Graphic Novel Review - The Book of Ballads by Charles Vess (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Graphic Novel
Size: 192 pages
Publisher: Tor Books
Date: October 14, 2004
ISBN: 978-0765312143
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Swapped
Rating: 4/5 stars


I have had this graphic novel on my shelf to read forever. I finally got around to reading it; I originally picked this up because I love Charles Vess’s artwork and thought the concept of him illustrating a whole bunch of traditional ballads sounded really awesome. It was a very good read. Some of the ballads were retold in really wonderful ways, others were just excerpts from the original ballads.

This book consists of a series of traditional ballads. The ballads are first told via graphic novel format. Some are retellings and some are pretty much word for word from the original ballads. Then after the graphic retelling, the ballad is printed in its entirety.

A lot of these were just the ballads with pictures without much retelling done by the authors. There were a couple that really stood out though with excellent retellings done by the authors. The Two Corbies by Charles de Lint was a very well done retelling and delivered a fantastic story while still referencing the original ballad. The Black Fox by Emma Bull was also very well done, Bull gave an American twist to this traditional ballad.

Most of the Ballads feature supernatural being like fey or witches. All of the Ballads have fantasy or faerie tale bent to them.

Charles Vess’s artwork is as stunning as always. I was a bit disappointed that everything was in black and white, because I love what Vess does with color. Still the drawings were wonderful and did an excellent job of portraying the mood of the story. His artwork ranges from cartoonish (in the Galtee Farmer), to stunningly beautiful (in Tam-Lin and Savoy), and even to disturbingly ugly (in Alison Cross).

I also really enjoyed reading the poems in their original format. I love epic poetry and folklore and these were fun and interesting to read.

Overall an enjoyable read. I was a bit disappointed that so many of the “retellings” were just excerpts of the original ballads/poems. Still there were some excellent retellings in here as well. Charles Vess’s illustration was absolutely stunning and really set the mood for the stories. Recommended to those who enjoy fantasy graphic novels or are interested in folklore/fantasy poetry.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Graphic Novel Reading Challenge
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- TBR Pile Reading Challenge

Review - Crank by Ellen Hopkins (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Size: 544 pages
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Release Date: June 15, 2010
ISBN: 978-1416995135
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Swapped through paperbackswap.com
Rating: 5/5 stars

I had this book on my shelf to read for a while and finally pulled it out to read on a whim. This was an absolutely creative and wonderful read. It is kind of a modern, more poetic, version of Go Ask Alice for a new generation.

Kristina is a good girl but like a lot of teenage girls she has things about herself she doesn't like. When she begs her mom to go spend the summer with her dad, things get bad. Kristina's dad is a druggie and his neighbors aren't much better. When Kristina falls for a hot guy named Adam she has her first experience doing crank. She loves it and the personality of Kristina starts to fall away and be replaced by a naughty, michevous girl named Bree. When Kristina goes home after the summer she thinks maybe she can put Bree away forever, but she can't...and her life spirals further and further out of control.

This was an awesome book partly because of the creative way the story is told. The story is told in verse, with short verses depicting events that happen to Kristina as her life spins further out of control. That's not all though, there are verses told within the verse. The verses are formatted in such a way that certain words are pulled out and to the side of the main part of the verse. If you read the pulled out words in order you will get another meaning to the verse; kind of a separate verse within the main verse. This was pretty much genius on Hopkins part and it was fascinating.

So, okay the book was very creative but was it in engaging? Absolutely. I had an incredibly hard time putting this book down. The whole time you are hoping Kristina can beat "the monster" and start putting her life together. At the same time watching how she descends into drug use is fascinating and absolutely engrossing. The whole time you are just hoping nothing bad will happen to her and cringing when it does.

This book really drives home the fact of how easy it is for a completely normal person to find themselves caught in a downward spiral like Kristina is. The other thing that is really pressed home is how the people who know and love Kristina act. Many of her friends just can't deal with her anymore so they don't. Her mother tries to help but doesn't have a grip on how much trouble Kristina is in; as a result Kristina ends up incredibly isolated. Really in the end the only person who can really help her is herself.

