Sunday, 31 December 2017
Top 30 Worst Books of 2017
Here lists my biggest disappointments, my most unimpressed reads, and others I can honestly say I hated, or thought were a big waste of my time this year. Please note that this is my opinion; if you like any of these books, great. I'm glad they brought joy to others. Sadly, to me they didn't cut it. Keep in mind also that with the 245 books I've read in the year, this Worst list is small pickings in comparison to an otherwise spectacular and fulfilling reading year for me.
Well, no more stalling, the end of 2017 is near, so let's get this started, if briefly:
30. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
- I know that everybody loves this book. It's a critically-acclaimed prize winner with a film deal, and I was really looking forward to being everybody, too. But... I'm sorry, but what started with such promise - humour, lightheartedness, commentary on contemporary womanhood, like an updated Bridget Jones' Diary without any romance - turned into something which made me think throughout reading, "Sorry, I thought this was about a socially-awkward, funny yet lonely introverted woman learning to get out more and live life to the fullest, not a Hollywood crime thriller". Because that is what Eleanor Oliphant is: Hollywood. It's a gross, stereotypical representation of mental illness and childhood trauma, at times too dark for its own good, and so ridiculous and laughable I couldn't take it seriously. Eleanor the social outcast has Ping Pong Naivete down to a T, to absurd levels. The novel is predictable, contrived, and boring, though how it depicts therapy sessions and therapists is very good, and untypically Hollywood. Eleanor Oliphant has one of the stupidest "twist endings" I have ever read, in a "Like, you can't be serious, this only happens in films" way. Whatever, I'm done talking about this tonally-deaf, melodramatic Oscar film bait of a novel.
29. Following Ophelia by Sophia Bennett
- A chance read from my local library. The writing is lovely and mainly action-and-character-orientated, set in the impoverished art world of 18th-19th century England. Sadly, the story is fairly predictable YA: beautiful Mary Sue heroine, hot male love interest, forbidden romance, a love triangle of sorts, misunderstandings abound, female friends who are rarely around, internalized misogyny, contrived melodrama to swing a dead cat at, and an older rich woman turning out to be the spawn of Satan motivated by jealousy over dick. Of course, how could she be anything else!? I hardly learned anything new about the Victorian times from Following Ophelia, either. While certainly not among the worst YA books I've read, it is overall pretty dry, bland, forgettable, and uninspired, which is a failure for a book about beautiful paintings and expressing oneself individually.
28. Fairy Keeper by Amy Bearce
- Another forgettable YA romance that happens to be set in a fantasy world filled with fairies and unicorns. It should be more exciting than it sounds! Rather bland and annoying characters, low stakes, and a promising plot turned weak by an apathetic writing style, Fairy Keeper is an extra addition on my biggest disappointments of the year list.
27. Batman: Harley and Ivy by Paul Dini, Bruce Timm, Various
- I'm just going to call Harley and Ivy what it is: porn on training wheels. Sexist, homophobic, boundary-crossing, queerbaiting trash. And not entertaining trash, more like the insufferable, infuriating, editorially-mandated, barely-held-together, Suicide Squad movie-type trash. Its pandering fanservice is insulting, especially when done in the family-friendly style of Batman: The Animated Series - children will be reading this! Girls who look up to Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy as believable characters will be reading this! The only thing I liked about the whole comic is the story where Batgirl teams up with Harley to save Ivy - not only because Batgirl's in it, but because I actually believe it could be an episode from the television series. It is competently written. Did Paul Dini seriously write this? He's so much better than this nonsense! Harley and Ivy deserve better than this.
26. Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne
- An anticipated YA read about anxiety, mental illness, and feminism. Sadly it didn't live up to my expectations. I found the main character to be annoying, reckless and hypocritical, even if it's to build up to a lesson learned, I could not bring myself to like her. The other characters are not as fleshed out or memorable as they could have been. The parents are awful, as is typical in YA, and there is the obligatory saintly little sister character as well. There was nobody I could like in Am I Normal Yet?, apart from the girl's therapist, maybe, who gives excellent life lessons. However, what I found to be the book's biggest failing is in its teaching about feminism: it is superfluous and has little to do with the story. Is it to teach the OCD main character about rape culture and never giving in to peer pressure and not have sex when you're unready, unprepared? Is it to teach how some teenage boys are arseholes and manipulative, passive aggressive dicks? The feminist messages seem forced and sloppily included. It could have all worked out very well, but I couldn't care less about the dumb characters. At least the toxic, abusive main "romance" is seen as such, if not until the end when it must be as apparent to the main character as possible, like when a literal dick in the face is needed to finally see the light of one's mistakes. The couple doesn't stay together, which is a relief.
25. Batgirl, Vol. 1: The Batgirl of Burnside by Cameron Stewart, Brendan Fletcher, Various
- Hipster, dumb-as-a-rock Barbara Gordon. Need I say more? Incredibly lame, dated and pandering, I couldn't stand this regressive treatment of Batgirl. At least the last issue is interesting, self-aware, and creative, but by then it was too little too late. Why must Barbara be like a horny teenager all of a sudden!? I hated her bickering with Black Canary, too.
24. Storm, Vol. 1: Make it Rain by Greg Pak, Various
- So boring. No plot, just issues of Storm doing shit which seems hollow and pointless in the long run. And why does Storm only have three facial expressions: pissed off, super pissed off, and cackling evil? This is definitely not for newer Storm or X-Men fans, either, making it confusing and difficult to connect to any of the characters. I learned nothing new about Storm after reading this solo comic of hers - I still have little clue as to what her actual personality is supposed to be.
23. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
- Another library read. Another YA novel that isn't for me. The writing style can be nice, deep and authentic at times, but it grates on me in a 400-page stream-of-consciousness scribble containing no plot to speak of. Not a beautiful or well-written or developed LBGTQ relationship, either, in my opinion. Aristotle and Dante drags on for far too long, and it skims so much in its timespan of over a year. The characters can be likable and realistic, except near the end where they are not, and as is typical of YA it falls into the trap of getting more contrived and climactic and violent - i.e. something happening at last that has to be as rushed and dramatic as possible - the closer it gets to the end. Its third act, if you can call it that, is all talk and action and revelations without the proper, believable development that could have been utilized throughout the rest of the novel. Didn't enjoy this book that everybody else loves, I'm afraid. Great, authentic POC representation, however.
22. Ashfall by Mike Mullin
- I can't believe I gave this three stars originally. Because overall, Ashfall isn't very good. The main character is too unbelievable and resilient on his deadly journey in a post-apocalyptic-like setting. He is far too lucky and intelligent for a teenage boy whose life experiences are limited to playing World of Warcraft and martial arts lessons, which conveniently help him to stay alive throughout the book (yes, World of Warcraft contains useful lessons for surviving the end of the world, or your town, apparently). In fact, everything about this book is convenient: the meetings with certain characters, old and new, the food and water rations, walking for days on end to the right places in a short amount of time throughout an American state, etc. And I thought The Road required a considerable amount of suspending one's disbelief. There is also a gratuitous rape scene which has no impact or consequences for any of the characters involved whatsoever - indeed it is barely mentioned again afterwards. It is only there for shock value. Grief is badly portrayed too, and the main character is a selfish, unfeeling dick as well as a lucky son of a bitch. YA clichés include a forced romance with the first new person of the opposite gender the protagonist meets, who has to be pretty, even during an apocalypse and a state of emergency. And for a supposedly smart and tough girl, she's really stupid in some areas, like thinking that condoms are reusable. She's a damsel in distress mostly, not a takes-no-shit action girl - a mechanic, ooh! - the male author clearly wants to make you think she is. The ending includes not one but at least three laughably contrived and ridiculous endings. Realistic, my arse. Let's move on.
21. When the Moon Was Ours by Anne-Marie McLemore
- I didn't even finish this one. I'm sorry, this is yet another universally beloved book. But when I get to over 100 pages and I know more about what colour everybody's bloody house is than I do about any of the characters' personalities, then there's a problem. The overblown writing, the purple prose, the magical realism, it was suffocating me. Good trans inclusion, but that was not enough to keep me interested in reading more of this chore.
20. Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland
- Do I need to say anything here? I've talked about this overrated comic loads of times before when discussing Batgirl. Now that I have read the whole thing, at only 50 pages, I wish I hadn't bothered. It is unpleasant, mean-spirited, disturbing and not in a good or thought-provoking way, and gratuitous in its sex and violence. And misogynistic as hell. Is this really what people wanted for an adult Batman story? Is misogyny and sexual assault the answer to a "grown-up" story? Of course Alan Moore didn't think that any women or sexual assault survivors would read this - comics in the eighties were all about white men, and white men's pain. The Joker's backstory is generic and lame - why give him a backstory to begin with? He could have been anyone; that's one of the things that made him so scary. Now I will never find him intimidating ever again. Alan Moore, you're the gift that keeps on giving, aren't you? Having spawned an even more terrible and misogynistic animated film adaptation in 2016, I can now say that I legitimately hate The Killing Joke. It has done more harm than good for the comic book industry, and no amount of great artwork can change that. It should be seen as a cautionary tale, not praised. Darker doesn't always mean better storytelling, DC.
19. Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor
- This started off so good! It was funny, it was original, it was clever - a unique angle to take with time travel. I could see this being made into an Edgar Wright film, it is that wacky yet subtle and intelligent. But then rape culture had to rear its ugly, Harvey Weinstein-shaped head in the middle of the book. Without giving too much away, I will say that the awesome female lead ends up not only forgiving her attempted murderer and rapist, but lauding him as a hero and genius - going so far as to dedicate a museum exhibit to him. Because so what if he was a misogynistic, corrupt traitor to your beloved organisation who shoved his penis at you while you were asleep, and then tried to kill you and abandon you in the prehistoric era for profit? He was a smart inventor! That's what's important, right? Adding to the bullshit pile is enough internalized misogyny to make white feminists throw a party at the White House - there's a main female villain whom the female protagonist repeatedly refers to as a bitch, and greedy for daring to be a woman with ambition. Oh and the female protag's love interest suddenly, out of nowhere, from being a decent person, goes nuts and calls her a slut for having a miscarriage and not telling him about it within the short amount of time of them being reunited after a time travel mission. She had saved his life and those of their friends, by the way. He doesn't consider her feelings at all. What shit is this? Did a different writer take over after the first act? And the second act? Nothing is consistent or connects well, which for a time travel/paradox story might make sense, but I doubt it was intentional here. What a sorrowful disappointment, for a comedic series.
18. Catwoman, Vol. 1: The Game by Judd Winick and Guillem March
- An overall pointless, gratuitously fanservice-y and violent, hollow, empty DC New 52 comic that tries way too hard to be dark and edgy for the sake of it. I didn't care about Selina Kyle or anyone. She's a sex object with an attitude, no matter how much Judd Winick tries to convince the reader otherwise. Who the hell gets dressed in and out of their underwear in the middle of an escape plan, whilst running on rooftops and hanging on wires!? A few artwork panels are unintentionally hilarious, though.
17. Avalon: The Warlock Diaries Omnibus by Rachel Roberts and Shiei
- What a disappointment. Any fans of the Avalon: Web of Magic books may want to stay clear of this. It is beeny-bopper, manga-style junk food for preteen girls. There is too much focus on Kara and her forced, not-developed romantic relationship with a pretty boy warlock from another realm - the other two girls, Emily and Adrienne, barely get any character time at all. They might as well not be in the manga. It's just stupid, and there's no respect for its female readers present. Rachel Roberts wrote this, really? Also when a human turns evil - like, he turns into a slave for the villain - his skin turns dark. Well, no unfortunate implications there! The plot ploughs stupidly on towards one of the biggest anticlimaxes I have ever seen, and I was done. So much for those high stakes! The Warlock Diaries isn't about female friendships or bonds with animals like the books are, it's about a dumb romance based on the physical attraction between two thirteen-year-olds. I'm too old and cultured for this shit.
