Me on Some Manga I've Recently Read

Hi there! I'm still trying to find a balance between the good brain days and the bad ones, as well as regaining my interest in reading the books I have waiting for me. I think I need to mix in more visual stories, more comics, graphic novels, manga, and webcomics. That being said, here are some thoughts on some manga volumes I recently picked up at the library.

Flying Witch Vols 1-4 by Chihiro Ishizuka. Flying Witch follows the story of Makoto, a novice witch who's just packed up all of her belongings, along with her cat familiar Chito, and headed off from Yokohama to rural Aomori (I looked it up, I think it's a 9 hour drive) to freeload with some cousins, including Kei, a young man who's the same age, and his younger sister Chinatsu. It was turned into an anime for the Spring 2016 season (April to June), so I knew what the story was going it. I was mostly reading this to see how it differed from the anime (not that much) and what happened after the anime ended (because it was only 12 episodes long and I don't think there'll be a second season (this happens so much)).

It's a very gentle, easy-going slice of life story. There's a vague overall theme, which is Makoto being a witch and learning how to be a better which, as she's only 15 (even if in the witch world that's a fully-fledged adult). There aren't any enemies or rivals or fights to the death; it's just a slow, countryside tale of a teenage girl and her family and friends out in a rural town. Which sometimes you want to read about. I loved the little bits of witch lore and mythology that would pop up and be so every day, at least to Makoto and over time to Kei, Chinatsu, and their parents. The Harbinger of Spring, a fairy-esque (even though they're the size of an adult human) being who brings spring across the land. A café run by witches and hidden by a glamour spell. Whales flying through the sky. The newspaper person. It's cute and charming and funny and an overall great read. The art style is nice, too. Not too complicated, overloading the page, but also not too sparse. As always, I enjoyed the characters' faces and expressions. Currently, 6 volumes have been translated and published by Vertical Comics, with the 7th out this summer (Volume 8 will be out in Japan this fall).

Behind the Scenes Vols 1-3 by Bisco Hatori. Behind the Scenes is about Ranmaru, a 1st year in college who's come to the big city after growing up surrounded by a rough and boisterous family of fisher folk. He's never felt like he fit in with them, being the quiet one who's constantly pessimistic about everything and always gets seasick on a boat. He figured going away to college, staying with some relatives, would help him find his place. But it's been two months and he's discovered that he hates crowds and doesn't know what to do with his life. Then he stumbles onto a zombie movie shoot and faints from shock. When Ranmaru wakes up, he finds himself at the mercy of the Art Squad and their president, Ryuji Goda. I wanted to give this a read because the premise sounded interested and I was curious as to what Bisco Hatori was working on as I've read one of her previous series, Ouran High School Host Club.

I rather liked the set-up and the first 3 volumes. It's looking like the series is going to be about Ranmaru, him working through his hang-ups and problems and shyness while working with the other members of the Art Squad and helping them work through their own personal problems. Because all the members of the Art Squad has their bits and secrets. Ruka's family situation, Maasa's desperate search for a boyfriend who won't be grossed out by her love of zombies and gore, Tomu's happy-go-lucky attitude and delinquent past, Izumi's easy-going nature and the crowd of girls that wait their turn to maybe date him. And Ryuji, who you don't really learn too much about in the first 3 volumes beyond how passionate he is in the work the club does, how much he pushes them to evolve and push past any issues they might have. Ranmaru is interesting, he's quiet and always panicking about something, but he's great at crafts and creating and noticing the little details that most people miss. Like cracks around a skylight, or someone's notes in their film script, or the next day's weather. He's definitely going to be someone the club will rely on. There are currently 5 volumes translated and published by Viz Media, the 6th will be out in March (in Japan, volume 7 was released last September).

I hope you enjoyed this. I'm slowly going through a list of manga that I've been waiting to appear at my local library, ones I've seen anime adaptations of or are by artist whose work I like, so there might be more posts like this in the future. :)

Me on Bloom

Title: Bloom
Author: Kevin Panetta
Author/illustrator: Savannah Gauncheau
Release Date: January 29, 2019
Publisher: First Second Books (Macmillan imprint)

Now that high school is over, Ari is dying to move to the big city with his ultra-hip band―if he can just persuade his dad to let him quit his job at their struggling family bakery. Though he loved working there as a kid, Ari cannot fathom a life wasting away over rising dough and hot ovens. But while interviewing candidates for his replacement, Ari meets Hector, an easygoing guy who loves baking as much as Ari wants to escape it. As they become closer over batches of bread, love is ready to bloom... that is, if Ari doesn’t ruin everything.

Bloom is tender, sweet, and honest. It's a post-high school coming of age graphic novel all about wants and needs, dreams and real life, choices and consequences. It's about two young men, one who doesn't know what he wants and one who needs a little time away from life, and their summer together.

Ari doesn't know what he wants to do, not really. There's what he knows, what he was pushed towards, which is his family's bakery, which he doesn't really want to work at, and there's what he dreams of, which is moving to a bigger city with his friends and bandmates and making it as musicians. He's hoping it'll all work out, but with the bakery struggling and his dad pressuring him to stay, and his friends making serious plans while Ari dreams and hangs around, it's not looking likely. His confusion and uncertainty overwhelm him. He doesn't know where to go, what to do. But he does know that he likes spending time with Hector.

Hector is on a break from culinary school, currently unattached after breaking up with his last boyfriend, and is in town to help clear out his late grandmother's house. He knows what he loves, cooking, baking, spending time in the kitchen making food, but he needed some time away. Time to breathe. So here's this little town, with a bakery looking for help. So in walks Hector, looking to continue doing what he loves.

The story fits so well with the art style and the two-tones colour scheme. I love Savannah Gancheau's art in this book. The exterior scenes so full of things, like the house/bakery backyard with all the pots and plants. The pages covered in baked goods, rolls and cakes and blueberry muffins. The characters' faces! They're all so expressive, smiling or sneering, frowning or shouting or laughing. Especially Ari's annoyed face. Those eyebrows!