Given the subject matter this is a book for older teens, or maybe a cautionary tale for younger teens. Just be aware that there is some violence, rape, and (of course) lots of drug usage throughout this book. The books ties up pretty well and I was surprised to see that there are two more books to this series; Glass and Fallout.

Overall I loved this book. The style it is written in is creative, intriguing, and just absolutely genius. The story itself is realistic, intriguing and absolutely engaging. This is an excellent cautionary tale on drugs, but it is also a tale about how easy it is for a normal person to spiral out of control and isolate themselves. I will definitely be reading the next book in this series, Glass.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 100+ Reading Challenge

Review - Yume No Hum: The Book of Dreams by Catherynne M. Valente (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Adult

Genre: Fantasy
Size:  152 pages
Publisher:  Prime Books
Release Date: August 22, 2006
ISBN-13: 978-0809510870
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Bought
Rating: 5/5 stars

 
I have read a number of Valente's works and really enjoyed them all.  This book was no exception; it is beautifully written and reminds more of poetry than a traditional story at times.

This book tells the story of a women who has fled a village when it was invaded and chosen to live the life of a hermit on a mountain.  She lives in a pagoda, an old temple, on the mountain and learns lessons from the river and the gate.  She is very old and at times had trouble separating dream and reality; the villagers of the village below think she is a ghost and bring offerings to her.

The beautiful descriptions and lyrical phrases in this book are outstanding.  As always I am blown away by the poetic quality of Valente's writing.  She is able to create wonderful imagery of both beautiful and violent things.

This book won't be for everyone; as with her book Labyrinth, the story is vague and at times it is hard to tell what is reality and what is dream...but then that is kind of the point.  If you like easy to read stories, with clear-cut plots this isn't the book for you.  If you don't mind vagueness and enjoy poetry you will love the lyrical quality and beauty of this book.

The book ties together a number of themes.  There is a Japanese overtone to it, Babylonian creation myths are included, and theories of quantum physics are touched on.  I know it sounds odd, but for this book it really works.  There are also illustrations throughout, which is something new for Valente and I enjoyed those as well.

Overall another outstanding book from Valente.  I love the poetry of her written and the way she makes lush descriptions of everything with analogies.  The story is vague and dreamy, so it is not for everyone.  If you like poetry and if you don't mind vagueness I recommend you pick this up.  If you have enjoyed Valente's previous works I also recommend you pick this up.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 100+ Reading Challenge
- Fantasy Reading Challenge

 

Picture Book Review - Once Upon a Twice by Denise Doyen (5/5 stars)

I am always on the lookout for great kids book for my three year old.  He is into books on volcanoes, storms, Lightening McQueen, and Transformers...which is fine but I am always trying to find great books that will introduce him to magical stories, poetry, and the art of writing.  This was an amazingly fun book, that is written in a beautifully lyrical style, it is a great adventure, and uses fun non-sense words that make reading it similar in tone to reading the Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll.

Jam is a mouse that wants to go against what his elders teach him.  So he sneaks away from the other mice for a nighttime adventure.  When the adventure almost ends in disaster he learns an important lesson.

The artwork throughout this book is amazing.  The book takes place at night, so the book is mostly dark.  The paintings are beautiful and fun. 

The story and writing are simple, but done in a fairy tale poetic type of style.  The phrases are all rhyming and Doyen makes up a number of nonsense words.  Surprisingly the nonsense words make absolute sense in the story and they add a lot to the rhythm of the reading.  This is a great book to read out loud.

I highly recommend this book for kids; adults would even enjoy a read through or two.  It is one of my family's favorite picture books.  It is fun, full of adventure, poetic, lyrical, and rhythmic...just a super fun book to read out-loud.  Kids will enjoy the non-sense words, that somehow make perfect sense in context.  Everyone will enjoy the fun sound the story has to it and the beautiful pictures.  This is really an exceptional children's picture book.