16. Crystal Cadets by Anne Toole, Katie O'Neill and Paulina Ganucheau
- One of the shallowest, most generic inclusions to the Magical Girl genre I have read about. There is almost nothing new here, nothing challenging, nothing interesting. The simple plot gets confusing in a lot of panels, like ordinary citizens not caring about monsters attacking the main Magical Girls. In public. In broad daylight. Or the Magical Girls themselves just accepting their destinies, their Chosen One status, no questions asked. The main villain doesn't even have a name; just the Darkness. Darkness this, Darkness that. It gets cringeworthy every time the big bad Darkness is mentioned. How lazy and boring, even for a kids' comic. Because the authors of Crystal Cadets have done much better things, like Zodiac Starforce and Princess Princess Ever After! Yes, Crystal Cadets has nice, colourful artwork, and it can be cute, but it lacks thought and heart. It's stale and almost shamefully unoriginal in every aspect. I expect smarter, well-written material to come from the Magical Girl genre nowadays. One more thing: the main protagonist, Zoe, looks exactly like Elyon from W.I.T.C.H.
15. Goddess of the Night by Lynne Ewing
- An old YA, older than Twilight, so I guess I can't criticize it for its clichés and quite frankly bland and uneventful storytelling and characters. Oh, I think I just did. Goddess of the Night just hasn't aged well, in my opinion. It's like if Charmed, Sailor Moon and Clueless were put into a big marketing blender. It's like a YA book about Magical Girls, but it needs better development of the characters. Also there's a bad boy villain so obviously being set up for a nauseating love triangle in the next books it isn't even funny. Boy drama is not for me, especially involving abusive, manipulative arsehole boys who nearly kill the female protag's girl friends, thank you very much.
14. Wonder Woman, Vol. 2: Love and Murder by Jodi Piccoult, Various
- Yep, the author's name being astronomically bigger than the superheroine's on the cover is certainly not part of a publicity stunt, oh no. In this comic contains one of the weakest depictions of Wonder Woman. She is clueless and naïve, when she has been among humans and man's world for years, and was an ambassador at that. It is just lame, messy and inconsistent, with DC editorial mandates showing all over the stinking place. I'm sure Jodi Piccoult tried her best, and the bad decisions were likely on DC's head rather than hers. But Love and Murder is bad, and as a further, unfortunate insult to injury, it leads to one of the worst Wonder Woman comic events of all time: Amazons Attack!
13. Cinnamon by Neil Gaiman and Jill Schwarz
- Oh yes, Neil Gaiman, why don't you teach kids everywhere that physical abuse (bleeding!) to make people - specifically children - do what you want them to is a good thing? Why don't you teach them to be intimidated by and obliging to powerful figures who won't take no for an answer and who assume they can do whatever they want? That said intimidating figure can kidnap a child and take her to who-knows-where-land no problem? Or that old women are annoying nags who deserve to die, to get eaten by tigers, and no one will mourn them? That it is better for women to be remembered as young and beautiful, not old and past her prime, for women are merely possessions to be looked at and fawned over for their physical attractiveness, like a picture frame hung upon a wall? Fuck you. I'm never reading anything else penned by you again. The artwork is gorgeous, however. Sad it wasn't used for a better story.
12. Henchgirl by Kristen Gudsnuk
- I thought this was going to be fun, cute and funny. Not horrifying and unpleasant as hell. Seriously, why were there women being decapitated here? Being murdered horrifically? The disgusting images, the nightmare fuel! What is this, Game of Thrones meets adult animated sitcoms? The artwork is ugly and the main characters are unlikable and idiotic. The end.
11. Pirates! by Celia Rees
- Yet another DNF. A pirate book should not be boring! I don't think I need to explain this! It is also a book about slavery from the point of view of the white oppressors - because fuck knows we don't have enough of those! I just couldn't care less about this one, I'm afraid.
10. The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
- Big, big disappointment. It was bad enough to make me question what it was I liked about the previous book, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, which was my favourite book read in 2016. Yes, it destroyed my spirit that powerfully. Nothing happens - like, nothing interesting. The characters went back to how they were before. There is an inkling of internalized misogyny in Calpurnia's relationship with her closed-off, traumatized cousin, which hardly got any kind of development, at least until the very end. How typical. I found this book to be boring and lifeless. Will Calpurnia Tate give up on her explorer and scientist dreams and be a real lady? It looks like it's going that way, given the lack of enthusiasm and charm and wonder she exhibits throughout the book. She's gone, and I am left dead inside. And this is why I rarely read sequels. I've learned my lesson.
9. The Abyss Surrounds Us by Emily Skrutskie
- What did I read? What is this YA book honestly about? Tell me the truth! I came into The Abyss Surrounds Us expecting an action-packed, exciting, dystopian, lesbian pirate adventure that explores themes of nurturing and female companionship. Instead what I got was a boring-as-hell, flat, drab teen girl book with underdeveloped world building and character relationships, and Stockholm Syndrome that isn't addressed at all. Because it doesn't count when both the captor and captive are girls, right? The Stockholm Syndrome was like a giant elephant in the book, casting its shadow over everything while the characters - and the author - do their damnedest to ignore it. The relationship between the two girls is unhealthy and abusive, and practically nothing changes between them throughout this slog fest of a narrative. The evil pirate captain is a woman of colour, and she apparently has a young son who barely appears and isn't even given a name. Wonderful. At least the protagonist is Asian, and gay. But I didn't care about anybody - they could all get eaten by the Kraken and I wouldn't have blinked. Terribly disappointed in this LBGTQ inclusion in YA. Moving on.
8. Blood Red Road by Moira Young
- Very, very glad I got this from the library. I had been curious about Blood Red Road for years, but I never got around to buying it as a teenager. Now my curiosity is fulfilled. It is like The Hunger Games meets Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome meets every YA dystopian, post-apocalyptic book ever. The writing style is interesting and I got into it no problem. But in the end, I hated the generic hate-you-but-love-you romance, the internalized misogyny, the cruelty, the nonsensical and inconsistent "tough" female lead, and most of all, I hated the male love interest, Jack. How anyone can tolerate this arsehole, I don't know. How the "tough" female lead could fall for him, I have no fucking idea. There is nothing endearing or likable about him. I have a low tolerance for abusive, patronizing teenage dickholes with tragic pasts that perfectly excuse them for being giant dickheads. I wished Jack would go away, and take his YA tropey romance disease with him - he ultimately ruined Blood Red Road for me. Romance ruined it for me. Fuck romance in YA.
7. The Tulip Touch by Anne Fine
- Dull, lifeless, no clear narrative structure or how time passes, no development built between any of the character relationships whatsoever. It is supposed to be linear (I think), and a teen-to-children's horror novel. But if I don't care about the characters, then I don't care about anything else in the story, end of. It is also cheesy and preachy, with no normal, human dialogue written. It's like a bad, low budget horror film in book form.
6. Tsubasa: Those with Wings, Omnibus 1 by Natsuki Takaya
- From the author of my favourite manga series, Fruits Basket, comes Tsubasa: a generic, YA dystopian romance in manga form. Boring, underwhelming, and infuriating - reinforcing typical anime and manga gender roles of abuse - I did not like this at all. Also Takaya-sensei really does draw her characters alike all across her works.
5. Pretty Deadly, Vol. 1: The Shrike by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Ríos
- What. The. Hell? What happened? Who were the characters again? I could barely see what was going on half the time. Was this meant to be enjoyed? What was the point of this? I adore Kelly Sue DeConnick and her work on Captain Marvel and Bitch Planet, but I'm sorry: Pretty Deadly is pretentious, not well-thought-out twaddle.
4. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1 by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill
- So this is a comic book classic, huh? Should have been titled, A bunch of whiny men with fragile egos whining about a woman making reasonable decisions and leading them and keeping them alive. There, that's more accurate. The comic is so absurdly male, so eighties, so filled with testosterone bait, that it's laughable. And of course the lone woman - as part of the Smurfette Principle - is smart and brave, but she's dehumanized by the men because of her gender. Different time periods, whatever, there is no excuse. And it wouldn't be an Alan Moore comic without gratuitous scenes of women getting sexually assaulted! Is there something I'm missing here? The adventure plot is boring and uninteresting. The misogyny is strong with this one; for that, it can kindly piss off. The artwork is ugly as sin, too.
3. Harley Quinn, Volume 1: Die Laughing by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti
- Oh Harley Quinn, just what in the name of the seven circles of Hell is DC doing to you? Harley is one step away from quite literally flinging shit at the walls at this point. Die Laughing is horrifying, unpleasant, painfully unfunny, embarrassing, and depressing. One cover of a new issue I saw on Facebook has Harley and her "friends" (I can't in all good conscience call them friends for real) as skeletons in spacesuits, in space. I... who is this run made for? Who are Amanda Connor, Jimmy Palmiotti and crew trying to appeal to here? This is sick. Thank fuck I didn't pay for this shit and got it at the library. Give us canon Harley and Ivy, already, you cowards at DC! You've already had her do every unspeakable thing imaginable just to see how far you can get away with censorship, so why the queerbaiting bullshit, still? DC Bombshells is ahead of you in that progression! Urgh! Wash this bad taste out of my mouth, my sight, my mind.
2. Soul Eater, Vol. 1 by Atsushi Ohkubo
- Fanservice! That's what you get out of the Soul Eater manga! Big breasts, female bath scenes, and underaged panty shots! Horrible people doing horrible things. No thanks.
1. Nancy Drew: The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene
- Nancy Drew has got to be the blandest, whitest female lead of all time. She's not a character, she's not a real person, she's a marketing tool: a robot programmed to teach young girls of the 20th century how to act like a proper lady, even if she were to use her brains, and do things like become a detective. Barbie has more personality than her. This book did absolutely nothing for me. No emotion, no investment, no engagement, no curiosity, nothing. For a mystery involving a lot of death, it is instantly forgettable. Using my own ladylike detective skills, I'd say that culminates in the first Nancy Drew "adventure" being the worst book I have read in 2017.
Phew!
Well...
Happy New Year, everyone. And I mean it. May 2018 be different, positive and special in every way.
Well, no more stalling, the end of 2017 is near, so let's get this started, if briefly:
30. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
- I know that everybody loves this book. It's a critically-acclaimed prize winner with a film deal, and I was really looking forward to being everybody, too. But... I'm sorry, but what started with such promise - humour, lightheartedness, commentary on contemporary womanhood, like an updated Bridget Jones' Diary without any romance - turned into something which made me think throughout reading, "Sorry, I thought this was about a socially-awkward, funny yet lonely introverted woman learning to get out more and live life to the fullest, not a Hollywood crime thriller". Because that is what Eleanor Oliphant is: Hollywood. It's a gross, stereotypical representation of mental illness and childhood trauma, at times too dark for its own good, and so ridiculous and laughable I couldn't take it seriously. Eleanor the social outcast has Ping Pong Naivete down to a T, to absurd levels. The novel is predictable, contrived, and boring, though how it depicts therapy sessions and therapists is very good, and untypically Hollywood. Eleanor Oliphant has one of the stupidest "twist endings" I have ever read, in a "Like, you can't be serious, this only happens in films" way. Whatever, I'm done talking about this tonally-deaf, melodramatic Oscar film bait of a novel.
