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 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 Firestarter

Title: Firestarter
Author: Tara Sim
Release Date: January 15, 2019
Publisher: Sky Pony Press (Skyhorse Publishing imprint)

The crew of the Prometheus is intent on taking down the world's clock towers so that time can run freely. Now captives, Colton, Daphne, and the others have a stark choice: join the Prometheus's cause or fight back in any small way they can and face the consequences. But Zavier, leader of the terrorists, has a bigger plan--to bring back the lost god of time. As new threats emerge, loyalties must shift. No matter where the Prometheus goes--Prague, Austria, India--nowhere is safe, and every second ticks closer toward the eleventh hour. Walking the line between villainy and heroism, each will have to choose what's most important: saving those you love at the expense of the many, or making impossible sacrifices for the sake of a better world.

Firestarter is the conclusion to a series steeped in adventure, mystery, sorrow, and love. It's all revelation and heartache, running and racing and hurrying against time. Or with time. Or on the path to save time.

As I read this I thought back to when I first read Timekeeper, when it all started so unassumingly with a young man walking into a clock tower and finding someone watching him, and never would I have expected the trilogy to unfold as it did. It expanded the world so much, took Danny and Colton out of England and across the continents to India. And it brought them closer and  closer to trouble, to danger. To what could be the end of everything. There's a lot that conspires against Danny and Colton, both intentionally or not. Everyone has plans of their own, dangerous ones, hopeful ones. Murderous ones.

This book is definitely all about endings, about making that final decision that could end captivity, end a way of life, end lives themselves, and the reason for making that decision. Is it one you make purely for yourself, keeping someone you care about alive while so many others die, or is it one you make to keep the world moving as it should while you lose someone you care about? It's one of the hardest decisions to make, and here, it must be made.

It felt like there was so much happening in this book. Timekeeper was the introduction, Chainbreaker was the uncovering of a dangerous plot, and this was the struggle to keep as many people alive as possible as they moved towards the end. They go so many places, hide and uncover so many secrets, confront so many people, it almost felt too long. But there was so much to wrap up. If you're a fan of the first two books and you were gutted by how Chainbreaker ended, you're really going to want to read this. A great end to a sorrowful, mysterious, emotional series.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Sky Pony Press through Edelweiss.)

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 The Storyteller

Title: The Storyteller
Author: Traci Chee
Release Date: November 13, 2018
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group (Penguin imprint)

Sefia is determined to keep Archer out of the Guard's clutches and their plans for war between the Five Kingdoms. The Book, the ancient, infinite codex of the past, present and future, tells of a prophecy that will plunge Kelanna in that bloody war, but it requires a boy—Archer—and Sefia will stop at nothing to ensure his safety. The Guard has already stolen her mother, her father, and her Aunt Nin. Sefia would sooner die than let them take anymore from her—especially the boy she loves. But escaping the Guard and the Book's prophecy is no easy task. After all, what is written always comes to pass. As Sefia and Archer watch Kelanna start to crumble to the Guard's will, they will have to choose between their love and joining a war that just might tear them apart.

The Storyteller is a sweet and sorrowful end to a series, a world, full of life, death, and the magic of stories.

As with most final books, I find it hard to talk about it on its own for fear of giving away too much to those who haven't read the previous books. On its own, The Storyteller is an ending, it is the conclusion Sefia and Archer have been both running towards and running away from. It is the truth revealed by the Book, it is the war coming to an end. It is an inescapable ending, no matter how hard some try to run or avoid or change the future. Everything is already written down, between the covers of the Book. As a whole, the trilogy is enchanting and expansive, journey after journey, secret after secret. Memory after memory. It feels like a puzzle to be solved that has no true answer. It's an exploration of destiny and fate and the power of words both spoken and written.

All three books are a joy to read, to fall into and follow the characters on their paths, when they don't know where they're going and when they're racing towards somewhere they know they don't want to be. I see the wonder and power of storytelling in these books, journeys easy and hard, endings happy and bittersweet, revelations infinitely small and impossibly large. I would definitely recommend this series to those looking magic and adventure, a little mystery or puzzle here and there, and the everlasting battle between fate and free will.

