Yorinks (112 pages)

The artwork is super cute and Mickey is kind of adorable. The story itself though just has no real purpose. The ending is majorly anti-climatic. I figured all of Mickey’s transgressions were building up to something but nah. I just… What was the point? I think this would work better as a webcomic.

Also, I am so tired of Mickey’s uncle’s constant “crook” spiel. Go shove it up your nose!

The Sisters Vol. 2: Doing It Our Way! (Sisters #2) by Christophe Cazenove and William Maury (96 pages)

Very good! Cute comics with sister shenanigans.

 

 

Stitch! Best Friends Forever! by Miho Asada (176 pages)

Ehh, the stories were pretty dry/not exciting, but maybe I’m biased because I always like Lilo best.

 

 

Toto Trouble #2: A Deadly Jokester by Thierry Coppée (64 pages)

It’s good though I don’t care too much for Toto.

 

 

NO! by Marta Altés (28 pages)

Super cute! I think even non-dog lovers will like this. I read this one in Spanish, but I’m sure the sentiment is the same in English.

 

 

 

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

 

bOOKS! 2018 UPDATE

Yes, the lowercase ‘b’ was intentional. Why? I don’t know, man. It’s Friday, so who really cares? Spring semester starts this Monday for me, and I just want to read books until then. :p My goal this year is to read over 30 books.

I went to the library and racked up on graphic novels 😀

Still working on self-publishing my first book. This isn’t really something you can do half-baked, so I’m really trying to research things. I wish marketing wasn’t such a big deal.

Also, my language-learning is going well. Puedo leer libros en español ahora.

 

 

 

Quick Nonessential Update

Hey, everyone!

It’s been a good length of time since my last post. School and Irma took a lot of my time and mental energy, but I’m still reading. Actually, I won an ARC of Not Now, Not Ever that I’m currently reading (I’m on page 90).

Also, I’m getting for real, for real serious about publishing my first middle-grade children’s book, Dreaded Dinner Party. I am eyeing a November or December release date, but who knows I might have to push it back or forward.

Anyway, just a heads-up that I’m still active. I feel like I’ve used “I’m” too much in this post. Oh well…

Book Lovers Day

Today is Book Lovers Day? I didn’t even know we had a day! I just saw it trending on Twitter. Batman is just as amazed as I am.

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:

Happy Friday: Book Haul

I have a bunch of books (and an e-book) that I will be reading! I don’t know which ones I will review or not, but I do know I look forward to being engulfed in a good book.

SN: I have noticed that I tend to type really fast sometimes and make many typos. I have to work on that! ^^;

Wrap Up

I have mentioned in my “about me” section that this blog was created for a college English course. This course has been one of my most challenging classes, but I think I have learned a lot. Hopefully, I am a better writer than I was before, and I know my MLA format has gotten a million times better.

To be honest, I have always wanted to start a blog where I reviewed books, but there was never the so-called “right moment.” If I had not taken this class, I still would not have a blog dedicated to books. At least, I know how to use gifs now!

The theme of my English course was banned books, and many of the books I have reviewed were banned or challenged. I would not have read some of these books like Blood and Chocolate or Julie of the Wolves without the assignment. Am I better from having read these books? I don’t know, man. Julie of the Wolves bored me, and I practically roasted Blood and Chocolate. But I loved Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging and read four of the sequels. I need to get around to reading the fifth book, Away Laughing on a Fast Camel. A little off-topic but the newer realistic covers for the Georgia Nicholson series lose the vibrant, cartoony feel without the illustrations.

Sincere thanks to anyone that has liked, followed, or commented or even just read any of my posts. It’s pleasant to think that someone out there actually enjoys my content.

 

Just so you know (in case, some of you started tearing up) this is not my last post. Yeah, I will continue reading and reviewing. This is just a farewell post for my English class. More reviews to come! I hope you all will stick around.

 

301

Monday: What I’m Reading Now 4/10/17

Monday’s almost over but whatever.

Well, finals are coming up, so I have at least 1-2 weeks left of school. I am so relieved because this felt like the longest semester ever. To be honest, I hadn’t planned on doing an IMWAYR post, but it gives me an excuse to put off some homework ( I know procrastination is bad).

What I’m Reading Now:

Wide as the Wind by Edward Stanton

I have entered what feels like a million Goodreads contest, but this is the first (and currently the only one) that I have won! Concerning the presentation, it looks pretty nice, sleek cover and I like the small font. I have read 0 pages so far.

 

 X by Ilyash Shabazz (and Kekla Magoon)

I have read 0 pages so far because I have been so busy! Mind you, I have been writing papers all week.

 

 

Black Women of the Harlem Renaissance Era edited by Lean’Tin Bracks and Jessie Carney Smith

Super long title! I am writing a paper on black women’s contributions to the Harlem Renaissance, and this was my absolute favorite source.

 

Defining Moments: The Harlem Renaissance by Kevin Hillstrom

Another one of my sources. I have read 35 pages of it so far. This book gives a great chronological overview of the Harlem Renaissance.

On the Shoulders of Giants: My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance by Kareem Abdul-Jabar (and Raymond Obstfield)

I have read 0 pages so far, but I think the presentation is nice! And yes, this is another one of my sources.

 

 

What I Read Last Week:

 Splintered by A.G Howard

I was so done with this book. Everyone’s like ohmygawd Morpheus! Nah, Morpheus can go sit in the corner with Jeb too. Something that annoyed me with this book is why could Jeb never be wrong (Alyssa always reasoned herself to be at fault), and why all the white girls had fake dreadlocks. Not to mention mental issues and medical procedures in this book were not handled very well. Overall, I am not interested in any of the sequels.

I will say the best scene was when the mad tea party goers chased that poor duck and ripped it to shreds. I don’t know why I found that scene funny because it was supposed to be brutal.

Anyway, if finals don’t take all my time, I will try to do some reading outside of my sources.

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