Young Adult Archives - Page 11 of 16

The Odyssey by Gareth Hinds

Gareth Hinds undertakes the task of adapting The Odyssey, the tale of Odysseus's long journey home after the Trojan War, into graphic novel format. I wish this had been around when I was wading through The Odyssey in high school (and maybe college? I can't remember). I don't know what translation we read, but we needed a translation of it. I think most of us had only vague ideas about what was going on, and we probably only figured those out after the teacher spoon-fed them to us. The Odyssey is perfect for this format. It's a very visual story, with the sirens and Scylla and Charybdis, a journey to the underworld, the cyclops, and Circe's spell. I did like the illustrations, although they veered a little too close to the bulging muscles and gravity-defying breasts that most people think of when they hear the word, comic. Still, it's a manly tale, so they fit. I was a little surprised by the translation. I expected the writing to be very modern, but it's not. It's still very readable but formal at the same time. From page 4, Zeus speaking to Athena: "My child, what strange remarks you let escape your lips. Could I forget that wily hero Odysseus? You know I bear him no grudge--but Poseidon does, hates him for blinding his son Polyphemus the Cyclops. But come now, let us take up the matter of Odysseus's return. Poseidon must relent; he cannot thwart the will of all the other gods." I had forgotten much of what happens in the story, so it felt a lot like I was coming to this for the first time. I enjoyed it more in this format than I ever have before. This is a fabulous (re-)introduction to this timeless classic. Teachers, take note…

Blankets by Craig Thompson: Book Review

In this autobiographical graphic novel, Craig Thompson describes his first love, his childhood relationship with his brother, and his loss of faith. I think there's something in this graphic novel that everyone can relate to. Whether it's the rush of falling in love for the first time, the bullies at school, or the tangled relationship with a sibling, Craig's experiences, while unique, are also universal. I know that doesn't make sense, but there you go. It was a bit cathartic for me to watch him working them out. Every frame rang true. His fights with his brother over the blankets in the wintertime. His isolation at school. His relief at finding other loners at church camp. The first infatuation and later love. I love the artwork. They show more of what Craig is feeling than the words do. The black and white pictures fit the stark feeling of this story, which mostly takes place in the winter. I know there's more, but I've waited too long to review this book. It's a lovely graphic novel. Just read it. Find author Craig Thompson on his blog and Facebook. I picked this up after reading Aths' awesome review over at Reading on a Rainy Day. Buy Blankets at Malaprop’s | Better World Books I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site.

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff: Book Review

Mackie Doyle doesn't quite fit in with his gloomy, outwardly perfect town. His eyes are just too dark. He has an allergic reaction to iron. And most people don't know this, but consecrated ground blisters his skin. See, the town of Gentry pays a price for its perfection; it pays with its children. And Mackie is just a replacement for one of them. This was actually creepier than I expected it to be. Let's face it, that cover is a lot to live up to. I love it, but it even caught my husband's attention. The book and the cover actually went well together in this case. We kind of learn things as Mackie does, which leaves us with questions that are answered in a way that feels right. This storytelling technique can sometimes backfire horribly for me as a reader and leave me feeling that the author cheated. Not the case here. There's a reason Mackie doesn't know things and there's a reason people don't talk about what's going on. Mackie was feeling a little too sorry for himself throughout the book, and that's the biggest thing that knocked this back a couple of stars. I kind of understand it now (he's really, really not feeling well, and who doesn't feel sorry for themselves then?), but I didn't realize that this was new for him and how bad it was until well into the book, when my opinions were pretty firmly set. If I could have seen him on some good days in some flashbacks or something, I would have had more empathy for him. Tate was a great character. I was confused by her at first, but as things are explained, I understood why she was acting like she did. I loved that she didn't take crap off…