Ari and Hector's story isn't easy. It has its ups and downs, its fun times and tense moments. This is a story all about moving on when you don't feel like you're ready, making hard decisions, facing a harsh reality when running a small business, admitting you made a mistake, apologizing and owning up to it when that mistake got people hurt, and moving forward when you're afraid of screwing up again. And it's a story about how the people who care about you will always be there to stand by your side. So, if you're looking for a sweet, realistic story with diverse characters and wonderful art, give this a read. Just don't blame me if you're hungry at the end.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Raincoast Books.)

Me on The Cold Is in Her Bones

Title: The Cold Is in Her Bones
Author: Peternelle van Arsdale
Release Date: January 22, 2019
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books (Simon & Schuster imprint)

Milla knows two things to be true: Demons are real, and fear will keep her safe. Milla's whole world is her family's farm. She is never allowed to travel to the village and her only friend is her beloved older brother, Niklas. When a bright-eyed girl named Iris comes to stay, Milla hopes her loneliness might finally be coming to an end. But Iris has a secret she's forbidden to share: the village is cursed by a demon who possesses girls at random, and the townspeople live in terror of who it will come for next. Now, it seems, the demon has come for Iris. When Iris is captured and imprisoned with other possessed girls, Milla leaves home to rescue her and break the curse forever. Her only company on the journey is a terrible new secret of her own: Milla is changing, too, and may soon be a demon herself.

The Cold Is in Her Bones is a tale about girls who never feel like enough, who never feel smart enough or pretty enough or resourceful enough, and what happens when they take the chance to be themselves.

Milla is a girl who just is. There's nothing overly special about her. She lives with her parents and brother on their farm, she does her chores and does what she's told. But it's never enough for her mother, who always seems to scold Milla for not being more than who she is. Her older brother Niklas is seen as perfect, but Milla loves him so her anger towards him never lasts. When a new girl, Iris, comes to the farm, Milla is ecstatic. Finally, a girl her age she can be friends with. But Iris comes with secrets, secrets that have Milla reconsidering the life she's lived, the things her mother pushes on her. Secrets that start a change in Milla.

This book is all about Milla becoming a fully realized young woman. When she leaves to find Iris, to free her, to discover the truth behind the demon and the voices, she's finally given the chance to just be herself. Away from her mother, away from her picking and her scolding and her expectations. This is for those girls who don't feel like enough, because they are enough the way they already are. Sometimes you don't get the words from your parents that you were always hoping you'd here. Sometimes you have to leave the place you once called home in order to find the place you were meant to be. Sometimes family is made up of people you followed and saved along the way, or people who took you in and supported you for a time. It's a curious fairy tale-esque of a story, a tale of regret and hope and finding yourself.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Simon & Schuster Canada through NetGalley.)

Me on The Wicked King

Title: The Wicked King
Author: Holly Black
Release Date: January 8, 2019
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Hachette Book Group imprint)

After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her younger brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished. When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.

The Wicked King is full of tension, full of schemes and secrets, full of double-crossing and dangerous plots. Jude's struggling to keep her head above water, struggling to keep things in control. But control is hard to come by in the shifting world of Faerie, in the shifting whims of its current High King.

Jude is constantly on her toes, trying to keep everything in order so she can find away to keep Cardan under her control. So she can find a way to keep Oak safe before he's pushed into the role of ruler. But considering this is Faerie, Jude has a lot of players to keep an eye on. Because with Cardan the current king, there are those who would seek to placate him, manipulate him, control him. Dispose of him. Jude is right to suspect almost everyone around her, but there's someone close to her that she's forgotten about.

This book is full of so many secretive, plotting, double-crossing characters that it's hard to like any of them. Even Jude. But that's Faerie. It's a land of magic and wonder, of double-speak and tricks and clever turns of phrase. It's an inhuman land populated by inhuman people. For me personally, I kept having to remember that no character would ever do anything like walk away from the situation. Even Jude. Especially Jude. She wants to much to be a part of a place that she hates and that hates her. There are a lot of twists here, a lot of pieces slowly being revealed and falling into place, a lot of surprises and unexpected revelations. Knowing that, I'm definitely interested in how it will all come together in the last book. Considering these characters, it's hard to imagine a happy ending for anyone. Hopefully it'll be a satisfying ending.

(I received an e-galley of this title from Hachette Book Group Canada through NetGalley.)

Me on On a Sunbeam

Title: On a Sunbeam
Author/artist: Tillie Walden
Release Date: October 2, 2018
Publisher: First Second Books

Throughout the deepest reaches of space, a crew rebuilds beautiful and broken-down structures, painstakingly putting the past together. As Mia, the newest member, gets to know her team, the story flashes back to her pivotal year in boarding school, where she fell in love with a mysterious new student. When Mia grows close to her new friends, she reveals her true purpose for joining their ship—to track down her long-lost love.

On a Sunbeam is an epic and expansive tale of discovery and regret, of exploration and impossibility, of love. Of hope and everything the future can, does, and will hold.

Mia is the newest member of a crew that travels through space repairing old structures, slowly and methodically rebuilding parts of the past. She's quiet, more than a little lost as she gets used to the work and the different personalities of the crew. Hard as nails Alma and intelligent Char. Bold and bright Jules. Mysterious and thoughtful Elliot. But it always comes back around to Mia. She has the look of someone looking for something. Through the flashback chapters, we see who she's looking for. When Mia was in school, she met a girl named Grace. Made friends with and argued with Grace. Fell in love with Grace. But then Grace left and Mia was left wondering. Where she went, if she'd ever see Grace again. The flashback chapters reveal who Mia was and is, while the chapters set in the present reveal the secrets and wonders of the universe, and what Mia must go through in order to, hopefully, find Grace again.