29. Following Ophelia by Sophia Bennett
- A chance read from my local library. The writing is lovely and mainly action-and-character-orientated, set in the impoverished art world of 18th-19th century England. Sadly, the story is fairly predictable YA: beautiful Mary Sue heroine, hot male love interest, forbidden romance, a love triangle of sorts, misunderstandings abound, female friends who are rarely around, internalized misogyny, contrived melodrama to swing a dead cat at, and an older rich woman turning out to be the spawn of Satan motivated by jealousy over dick. Of course, how could she be anything else!? I hardly learned anything new about the Victorian times from Following Ophelia, either. While certainly not among the worst YA books I've read, it is overall pretty dry, bland, forgettable, and uninspired, which is a failure for a book about beautiful paintings and expressing oneself individually.
28. Fairy Keeper by Amy Bearce
- Another forgettable YA romance that happens to be set in a fantasy world filled with fairies and unicorns. It should be more exciting than it sounds! Rather bland and annoying characters, low stakes, and a promising plot turned weak by an apathetic writing style, Fairy Keeper is an extra addition on my biggest disappointments of the year list.
27. Batman: Harley and Ivy by Paul Dini, Bruce Timm, Various
- I'm just going to call Harley and Ivy what it is: porn on training wheels. Sexist, homophobic, boundary-crossing, queerbaiting trash. And not entertaining trash, more like the insufferable, infuriating, editorially-mandated, barely-held-together, Suicide Squad movie-type trash. Its pandering fanservice is insulting, especially when done in the family-friendly style of Batman: The Animated Series - children will be reading this! Girls who look up to Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy as believable characters will be reading this! The only thing I liked about the whole comic is the story where Batgirl teams up with Harley to save Ivy - not only because Batgirl's in it, but because I actually believe it could be an episode from the television series. It is competently written. Did Paul Dini seriously write this? He's so much better than this nonsense! Harley and Ivy deserve better than this.
26. Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne
- An anticipated YA read about anxiety, mental illness, and feminism. Sadly it didn't live up to my expectations. I found the main character to be annoying, reckless and hypocritical, even if it's to build up to a lesson learned, I could not bring myself to like her. The other characters are not as fleshed out or memorable as they could have been. The parents are awful, as is typical in YA, and there is the obligatory saintly little sister character as well. There was nobody I could like in Am I Normal Yet?, apart from the girl's therapist, maybe, who gives excellent life lessons. However, what I found to be the book's biggest failing is in its teaching about feminism: it is superfluous and has little to do with the story. Is it to teach the OCD main character about rape culture and never giving in to peer pressure and not have sex when you're unready, unprepared? Is it to teach how some teenage boys are arseholes and manipulative, passive aggressive dicks? The feminist messages seem forced and sloppily included. It could have all worked out very well, but I couldn't care less about the dumb characters. At least the toxic, abusive main "romance" is seen as such, if not until the end when it must be as apparent to the main character as possible, like when a literal dick in the face is needed to finally see the light of one's mistakes. The couple doesn't stay together, which is a relief.
25. Batgirl, Vol. 1: The Batgirl of Burnside by Cameron Stewart, Brendan Fletcher, Various
- Hipster, dumb-as-a-rock Barbara Gordon. Need I say more? Incredibly lame, dated and pandering, I couldn't stand this regressive treatment of Batgirl. At least the last issue is interesting, self-aware, and creative, but by then it was too little too late. Why must Barbara be like a horny teenager all of a sudden!? I hated her bickering with Black Canary, too.
24. Storm, Vol. 1: Make it Rain by Greg Pak, Various
- So boring. No plot, just issues of Storm doing shit which seems hollow and pointless in the long run. And why does Storm only have three facial expressions: pissed off, super pissed off, and cackling evil? This is definitely not for newer Storm or X-Men fans, either, making it confusing and difficult to connect to any of the characters. I learned nothing new about Storm after reading this solo comic of hers - I still have little clue as to what her actual personality is supposed to be.
23. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
- Another library read. Another YA novel that isn't for me. The writing style can be nice, deep and authentic at times, but it grates on me in a 400-page stream-of-consciousness scribble containing no plot to speak of. Not a beautiful or well-written or developed LBGTQ relationship, either, in my opinion. Aristotle and Dante drags on for far too long, and it skims so much in its timespan of over a year. The characters can be likable and realistic, except near the end where they are not, and as is typical of YA it falls into the trap of getting more contrived and climactic and violent - i.e. something happening at last that has to be as rushed and dramatic as possible - the closer it gets to the end. Its third act, if you can call it that, is all talk and action and revelations without the proper, believable development that could have been utilized throughout the rest of the novel. Didn't enjoy this book that everybody else loves, I'm afraid. Great, authentic POC representation, however.
22. Ashfall by Mike Mullin
- I can't believe I gave this three stars originally. Because overall, Ashfall isn't very good. The main character is too unbelievable and resilient on his deadly journey in a post-apocalyptic-like setting. He is far too lucky and intelligent for a teenage boy whose life experiences are limited to playing World of Warcraft and martial arts lessons, which conveniently help him to stay alive throughout the book (yes, World of Warcraft contains useful lessons for surviving the end of the world, or your town, apparently). In fact, everything about this book is convenient: the meetings with certain characters, old and new, the food and water rations, walking for days on end to the right places in a short amount of time throughout an American state, etc. And I thought The Road required a considerable amount of suspending one's disbelief. There is also a gratuitous rape scene which has no impact or consequences for any of the characters involved whatsoever - indeed it is barely mentioned again afterwards. It is only there for shock value. Grief is badly portrayed too, and the main character is a selfish, unfeeling dick as well as a lucky son of a bitch. YA clichés include a forced romance with the first new person of the opposite gender the protagonist meets, who has to be pretty, even during an apocalypse and a state of emergency. And for a supposedly smart and tough girl, she's really stupid in some areas, like thinking that condoms are reusable. She's a damsel in distress mostly, not a takes-no-shit action girl - a mechanic, ooh! - the male author clearly wants to make you think she is. The ending includes not one but at least three laughably contrived and ridiculous endings. Realistic, my arse. Let's move on.
21. When the Moon Was Ours by Anne-Marie McLemore
- I didn't even finish this one. I'm sorry, this is yet another universally beloved book. But when I get to over 100 pages and I know more about what colour everybody's bloody house is than I do about any of the characters' personalities, then there's a problem. The overblown writing, the purple prose, the magical realism, it was suffocating me. Good trans inclusion, but that was not enough to keep me interested in reading more of this chore.
20. Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland
- Do I need to say anything here? I've talked about this overrated comic loads of times before when discussing Batgirl. Now that I have read the whole thing, at only 50 pages, I wish I hadn't bothered. It is unpleasant, mean-spirited, disturbing and not in a good or thought-provoking way, and gratuitous in its sex and violence. And misogynistic as hell. Is this really what people wanted for an adult Batman story? Is misogyny and sexual assault the answer to a "grown-up" story? Of course Alan Moore didn't think that any women or sexual assault survivors would read this - comics in the eighties were all about white men, and white men's pain. The Joker's backstory is generic and lame - why give him a backstory to begin with? He could have been anyone; that's one of the things that made him so scary. Now I will never find him intimidating ever again. Alan Moore, you're the gift that keeps on giving, aren't you? Having spawned an even more terrible and misogynistic animated film adaptation in 2016, I can now say that I legitimately hate The Killing Joke. It has done more harm than good for the comic book industry, and no amount of great artwork can change that. It should be seen as a cautionary tale, not praised. Darker doesn't always mean better storytelling, DC.
19. Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor
- This started off so good! It was funny, it was original, it was clever - a unique angle to take with time travel. I could see this being made into an Edgar Wright film, it is that wacky yet subtle and intelligent. But then rape culture had to rear its ugly, Harvey Weinstein-shaped head in the middle of the book. Without giving too much away, I will say that the awesome female lead ends up not only forgiving her attempted murderer and rapist, but lauding him as a hero and genius - going so far as to dedicate a museum exhibit to him. Because so what if he was a misogynistic, corrupt traitor to your beloved organisation who shoved his penis at you while you were asleep, and then tried to kill you and abandon you in the prehistoric era for profit? He was a smart inventor! That's what's important, right? Adding to the bullshit pile is enough internalized misogyny to make white feminists throw a party at the White House - there's a main female villain whom the female protagonist repeatedly refers to as a bitch, and greedy for daring to be a woman with ambition. Oh and the female protag's love interest suddenly, out of nowhere, from being a decent person, goes nuts and calls her a slut for having a miscarriage and not telling him about it within the short amount of time of them being reunited after a time travel mission. She had saved his life and those of their friends, by the way. He doesn't consider her feelings at all. What shit is this? Did a different writer take over after the first act? And the second act? Nothing is consistent or connects well, which for a time travel/paradox story might make sense, but I doubt it was intentional here. What a sorrowful disappointment, for a comedic series.
18. Catwoman, Vol. 1: The Game by Judd Winick and Guillem March
- An overall pointless, gratuitously fanservice-y and violent, hollow, empty DC New 52 comic that tries way too hard to be dark and edgy for the sake of it. I didn't care about Selina Kyle or anyone. She's a sex object with an attitude, no matter how much Judd Winick tries to convince the reader otherwise. Who the hell gets dressed in and out of their underwear in the middle of an escape plan, whilst running on rooftops and hanging on wires!? A few artwork panels are unintentionally hilarious, though.
17. Avalon: The Warlock Diaries Omnibus by Rachel Roberts and Shiei
- What a disappointment. Any fans of the Avalon: Web of Magic books may want to stay clear of this. It is beeny-bopper, manga-style junk food for preteen girls. There is too much focus on Kara and her forced, not-developed romantic relationship with a pretty boy warlock from another realm - the other two girls, Emily and Adrienne, barely get any character time at all. They might as well not be in the manga. It's just stupid, and there's no respect for its female readers present. Rachel Roberts wrote this, really? Also when a human turns evil - like, he turns into a slave for the villain - his skin turns dark. Well, no unfortunate implications there! The plot ploughs stupidly on towards one of the biggest anticlimaxes I have ever seen, and I was done. So much for those high stakes! The Warlock Diaries isn't about female friendships or bonds with animals like the books are, it's about a dumb romance based on the physical attraction between two thirteen-year-olds. I'm too old and cultured for this shit.
16. Crystal Cadets by Anne Toole, Katie O'Neill and Paulina Ganucheau
- One of the shallowest, most generic inclusions to the Magical Girl genre I have read about. There is almost nothing new here, nothing challenging, nothing interesting. The simple plot gets confusing in a lot of panels, like ordinary citizens not caring about monsters attacking the main Magical Girls. In public. In broad daylight. Or the Magical Girls themselves just accepting their destinies, their Chosen One status, no questions asked. The main villain doesn't even have a name; just the Darkness. Darkness this, Darkness that. It gets cringeworthy every time the big bad Darkness is mentioned. How lazy and boring, even for a kids' comic. Because the authors of Crystal Cadets have done much better things, like Zodiac Starforce and Princess Princess Ever After! Yes, Crystal Cadets has nice, colourful artwork, and it can be cute, but it lacks thought and heart. It's stale and almost shamefully unoriginal in every aspect. I expect smarter, well-written material to come from the Magical Girl genre nowadays. One more thing: the main protagonist, Zoe, looks exactly like Elyon from W.I.T.C.H.
