nimona. noelle steveson. (319)

i checked out noelle stevenson's nimona after seeing it listed as a national book finalist in the young adult category.  since i liked lumberjanes, i decided to check it out.  

nimona is the story of nimona, a spunky, girl with the ability to shift shapes that becomes the sidekick of the evil villian, ballister blackheart.  ballister was not really looking for a sidekick, and though she proves to be more than he bargained, he grows to love her.  this book is delightful because nimona is witty, always ready with a great one-liner and always up for adventure, though she usually its up destroying more than helping.  though she would argue that her role as a villain calls for her to destroy.

this comic is great because though it started off as a tale of evil vs good, it proves that is not how the world always works.  as it turns out, ballister, the evil side has a higher morale than the good side, the institution.  the institution that is suppose to protect the people is actually working to destroy them and nimona and blackheart inadvertently help save everyone when they seek to destroy the institution.  

in addition to this there is another storyline woven into the mix, blackheart and his archenemy, goldenloin.  at the beginning, they hate each other, but in the end they became friends, possibly lovers, if you read it that way.

i am glad i picked up this book.  first, it has a great female character, which young girls need!  second, it teaches kids the importance of questioning the current systems, we have in place.  third, it demonstrates that not all good is good and not all evil is evil.  fourth, it proves that the most important thing in life is to have good friends and to care for one another.  fifth, if you read it that way, heroes are not just homosexuals.  

a great comic and i look forward to reading more about nimona (i hope stevenson has more in store for her.)  

supermutant magic academy. jillian tamaki. (299)

supermutant magic academy had been on a handful of instagram and facebook posts and since i loved tamaki's illustrations in one last summer, i decided to check it out.

i had assumed that the supermutanta magic academy was cohesive narrative but once i started reading it, i realized it was a collection of comics.  the comics featured the same characters and they related but there wasn't a direct storyline that connected them all.  though i was expecting a graphic novel, i did enjoy the comics.  my favorite character was frances, i loved her art and her smart-ass remarks.  i also loved wendy and marsha's comics, with marsha's cute crush on wendy.

here were my favorite comics:

love food humor!

love frances!!

this margaret mitchell quote is amazing!

time is never time at all.

there is no wrong way to interpret art,

i fear for kids today.

read books!

ps this is the second book i have read that mentioned ulysses (i didn't share that comment.) i really need to read it!

station eleven. emily st. john mandel. (266)

i read about station eleven when it first came out but the title didn't attract me. however, when it started to show up on best of 2014 list, i decided to check it out.  i have to admit that i was pleasantly surprised how much i enjoyed it and it might end up in my top 10 books of 2015.

the title station eleven came from a comic book within the book that links three characters together though the last link isn't revealed until the end though there is enough foreshadowing to let you know it will happen.  i think the publisher should turn station eleven into an actual comic book.  it would have been a cool promotion for the book!  station eleven, the comic book centered around dr. eleven, who is on an artificial planet after aliens took over earth.  however, the people of the station are torn between returning to earth and continuing on as they are.  the comic book paralleled events in some of the character lives of the novel while also acting as a foil to the events that took place.

station eleven, the novel was set in a post-apocalyptic world.  though to call it the apocalypse frames it as a religious cleansing of the earth but only crazy characters, the prophet for example believed it.  a flu that was highly contagious and resulted in death within weeks, killed off most of earth's population.  due to the world as a whole fell.  it was interesting to read how the world would fall apart because we are currently the society that these individuals thought of as pre-apocalypse.  and from what i learned i probably would just kill myself like one of the characters, frank, did. i have no real survival skills, i can't hunt or cook, though i guess i could gather berries, but seriously i would take the easy road out.  

there are several characters that the reader follows, but they all center around one, an actor, arthur leader.  though the novel does center around his death.  the novel covered his life and his last show, king lear, where we were introduced to two other characters, jeevan, another main one kirsten.  it was through jeevan that we learned of the apocalypse.  kirsten, who became part of a traveling symphony after the collapse, was how we learned of the post-apocalyptic world.  she also possessed the comic books which were written by miranda, arthur's first wife.  i liked miranda, a odd art student turned comic book artist turned business exec. but my favorite character, was clark, arthur's best friend and who was a punk that shaved his head after the collapse to feel more like himself.  his flight to new york was redirected and he ended up at an airport.  that turned out to be a good situation and i hope to have luck like he did.  he also started a museum to persevere items from the past ie phones, credit card, etc.  he was a wise and caring person and as a result had the best situation after the collapse.

the novel jumps in sequences, presenting the reader with events and items then giving them the back story.  and maybe it's just the type of person that i am but i loved seeing how everyone was collected and how it all came together in the end.