The art style is wonderful and expressive, full of detail. The different expressions, Mia's frowns and Jules' smiles, Elliot's surprise and seriousness. The buildings on the repair jobs, half-crumbled and lost to time, ready to be repaired. The school, all structure and learning and adolescence. The spaceship, a curious space of family and laughter and acceptance inside something that looks like a fish. The Staircase. And the colours, the accents that change depending on when and where the story goes. The black and white that joins with the purple of the ship, the blue of the past, the pink and yellow and orange that follow events in motion. All of it is gorgeous.

There's a wonderful, powerful moment a little more than halfway through the book that I think is so relevant right now. It has to do with respecting people who aren't like you and only acknowledging certain parts of someone (referring to the moment in which Elliot who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns is misgendered). If you want someone to respect you, respect all of you, then you have to give them just as much respect. You don't get to pick and choose which parts, you don't get to decide what's important for someone else. Especially when it comes to how that person defines themselves, their name, their pronouns or their gender. Instead, you stop and listen. You give that person as much respect as you expect to be given, because if you give them none, you'll get none in return.

I find it hard to describe this book because, when you peel back the layers, there's so much here. There's adventure, there's determination, there's regret, there's making mistakes and righting wrongs. There's consequences that carry, that affect so much more that we ever through possible. There's love and hope, there's persistence. There's finding a family, finding a group of people who accept you, flaws and all, while you accept theirs because of the support and care they give you and you give them. There's impossibility and wonder, there's exploration. There's so much here, in each character, on each page and in each panel, in each location. And I'm sure there's more I've missed. This is an epic tale that deserves to be read.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from First Second through NetGalley and later purchased a finished copy.)

Me on Blanca & Roja

Title: Blanca & Roja
Author: Anna-Marie McLemore
Release Date: October 9, 2018
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan imprint)

The del Cisne girls have never just been sisters; they're also rivals, Blanca as obedient and graceful as Roja is vicious and manipulative. They know that, because of a generations-old spell, their family is bound to a bevy of swans deep in the woods. They know that, one day, the swans will pull them into a dangerous game that will leave one of them a girl, and trap the other in the body of a swan. But when two local boys become drawn into the game, the swans' spell intertwines with the strange and unpredictable magic lacing the woods, and all four of their fates depend on facing truths that could either save or destroy them.

Blanca & Roja is a magical, mysterious tale of sisters and swans, of secrets, of devotion and plans and good intentions. It's fear and sweetness and wonder all at the same time.

Blanca and Roja have always knows that, one day, the swans will come to take one of them. Because that's what's always happened to sisters in their family. That one day two will become one, when only one sister remains while the other becomes a swan, joins all the past del Cisne girls who were taken to become swans. They figure they know what will happen, that the sweet Blanca will be left behind while the swans take Roja with all her sharp edges, but that doesn't stop them from trying to save each other. Then a bear wanders through the woods, then the girls find a cignet, and two locals are drawn in, intrigued by the girls and running from their own lives. Hiding from hard truths.

This is yet another Anna-Marie McLemore book that explores young women and queerness and family and love through a Latinx fairy tale retelling. It's a book about complicated family dynamics and figuring out who you are and hope and pain and confrontation and, in the end, hopefully living freely. It's a book about girls with sharp edges and dreams of the future, about boys with gentle hearts looking for places to belong. It's magic and reality all rolled into one, unable to see the separation between the two. If you're a fan of Anna-Marie McLemore's books, you'll continue to be a fan after this one.

(I received an advance copy of this title from Raincoast Books.)

Me on Muse of Nightmares

Title: Muse of Nightmares
Author: Laini Taylor
Release Date: October 2, 2018
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Hachette Book Group imprint)

In the wake of tragedy, neither Lazlo nor Sarai are who they were before. One a god, the other a ghost, they struggle to grasp the new boundaries of their selves as dark-minded Minya holds them hostage, intent on vengeance against Weep. Lazlo faces an unthinkable choice—save the woman he loves, or everyone else?—while Sarai feels more helpless than ever. But is she? Sometimes, only the direst need can teach us our own depths, and Sarai, the muse of nightmares, has not yet discovered what she's capable of. As humans and godspawn reel in the aftermath of the citadel's near fall, a new foe shatters their fragile hopes, and the mysteries of the Mesarthim are resurrected: Where did the gods come from, and why? What was done with thousands of children born in the citadel nursery? And most important of all, as forgotten doors are opened and new worlds revealed: Must heroes always slay monsters, or is it possible to save them instead?

Muse of Nightmares is an ending revealed through despair and fury, mystery and magic, desperation and hope. Truths and secrets are being revealed above the city of Weep, but not all of them, because of what else might be found when they are. But when their own lives are at stake, what choices will the godspawn make? Whose minds will they change?

Lazlo is now one of them, one of the godspawn. Like Sarai and Minya, like Ruby and Sparrow and Feral. But he can't thinking about anything but Sarai, now a ghost held by Minya's power after her death. Now he and Sarai are pawns in Minya's game, a game in which she demands revenge against those who hated them, feared them. Killed the other children a number of years ago. But now that doors can be opened, the past can be set free. And someone is keeping a secret they don't want to think about.

There's something haunting and magical about this, but also something rather realistic and honest. A fair amount of the book is Lazlo and Sarai taking part in a battle of wills against Minya. Neither side willing to compromise, both sides blinded by emotion and anger. Minds must be chosen in order to save lives, yes, but how far can revenge burrow inside someone? How powerful does it become? It's easy to tell someone to stop, to take a step back and look at things from all sides, but when emotions are involved, when loved ones are involved, it's impossible to stop. To consider that perhaps another way is the option. Minya demands her revenge. Lazlo refuses to give up on Sarai. And so the impasse begins. I do think that fans of the previous book will be satisfied with this ending. It's a Laini Taylor book, it's emotional and expansive, it's harsh and sweet and complicated, and the story continues beyond the last page, left to the reader to imagine and wonder.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Hachette Book Group Canada.)