15. Goddess of the Night by Lynne Ewing
- An old YA, older than Twilight, so I guess I can't criticize it for its clichés and quite frankly bland and uneventful storytelling and characters. Oh, I think I just did. Goddess of the Night just hasn't aged well, in my opinion. It's like if Charmed, Sailor Moon and Clueless were put into a big marketing blender. It's like a YA book about Magical Girls, but it needs better development of the characters. Also there's a bad boy villain so obviously being set up for a nauseating love triangle in the next books it isn't even funny. Boy drama is not for me, especially involving abusive, manipulative arsehole boys who nearly kill the female protag's girl friends, thank you very much.
14. Wonder Woman, Vol. 2: Love and Murder by Jodi Piccoult, Various
- Yep, the author's name being astronomically bigger than the superheroine's on the cover is certainly not part of a publicity stunt, oh no. In this comic contains one of the weakest depictions of Wonder Woman. She is clueless and naïve, when she has been among humans and man's world for years, and was an ambassador at that. It is just lame, messy and inconsistent, with DC editorial mandates showing all over the stinking place. I'm sure Jodi Piccoult tried her best, and the bad decisions were likely on DC's head rather than hers. But Love and Murder is bad, and as a further, unfortunate insult to injury, it leads to one of the worst Wonder Woman comic events of all time: Amazons Attack!
13. Cinnamon by Neil Gaiman and Jill Schwarz
- Oh yes, Neil Gaiman, why don't you teach kids everywhere that physical abuse (bleeding!) to make people - specifically children - do what you want them to is a good thing? Why don't you teach them to be intimidated by and obliging to powerful figures who won't take no for an answer and who assume they can do whatever they want? That said intimidating figure can kidnap a child and take her to who-knows-where-land no problem? Or that old women are annoying nags who deserve to die, to get eaten by tigers, and no one will mourn them? That it is better for women to be remembered as young and beautiful, not old and past her prime, for women are merely possessions to be looked at and fawned over for their physical attractiveness, like a picture frame hung upon a wall? Fuck you. I'm never reading anything else penned by you again. The artwork is gorgeous, however. Sad it wasn't used for a better story.
12. Henchgirl by Kristen Gudsnuk
- I thought this was going to be fun, cute and funny. Not horrifying and unpleasant as hell. Seriously, why were there women being decapitated here? Being murdered horrifically? The disgusting images, the nightmare fuel! What is this, Game of Thrones meets adult animated sitcoms? The artwork is ugly and the main characters are unlikable and idiotic. The end.
11. Pirates! by Celia Rees
- Yet another DNF. A pirate book should not be boring! I don't think I need to explain this! It is also a book about slavery from the point of view of the white oppressors - because fuck knows we don't have enough of those! I just couldn't care less about this one, I'm afraid.
10. The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
- Big, big disappointment. It was bad enough to make me question what it was I liked about the previous book, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, which was my favourite book read in 2016. Yes, it destroyed my spirit that powerfully. Nothing happens - like, nothing interesting. The characters went back to how they were before. There is an inkling of internalized misogyny in Calpurnia's relationship with her closed-off, traumatized cousin, which hardly got any kind of development, at least until the very end. How typical. I found this book to be boring and lifeless. Will Calpurnia Tate give up on her explorer and scientist dreams and be a real lady? It looks like it's going that way, given the lack of enthusiasm and charm and wonder she exhibits throughout the book. She's gone, and I am left dead inside. And this is why I rarely read sequels. I've learned my lesson.
9. The Abyss Surrounds Us by Emily Skrutskie
- What did I read? What is this YA book honestly about? Tell me the truth! I came into The Abyss Surrounds Us expecting an action-packed, exciting, dystopian, lesbian pirate adventure that explores themes of nurturing and female companionship. Instead what I got was a boring-as-hell, flat, drab teen girl book with underdeveloped world building and character relationships, and Stockholm Syndrome that isn't addressed at all. Because it doesn't count when both the captor and captive are girls, right? The Stockholm Syndrome was like a giant elephant in the book, casting its shadow over everything while the characters - and the author - do their damnedest to ignore it. The relationship between the two girls is unhealthy and abusive, and practically nothing changes between them throughout this slog fest of a narrative. The evil pirate captain is a woman of colour, and she apparently has a young son who barely appears and isn't even given a name. Wonderful. At least the protagonist is Asian, and gay. But I didn't care about anybody - they could all get eaten by the Kraken and I wouldn't have blinked. Terribly disappointed in this LBGTQ inclusion in YA. Moving on.
8. Blood Red Road by Moira Young
- Very, very glad I got this from the library. I had been curious about Blood Red Road for years, but I never got around to buying it as a teenager. Now my curiosity is fulfilled. It is like The Hunger Games meets Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome meets every YA dystopian, post-apocalyptic book ever. The writing style is interesting and I got into it no problem. But in the end, I hated the generic hate-you-but-love-you romance, the internalized misogyny, the cruelty, the nonsensical and inconsistent "tough" female lead, and most of all, I hated the male love interest, Jack. How anyone can tolerate this arsehole, I don't know. How the "tough" female lead could fall for him, I have no fucking idea. There is nothing endearing or likable about him. I have a low tolerance for abusive, patronizing teenage dickholes with tragic pasts that perfectly excuse them for being giant dickheads. I wished Jack would go away, and take his YA tropey romance disease with him - he ultimately ruined Blood Red Road for me. Romance ruined it for me. Fuck romance in YA.
7. The Tulip Touch by Anne Fine
- Dull, lifeless, no clear narrative structure or how time passes, no development built between any of the character relationships whatsoever. It is supposed to be linear (I think), and a teen-to-children's horror novel. But if I don't care about the characters, then I don't care about anything else in the story, end of. It is also cheesy and preachy, with no normal, human dialogue written. It's like a bad, low budget horror film in book form.
6. Tsubasa: Those with Wings, Omnibus 1 by Natsuki Takaya
- From the author of my favourite manga series, Fruits Basket, comes Tsubasa: a generic, YA dystopian romance in manga form. Boring, underwhelming, and infuriating - reinforcing typical anime and manga gender roles of abuse - I did not like this at all. Also Takaya-sensei really does draw her characters alike all across her works.
5. Pretty Deadly, Vol. 1: The Shrike by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Emma Ríos
- What. The. Hell? What happened? Who were the characters again? I could barely see what was going on half the time. Was this meant to be enjoyed? What was the point of this? I adore Kelly Sue DeConnick and her work on Captain Marvel and Bitch Planet, but I'm sorry: Pretty Deadly is pretentious, not well-thought-out twaddle.
4. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1 by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill
- So this is a comic book classic, huh? Should have been titled, A bunch of whiny men with fragile egos whining about a woman making reasonable decisions and leading them and keeping them alive. There, that's more accurate. The comic is so absurdly male, so eighties, so filled with testosterone bait, that it's laughable. And of course the lone woman - as part of the Smurfette Principle - is smart and brave, but she's dehumanized by the men because of her gender. Different time periods, whatever, there is no excuse. And it wouldn't be an Alan Moore comic without gratuitous scenes of women getting sexually assaulted! Is there something I'm missing here? The adventure plot is boring and uninteresting. The misogyny is strong with this one; for that, it can kindly piss off. The artwork is ugly as sin, too.
3. Harley Quinn, Volume 1: Die Laughing by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti
- Oh Harley Quinn, just what in the name of the seven circles of Hell is DC doing to you? Harley is one step away from quite literally flinging shit at the walls at this point. Die Laughing is horrifying, unpleasant, painfully unfunny, embarrassing, and depressing. One cover of a new issue I saw on Facebook has Harley and her "friends" (I can't in all good conscience call them friends for real) as skeletons in spacesuits, in space. I... who is this run made for? Who are Amanda Connor, Jimmy Palmiotti and crew trying to appeal to here? This is sick. Thank fuck I didn't pay for this shit and got it at the library. Give us canon Harley and Ivy, already, you cowards at DC! You've already had her do every unspeakable thing imaginable just to see how far you can get away with censorship, so why the queerbaiting bullshit, still? DC Bombshells is ahead of you in that progression! Urgh! Wash this bad taste out of my mouth, my sight, my mind.
2. Soul Eater, Vol. 1 by Atsushi Ohkubo
- Fanservice! That's what you get out of the Soul Eater manga! Big breasts, female bath scenes, and underaged panty shots! Horrible people doing horrible things. No thanks.
1. Nancy Drew: The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene
- Nancy Drew has got to be the blandest, whitest female lead of all time. She's not a character, she's not a real person, she's a marketing tool: a robot programmed to teach young girls of the 20th century how to act like a proper lady, even if she were to use her brains, and do things like become a detective. Barbie has more personality than her. This book did absolutely nothing for me. No emotion, no investment, no engagement, no curiosity, nothing. For a mystery involving a lot of death, it is instantly forgettable. Using my own ladylike detective skills, I'd say that culminates in the first Nancy Drew "adventure" being the worst book I have read in 2017.
Phew!
Well...
Happy New Year, everyone. And I mean it. May 2018 be different, positive and special in every way.
Top 10 Non-Fiction and/or Geeky Books of 2017
10. Ghosts from Our Past: Both Literally and Figuratively: The Study of the Paranormal by by Erin Gilbert, Abby L Yates, Andrew Shaffer (Author, Editor)
- What fun, and how interesting a movie tie-in! A real pocketbook page-turner. Read my review here, which explains all.
9. The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen: Awesome Female Characters from Comic Book History by Hope Nicholson
- Collecting the vast history of different female characters in the comic book medium, past and present. Very educational, filled with required reading recommendations for pop culture geek girls like myself. And it was in my local bookshop! Read my review here.
8. Superwomen: Gender, Power, and Representation by Carolyn Cocca
- Tons of information about pop culture's famous "strong female characters", from television, movies, and comics. A critical, feminist analysis on representation - not just of white women, but of women of colour and women on the LBGTQ spectrum, and how they are treated quite appallingly by the media compared to straight white heroines. Not that they are always written complexly and competently by predominantly straight white men either. Like The Spectacular Sisterhood, this book was made for geek girls like me, in desperate need of positive representation in our media. I'd like to see an updated sequel in the future. Read my very long review here.
7. Basic Witches: How to Summon Success, Banish Drama, and Raise Hell with Your Coven by Jaya Saxena and Jess Zimmerman
- A fun little self-help book for modern day witches, or women and girls seeking confidence, companionship and focus in such shitty times and circumstances. Feminist and daring, I adore it. Read my review here.
6. Rejected Princesses: Tales of History's Boldest Heroines, Hellions, and Heretics by Jason Porath
- History's and fairy tales' overlooked, forgotten women: Rejected Princesses educates the shit out of you where most history classes don't, because they don't care to mention any awesome, smart and brave women in human history who have in fact helped to shape our society and culture today. Another symptom of the patriarchy. But they existed, they struggled, they suffered, they survived, and they will not be forgotten about anymore. Presented like a large fairy tale book with fantastic illustrations that are funny and cartoony, be warned, this isn't for children: it gets extremely disturbing and horrifying the more you read about these women. Educational, fun and important, don't miss Rejected Princesses. Fucking inspiring. Read my review here.
5. Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame by Mara Wilson
- A sweet, honest memoir by many people's favourite child actor of the nineties, Mara Wilson. She's smart, warm, ambitious, frustrated, and utterly human. Her book is about Hollywood falseness and unbearable pressure, but mostly it's about hope, moving on, doing what you love, and loving others. It is Mara's life, told by herself in how she wants to. Where Am I Now? brings me back to my own strange, confusing, contradictory childhood in some ways, too, aside from the parts regarding fame. Read my review here.
4. Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo
- Rejected Princesses for younger girls. And boys. And everyone. So great, so educational, so inspiring. These stories are about real, ordinary yet extraordinary women and girls who have changed our world for the better in so many ways. An important item for every household. Read my review here.
3. Nasty Women by 404 Ink (Editor), Various
- Another raw, important feminist text that needed to exist in 2017, as hopeless and tragic as that fact is. Enough is enough, and women everywhere will not endure any 21st century toxic, fear-mongering, anti-feminist backlash and violence (and death) anymore. Nor gaslighting. What else can I say that I haven't already gone into great detail discussing here in my review? Except: Fuck you, 2016. You were the absolute fucking worst.
2. The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente (Writer), Annie Wu (Illustrator)
- This is entirely fictional. An anthology novel. But it is about a geeky and feminist pop culture subject, the Women in Refrigerators trope, so I'm including it on this list. Any excuse to include it on any fave list. I love it I love it I love it! The Refrigerator Monologues is a work of art, in need of an adult animated film adaptation. In addition, it got me to finally read The Vagina Monologues. Catherynne M. Valente is a phenomenal fantasy writer. Read my obsessively gushing review here.
1. What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton
- Vital that everybody reads it. It is raw, honest, emotional, intellectual, educational, heart-pounding, heartbreaking, tragic, and painful; political doesn't being to cover it. It is merely human. What Happened is about love, family, fleeting hope, growing and moving on - and the strength that comes from those things. It is about getting back on your feet - finding out what you can do when all else has failed, to disastrous results; finding inspiration - hell, just plain common human decency - in the darkest times. In the worst, most impossible and regressive political climate imaginable in the 21st century. Immensely readable and addictive, as well. In my opinion, What Happened and The Hate U Give are the most important, life-saving required reading of 2017 and beyond. If you feel you are ready for the truth, read Hillary's account - of herself, her life, her presidential campaign, everything - in What Happened. My review is here.
Up next, my final list of the year: my Top 30 Worst Books of 2017!
- What fun, and how interesting a movie tie-in! A real pocketbook page-turner. Read my review here, which explains all.
9. The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen: Awesome Female Characters from Comic Book History by Hope Nicholson
- Collecting the vast history of different female characters in the comic book medium, past and present. Very educational, filled with required reading recommendations for pop culture geek girls like myself. And it was in my local bookshop! Read my review here.
8. Superwomen: Gender, Power, and Representation by Carolyn Cocca
- Tons of information about pop culture's famous "strong female characters", from television, movies, and comics. A critical, feminist analysis on representation - not just of white women, but of women of colour and women on the LBGTQ spectrum, and how they are treated quite appallingly by the media compared to straight white heroines. Not that they are always written complexly and competently by predominantly straight white men either. Like The Spectacular Sisterhood, this book was made for geek girls like me, in desperate need of positive representation in our media. I'd like to see an updated sequel in the future. Read my very long review here.
7. Basic Witches: How to Summon Success, Banish Drama, and Raise Hell with Your Coven by Jaya Saxena and Jess Zimmerman
- A fun little self-help book for modern day witches, or women and girls seeking confidence, companionship and focus in such shitty times and circumstances. Feminist and daring, I adore it. Read my review here.
6. Rejected Princesses: Tales of History's Boldest Heroines, Hellions, and Heretics by Jason Porath
- History's and fairy tales' overlooked, forgotten women: Rejected Princesses educates the shit out of you where most history classes don't, because they don't care to mention any awesome, smart and brave women in human history who have in fact helped to shape our society and culture today. Another symptom of the patriarchy. But they existed, they struggled, they suffered, they survived, and they will not be forgotten about anymore. Presented like a large fairy tale book with fantastic illustrations that are funny and cartoony, be warned, this isn't for children: it gets extremely disturbing and horrifying the more you read about these women. Educational, fun and important, don't miss Rejected Princesses. Fucking inspiring. Read my review here.
5. Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame by Mara Wilson
- A sweet, honest memoir by many people's favourite child actor of the nineties, Mara Wilson. She's smart, warm, ambitious, frustrated, and utterly human. Her book is about Hollywood falseness and unbearable pressure, but mostly it's about hope, moving on, doing what you love, and loving others. It is Mara's life, told by herself in how she wants to. Where Am I Now? brings me back to my own strange, confusing, contradictory childhood in some ways, too, aside from the parts regarding fame. Read my review here.
4. Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo
- Rejected Princesses for younger girls. And boys. And everyone. So great, so educational, so inspiring. These stories are about real, ordinary yet extraordinary women and girls who have changed our world for the better in so many ways. An important item for every household. Read my review here.
3. Nasty Women by 404 Ink (Editor), Various
- Another raw, important feminist text that needed to exist in 2017, as hopeless and tragic as that fact is. Enough is enough, and women everywhere will not endure any 21st century toxic, fear-mongering, anti-feminist backlash and violence (and death) anymore. Nor gaslighting. What else can I say that I haven't already gone into great detail discussing here in my review? Except: Fuck you, 2016. You were the absolute fucking worst.
2. The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente (Writer), Annie Wu (Illustrator)
- This is entirely fictional. An anthology novel. But it is about a geeky and feminist pop culture subject, the Women in Refrigerators trope, so I'm including it on this list. Any excuse to include it on any fave list. I love it I love it I love it! The Refrigerator Monologues is a work of art, in need of an adult animated film adaptation. In addition, it got me to finally read The Vagina Monologues. Catherynne M. Valente is a phenomenal fantasy writer. Read my obsessively gushing review here.
1. What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton
- Vital that everybody reads it. It is raw, honest, emotional, intellectual, educational, heart-pounding, heartbreaking, tragic, and painful; political doesn't being to cover it. It is merely human. What Happened is about love, family, fleeting hope, growing and moving on - and the strength that comes from those things. It is about getting back on your feet - finding out what you can do when all else has failed, to disastrous results; finding inspiration - hell, just plain common human decency - in the darkest times. In the worst, most impossible and regressive political climate imaginable in the 21st century. Immensely readable and addictive, as well. In my opinion, What Happened and The Hate U Give are the most important, life-saving required reading of 2017 and beyond. If you feel you are ready for the truth, read Hillary's account - of herself, her life, her presidential campaign, everything - in What Happened. My review is here.
Up next, my final list of the year: my Top 30 Worst Books of 2017!
Top 15 Favourite Comics of 2017
15. Another Castle: Grimoire
- Fun, cute, colourful, compact and fantastically diverse princess tale. Great eighties video game homage for the modern age. Read my review here.
Honorable mention goes to Spell on Wheels, too.
14. Mockingbird, Vol 1: I Can Explain
- One of Marvel's cleverest titles. Starring a genius woman, and penned by a genius woman, it was unjustly cancelled before its time. It treats its reader with intelligence and respect - a challenging, fulfilling action comic. Read my review here.
13. Invincible Iron Man: Ironheart
- A teenage black female Iron Man gets her introduction and solo outing. Revolutionary in a myriad of ways, not least due to its intricate spiderweb of complex, fascinating female characters. Balancing harsh, violent darkness with lighthearted action fun is not easy for a writer to accomplish at all, but Marvel got it just right this time. Read my review here.
12. She-Hulk, Volume 1: Deconstructed
- Awesome. A smart, psychological, uneasy, and well-researched depiction of PTSD which doesn't often receive the treatment - the care - it deserves in the superhero comic medium. But Mariko Tamaki did it. Deconstructed is dark, thrilling and addictive - for the first time, it made me really interested in She-Hulk/Jennifer Walters as a character. One of the very few good things to have come out of Marvel's Civil War II garbage, I cannot recommend it enough. Another progressive point for Marvel comics. Read my review here.
11. The Legend of Korra: Turf Wars Part One
- Ha ha, I think my review speaks for itself here.
10. Goldie Vance Vol. 1
- Yeah! A fun detective comic for girls of all ages! Fantastically colourful, sunny, adorable, and cartoony, and never patronizing. It's like Scooby Doo meets Nancy Drew, but better than that! LGBTQ rep all the way as well! Read my review here.
9. Motor Crush, Vol. 1
- Complicated, yet simple sci-fi story, containing great artwork and memorable and diverse characters, plus bike races? Sign me the hell up! Wild and energetic, the racing pacing never stops! The comic is such an intense ride, surprising the reader at every page turn, like popping candy of all flavours. Diversity always wins; also a mystery to keep readers coming back for more. Read my review here.
8. Heathen Volume 1
- Norse mythology, Valkyries, and lesbian viking warriors. 'Nuff said. Read my review here.
7. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Pink
- A nostalgic treat for me! Kimberly Hart is the best. It's like an updated nighties kids' cartoon presented in graphic novel glory. I unashamedly love pink again, and Power Rangers. Read my review here.
6. Persepolis
- A long-delayed reading requirement. Happy to have read this autobiographical, graphic novel masterpiece at last. Educational, political, powerful, entertaining, brave, honest, human, and extremely important. Read my review here.
5. Wonder Woman, Volume 2: Year One
- One of the best Wonder Woman comics in recent years. A lovingly-told origin story with absolutely amazing artwork and characters. Fresh and relevant, Year One is a must-read for any Wonder Woman fan, especially those who have seen the 2017 hit movie. So enjoyable and good! Read my review here.
4. The Tea Dragon Society
- Warm, snugly, and cuddly, that's what this is. Princess Princess Ever After was Katie O'Niell's success in comics last year, and one of my favourites. Now along comes The Tea Dragon Society, a rich, lovable and unconventional fantasy tale about young girls taking care of little dragons, that you can drink up like tea on a freezing winter's day. Every panel is breathtakingly, beautifully drawn. Not just as colourful and adorable as a teddy bear shop, or as nice, refreshing and relaxing as a little cake and tea cafe - The Tea Dragon Society is meditative, like being on a mountain top. Like exploring ancient Asian culture. A wonderful, transcending reading experience. Of course there's LBGTQ content as well. Read my review here.
3. The Legend of Wonder Woman Vol. 1: Origins
- My most anticipated Wonder Woman graphic novel - and well worth the wait of nearly a year. Love Wonder Woman, love Etta Candy, love the gorgeous artwork and the deep, complex war story by Renae De Liz. Epic, stunning, sublime, funny, dark, I love everything about it. Puts the wonder back into Wonder Woman. Read my review here.
2. Heartstopper
- How's this for a surprise for the end of the year? An as-yet unfinished webcomic that can be read for free online in under an hour - in order to receive the best experience in love that is purely, passionately, honestly, priceless. Like pretty much all of the inclusions on this list, beautiful doesn't begin to describe Heartstopper. Just... just read my gushing of it here. It deserves all its praise. The young adult LBGTQ webcomic has the power to change lives, I'm serious.
1. One Hundred Nights of Hero
- My new favourite comic book of all time. It was specifically made for me, I feel, as pompous and preposterous as that sounds. When I came across it in my local library one day, never having heard of it before, it was like destiny. The One Hundred Nights of Hero has it all: fairy tales, storytelling, symbolism, moon powers, light and darkness, feminism, sisterhood, lesbians, love conquering all, a revolution. It is epic, sweet, funny, biting, scary, fierce, and yes, revolutionary. It beats and mocks the patriarchy using every ounce of deserved vehemence. Social justice and feminism are about hope, love, and ending corruption and inequality. They are about a much-needed change, for happiness to be possible for everyone. Read my review of the empowering mistresspiece The One Hundred Nights of Hero here.