(I borrowed a copy of this title from the library.)

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 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 Strange Grace

Title: Strange Grace
Author: Tessa Gratton
Release Date: September 18, 2018
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books (Simon & Schuster imprint)

Long ago, a village made a bargain with the devil: to ensure their prosperity, when the Slaughter Moon rises, the village must sacrifice a young man into the depths of the Devil's Forest. Only this year, the Slaughter Moon has risen early. Bound by duty, secrets, and the love they share for one another, Mairwen, a spirited witch; Rhun, the expected saint; and Arthur, a restless outcast, will each have a role to play as the devil demands a body to fill the bargain. But the devil these friends find is not the one they expect, and the lies they uncover will turn their town—and their hearts—inside out.

Strange Grace is haunting, moving and magical. It's a story of bargains and sacrifice, of love and fate, of a tree and a forest and the heart that lives there. It's a story of place and self and destiny and an overwhelming, earthly magic.

Mairwen is a witch, a Grace witch like her mother and the women in their family before them, descended from the Grace sisters the town was named after. As a Grace witch, she can never go into the forest, but she can hear it calling her name. Waiting for her. But she has a part to play as a Grace witch when the Slaughter Moon comes every seven years. But now, when it comes early, she's worried because of who will most likely be the next saint. Rhun is the apparent best of all the young boys and men looking to do their part to keep the town protected for another seven years. He has the strength and the skill to, hopefully, survive a night in the Devil's Forest. But he is afraid of dying like so many before him and leaving behind those he cares about. Like Mairwen. Like Arthur. Arthur is sharp and brash, fueled by anger and disgust and a hatred for the early days of his childhood. He's an outcast in a town he's lived in his entire life because he doesn't understand who he is. When the Slaughter Moon comes early, all three of them know what will happen, and all three of their hearts race toward something they never expected they'd uncover.

This completely satisfied me when I knew I'd be reading another Tessa Gratton book. There were moments that took me back to some of her previous books, ones like Blood Magic and The Blood Keeper. Magic all around people, in the earth and trees and everything else. Secrets that stretch back through time. Love leading characters through danger and despair, through near-death experiences. Characters joined together in more ways than one, in love and blood and the beating of their hearts. It's atmospheric and haunting. This is a dark and twisted tale of magic and love that I'm sure to read again before the year is out. I'd definitely recommend this to those looking for dark tales of destiny and witches, something similar to Peternelle van Arsdale's The Beast Is an Animal.

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

Me on Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft

Title: Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft
Authors: Tess Sharpe, Jessica Spotswood, Brandy Colbert, Zoraida C­órdova, Andrea Cremer, Kate Hart, Emery Lord, Elizabeth May, Anna-Marie McLemore, Tehlor Kay Mejia, Lindsay Smith, Nova Ren Suma, Robin Talley, Shveta Thakrar, & Brenna Yovanoff
Edited by: Jessica Spotswood & Tess Sharpe
Release Date: August 28, 2018
Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Are you a good witch or a bad witch? Glinda the Good Witch. Elphaba the Wicked Witch. Willow. Sabrina. Gemma Doyle. The Mayfair Witches. Ursula the Sea Witch. Morgan le Fey. The three weird sisters from Macbeth. History tells us women accused of witchcraft were often outsiders: educated, independent, unmarried, unwilling to fall in line with traditional societal expectations. Bold. Powerful. Rebellious. A bruja's traditional love spell has unexpected results. A witch's healing hands begin to take life instead of giving it when she ignores her attraction to a fellow witch. In a terrifying future, women are captured by a cabal of men crying witchcraft and the one true witch among them must fight to free them all. In a desolate past, three orphaned sisters prophesize for a murderous king. Somewhere in the present, a teen girl just wants to kiss a boy without causing a hurricane. From good witches to bad witches, to witches who are a bit of both, this is an anthology of diverse witchy tales from a collection of diverse, feminist authors. The collective strength of women working together—magically or mundanely--has long frightened society, to the point that women's rights are challenged, legislated against, and denied all over the world. Toil & Trouble delves deep into the truly diverse mythology of witchcraft from many cultures and feminist points of view, to create modern and unique tales of witchery that have yet to be explored.

Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft is full of magic and wonder, of strengths and weaknesses, of love and fear and despair and power. It's a collection of stories highlighting young women and their abilities, be they accepted or hidden, honoured or feared, as they live their lives freely or in secret.

Sometimes it's a little hard to review anthologies because in an anthology there are usually two or three stories I really like, two or three that I don't, and the rest are okay. In this anthology I, at the very least, liked all of them. It's so much fun, reading all the different stories about everyone's different versions or adaptations of young women being witches or practicing some kind of witchcraft. Whether it was an inate power or something from a Goddess or passed down through families. Whether it was set in the past or in the present. Stories full of complicated politics, star-crossed lovers, moments between sisters, and young women rising up against the men that fear them. Stories about star signs, fear, faith, and fate. There are a few I love more than the others, the ones by Tess Sharpe, Zoraida Córdova, Anna-Marie McLemore, and Emery Lord, but all the stories are magical and powerful. They all speak to the power of young women, whether it be magic or determination or an indestructible combination of the two. It was such a joy to read this anthology and I hope there will be more like it in the future.

(I received an e-galley of this title from Harlequin Teen through NetGalley.)

Me on Ruin of Stars

Title: Ruin of Stars
Author: Linsey Miller
Release Date: August 28, 2018
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

As Opal, Sal finally has the power, prestige, and most importantly the ability to hunt the lords who killed their family. But Sal has to figure out who the culprits are before putting them down. Which means trying to ignore the fact that Elise is being kept a virtual prisoner, and that the queen may have ulterior motives. And the tales coming out of north are baffling. Talk of dark spirits, missing children, and magic abound. As Sal heads north toward their ruined homeland and the lords who destroyed everything, they learn secrets and truths that can't be ignored.

Ruin of Stars is a conclusion to a mission full of revenge and anger, a search for the truth and those who would plot to destroy so many lives.

Sal, now Honorable Opal, in service to the Queen of Igna, is ready to carry out their plan. Hunt down the lords that brought about the destruction of their home country of Nacea. The death of their family. The capture of Elise. Sal may be full of guilt, guilt at surviving and not seeing the traitors until it was too late, but they're also full of determination. They will not rest until all the names on their list is crossed out, until the truth is revealed, until all the innocents are saved. Even if it kills them.

A big part of this book, something that isn't hidden or whispered about, something that's discussed openly and thought about long and hard by Sal, is destroying Erlend's way of thinking. Their way of treating people. The strict confines of the male/female binary, the belief that men are smarter and better at leading and commanding than women. It's a way of thinking that looks at inclusion and acceptance with disgust, a way of thinking that tells people they're wrong, that something in wrong with them, and that there is only a binary when it comes to gender, only a male romantic partner to consider when you're female. For Sal who considers themself genderfluid, who shifts back and forth and in-between, for Elise who would rather court other girls, or for Emerald who feels no romantic attraction toward her partners, this way of thinking hurts in so many ways. Sal phrases their feelings about Erlend and their restrictive way of thinking so well: "Their comfort was more important than [Sal's] existence." Those like Sal, like Elise or Emerald or Lark, are seen as less than people, less than human, seen as something broken and in need of fixing, and that kind of thinking is horrific and wrong.

How far will revenge take you? How much will it fuel you, push you towards an end drenched in blood and despair? What will become of you when you reach the end, when all those who wronged you are dead at your feet? What will become of Sallot Leon, of Honorable Opal, when their list no longer has any names on it? I thoroughly enjoyed reading this duology of identity and discovery, of pain and sorrow and revenge, of despair over close-minded ways and hope for the future.