Me on The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy

Title: The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy
Author: Mackenzi Lee
Release Date: October 2, 2018
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins imprint)

A year after an accidentally whirlwind grand tour with her brother Monty, Felicity Montague has returned to England with two goals in mind—avoid the marriage proposal of a lovestruck suitor from Edinburgh and enroll in medical school. However, her intellect and passion will never be enough in the eyes of the administrators, who see men as the sole guardians of science. But then a window of opportunity opens—a doctor she idolizes is marrying an old friend of hers in Germany. Felicity believes if she could meet this man he could change her future, but she has no money of her own to make the trip. Luckily, a mysterious young woman is willing to pay Felicity's way, so long as she's allowed to travel with Felicity disguised as her maid. In spite of her suspicions, Felicity agrees, but once the girl's true motives are revealed, Felicity becomes part of a perilous quest that leads them from the German countryside to the promenades of Zurich to secrets lurking beneath the Atlantic.

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy is another race across Europe in search of adventure, intrigue, and some unexpected personal growth along with some thievery and piracy. Because what else do you do on a trip across Europe with a Montague sibling?

Felicity is back, practical and head-strong as ever, still waiting for the men who control every teaching hospital and medical school she applies to to actually listen to her when she says she wants to be a doctor. She's intelligent, she's calm, and she's widely read on the subject. But reading books only gets her so far. She has no practical experience, which is what she would get learning medicine from other doctors. But all other doctors are male and are too stupid to realize, according to Felicity, that admitting her would actually teach them something about women's health and women in general. That they don't all faint at the sight of blood or a man's private parts. When Felicity hears of a chance to possibly meet a doctor who don't flinch at the thought of working with a woman, when she starts hoping of a chance to one day be taken seriously as a doctor, she's off.

I knew what to expect this time around, having read the first, but I didn't expect how it would all unfold. Considering Felicity is the calm and the practical to Monty's hedonism and hilarity, I knew there would be a lot of sense and reason. And there is. But there's also a lot of Felicity learning how to be herself without being sharp and dismissive. She knows that she's not one of those girls interested in frippery and frivolity, in dresses and jewels and weddings, but that doesn't mean that the girls that are are clueless and foolish. It's okay for Felicity to want to be a doctor, just as it's okay for other girls to want to get married and throw parties. This book speaks to the determination and the strength of girls and women, how they continue to push back against gender stereotypes, how they carve out places for themselves to learn and teach and exist in a world that would have them stand back in the shadows. I enjoyed this book more than the first, which I imagine says something about me and how often I agreed with Felicity over the course of reading this book, but if you enjoyed the first you're sure to love this return to the Montagues and their inability to live quiet, boring lives.

(I downloaded an e-galley of this title from HarperCollins through Edelweiss.)

Me on For a Muse of Fire

Title: For a Muse of Fire
Author: Heidi Heilig
Release Date: September 25, 2018
Publisher: Greenwillow Books (HarperCollins imprint)

Jetta's family is famed as the most talented troupe of shadow players in the land. With Jetta behind the scrim, their puppets seem to move without string or stick—a trade secret, they say. In truth, Jetta can see the souls of the recently departed and bind them to the puppets with her blood. But the old ways are forbidden ever since the colonial army conquered their country, so Jetta must never show, never tell. Her skill and fame are her family's way to earn a spot aboard the royal ship to Aquitan, where shadow plays are the latest rage, and where rumor has it the Mad King has a spring that cures his ills. Because seeing spirits is not the only thing that plagues Jetta. But as rebellion seethes and as Jetta meets a young smuggler, she will face truths and decisions that she never imagined—and safety will never seem so far away.

For a Muse of Fire is a vivid, lush tale of shadow magic, ghosts, and rebellion. It's pageantry cloaked in mystery, it's shadows and flames, it's hope and despair. Life and death. It's a search for peace and safety in a world consumed by war. It's a young woman who faces the truth of herself and must make a hard decision.

Jetta is a young woman dealing in secrets, in the forbidden ways of making their puppets move using the souls of the dead. No one must ever know the truth, especially with the colonial army moving closer and closer, but they need to keep performing. Need to keep making a name for themselves in order to gain the attention of the King. Because there's somewhere they need to go, somewhere Jetta needs to go if the madness that plagues her is ever to be silenced. But journeys are never easy, especially in wartime, and soon Jetta and her parents are involved with a curious business owner and smuggler with secrets of his own and places he needs to get to.

There's something enchanting about this book, something lyrical and soothing, the different ways the beginning of Jetta's story is told. Prose read in Jetta's voice, scenes from a play and letters that detail the army's movements and missions. Tales of death and songs of sorrow. It all feels so expansive, so far-reaching beyond just prose. It was like I could hear this book as I read it, hear the sounds of Jetta's puppets, the music, the gunshots, the whispers of the ghosts. The worry that fills Jetta's mother, the desperation that fills Jetta. I can't wait to see what happens next, where Jetta will go and who will appear.

(I downloaded an e-galley of this title from HarperCollins through NetGalley.)

Me on Mirage

Title: Mirage
Author: Somaiya Daud
Release Date: August 28, 2018
Publisher: Flatiron Books (Macmillan imprint)

In a star system dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, eighteen-year-old Amani is a dreamer. She dreams of what life was like before the occupation; she dreams of writing poetry like the old-world poems she adores; she dreams of receiving a sign from Dihya that one day, she, too, will have adventure, and travel beyond her isolated moon. But when adventure comes for Amani, it is not what she expects: she is kidnapped by the regime and taken in secret to the royal palace, where she discovers that she is nearly identical to the cruel half-Vathek Princess Maram. The princess is so hated by her conquered people that she requires a body double, someone to appear in public as Maram, ready to die in her place. As Amani is forced into her new role, she can't help but enjoy the palace's beauty—and her time with the princess' fiancé, Idris. But the glitter of the royal court belies a world of violence and fear. If Amani ever wishes to see her family again, she must play the princess to perfection... because one wrong move could lead to her death.