Next up: My Top 10 Favourite Non-Fiction and/or Geeky Books of 2017!
- Fun, cute, colourful, compact and fantastically diverse princess tale. Great eighties video game homage for the modern age. Read my review here.
Honorable mention goes to Spell on Wheels, too.
14. Mockingbird, Vol 1: I Can Explain
- One of Marvel's cleverest titles. Starring a genius woman, and penned by a genius woman, it was unjustly cancelled before its time. It treats its reader with intelligence and respect - a challenging, fulfilling action comic. Read my review here.
13. Invincible Iron Man: Ironheart
- A teenage black female Iron Man gets her introduction and solo outing. Revolutionary in a myriad of ways, not least due to its intricate spiderweb of complex, fascinating female characters. Balancing harsh, violent darkness with lighthearted action fun is not easy for a writer to accomplish at all, but Marvel got it just right this time. Read my review here.
12. She-Hulk, Volume 1: Deconstructed
- Awesome. A smart, psychological, uneasy, and well-researched depiction of PTSD which doesn't often receive the treatment - the care - it deserves in the superhero comic medium. But Mariko Tamaki did it. Deconstructed is dark, thrilling and addictive - for the first time, it made me really interested in She-Hulk/Jennifer Walters as a character. One of the very few good things to have come out of Marvel's Civil War II garbage, I cannot recommend it enough. Another progressive point for Marvel comics. Read my review here.
11. The Legend of Korra: Turf Wars Part One
- Ha ha, I think my review speaks for itself here.
10. Goldie Vance Vol. 1
- Yeah! A fun detective comic for girls of all ages! Fantastically colourful, sunny, adorable, and cartoony, and never patronizing. It's like Scooby Doo meets Nancy Drew, but better than that! LGBTQ rep all the way as well! Read my review here.
9. Motor Crush, Vol. 1
- Complicated, yet simple sci-fi story, containing great artwork and memorable and diverse characters, plus bike races? Sign me the hell up! Wild and energetic, the racing pacing never stops! The comic is such an intense ride, surprising the reader at every page turn, like popping candy of all flavours. Diversity always wins; also a mystery to keep readers coming back for more. Read my review here.
8. Heathen Volume 1
- Norse mythology, Valkyries, and lesbian viking warriors. 'Nuff said. Read my review here.
7. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Pink
- A nostalgic treat for me! Kimberly Hart is the best. It's like an updated nighties kids' cartoon presented in graphic novel glory. I unashamedly love pink again, and Power Rangers. Read my review here.
6. Persepolis
- A long-delayed reading requirement. Happy to have read this autobiographical, graphic novel masterpiece at last. Educational, political, powerful, entertaining, brave, honest, human, and extremely important. Read my review here.
5. Wonder Woman, Volume 2: Year One
- One of the best Wonder Woman comics in recent years. A lovingly-told origin story with absolutely amazing artwork and characters. Fresh and relevant, Year One is a must-read for any Wonder Woman fan, especially those who have seen the 2017 hit movie. So enjoyable and good! Read my review here.
4. The Tea Dragon Society
- Warm, snugly, and cuddly, that's what this is. Princess Princess Ever After was Katie O'Niell's success in comics last year, and one of my favourites. Now along comes The Tea Dragon Society, a rich, lovable and unconventional fantasy tale about young girls taking care of little dragons, that you can drink up like tea on a freezing winter's day. Every panel is breathtakingly, beautifully drawn. Not just as colourful and adorable as a teddy bear shop, or as nice, refreshing and relaxing as a little cake and tea cafe - The Tea Dragon Society is meditative, like being on a mountain top. Like exploring ancient Asian culture. A wonderful, transcending reading experience. Of course there's LBGTQ content as well. Read my review here.
3. The Legend of Wonder Woman Vol. 1: Origins
- My most anticipated Wonder Woman graphic novel - and well worth the wait of nearly a year. Love Wonder Woman, love Etta Candy, love the gorgeous artwork and the deep, complex war story by Renae De Liz. Epic, stunning, sublime, funny, dark, I love everything about it. Puts the wonder back into Wonder Woman. Read my review here.
2. Heartstopper
- How's this for a surprise for the end of the year? An as-yet unfinished webcomic that can be read for free online in under an hour - in order to receive the best experience in love that is purely, passionately, honestly, priceless. Like pretty much all of the inclusions on this list, beautiful doesn't begin to describe Heartstopper. Just... just read my gushing of it here. It deserves all its praise. The young adult LBGTQ webcomic has the power to change lives, I'm serious.
1. One Hundred Nights of Hero
- My new favourite comic book of all time. It was specifically made for me, I feel, as pompous and preposterous as that sounds. When I came across it in my local library one day, never having heard of it before, it was like destiny. The One Hundred Nights of Hero has it all: fairy tales, storytelling, symbolism, moon powers, light and darkness, feminism, sisterhood, lesbians, love conquering all, a revolution. It is epic, sweet, funny, biting, scary, fierce, and yes, revolutionary. It beats and mocks the patriarchy using every ounce of deserved vehemence. Social justice and feminism are about hope, love, and ending corruption and inequality. They are about a much-needed change, for happiness to be possible for everyone. Read my review of the empowering mistresspiece The One Hundred Nights of Hero here.
Next up: My Top 10 Favourite Non-Fiction and/or Geeky Books of 2017!
Top 10 Favourite YA Books of 2017
I have read a total of 245 books in 2017. When I was compiling a list of my favourites of this year, I found I had too many to put on a single list. Good to know that I loved more books than I hated others, at least. So I decided to list my 2017 favourites by genre, and my first will be the Young Adult books that I have read and enjoyed.
My opinion, my love, my stuff to recommend the most. It hasn't been easy picking out favourites in the last twelve months, I can assure you.
Well, here is my brief Top 10 Favourite YA Books of 2017:
10. The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart by Stephanie Burgis
- Not technically YA but a children's book, but I love it to chocolaty pieces enough to give it a spot on a list of favourites read in 2017. Cute, heartwarming, diverse and fun, it's fantastic. Read my review here.
9. The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed
- Another year, another important book exposing and discussing the vital issue to be brought to our attention, care and respect right now: rape culture, and the powerful and pervasive patriarchy's fulling of and catering to toxic masculinity and male entitlement. I can't believe we keep needing to be reminded that women - that young girls - are people, but there you go; that's the patriarchy for you. Glad I got a chance to hear about The Nowhere Girls and read it before the end of the year. Read my review here.
Honorable mention goes to Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson as well.
8. The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
- An action-packed, swashbuckling, gay historical fiction. What more could you want!? Deals with many serious issues - ones that are not as contemporary as we've been led to believe for so long - but it doesn't get too dark not to be an enjoyable, witty, clever thrill ride all throughout its 500 pages. A diverse adventure novel to be remembered. Felicity Montague is an absolute effing star. Read my review here.
7. Dreadnought by April Daniels
- Another super important YA novel. A transgender superhero. That's practically never been heard of before. A transgender teenage girl superhero story that explores a lot of heartbreaking human issues, but as well as being educational it is fun as hell! Action-packed, heroic, and a ravenous page-turner, filled with brilliant, diverse characters, all to leave you giddy with excitement. With future possibilities. Both Danny Tozer and Doc Impossible are revelations. This needs to be made into a film, now. Read my review here.
6. Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
- Breathtakingly gorgeous and beautiful fantasy, but what else did I expect from Laini Taylor? Hugely creative, sweet, bittersweet and heartwrenching, it comes highly recommended. Awesome, awesome characters! I cannot wait for the sequel next year. Read my review here.
5. Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley
- Such a sweet, substantial, original and enjoyable LBGTQ book, with a POC cast. Teenage drama has never been more authentic, unfair and gritty, yet triumphantly hopeful, in terms of tolerance: for religions and politics to keep up to date with the changing times. Nobody should be fitted into a box. Nobody. People are complexities, messes; it's what makes us fucking amazing. Read my review here.
4. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale
- Adorable! Adorable! Adorable! The funniest and most huggable YA and children's book about a teen girl superhero origin. Marvel can be cute! All loveliness, kicking butts and eating nuts, with disability representation to go into the colourful, squirrelly mix. Squirrels! Babies! Robots! Marvel superhero cameos! What are you waiting for? Read it! But first, perhaps you'd like to read my review of this precious cinnamon roll in literature form here.
3. The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst
- Great epic fantasy, worthy of Tolkien and George R. R. Martin. It is full of great female characters and friendships. Tragic and beautiful, it is in many ways revolutionary YA. Read my review here
2. The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
- One of the best written contemporary YA novels. Becky Albertalli is a wonderful writer of diversity, which is fucking realism and she knows this for a fact. LBGTQ, POC, anxiety rep, and fat rep much needed in books for teens, I love it. It will make you cry because of how beautiful and caring and nice the characters are, and how you will wish they were real people so you can hang out, and feel comfortable and safe with them. Romantic, adorable and progressive, The Upside of Unrequited is a star book. Read my review here.
1. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- No introduction required. Everyone has said everything that's needed to be said about this contemporary masterpiece, and the fact that it can literally save lives. It is about Black Lives Matter. It is about black people in America, and American culture all around, and how it is in fact so far from the land of the free it might as well be on Mars. The American Dream is a lie, a trap; here is a large country of prosperity and progress that is so deeply rooted and entrenched in racism, even to this day. Its people are filled with hate, fear, division, and violence. This cannot be ignored anymore. People are dying, and we have to care. We have got to do something. Everybody needs to read The Hate U Give, and I mean it. It is one of my new favourite books of all time. I am ecstatic that it is being made into a film. Thank you oh so much for writing this magnificent story, Angie Thomas. Read my review here.
Next up: my Top 15 Favourite Comics of 2017!
Saturday, 30 December 2017
The Last Jedi - the darkest chapter yet, and a fun, enjoyable ride through and through, even if the ending left some things to be desired. Keep going further with those risks and surprises, Disney and Lucasfilm. Films are meant to shock and challenge us, after all. Good job, now break bigger boundaries!
Friday, 29 December 2017
Graphic Novel Review - 'Misfit City Vol. 1' by Kirsten Smith (Writer), Kurt Lustgarten (Writer), Naomi Franquiz (Artist)
2023 EDIT:
Reread: Cute, funny stuff. Again nothing deep or mind-blowing about it, except in its diversity, but as far as feminist graphic novels go, it's a little, twinkling treasure in the now-vast ocean, remaining noticeable and noteworthy. I may not have any interest in reading more, but I'll keep the first volume of 'Misfit City', like a keepsake gem on my comics shelf.
Final Score: 3.5/5
Original Review:
A cute, fun mystery adventure comic. Nothing really deep or surprising about it, but it's an engaging, endearing and thrilling ride nonetheless, filled to the treasure trove brim with interesting female characters.
Set in a cove, which was new to me in graphic novel reading, 'Misfit City' is an homage to 'The Goonies' with female characters as central. Such great diversity - in race, shapes and sizes for the funny-to-smart-to-sarcastic-and-deadpan girl group. These social misfits each have lives of their own. Personal commitments, ambitions, as well as their own set of values - making it harder for them to focus on the main plot involving a treasure hunt; which turns into something sinister the deeper they go. Thus they are more relatable than in any corny kids' fantasy adventure flick.
Friendship, hard work, music, knowledge, libraries, museums, legendary female pirates, maps, puzzles, crane machines, a séance, a totem pole, and a farting dog, 'Misfit City Vol. 1' is good old harmless enjoyment; a movie's first act in comic book style. It's the eighties with a needed feminist update. Which is great praise coming from me since I dislike most of writer Kirsten "Kiwi" Smith's past work in film. Glad I gave her another chance.