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

Twelve-year-old Will Henry finds himself in the unenviable position of assistant to a monstrumologist. What is a monstrumologist, you ask? Why, it's exactly what it sounds like--it's someone who studies monsters. One dark and eerie night, a grave robber brings a delivery to Dr. Pellinore Warthrop. After removing the coverings, Will is horrified to see the body of a young girl entwined with a monster who has to have come straight from the bowels of hell. Headless, with eyes in his shoulders and a maw in his belly full of teeth like a shark's, the monster is dead too. But this species of monster shouldn't be in this location at all. And so begins a race against time as Will Henry and Dr. Warthrop try to prevent more deaths and unravel the mystery of how the Anthropophagus, for so the monster is called, came to be in a New England town called New Jerusalem. This book scared me to death, I swear. It's shelved in the young adult section of my library, but I would say it's definitely more for the older set, and adults who like horror should seek it out. Anyway, reading about the Anthropophagi had me jumping out of my skin. Just break that name down into its component parts. I'm reading it as being something about a maneater. Great name for a monster, right? Anyway, I forgot to turn my alarm clock off one morning as I was reading this and heard it buzzing incessantly as I got out of the shower. My first thought? "Oh, no it's going to call them to me." Yeah. Them being the Anthropophagi. My husband accidentally booby-trapped a cabinet (at least it better have been an accident), and as stuff came pouring out at my feet and my heart pounded…

Ruined by Paula Morris: Book Review

Rebecca Brown is a 15-year-old New Yorker. She loves everything about her life in New York. You can imagine her dismay when she finds out that she has to go live with her aunt in New Orleans for six months because her father is going to China on business. The traditions and groups in New Orleans mystify Rebecca at first, but she eventually finds a girl who hangs out in the cemetery whom she considers to be a friend. Eh. I grabbed this when I was on the prowl for some Halloween reads, and it wasn't a huge hit with me. It's a good ghost story for younger young adults, but it felt very tame for this 30-something-year-old. It's pretty obvious what's going on. I won't say that I guessed the entire story right away, but as I got little hints, I could definitely see the big picture developing. There was a little too much high school drama with "She doesn't like me," "He's so hot," and "I'm never going to be asked to the dance." Perfect for the right age group, not so much for me. It did finally get exciting in the last few chapters, just in time for everything to be resolved. I just felt like the rest of it crept along. I do recommend this as a decent little ghost story for, oh, let's say the under-fifteens, but if you're looking for a spine-chilling ghost story, this isn't for you. Read an excerpt. Find author Paula Morris on her blog. Buy Ruined at Malaprop’s | Better World Books I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on…

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson: Book Review

"My name is Mary Katherine Blackwood. I am eighteen years old, and I live with my sister, Constance. I have often thought that with any luck at all I could have been born a werewolf, because the two middle fingers on both my hands are the same length, but I have had to be content with what I had. I dislike washing myself, and dogs, and noise. I like my sister Constance, and Richard Plantagenet, and Amanita phalloides, the death-cup mushroom. Everyone else in my family is dead." And so begins Merricat's story about life for the last surviving members of the Blackwood family. There has been some sort of tragedy in the past, but Mary Katherine doesn't want to talk about it. She does want to talk about how much the villagers hate her family, how much she hates them, and how she wishes she could live on the moon. Unsettling. That is by far the best word to describe this book. Odds are that you didn't make it through high school without reading Shirley Jackson's short story, "The Lottery." It would be a tossup between that and "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman for my choice as most disturbing short story ever. Jackson somehow kept that same tone alive throughout a novel. Short stories are generally creepier for me than novels are. Authors end up explaining too much in a novel and I'm able to put them out of my head. But all those unresolved questions in short stories cause them to stay with me in a way that very few novels do. But Jackson pulled that off here. Wow. So much of the eeriness comes from Mary Katherine, or Merricat, herself. She's eighteen, but it's almost like her mind stopped progressing at twelve, which is when…

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

A man leaves his wife and daughter behind to go establish a new life for them in another place. He must learn the ways his of strange new home. I'm so glad Aths recommended this book. I would never have found it on my own. Without writing one word, Shaun Tan tells a detailed story about the fears and hopes of going in search of a better life. He has the mood perfectly set within two pages. His decision to illustrate the new city with unbelievable buildings, conveyances, and creatures helps the reader understand how overwhelmed The Arrival must be feeling. He shows scenes of confusion and despair, then kindness and hope. I felt that I knew what it was to be an immigrant, if only for a moment. I really like that he shows immigration to be a sort of cycle. There's the initial confusion, the kindness of strangers, the fitting-in, and then showing kindness to the next new person. This was shelved in the juvenile section at my local library. I don't know about that. There's nothing graphic or scary, I'm just not sure that a not-teen would understand what was being conveyed. If nothing else, though, it would lead to great discussions between parents and children. The illustrations are just gorgeous. Sepia-tinted like old photographs, they lend a note of authenticity to the story. It starts to look like something that really happened, despite the fantasy animals. I love the endpapers, with all the beautiful, multi-cultural faces. I highly recommend this lovely book. "Read" an excerpt. Find author/illustrator Shaun Tan on his website. Buy The Arrival at Malaprop’s | Better World Books I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small…

Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon Hale

Take Rapunzel and plunk her down smack-dab in the middle of a Louis L'Amour book and you have the gist of this fun graphic novel. The framework of Rapunzel is here. Hungry mom, eager-to-please dad, evil witch, girl with crazy-long hair in a tower. But that's about where the similarities end. See, Rapunzel doesn't want a prince to come along and rescue her. Oh, no. She wants revenge. And she's perfectly capable of serving it up all by herself, thankyouverymuch. This was a lot of fun, and I can't give a real reason for knocking it back to three stars. Maybe it just veered a little too far away from the original? Or maybe Rapunzel was unrealistically self-sufficient? The girl was locked away in a tower for years, but she can kick some ass without even thinking about it. Now that I'm thinking about it more, it jumped around a little too much. Of course Rapunzel has lots of adventures, but there was nothing in between. It just jumped from castle to tower to town to ranch with very little transition. I think that's what bothered me the most. And Rapunzel's hayseed way of talking got a little old. There was a lot that I did like though. I liked that Rapunzel was a strong young woman. Her partner-in-revenge, Jack, was a charming rake. He doesn't think too much about stealing to get by, but Rapunzel knocks some morals into his head. I mostly loved the illustrations, although I never looked at them quite the same way after my husband asked me, in all seriousness, "Why is there a string of sausages on the cover of your book?" I liked that we got an explanation for the extraordinary length of Rapunzel's hair. I liked that Rapunzel's revenge wasn't just about…

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater: Book Review

**POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR SHIVER** You have got to be kidding me. This is where it ends? Beck has made some new wolves to care for the pack now that the older members are not shifting into humans anymore. One of the new wolves is Cole St. Clair, a gorgeous rock star. It's not exactly easy for him to blend into the crowd, especially when his body just won't stay in the shape of a wolf. Sam feels that he has to watch Cole to make sure that he doesn't take the pack with him in one of his self-destructive moods. And then there's Grace. Something's just not right. She's running a fever, she's got a headaches, she aches all over, but doctors can't find anything wrong with her. Confession: I have been walking around with that "Linger" song by The Cranberries circling, maddeningly, through my head. It just dawned on me yesterday that it's because of this book. Doh. Anyway. This hooked me. There is some teen angst in here, which generally irritates me, but these teens have issues to be genuinely angsty about. I would be more irritated if they were happy and perky. Grace and Sam--hmm. I really am rooting for them, and I really do like reading about them as a couple, but neither really grabs me as an individual. Grace is the center of a lot of things, but it doesn't seem like she actually does a whole lot. I think I liked Sam slightly more in this book than I did in Shiver. He's not quite as Sensitive. In other words, he's starting to grow a spine. I do love Cole and Isabel. I didn't really know that I still had a thing for rock stars, but apparently I do. Cole, even with his sarcasm,…

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff: Book Review

Daisy has been sent from NYC to live with her aunt and cousins in the English countryside. Shortly after her arrival, her Aunt Penn has to travel out of the country for work, leaving the teens alone for a few days. Terrorists strike and nothing is ever the same. This just wasn't really my kind of book. I want to call it dystopic, but my grasp of the meaning of that word is so tenuous that I could very well be wrong. Whatever it is, it's very bleak and end-of-the-world feeling and I'm more of a head in the sand, optimistic kind of person. But I picked it up and gave it a try because it won the Printz award and I've had good luck with the few of those I've picked up. Oh well. They can't all be winners for me, I guess. I have to say that Daisy's voice was very distinct and felt pretty authentic to me. But she presents herself as a know-it-all to her cousins at the beginning (while admitting secretly that she doesn't know anything about the country) and that irritated me. I just had to try to train a know-it-all at work, and I really have that button out there to be pushed right now. Daisy does grow past all that and it was interesting to see how she and her cousins dealt with the situation they found themselves in. But that's about all that happens. There is a little action but mostly it felt like a character study of how these kids deal with this new world. Characters can make or break a book, but a good story is equally as important to me. The ending felt very rushed. There's sort of a fade-to-black and then the story picks up some time…