Mirage is a lush and richly imagined tale full of deception and cruelty, full of family, history, faith, and complicated relationships.

Amani is kind and thoughtful, a dreamer. She dreams of writing poetry, dreams of one day receiving a sign from a god or goddess. She dreams of one day seeing a sign as to what she will do, how she will help those she cares about or those around her. But then she's abducted by a regime she despises, forced to work for a young woman who hated their shared heritage. A young woman who looks almost identical to Amani. And so Amani is forced to pretend to be someone she hates, someone cruel and unfeeling about the problems and history of being Kushaila in an empire ruled by the Vath. What else can she do when the lives of her parents and siblings are at stake? What else can she do but follow orders and listen to what happens around her.

There's something so interesting about this book, something that's maybe a little similar to series like The Winner's Curse. Under all the opulence, under Maram's cold rule and Amani's fitting in to be like her, under Amani being drawn towards Idris and her wanting her family to be safe, there's so much talk about empire and colonialism, about culture and family and motivation. Amani is caught between staying alive and potentially making sure her culture isn't completely overwhelmed, while Maram is caught between her father, a Vath of great power and importance, and the history and people of her mother, people who hate her because she's turned her back on them while she looks so much like them. It's a deep and complex tale, one that's only started this this book, and I can't wait to see what happens next with Amani.

(I received an advance copy of this title from Raincoast Books.)

Me on Let's Revisit a Book (1)

Hi there! So, this spring and summer I've come across a lot of books that I've read and afterwards thought, "Well, it was okay," and that's not exciting for you. Review after review of me saying it was okay or fine is boring. I don't know if it's me or the books I've been reading or both, but it feels like fewer books have stood out for me so far this year.

So I thought I'd do something fun and revisit a book I read years ago to see if it still holds up, if I still enjoyed it, if I think you should go check it out at the library or if you happen to find it at a new or used bookstore (because it's possible it's hard to find or out of print now), of if it's horribly dated or insulting.

And I'm going to start with one of the first books I reviewed: Dia Reeves' Bleeding Violet. (Note: don't go back and read my old review. It's so bad. Long story short, when I read this in 2010 I loved it.)

Title: Bleeding Violet
Author: Dia Reeves
Release Date: January 5, 2010
Publisher: Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster imprint)

From Goodreads:

Love can be a dangerous thing...

Hanna simply wants to be loved. With a head plagued by hallucinations, a medicine cabinet full of pills, and a closet stuffed with frilly, violet dresses, Hanna’s tired of being the outcast, the weird girl, the freak. So she runs away to Portero, Texas in search of a new home.

But Portero is a stranger town than Hanna expects. As she tries to make a place for herself, she discovers dark secrets that would terrify any normal soul. Good thing for Hanna, she’s far from normal. As this crazy girl meets an even crazier town, only two things are certain: Anything can happen and no one is safe.

My revisit conclusion: For the most part, this book is still really good. It's dangerous and silly and serious. It really fits in with what's coming out these days, what's coming out in the next year or so. It's got Hanna talking openly about being biracial and how hard it is to fit in when people keep asking where she's from, Hanna talking openly about her mental health and mental illnesses, her bipolar disorder and her depression and her hallucinations, and Hanna talking rather openly and practically about sex. It's about a town where really weird things happen and the townsfolk don't hide it. It's about secrets and family dynamics and wanting and enacting plans and plots. It's about making the impossible possible. It's about Hanna being Hanna, that the weird things she says and does doesn't mean she's broken.

Hanna's relationship with Wyatt is interesting in that she very clearly states that, in a town as weird and dangerous as Portero, she doesn't need him to protect her or keep her safe (which confuses the heck out of his ex-girlfriend). Hers is a practical no nonsense kind of confidence. She's attracted to him, sure, and he's attracted to her, but does she need him to save her? No. She needs him in other ways. It can look cold, the ways Hanna uses and needs Wyatt, but when you step back and look at everything that's going on, the conclusion that Hanna reaches, it's all very practical. And Hanna's not a cold, unfeeling girl. Look at how much she craves affection from her mother, who's unwilling to give it at the start because she believes that love only leads to pain and sorrow.

Everyone in Portero is a little broken, a little messed up. To be honest, Hanna's the most normal out of everyone in town. The only thing is it's a little gory at times, a little bloody and gruesome, and I'd certainly give it a trigger warning for self-harm and suicide. During my re-read, it felt a little like some of the discussions about mental illness and suicide were too light and flippant.

So, after all that, if you're still interested, then check out your local library or bookstore or e-book provider or choice and give it a read. I think it still holds up, but I'm wondering what someone else who's read it thinks, if there was anything they didn't agree with or thought was poorly discussed.

I'll probably do another one of these posts on Friday, so see you then!

Me on These Rebel Waves

Title: These Rebel Waves
Author: Sara Raasch
Release Date: August 7, 2018
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins imprint)

Adeluna is a soldier. Five years ago, she helped the magic-rich island of Grace Loray overthrow its oppressor, Argrid, a country ruled by religion. But adjusting to postwar life has not been easy. When an Argridian delegate vanishes during peace talks with Grace Loray's new Council, Argrid demands brutal justice—but Lu suspects something more dangerous is at work. Devereux is a pirate. As one of the outlaws called stream raiders who run rampant on Grace Loray, he pirates the island's magic plants and sells them on the black market. But after Argrid accuses raiders of the diplomat's abduction, Vex becomes a target. An expert navigator, he agrees to help Lu find the Argridian—but the truth they uncover could be deadlier than any war. Benat is a heretic. The crown prince of Argrid, he harbors a secret obsession with Grace Loray's forbidden magic. When Ben's father, the king, gives him the shocking task of reversing Argrid's fear of magic, Ben has to decide if one prince can change a devout country—or if he's building his own pyre. As conspiracies arise, Lu, Vex, and Ben will have to decide who they really are... and what they are willing to become for peace.