Nice one on the 'Goldie Vance' reference too, BOOM! Box!
Chaaaaaaaaarrrrrmed!
Final Score: 4/5
Reread: Cute, funny stuff. Again nothing deep or mind-blowing about it, except in its diversity, but as far as feminist graphic novels go, it's a little, twinkling treasure in the now-vast ocean, remaining noticeable and noteworthy. I may not have any interest in reading more, but I'll keep the first volume of 'Misfit City', like a keepsake gem on my comics shelf.
Final Score: 3.5/5
Original Review:
A cute, fun mystery adventure comic. Nothing really deep or surprising about it, but it's an engaging, endearing and thrilling ride nonetheless, filled to the treasure trove brim with interesting female characters.
Set in a cove, which was new to me in graphic novel reading, 'Misfit City' is an homage to 'The Goonies' with female characters as central. Such great diversity - in race, shapes and sizes for the funny-to-smart-to-sarcastic-and-deadpan girl group. These social misfits each have lives of their own. Personal commitments, ambitions, as well as their own set of values - making it harder for them to focus on the main plot involving a treasure hunt; which turns into something sinister the deeper they go. Thus they are more relatable than in any corny kids' fantasy adventure flick.
Friendship, hard work, music, knowledge, libraries, museums, legendary female pirates, maps, puzzles, crane machines, a séance, a totem pole, and a farting dog, 'Misfit City Vol. 1' is good old harmless enjoyment; a movie's first act in comic book style. It's the eighties with a needed feminist update. Which is great praise coming from me since I dislike most of writer Kirsten "Kiwi" Smith's past work in film. Glad I gave her another chance.
Nice one on the 'Goldie Vance' reference too, BOOM! Box!
Chaaaaaaaaarrrrrmed!
Final Score: 4/5
Thursday, 28 December 2017
Graphic Novel (Webcomic Special) Review - 'Heartstopper' by Alice Oseman
NICK AND CHARLIE IS LIFE!!!
THIS WEBCOMIC
THIS WEBCOMIC
... is too good and pure for this world.
I have not read any of Alice Oseman's other works. I didn't even know that 'Heartstopper' is basically a prequel to her YA novels starring the same characters before I read it.
But care I do not. No other reading requirement is necessary to enjoy and bask in this... LBGTQ beauty. In darkness there is always light, in the form of an unlikely friendship, growing into something special, something more.
Something truly spectacular.
I don't normally read webcomics, but I had less than an hour to kill online and... I smiled, I laughed, I squealed, I got goosebumps, I got teary-eyed, I was holding out, holding my breath; I was full of sunshine the more I read 'Heartstopper'. In such a brief amount of time I forgot that there was anything bad in the world - how there could be anything bad happening, for humanity can be full of love and kindness. 'Heartstopper' proved that. That it is British made me feel even prouder.
That 'Harry Potter' chapter... when I thought it couldn't get any cuter! I may actually love fanfiction now!
I really, really hope this gets published in paperback in the future. 'Heartstopper' isn't finished yet, but right now to me it is perfect. Somewhere out there, on the internet, this exists: A developing, beyond adorable love story between two secondary school boys - Charlie, openly gay and talented but very shy and insecure, and Nick, a popular, friendly jock with a heart of unblemished gold just discovering he may be bisexual - is what is needed to restore faith. To believe in love again.
Warm, honest, genuine, refreshing, geeky, non-cliche and non-BS, it is nothing short of breathtaking. Do yourself a favour today and check it out for free.
Final Score: 5/5
THIS WEBCOMIC
THIS WEBCOMIC
... is too good and pure for this world.
I have not read any of Alice Oseman's other works. I didn't even know that 'Heartstopper' is basically a prequel to her YA novels starring the same characters before I read it.
But care I do not. No other reading requirement is necessary to enjoy and bask in this... LBGTQ beauty. In darkness there is always light, in the form of an unlikely friendship, growing into something special, something more.
Something truly spectacular.
I don't normally read webcomics, but I had less than an hour to kill online and... I smiled, I laughed, I squealed, I got goosebumps, I got teary-eyed, I was holding out, holding my breath; I was full of sunshine the more I read 'Heartstopper'. In such a brief amount of time I forgot that there was anything bad in the world - how there could be anything bad happening, for humanity can be full of love and kindness. 'Heartstopper' proved that. That it is British made me feel even prouder.
That 'Harry Potter' chapter... when I thought it couldn't get any cuter! I may actually love fanfiction now!
I really, really hope this gets published in paperback in the future. 'Heartstopper' isn't finished yet, but right now to me it is perfect. Somewhere out there, on the internet, this exists: A developing, beyond adorable love story between two secondary school boys - Charlie, openly gay and talented but very shy and insecure, and Nick, a popular, friendly jock with a heart of unblemished gold just discovering he may be bisexual - is what is needed to restore faith. To believe in love again.
Warm, honest, genuine, refreshing, geeky, non-cliche and non-BS, it is nothing short of breathtaking. Do yourself a favour today and check it out for free.
Final Score: 5/5
Graphic Novel Review - 'Bitch Planet: Triple Feature, Vol. 1' by Various
Political anthology tales from the world of Kelly Sue DeConnick's B-movie, sci-fi, dystopian nightmare about the patriarchy, 'Bitch Planet.'
Each story certainly sticks with you. Some artwork is better than in the others, though I suspect a lot of the graininess, the distortions, and the ugliness all have a point; to add to the atmospheric horror of women being completely stripped of their rights and choices, and this is seen as normal. Progressive, even.
"This is good for you," they say.
"It's for your own good," they say.
"You'll be happier and healthier this way. We know better than you," they say.
These terrifying tales of the misogynistic crypt deal with various feminist issues, plus issues that might not seem to have anything to do with feminism at first, but most definitely, assuredly do; such as fear-mongering, whitewashing, cultural approbation, and police brutality and senseless death targeted towards black people. With the news people placing sympathy on white men, on every case, all the time. Everyone else, no matter the circumstances, is either ignored or demonized.
These are mirrors. Highlights of our society right now, obsessed with consumerism, commercialism, appearances, objectifying women, harassing women, catering to men, catering to white people, spotlighting famous men as the victims of the crimes they themselves have committed and are rarely punished for, the army, violence, toxic masculinity violence, nuclear family values, dismissing women's experiences, dismissing older women's experiences and views, and controlling women's health and reproductive rights and body parts - so they are no longer people, but things to be bought and masturbated over. While the women are expected to just take men's abuse and mistreatment, and lie, roll over and fawn over them like the sexy puppies the patriarchy prefers them to be. Not so extreme the more we think about it.
The whole of 'Bitch Planet' is like 'The Handmaiden's Tale' on crack, and it is no less horrifying in how one can easily imagine something like it happening in the future. If we let it.
Because yes, this is political as hell, and we, women, won't take it anymore.
Now I hope the next anthology contains issues that concern transgender rights. Also Third World concerns and immigration.
Final Score: 3.5/
Each story certainly sticks with you. Some artwork is better than in the others, though I suspect a lot of the graininess, the distortions, and the ugliness all have a point; to add to the atmospheric horror of women being completely stripped of their rights and choices, and this is seen as normal. Progressive, even.
"This is good for you," they say.
"It's for your own good," they say.
"You'll be happier and healthier this way. We know better than you," they say.
These terrifying tales of the misogynistic crypt deal with various feminist issues, plus issues that might not seem to have anything to do with feminism at first, but most definitely, assuredly do; such as fear-mongering, whitewashing, cultural approbation, and police brutality and senseless death targeted towards black people. With the news people placing sympathy on white men, on every case, all the time. Everyone else, no matter the circumstances, is either ignored or demonized.
These are mirrors. Highlights of our society right now, obsessed with consumerism, commercialism, appearances, objectifying women, harassing women, catering to men, catering to white people, spotlighting famous men as the victims of the crimes they themselves have committed and are rarely punished for, the army, violence, toxic masculinity violence, nuclear family values, dismissing women's experiences, dismissing older women's experiences and views, and controlling women's health and reproductive rights and body parts - so they are no longer people, but things to be bought and masturbated over. While the women are expected to just take men's abuse and mistreatment, and lie, roll over and fawn over them like the sexy puppies the patriarchy prefers them to be. Not so extreme the more we think about it.
The whole of 'Bitch Planet' is like 'The Handmaiden's Tale' on crack, and it is no less horrifying in how one can easily imagine something like it happening in the future. If we let it.
Because yes, this is political as hell, and we, women, won't take it anymore.
Now I hope the next anthology contains issues that concern transgender rights. Also Third World concerns and immigration.
Final Score: 3.5/
Tuesday, 26 December 2017
Book Review - 'The Nowhere Girls' by Amy Reed
2022 EDIT: Still far from perfect, but 'The Nowhere Girls' is a hugely addictive, raw and important read. Its power - its life - cannot be understated.
I'd forgotten just how evil Principal Satan--I mean Slatterly--is, and how awful some of the other adult women are to these teenage girls. Sometimes women who have given up can be just as bad as the boys and men in their lives - it's achingly tragic and shit in its truth. They are abusers, and they get off far too easy, I think.
I'm also not sure I'm satisfied with the book's open ending. A lot isn't resolved. Especially some of the girls (a few are not even named) whose stories remain unfinished; forgotten about, even. When I'd like to know more about them. But maybe the ambiguity is the point? That life is always changing and moving forward and we don't know and can't know the answers to others' futures - and our own - yet?
Does that one particularly egregious instance of sexual assault against a main character near the end even get addressed, even if the rapist is arrested for his other crimes?
And for all the talk about teen girls and their different sex lives, sexual experiences, sexual orientations and gender identities, why is asexuality never mentioned, nor alluded to? Enbies suffer erasure in this, as well.
Despite the flaws, I still love the writing, and I connect and relate to most of the girls. The Nowhere Girls.
The real girls.
Read my original review below for more.
Final Score: 4/5
Original Review:
'The Nowhere Girls' - the perfectly imperfect book that exposes rape culture, published in October 2017. It is one of many YA novels that reveals terrible, horrendous, and uncomfortable human truths in our sick culture: that needs a cure - a voice, millions in fact - immediately.
Sure, for all its diversity and inclusion, 'The Nowhere Girls' does drop the ball in a few glaring instances. Such as one character implying that being transgender is a choice, and he is never corrected. In terms of POC representation, aside from one of the main female leads, Rosina, who is Mexican, and her family, and Jesse, the dark-skinned boy who makes that unfortunate trans remark regarding his own transitioned brother, 'The Nowhere Girls' still largely focuses on white feminism and white girl problems. Also Jesse is referred to as a "stuffed animal" more than once, for his big size and friendly demeanour; calling anyone who is POC "like an animal" of any kind is problematic in so many ways, even if it's to describe them as cuddly. It's patronizing at best. There is a "only men with daughters can respect and acknowledge women as human beings" thing going on near the end of the novel as well, which is infuriating (and bullshit - just think of all the famous sexists and misogynists who have daughters).
But despite these flaws that quite frankly should have been picked up on during the editing process, everything else in 'The Nowhere Girls' is wonderful. It is a spark of hope in our otherwise cesspool of a world run by functional adults; it reflects reality so painfully. With the internet taking over everything, and misogyny, hate speech, regressive 1800s politics, and Nazi sympathy on the rise in the last few years, it could not have been published at a more crucial time.