my only critique was the death of the prophet.  it is scary to think how cult start and how willing people are to label themselves as chosen after a disaster instead of being glad that they survived.  the prophet thankfully ended up being shot by one of his whole followers but i would have liked to have seen a showdown at the airport and clark having to kill him.

i will have to say i also enjoyed how the arts became a means of helping the human spirit survive.  the traveling symphony that kirsten was a part of, went around and performed music and shakespeare plays.  the link between the black plague and the flu plague of the novel.  the arts are a healing and motivating tool and it was nice to see this novel highlight that characteristic.

i was truly surprised by how much i enjoyed this novel and regret not reading it last year.  i also have to share that carrie brownstein instagramed it the week before i got my copy from the library!  i love her so was excited to see i was reading the same thing as her!

ghost world. daniel clowes. (103)

i watched "ghost world" the movie when i was a high schooler and wanted to be all indie movie cool (okay i still want to be indie movie cool). but i remember not getting it. i remember finding it odd that scarlett jo was in it cos she was that "horse whisperer" girl so didn't take her to seriously. lol. also i knew it was based on some book but that was about it.

my opportunity to read the graphic novel (comic book) based on it came via flavorpill's 30 list (sorry i'm turning 30 in 1 month and two weeks so get used to this). but this should be read before you are twenty because beyond that is kinda its whatever. i mean if high school me read it, i would have loved it. but late twentysomething only liked it.

like the critics say it is a honest protrayal of teens on the verge of adulthood. i mean i would have wanted to hang out with enid and rebecca but high school me was definitely not cool enough to hang out with them. i was too school
spirit and preppy to be their friend though i wanted to be alt and indie, i did shop at hot topic in attempt to be. lol.

the novel did have its moments. i liked how enid and rebecca read the personal ads. (i love reading craigslist misconnection.) i enjoyed when they went to cavetown usa, who doesn't love big dinosaurs? i also enjoyed how enid used her SAT words. and of course every girl knows how shitty it is to fight with your BFF.

it was also funny. here were some of my favorite scenes:

sadly, if you have big boobs, your only options is slut.

seeing ugly couples always give me
hope that i will find someone, cos if ugly people can find each other than i will find someone.

loved that cat mask. in the movie too!

i hate oprah.

so like i said i liked it. and now i am
inspired to rewatch the movie. and also
have to add, scarlett jo did well in her role, as i read i realized how brillant she was.

maus. art spiegelman. (102)

i remember learning about "maus" in college, the premise was very interesting, a comic book about the holocaust with the jews as mice and the nazis as cats. but i never picked it up. what brought it back into my life was flavorpill's 30 to read before 30 so i finally read it.

what a beautiful story. the comic book is a memoir, the story of author's father, vladek spiegelman and what he endured during the holocaust. i am always so amazed by how fate worked in favor of those who survived the holocaust and how strong they were to have lived through what they did. however, i would not call their survival a blessing but luck because as explained in a therapy session of the cartoonist:

it was random who survived and who didn't. and surviving is not more admirable than dying. it sad because as discussed in this same session the guilt of those who survived for living. but their fate was out of their hands, it simply was luck. i always think of my friend larry's grandfather who survived the holocaust, because he knitted socks for the nazi. furthermore, he had a wrist injury that allowed him to knit as well as he did. just proving that life really does work in mysterious ways.

i was also impressed by how resourceful vladek was from the very beginning. he took the initiative to find a solution for his problems. vladek's intelligence had much to do with his surivivall. i was amazed by how he was able to deliver food and letters to his wife anja when they were both in camp. i would have never been that resourceful. also he was very innovative, for example how he used the blacket as a hammock while in the trains. it was impressive to see what how clever we was in finding solutions for his survival.

(sorry to the reader, i am sorry for my overuse of amazing and impressive but i am truly in awe of all that happen in vladek's life).

if you haven't read "maus" you should. i couldn't put it down and finished it in a day (granted it is a graphic novel). "maus" is a truly remarkable story and should not be rehashed via me but something you experience on your own.

i do think "maus" is an important read for everyone and not just before 30. we know of the holocaust and how horrible it was but there is still some disconnect from it. we know that hitler and the nazi were evil but for most people, the holocaust is an event in history books. "maus" show us the human experience (though cleverly through animal characters). it gives a soul to the individuals we read about as stastiscs in textbooks. since it is in comic book form, it's presented in a medium everyone can understand and thus relate to. i think it should be used as text for high school students when learning about the holocaust so they can have a better understanding of what occured. for the only way we can prevent history from repeating is knowing our past.

last but not least, i will say that it pained me to see art not wanting to be near his father. his father worked so hard for his son and i wish art was more patient with with him. but then i also get how it can be with parents.