These Rebel Waves is plots and plans and secrets upon secrets. It's adventure and intrigue and survival. It's the past returning, revealing its true intention. It's about people who would see the infirm saved from sickness and an island free from an oppressive ruler. But their missions are never solved that easily.

Lu is a smart, battered, determined young woman. She's fighting hard to see Grace Loray stand on its own, free from Argrid, even if that fighting is done watching and listening to council meetings. It's still work to make sure the island will be free. But there are some things that bother her, make her wonder. Vex is a known stream raider, working illegal jobs and running around under the radar as much as he can. Until he gets caught. Until a demanding young woman walks up to his jail cell, ready to make a deal. Ben is thoughtful. Worried. The deaths of his uncle and cousin still ring true inside him, still make him question his father's plans. Especially when his father comes to him, asks him to research and utilize the magic plants of Grace Loray. Why, when he has named magic evil? Is he being set up, are his true feelings about magic being revealed so he too can burn, or does his father have a plan that would change everything?

This is a rather dense story of political intrigue, secret magic, hope, fear, and freedom. It's intriguing, but it's certainly a lot of plotting and planning, running from place to place in order to either get help or uncover the truth. Or, when it comes to the parts seen from Ben's point of view, it's a lot of hiding his true feelings and being afraid of ending up like his uncle and cousin before everything around him shifts, blasting away his expectations. I was certainly curious as to where Lu and Vex would go and what they would find out, what Ben would discover and what his father's true plans were. And I was intrigued by the magical plants, by there being certain plants on Grace Loray with magical properties and what this meant in terms of healing or battle or missions. I was also interested by the island of Grace Loray itself, the different parts of it and the different groups of people that call it home. Those who went there to make new lives, those who were brought there. Those who hide away, still calling themselves a certain name even though they've never been to the land their ancestors were from. It was interesting to me, thinking about the history of immigration on Grace Loray and some real life comparisons. It was a little long for me, but I'm still curious as to how the next book will play out, considering this is the first in a duology. After the reveals and the ending, I'll be keeping an eye out to see what happens next.

(I received an advance copy of this title from HarperCollins Canada.)

Me on Royals

Title: Royals
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Release Date: May 1, 2018
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers (Penguin imprint)

Meet Daisy Winters. She's an offbeat sixteen-year-old Floridian with mermaid-red hair, a part time job at a bootleg Walmart, and a perfect older sister who's nearly engaged to the Crown Prince of Scotland. Daisy has no desire to live in the spotlight, but relentless tabloid attention forces her to join Ellie at the relative seclusion of the castle across the pond. While the dashing young Miles has been appointed to teach Daisy the ropes of being regal, the prince's roguish younger brother kicks up scandal wherever he goes, and tries his best to take Daisy along for the ride. The crown–and the intriguing Miles–might be trying to make Daisy into a lady... but Daisy may just rewrite the royal rulebook to suit herself.

Royals is a summer adventure full of secrets, near scandals, and Scotland. In it we have Daisy, a regular American teenager plucked from her normal life and sent to hobnob with Scottish royalty. But as much as Daisy is clueless as to protocol and procedure, they are in no way prepared for Daisy's quick wit and unwillingness to play a foolish game.

Daisy is so much snark and sass and attitude. She's quirky and smart, a little stubborn, and she isn't afraid to speak her mind. Even when it's a duchess who just insulted her sister. Even when it's possibly the Queen of Scotland. As sarcastic as Daisy is, it's obvious that, as much as she hates that her interests and plans were often pushed to the side when it came to her sister, she still cares about her. She wants Ellie to be happy. And so she agrees to a summer in Scotland being folded into the royal circle. But there are some strange characters in the circle, some boisterous friends and an over-the-top prince, and the paparazzi are just waiting to capture a new scandal.

This was just the book I needed to read right now. I found it funny and ridiculous, bold and silly, a whirlwind adventure over hills and across the society pages. It's all about family and secrets and gossip and tabloid news and people with public roles who still want something the resembles a private life. It's about a teenage girl who continues to be a teenage girl, who continues to give attitude and massive side-eye when she knows something's up. It's full of drama and sarcasm and weird families and I laughed out loud more than a few times. Knowing there's going to be another book about some of these characters, I can't wait to read it.

(I borrowed an e-book copy of this title from the library.)

Me on The Handsome Girl & Her Beautiful Boy

Title: The Handsome Girl & Her Beautiful Boy
Author: B.T. Gottfred
Release Date: May 8, 2018
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co. (Macmillan imprint)

Everyone assumes that Zee is a lesbian. Her classmates, her gym buddies, even her so-called best friend. So many people think that Zee likes girls, even Zee is starting to wonder. Could they be onto something? Everyone assumes that Art is gay. They take one look at his nice clothes and his pretty face and think: well, obviously. But there's more to Zee and Art than anyone realizes. When Art first meets Zee, he knows he's found someone special--someone magical. Zee may not be able to see that magic in herself, but Art is bound and determined to show it to her. What develops is a powerful connection between two people who are beautiful in all the ways they've been told are strange. As they explore their own complexities in gender, sexuality, and identity, they fall for the complexities they find in each other.

The Handsome Girl & Her Beautiful Boy is bold and eye-opening, an honest and personal look into the lives and problems and relationships of two teens who aren't too interested in how other people define them. But when it comes to their own relationship, their own connection, they struggle to define it in a way that makes sense with what both of them want.

Zee likes sports, likes CrossFit, likes hanging out with her best friend who's a guy. Because she isn't like other girls, because she doesn't wear dresses or make-up, most people around her assume she's a lesbian. But she isn't. Art is boisterous and flamboyant, he's chatty and kind and has an eye for nice clothes. Everyone assumes he's gay, that he's lying when he says he isn't. When Art meets Zee, he feels that he's finally found someone who understands, someone who's amazing. It's love at first sight for him. But Zee isn't so sure that she feels the same.