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

Me on The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins

Title: The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins
Authors/co-adaptors: Clint McElroy, Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy, Travis McElroy, & Casey Pietsch
Artist: Carey Pietsch
Release Date: July 17, 2018
Publisher: First Second (Macmillan imprint)

Welcome to the Adventure Zone! SEE! The illustrated exploits of three lovable dummies set loose in a classic fantasy adventure! READ! Their journey from small-time bodyguards to world-class artifact hunters! MARVEL! At the sheer metafictional chutzpah of a graphic novel based on a story created in a podcast where three dudes and their dad play a tabletop role playing game in real time! Join Taako the elf wizard, Merle the dwarf cleric, and Magnus the human warrior for an adventure they are poorly equipped to handle AT BEST, guided ("guided") by their snarky DM, in a graphic novel that, like the smash-hit podcast it's based on, will tickle your funny bone, tug your heartstrings, and probably pants you if you give it half a chance.

The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins is full of impossible hijinks and an oddball trio running wild in classic fantasy-setting encounters. Magic and swords, treasure and gerblins, this is the beginning of a grand adventure

Taako is the ever snarky and always sassy wizard, Magnus is the friendly and ever-proficient fighter, and Merle is the sometimes grumbling, sometimes preaching cleric. Somehow, these three characters have come together to form adventuring party. They all have different personalities, different backstories, different motives. And yet here they are, adventuring along. Their interactions with each other are often full of bickering, but they barely know each other and sometimes one of them (Taako) can be a little abrasive. There are bound to be bumps along the road. Plus, every so often, their all-seeing and all-knowing Dungeon Master pops in for some insight, explanation, or some snark of his own.

The art style is just perfect, Carey Pietsch nailed it. Magnus being all big and full of both muscles and smiles. Merle looking like a crabby dwarf cleric, spreading the good word with flowers in his hair. Taako with that near-constant frown furrowing his brow, the crooked point in his hat, the smile on his face when he talks about his cooking show. Plus all the outside landscapes and the cave interiors, the cartoony monster killing.

What this is is something new, something different. Something exciting. It's a graphic novel adaptation of a wacky and hilarious Dungeons & Dragons podcast. It's gone from paper to audio back to paper with full colour pictures, which is rather interesting. D&D is becoming pretty popular as something to watch, as something with complicated characters and missions and making the best of a bad situation because of bad dice rolls. The book feels more streamlined than the podcast (I've only listened to the first couple of story arcs), more fluid and faster-paced. No mention of dice rolls or rules or limitations on spell-casting. Now, by no means do you have to have listened to the podcast before reading this, or after, and you're not required to read this if you've already listened to the entire campaign and know how it'll all end. Having both options gives it layers, makes it deeper, makes it more. Some things are different, some names and some of the actions, but the heart of the story is still the same. It's still three dorks adventuring their way, collecting objects and finding secrets while Griffin describes the rich tapestry they just blasted their way through without waiting to see if they were walking into a trap. If you're a fan of the podcast, or D&D podcasts or live shows in general, odds are you'll love this. And I'd definitely give it a read if you're interested in D&D or fantasy comics. It's just so much fun, and if they do more books, the fun's only going to continue.

(I borrowed a copy of this title from the library.)

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 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.

Blog Tour: Furyborn

Hi all! Welcome to one of today's stops on the Furyborn blog tour, set up by the wonderful Raincoast Books.

I hope you're excited to read this when it comes out next week. It's familiar in the way epic fantasy can be, magic and kings and queens and secrets, but it feels wholly different because of the characters and the events that take place. The different points of view and the circumstances that connect them. To celebrate the book, here's a review of the book and a quick little Q&A with Claire Legrand.

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (377)

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

Title: Heart of Thorns
Author: Bree Barton
Release Date: July 31, 2018
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins imprint)

From Goodreads:

In the ancient river kingdom, touch is a battlefield, bodies the instruments of war. Seventeen-year-old Mia Rose has pledged her life to hunting Gwyrach: women who can manipulate flesh, bones, breath, and blood.

Not women. Demons. The same demons who killed her mother without a single scratch. 

But when Mia's father suddenly announces her marriage to the prince, she is forced to trade in her knives and trousers for a sumptuous silk gown. Only after the wedding goes disastrously wrong does she discover she has dark, forbidden magic—the very magic she has sworn to destroy.

Hmmmmmmm. Interesting.

