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 Horimiya Volume 6

Title: Horimiya Volume 6
Original story: HERO
Artist: Daisuke Hagiwara
Release Date: January 24, 2017
Publisher: Yen Press

For Hori and Miyamura, being together, even at school, is now completely natural. But they don't just have each other! As the pair navigates the intricacies of being a couple, they interact and connect with the people around them, who in turn make their world all the more colorful. But Hori and Miyamura's friends are no strangers to the bittersweet pangs of love either...

Horimiya Volume 6 is more of the same. More Hori being unsure about a number of things. More Miyamura opening up to people around him. More of their friends dealing with their own situations and feelings. More of Hori's dad being useless. But sometimes, in a comedic series like this, there are moments that make me think.

There are two rather important moments that happen in this volume, so hopefully you're forgive me for spoiling it. The first has to do with Hori and Miyamura as a couple, has to do with what each of them likes about the other. Knowing she loves gory horror movies while he's afraid of them, Hori tries to be atypical, pretending to be scared. And it backfires like it only could with these two. Which leaves Hori upset that she's not like "normal girls." Which leads to Miyamura saying he doesn't like "normal girls," he likes Hori just the way she is. And Hori likes Miyamura the same way. It all culminates in them having a moment in Hori's bedroom, and considering both are soon seen without their shirts on, it seems like a rather serious moment for the two of them. Like they've reached another step in their relationship. But considering the overall comedic tone of the series, I wonder if this is how far it'll go in terms of the physicality of their relationship.

The second moment is during a dream of Miyamura's, when his current self comes across his younger self during those dark middle school days. The days when he had no friends, when classmates would bully him, when he'd have no one to stand up for him. The days when he wanted to die. But the current Miyamura tells him that it will get better, that he will have friends and won't mind being loud and having fun. That there's someone out there who'll be there at his side, someone who will be everything to him as he will be to them. If only he waits a little longer. It's another serious moment, one that highlights how depression and suicidal thoughts don't care how old you are, how they can overwhelm you. How kids can be intentionally cruel and dismissive. How things do get better, when you find the strength to let people in.

The series continues to give readers more of the same. More awkward teens, more comedic moments, more Hori and Miyamura navigating their relationship. I do wonder if there'll ever be a mix-up, if things will ever drastically change, but I doubt it. I think it'll continue to be a feel-good slice of life series, a mixture of sad and sweet moments during their high school days.

(I purchased a copy of this title.)

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.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (376)

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

Title: The Boneless Mercies
Author: April Genevieve Tucholke
Release Date: October 2, 2018
Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux (Macmillan imprint)

From Goodreads:

A dark and gorgeously drawn standalone YA fantasy about a band of mercenary girls in search of female glory.

Frey, Ovie, Juniper, and Runa are the Boneless Mercies—girls hired to kill quickly, quietly, and mercifully. But Frey is weary of the death trade and, having been raised on the heroic sagas of her people, dreams of a bigger life. 

When she hears of an unstoppable monster ravaging a nearby town, Frey decides this is the Mercies' one chance out. The fame and fortune of bringing down such a beast would ensure a new future for all the Mercies. In fact, her actions may change the story arc of women everywhere.

Full of fierce girls, bloodlust, tenuous alliances, and unapologetic quests for glory, this elegantly spun tale challenges the power of storytelling—and who gets to be the storyteller. Perfect for fans of Maggie Stiefvater, V.E. Schwab, and Heidi Heilig.

I'm rather intrigued by this. A genderbent Beowulf retelling with mercenary girls who hunt down monsters. Sold. All the way sold.

Me on Lumberjanes: The Moon is Up

Title: Lumberjanes: The Moon is Up
Author: Mariko Tamaki
Illustrator: Brooklyn Allen
Release Date: May 8, 2018
Publisher: Amulet Books (Abrams imprint)

Welcome to Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's Camp for Hardcore Lady Types. The five scouts of Roanoke cabin—Jo, April, Molly, Mal, and Ripley—love their summers at camp. They get to hang out with their best friends, earn Lumberjane scout badges, annoy their no-nonsense counsellor Jen... and go on supernatural adventures. That last one? A pretty normal occurrence at Miss Qiunzella's, where the woods contain endless mysteries. As the camp gears up for the big Galaxy Wars competition, Jo and the gang get some help from an unexpected visitor—a Moon Pirate!

Lumberjanes: The Moon is Up is more fun and adventure with the ever-popular and ever-unique Lumberjane scouts of Roanoke cabin.

While the books are about everyone, all 5 girls get their moments, there's a little more focus on Jo this time around, like there was with April in the previous book. Jo's the quiet thinker, the practical scientific one in their group with a love of math and science. She's smart and resourceful. She knows who she is, even when some thought she was someone else when she was younger (Jo is transgender). Her days are spent having adventure after adventure with her friends, but then a letter arrives. A serious one. A letter that could mean great opportunities for her. But it would mean leaving camp. Leaving adventure and fun behind. Plus, there's the whole missing cheese and a sudden appearance by a Moon Pirate to deal with.

As with the previous book, I love the idea of this, of more stories about the girls of Roanoke cabin and the bizarre situations they often fall into, of little prose adventures that work alongside the comics. It's certainly not a series you can go into without at least reading a couple of the collected trade volumes of the comics, but the tone is the same. The adventure and the friendships, the awesomeness of young girls supporting other young girls. The worry if you're doing the right thing. The puns when it comes to badge names and the references to famous women. A must-read for the middle grade crowd of Lumberjanes fans.

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