This is a very interesting, very curious, very frank and open book when it comes to teens questioning their sexuality and gender and experimenting. But this is just one story. No two teens are the same, in reality or in fiction. There's no one right way to figure out who you are, no right way to be, and this is Zee and Art figuring that out. This is a hard book to describe, it full of hard moments and gushing texts and exploration and teens having sex (because teens do and will have sex). It's honest and unapologetic and sometimes uncomfortable, but then again so is life. So is being a teen asking questions and figuring things out.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Raincoast Books.)

Me on How We Roll

Title: How We Roll
Author: Natasha Friend
Release Date: June 5, 2018
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux (Macmillan imprint)

For Quinn McAvoy, losing her hair the summer before eighth grade was the beginning of the end. Suddenly she was Pluto: a has-been planet, too dwarf-like and unimportant to hand with the other celestial bodies. But Quinn gets a second chance when her family moves across the country a week before her freshman year. No one in Gull's Head, Massachusetts, knows that Quinn has alopecia, the autoimmune disorder that took the hair she had never really thought about-until it was gone. No one knows that the wig she's wearing isn't her real hair. All Quinn wants is to blend in with the crowd. When the popular girls mistake her for one of their own, Quinn plays along, until a boy in a wheelchair who's been hurt even more than she has turns Quinn's carefully constructed world on its head.

How We Roll is a kind and open story about healing, about struggle, about illness and disorder and understanding. About perception and differences. About honesty and learning.

Quinn didn't have much hope but she does now, after moving across the country from Colorado to Massachusetts. Here's a fresh start for her family, for her brother and his new school that will help them all learn to better understand his autism and his needs, and for Quinn. No one at her new school will know what happened to her. How she lost all her hair and wears a wig when she goes out. How kids at her old school made fund of her, called her names, and how her old friends slowly ditched her. Here in Gull's Head, she's made new friends, she's fitting in when some of the popular freshmen girls start talking to her. But then she comes across Nick, moving through the school in a wheelchair, and she wonders what happened to him. Why he's so sad and so angry.

There's something interesting at play in this book, which is perception, how people see us versus how we want to be seen. Quinn wants to be seen as normal, as one of the girls, but she feels awkward and out of place when she's the only girl in school who wears a wig, who has to deal with it and the itch that races across her scalp. Nick wants to be normal, too. He wants his legs back. But Quinn is able to hide under her wigs. Nick can't, and so Quinn sees a deeper side to being out of place. But they're still teens, still kids with hopes and dreams and likes and dislikes and snarky moments. They're still learning, growing, and still fragile when someone stares. Sometimes friends will accept and sometimes friends will be jerks. Sometimes families are complicated. But we all keep moving forward in some way. I'd recommend this to younger YA readers, middle grade readers making the transition, as Quinn's voice came across as a little young for YA (which would make sense, her being a freshman in high school in the US would make her 13 or 14).

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Raincoast Books.)

Me on Bruja Born

Title: Bruja Born
Author: Zoraida Córdova
Release Date: June 5, 2018
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Lula Mortiz feels like an outsider. Her sister's newfound Encantrix powers have wounded her in ways that Lula's bruja healing powers can't fix, and she longs for the comfort her family once brought her. Thank the Deos for Maks, her sweet, steady boyfriend who sees the beauty within her and brings light to her life. Then a bus crash turns Lula's world upside down. Her classmates are all dead, including Maks. But Lula was born to heal, to fix. She can bring Maks back, even if it means seeking help from her sisters and defying Death herself. But magic that defies the laws of the deos is dangerous. Unpredictable. And when the dust settles, Maks isn't the only one who's been brought back...

Bruja Born is dark and dangerous and full of magic, full of sisters sticking by each other. Full of love and loss, of pain and sorrow, of healing and strength.

At the start, Lula is a complicated and angry young woman. Angry that things are different at home, ever since her sister Alex came into her powers and their father was returned to them. Angry that she still feels trapped, like when she was locked away in a tree in the magical land of Los Lagos. Angry at the scars that now run across her cheek, the scars that make her feel ruined. Things changed in Los Lagos, and since they've been home, Lula isn't sure how to feel. But she still has her boyfriend Maks. He's the only thing that makes everything feel better again. Feel normal again. Until he's taken from her. Until Lula decides to risk everything in order to save him. But moving against the natural order of life and death is never good, especially when Death herself comes to collect what she is owed. And so comes what feels like and impossible mission for Lula: set to right the balance that she has upset, but that means losing Maks.

So many things raced through my head while reading this. What it is to be in pain, to hide it, to willingly suffer through it for a number of reasons, be they selfish or selfless. What it is to be in love, to love with all of you and doing anything in order to keep that person with you. What it is to admit defeat or admit to a mistake, the frustration and the anger when we try so hard to fix it on our own only to fail over and over, and the depth of the well of support that comes when we finally do ask for help. It's a book of magic and brujas, of tradition, but it feels so human, so realistic and grounded and honest. Labyrinth Lost is about Alex, about her coming to terms with and realizing who she is, as a bruja, a sister, a daughter, a teenage girl. Bruja Born is all about Lula and her demons, her determination and her stubbornness, her loves and her mission. It's just as deep and enchanting as the first, and I'm really looking forward to reading the next.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Raincoast Books.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (379)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: The Hidden Witch
Author/artist: Molly Knox Ostertag
Release Date: October 30, 2018
Publisher: Graphix (Scholastic imprint)

From Goodreads:

Aster and his family are adjusting to his unconventional talent for witchery; unlike the other boys in his family, he isn't a shapeshifter. He's taking classes with his grandmother and helping to keep an eye on his great-uncle whose corrupted magic wreaked havoc on the family.

Meanwhile, Aster's friend from the non-magical part of town, Charlie, is having problems of her own -- a curse has tried to attach itself to her. She runs to Aster and escapes it, but now the friends must find the source of the curse before more people -- normal and magical alike -- get hurt.

There's more after The Witch Boy! I'm so happy about this, I think Molly Ostertag is a great artist and a wonderful storyteller and I'm so excited to see more books about Aster and Charlie.