Me on Girl Power Graphic Novels

Hi there! Welcome to one of today's stops in First Second's blog tour all about girl power graphic novels. These are all books that feature different kinds of girls, strong girls and scared girls and powerful girls and intelligent girls and clueless girls, as the main character. Seeing different kinds of heroes, heroines, and other main characters is so important for readers of kids books, no matter their gender. There's no one way to be, everyone is different, and everyone is amazing.

And so, here's a look at some very different young girls that can be found leading the way and falling into trouble in some recent graphic novels. :)

First is Claudette in Giants Beware!, Dragons Beware!, and Monsters Beware! by Jorge Aguirre & Rafael Rosado. Claudette is brash, rough and tumble. She's uncouth, head-strong, and bold. All she thinks about, dreams about, is fighting giants and monsters. All she thinks about is defeating evil and being a hero. Saving those in peril. And, as everyone around her constantly points out, she has no sense of propriety or delicacy. She speaks her mind and rushes too far and too fast into situations. She doesn't listen to sense. She's reckless. Claudette's more of an act first and ask questions later kind of girl, which can be very dangerous. But Claudette is staunchly loyal, to her blacksmith father and her aspiring chef brother Gaston, to her princess in training friend Marie, and to her dog Valiant. When the chips are down, Claudette will rush in with her sword, ready to bash any and all monsters. The entire series is a wonderful mixture of silliness, curious magic, complicated characters, and hard decisions.

Next is Isabel in The City on the Other Side by Mairghred Scott & Robin Robinson. Isabel is a quiet, lonely girl looking for a place of her own. Her life is far from exciting or even interesting, kept safe from dirt smudges and any hint of fun from her posh society mother and her distant artist father. She wonders if they truly love her, care about her, because they seem far more interested in their own lives than spend time with their daughter. But then, on a trip to Carmel to visit her father, Isabel ends up falling through to the fairy world and right into the middle of a war. A war that could impact her world as well. Drawn to a magical necklace, sure that no one back home will miss her, Isabel sets out on an epic quest. She comes into her own on this journey. She takes risks, falls into danger multiple times, and refuses to stop until everyone is saved. This is a girl who's finally found something she can do, finally found something that could be hers, if only for a little while. A girl who's, hopefully, found somewhere to be.

Then there's Avani in Star Scouts and The League of Lasers by Mike Lawrence. Avani is new to town, lonely because she doesn't have any friends and annoyed because her father signed her up for Flower Scouts where all the other girls do is talk about boys and makeup. She's bored, waiting for something she's interested in. And then she's mistakenly abducted by an alien. And so Avani joins Mabel and her Star Scout troop, made up of other aliens, and begins to lead a secret life of robotics and teleportation and weird space camp. Avani's like any kid who moves to a new town, she's looking for something familiar in a new place, and she sort of finds it with Mabel. She's met other kids who like doing interesting (to her) activities. But there's something that comes across in the first book, and that's that Avani can be rather bossy. After she finds the Star Scouts, when they compete against other groups at camp, she needs help from the others. But she's pushy in that she only wants the help that will make sure she wins. Both books are good looks at how friendship isn't easy, how everyone is different and that's okay, how strong personalities will butt heads over and over again. How it's okay to be wrong, about something or someone. How it's a lot more fun when you try to get along instead of argue all the time. Avani isn't perfect, but she's learning how to be a good friend.

If you're a middle grade reader, if you're a kid looking for new comics to read, maybe check out these, as well as Gigi D.G.'s Cucumber Quest and Scarlett Hart: Monster Hunter by Marcus Sedgwick & Thomas Taylor. There's no one way for a young girl to be a young girl. You can want to fight monsters, you can want to be a princess, you can be quiet and studious, you can be loud and active. You can be smart, athletic, quiet, lonely, short, tall, thin, fat. You can have caring parents, you can be an orphan, you can have a single parent trying their best. You can be anything you want. Just be you.

Thanks so much to Gina at First Second Books for sending me physical copies and e-galleys of all of the above mentioned books (especially when we thought they were lost in the mail, they weren't!). You can definitely check out First Second on Twitter or Tumblr, or at your local library or bookstore. Happy reading!