Me on Speak: The Graphic Novel

Title: Speak: The Graphic Novel
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Artist: Emily Carroll
Release Date: February 6, 2018
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers (Macmillan imprint)

From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless--an outcast--because of something that happened over the summer. Now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen. So what's the point of talking? Through her work on an art project, Melinda is finally able to face what really happened that night. But before she can make peace with the ghosts of the past, she has to confront the reality of the present--and stop someone who still wishes to do her harm. Only words can save her. She can't stay silent. Not anymore.

Speak: The Graphic Novel is just as powerful, just as emotional, just as necessary as the original. Here, Melinda's story is brought to life. Her pain, her fear, her struggle there on the page for readers to see, in bare branches and bitten lips. In people shouting and crying, in stuffed rabbits. In looming monsters.

(A quick preface to say that first, this will be a much more casual review than usual, and second, that I haven't read the original version of Speak but I did know the summary before reading this.)

Stories like this, like Melinda's, like anyone who's been groped or assaulted or raped, are important. It's important to speak out against rapists and abusers. But for so many it's hard to say the words. Hard to speak out when the attacker is a big name in the community, is someone popular at school, is a famous actor or politician. When people call the victim a liar, say that it was all a misunderstanding or a joke. It's not. Rape isn't funny. I think it's so timely and vital that Speak is brought to life as a graphic novel, that Melinda's story is brought forward in time in order to feel more modern, and that Emily Carroll is the artist accompanying Laurie Halse Anderson's words. I find Carroll's art style to be rather eerie and haunting, perfect for this story and this subject. Thin lines and thin limbs, shadowed eyes and expressive faces all in black and white and shades of grey, no colour to break it up. It's heavy, weighing down on the reader. On Melinda. On what she should do with everything looming over her. Parents, grades, the school social scene. IT.

This is a must-read for high school students, all ages and all genders. To show them that their pain is real. To show them that consent is important. To show them that everyone has the right to speak out, even if they can't bring themselves to immediately after the attack. To show them that no one is alone in their silence and suffering.

(I received a finished copy of this title from Raincoast Books.)

Me on Spectacle Volume 1

Title: Spectacle Volume 1
Author/artist: Megan Rose Gedris
Release Date: May 22, 2018
Publisher: Oni Press

Pragmatic engineer Anna works as a psychic in the Samson Brothers Circus, but she doesn't believe in anything supernatural—until her twin sister Kat is murdered and comes back as a very demanding ghost. Sharing a room with her sister was hard, but now they're sharing a body while trying to identify the killer. With few leads, a troupe full of secretive folk, and strange paranormal occurrences popping up around the circus, solving the case seems near impossible. But the murderer in their midst may be the least of their problems...

Spectacle Volume 1 is mysterious. It's full of secrets, full of characters with their own different personalities and motives, and full of questions when it comes to those characters and their motives.

Anna is practical, she leans more towards the scientific things in life. Like her conjecture engine. Like sense and reason. Not the tarot cards and fortune telling she does as her role in a travelling circus. She's not like her twin sister Kat, a knife-throwing night owl who sometimes leaves a mess in her wake. But they're family. They're all each other has, and so they tolerate each other. Until one night when Kat is murdered, leaving behind a rather demanding ghost for Anna to see. With this sudden death, Anna is on the hunt for the murderer, but Kat's still keeping secrets from her sister. Everyone in the circus keeps secrets, and it's up to Anna to sort through them in order to find Kat's murderer. But something else is going on around the circus.

The art style is rough and charming, it didn't take long to grow on me. The different shapes of the circus cars and tents. The wild mass of Anna's hair, her and Kat's outrageous expressions when the find out Kat's dead and sticking around as a ghost. The different people who work in the circus, like owner Jebediah Tetanus, squeaky-voiced Flora, and Kat's show partner Carl. They all have their own look, all have a way of standing out.

To be honest, when I started reading this I wasn't sure where it was going to go, what I was going to find. What I found was a story full of secrets, of people running and hiding and finding a place where they can feel safe. But safety only lasts for so long, those hidden skeletons stay hidden as long as someone doesn't let them out. Considering how this volume ends, I'm rather interested as to where the story will go. What secrets Anna will uncover, what secrets Kat is still keeping to herself. What's chasing after them.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Oni Press through NetGalley.)

Me on Blood Water Paint

Title: Blood Water Paint
Author: Joy McCullough
Release Date: March 6, 2018
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers (Penguin imprint)

Her mother died when she was twelve, and suddenly Artemisia Gentileschi had a stark choice: a life as a nun in a convent or a life grinding pigment for her father's paint. She chose paint. By the time she was seventeen, Artemisia did more than grind pigment. She was one of Rome's most talented painters, even if no one knew her name. But Rome in 1610 was a city where men took what they wanted from women, and in the aftermath of rape Artemisia faced another terrible choice: a life of silence or a life of truth, no matter the cost.

Blood Water Paint is harsh and honest, lyrical and poignant. It's the true tale of a young woman's strength and fury, her determination, her sorrow and disgust at her treatment by the men around her.

Artemisia is thoughtful, a painter looking to improve at her craft. But how can she when her father keeps her art hidden, lies about painting them himself. How can she when she's a young woman in Renaissance Italy, someone with no status or power of her own. What can she do, a young unmarried girl at times quick and opinionated? All she wishes to do is paint, and paint she does, hating almost everything but painting. Until someone enters her life, her studio, with talk of teaching her. Until someone takes without her consent.

It's impossible to run from emotions in a verse novel, because there it is. Clear as daylight on the page. There for the reader to see, to breathe in, to feel themselves, over and over again. And what does the reader feel here? Artemisia's desire for freedom, for recognition as a painter. Her desire to be heard at the trial against her rapist, to be believed over him. Her rage at men, at their lies and desires and cruelty. Her disappointment. Her resilience. Her strength. This is a powerful story that needs to be read.

(I borrowed an e-book copy of this title from the library.)