Me on Reign of the Fallen

Title: Reign of the Fallen
Author: Sarah Glenn Marsh
Release Date: January 23, 2018
Publisher: Razorbill (Penguin imprint)

Odessa is one of Karthia's master necromancers, catering to the kingdom's ruling Dead. Whenever a noble dies, it's Odessa's job to raise them by retrieving their souls from a dreamy and dangerous shadow world called the Deadlands. But there is a cost to being raised--the Dead must remain shrouded, or risk transforming into zombie-like monsters known as Shades. If even a hint of flesh is exposed, the grotesque transformation will begin. A dramatic uptick in Shade attacks raises suspicions and fears among Odessa's necromancer community. Soon a crushing loss of one of their own reveals a disturbing conspiracy: someone is intentionally creating Shades by tearing shrouds from the Dead--and training them to attack. Odessa is faced with a terrifying question: What if her necromancer's magic is the weapon that brings Karthia to its knees?

Reign of the Fallen is mysterious and eerie. With magic and danger at nearly every turn, Odessa is haunted by more than the prospect of someone forcing the Dead to attack the living.

Odessa's is a curious voice. Practical and determined, a little sweet and thoughtful, and as time goes on, full of an angry sorrow. She knows her place as a necromancer, embraces it, knows she is secure in her place as one of the few desperately needed in order to keep King Wylding ruling over Karthia. Bringing him back from the dead. She knows her place with Evander, partner and boyfriend. But when the Dead begin to go missing, when the Dead are turned into Shades and turned on Odessa and the other necromancers, it feels like everything has gone wrong. Like the world is falling apart around her. Like she is falling apart.

Initially, I was rather intrigued with the necromancy part of the book and the reason for it. The Dead that continue to rule over Karthia, the mystery surrounding the Shades and their attacks. But then I saw part of the book as an exploration of grief. The sorrow we feel when a loved one dies. The claims we make, as if anything we do could bring them back. In Karthia, they can come back, at a cost to both the living and the dead. But what is the cost when it could reunite loved ones, parents or partners? What is the cost when it reunites parents and children, kings and subjects? And what is the cost, even with a necromancer's magic, when the dead cannot return? I enjoyed this so much, this story of magic and death, of family, of grieving and acceptance. I would recommend this to fantasy YA readers looking for something different, because this certainly felt different. The treatment and process of the necromancer's abilities, the different ways of grieving, the twists and motives behind the rising of the Shades. I'll be keeping an eye out for any more books set in this world.

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

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (373)

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

Title: Fierce Like a Firestorm
Author: Lana Popović
Release Date: August 21, 2018
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins imprint)

From Goodreads:

In the bewitching conclusion to Lana Popovic’s sumptuous and romantic teen fantasy duology, Malina must use her gleam to rescue her twin sister from a magical power more dangerous than Death.

Twin sisters Iris and Malina thought they knew how to reverse the ancient curse that haunts their line, the spell that destines them to use their gleams—unique forms of beauty-manipulating magic—to entice and enchant none other than Death himself.

But both sisters thought wrong.

Instead of ending the wicked bargain with the power of her infinite bloom, Iris is taken to an exquisite, uncanny realm in between this world and the next—a world Death created for her alone. Only, unlike all of Death’s companions before, Iris’s body goes on the one-way journey along with her soul, arriving in a kingdom never meant to sustain a living girl.

Left behind with Niko, her girlfriend, and Luka, the boy her sister loves, Lina searches for a way to save Iris. But as Lina unearths the dark secrets that bind her family to parallel fates of loss and immortality and Iris tries to outwit Death on his own terrain, a power resurfaces that even Mara, the original witch mother, fears. Now both sisters must learn to fully embrace their gleams—or else they’ll truly lose each other forever.

Luscious and breathtaking, Fierce Like a Firestorm is the second book in Lana Popovic’s dazzling duology about freedom, beauty, sacrifice, and the infinite power of love.

The first in this duology was rather interesting and different, about sisters and power and confidence and destiny, and so I'm definitely curious as to where this will go in Malina's journey to rescue Iris. What magic will appear, what the cost will be, if it's a happy ending or one that's only happy for some.