'The Nowhere Girls' is right up there with other greats that unflinchingly talk about rape and our culture's appalling allowance of it, whether we want to admit it or not - such as 'Speak', 'Asking For It', and 'All the Rage' (it even features male police chiefs who are far more concerned about football and its rapist players than the humanity of female rape victims).
We did this. We need this. Books like these need to exist. Because they are real.
It sounds like 'The Nowhere Girls' should be the most depressing read ever. But there is enough heart, humour, and fabulously interesting characters to give the reluctant, and possibly suffering, reader slow burning hope and joy.
The three main girls we follow, who go to a high school in Prescott, are excellent:
New girl Grace is the chubby daughter of a disgraced female preacher, who is utterly wonderful in her progressive Christian views apparently awakened via head trauma. Grace herself is still finding her way, living in her mother's blessed shadow. She is nice, if naïve, and encouraging and supportive. Her purpose in life is awakened by the anger of finding out about a girl named Lucy who had lived in the house Grace now occupies in her new hometown. Lucy had been calling for help when no one gave it to her - scratched in the walls of her bedroom - and now Grace wants justice for the rape victim - the practically exiled pariah of the town - she never knew in person. Did I mention that I adore Grace's mother? When she does finally spend time with her daughter away from the church, she is as full of love and support as her teachings; a true saint.
Rosina is a poor Mexican lesbian who dreams of leaving her large family that doesn't appreciate her to become a punk rock star. She's refreshing, she's loud and proud, and she would never take being called a diva or any sexist and racist name lying down. Rosina is more vulnerable than she lets on, however, and she is very lonely in her family - rooted in a seriously strained and dysfunctional relationship with her mother, who is as trapped as Rosina is in a patriarchal family business in a restaurant - but she is braver than she thinks. A bit of instant-love with a cheerleader named Melissa is present, but it's sweet once it gets going, developing in substance over the course of the book.
Erin is a genius, and she's autistic. She's an inspired 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' fan, whose ambition is to be a marine biologist. Order, routine and preparation are everything to her, and chances and unpredictability scare her. Human emotions are a detriment to her, as are painful memories caused by both rape culture and the systematic failing of children on the autism spectrum. Erin cares not for her appearance, as proven by her shaved head (other characters think she has a model's body underneath her frumpy clothes, dispelling the stereotype that people who are considered "weird" or mentally ill must be conventionally unattractive, or at least physically unfit). She believes that all males of the human species are naturally, biologically predisposed to rape, with them being predators and females the prey, so trying to change them is pointless. Or at least she says she believes this, at first.
I adore all these complex, fully-rounded, fascinating young women. One day at their lone cafeteria table, the three outcasts decide to create a movement called The Nowhere Girls, started by Grace for justice for Lucy - for all the girls at their school to come together and highlight and expose the rape culture of their school, thus try to end it. Of course, it turns out to be much harder - in fact much more life threatening - than either of them could imagine.
For all the awesome, moving characters, there are plenty of people to hate in 'The Nowhere Girls' as well, which is to be expected for its subject matter. It is absolutely shocking that there could be people as hateful and disgusting as the rapists themselves - one of whom in this book has his own blog called 'The Real Men of Prescott'. On occasion the reader gets to see samplings of its posts - and it is as toxic MRA as it can get, tailor-made for fellow caveman misogynists and rapists, blatantly created to hurt women. It is also followed by thousands. No doubt certain events in 2016 inspired some of the awfulness of what's written there. It will make you want to scream. Again.
But for my money, the most loathsome character in 'The Nowhere Girls', aside from the teenage male sex offenders and apathetic male cops, is Principal Slatterly. The worst extreme of white feminism, Slatterly flat-out tells Rosina in the principal's office that she got where she is today, as a woman of power, by acting like a man, in a man's world. She could have used her position of power to actually help people, especially people in marginalized groups in society, since she knows and understands what sexism and other types of prejudice are. She could have inspired real change. But instead she keeps to the status quo in order not to jeopardize her own career, because she's a coward. And racist as fuck. Slatterly suspects Rosina of being the ring leader of the Nowhere Girls movement from the start, because of course the one girl she knows at the school who isn't white and quiet would be in charge of something she disproves of. She says she's surprised that Rosina has good grades. On two occasions Slatterly blackmails Rosina on account of her lowly privilege - that she better do what she's told and end the Nowhere Girls, or else she will not be the only person in her poor Mexican family to go to college, and Slatterly will complain about the restaurant Rosina's family owns and so ruin the student's entire life and have her immigrant grandmother, who has dementia, deported. Oh and Slatterly accuses Rosina of doing drugs with no proof whatsoever, getting the poor girl into trouble with her mother for the sole purpose of spiting her. In a just world, Slatterly should be in prison, not in control of the lives of young people she claims she wants to help to make the best future possible. Alas, no mention of her receiving any kind of punishment is ever mentioned. Another case of sad reality, I suppose. Slatterly is no better than the white trash spokeswomen on outlets such as Fox News. She's the Uncle Tom of white women. She's a hypocrite, a tool, and as already stated, a coward. Evil comes in many different forms.
I want to hug 'The Nowhere Girls'. It is intense, and immensely addictive in writing. I could have finished its 400 pages in one day, if not for the chaos of Christmas time. I feel so, so glad and heartened to have had this as my last novel read in 2017. A few flubs cannot diminish its powerful message. Or its humanity.
Sad, harrowing, maddening, yet hopeful on the horizon. 'The Nowhere Girls' is about female relationships. It is about every female out there, most notably young girls, struggling with and suffering through their own individual identities, in a world that hates and fears their freedom and choices. Slut-shaming, victim blaming, blurred consent, anti-feminism, and lack of sex education have no place here.
A constant reminder every year: It is the 21st century. In 2018, we must do better. The patriarchy isn't as unbeatable as we fear, as Grace, Rosina, Erin, and thousands of real women and girls prove every day. Girls' and boys' lives are at stake.
Final Score: 4/5
I'd forgotten just how evil Principal Satan--I mean Slatterly--is, and how awful some of the other adult women are to these teenage girls. Sometimes women who have given up can be just as bad as the boys and men in their lives - it's achingly tragic and shit in its truth. They are abusers, and they get off far too easy, I think.
I'm also not sure I'm satisfied with the book's open ending. A lot isn't resolved. Especially some of the girls (a few are not even named) whose stories remain unfinished; forgotten about, even. When I'd like to know more about them. But maybe the ambiguity is the point? That life is always changing and moving forward and we don't know and can't know the answers to others' futures - and our own - yet?
Does that one particularly egregious instance of sexual assault against a main character near the end even get addressed, even if the rapist is arrested for his other crimes?
And for all the talk about teen girls and their different sex lives, sexual experiences, sexual orientations and gender identities, why is asexuality never mentioned, nor alluded to? Enbies suffer erasure in this, as well.
Despite the flaws, I still love the writing, and I connect and relate to most of the girls. The Nowhere Girls.
The real girls.
Read my original review below for more.
Final Score: 4/5
Original Review:
'The Nowhere Girls' - the perfectly imperfect book that exposes rape culture, published in October 2017. It is one of many YA novels that reveals terrible, horrendous, and uncomfortable human truths in our sick culture: that needs a cure - a voice, millions in fact - immediately.
Sure, for all its diversity and inclusion, 'The Nowhere Girls' does drop the ball in a few glaring instances. Such as one character implying that being transgender is a choice, and he is never corrected. In terms of POC representation, aside from one of the main female leads, Rosina, who is Mexican, and her family, and Jesse, the dark-skinned boy who makes that unfortunate trans remark regarding his own transitioned brother, 'The Nowhere Girls' still largely focuses on white feminism and white girl problems. Also Jesse is referred to as a "stuffed animal" more than once, for his big size and friendly demeanour; calling anyone who is POC "like an animal" of any kind is problematic in so many ways, even if it's to describe them as cuddly. It's patronizing at best. There is a "only men with daughters can respect and acknowledge women as human beings" thing going on near the end of the novel as well, which is infuriating (and bullshit - just think of all the famous sexists and misogynists who have daughters).
But despite these flaws that quite frankly should have been picked up on during the editing process, everything else in 'The Nowhere Girls' is wonderful. It is a spark of hope in our otherwise cesspool of a world run by functional adults; it reflects reality so painfully. With the internet taking over everything, and misogyny, hate speech, regressive 1800s politics, and Nazi sympathy on the rise in the last few years, it could not have been published at a more crucial time.
'The Nowhere Girls' is right up there with other greats that unflinchingly talk about rape and our culture's appalling allowance of it, whether we want to admit it or not - such as 'Speak', 'Asking For It', and 'All the Rage' (it even features male police chiefs who are far more concerned about football and its rapist players than the humanity of female rape victims).
We did this. We need this. Books like these need to exist. Because they are real.
It sounds like 'The Nowhere Girls' should be the most depressing read ever. But there is enough heart, humour, and fabulously interesting characters to give the reluctant, and possibly suffering, reader slow burning hope and joy.
The three main girls we follow, who go to a high school in Prescott, are excellent:
New girl Grace is the chubby daughter of a disgraced female preacher, who is utterly wonderful in her progressive Christian views apparently awakened via head trauma. Grace herself is still finding her way, living in her mother's blessed shadow. She is nice, if naïve, and encouraging and supportive. Her purpose in life is awakened by the anger of finding out about a girl named Lucy who had lived in the house Grace now occupies in her new hometown. Lucy had been calling for help when no one gave it to her - scratched in the walls of her bedroom - and now Grace wants justice for the rape victim - the practically exiled pariah of the town - she never knew in person. Did I mention that I adore Grace's mother? When she does finally spend time with her daughter away from the church, she is as full of love and support as her teachings; a true saint.
Rosina is a poor Mexican lesbian who dreams of leaving her large family that doesn't appreciate her to become a punk rock star. She's refreshing, she's loud and proud, and she would never take being called a diva or any sexist and racist name lying down. Rosina is more vulnerable than she lets on, however, and she is very lonely in her family - rooted in a seriously strained and dysfunctional relationship with her mother, who is as trapped as Rosina is in a patriarchal family business in a restaurant - but she is braver than she thinks. A bit of instant-love with a cheerleader named Melissa is present, but it's sweet once it gets going, developing in substance over the course of the book.
Erin is a genius, and she's autistic. She's an inspired 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' fan, whose ambition is to be a marine biologist. Order, routine and preparation are everything to her, and chances and unpredictability scare her. Human emotions are a detriment to her, as are painful memories caused by both rape culture and the systematic failing of children on the autism spectrum. Erin cares not for her appearance, as proven by her shaved head (other characters think she has a model's body underneath her frumpy clothes, dispelling the stereotype that people who are considered "weird" or mentally ill must be conventionally unattractive, or at least physically unfit). She believes that all males of the human species are naturally, biologically predisposed to rape, with them being predators and females the prey, so trying to change them is pointless. Or at least she says she believes this, at first.
I adore all these complex, fully-rounded, fascinating young women. One day at their lone cafeteria table, the three outcasts decide to create a movement called The Nowhere Girls, started by Grace for justice for Lucy - for all the girls at their school to come together and highlight and expose the rape culture of their school, thus try to end it. Of course, it turns out to be much harder - in fact much more life threatening - than either of them could imagine.
For all the awesome, moving characters, there are plenty of people to hate in 'The Nowhere Girls' as well, which is to be expected for its subject matter. It is absolutely shocking that there could be people as hateful and disgusting as the rapists themselves - one of whom in this book has his own blog called 'The Real Men of Prescott'. On occasion the reader gets to see samplings of its posts - and it is as toxic MRA as it can get, tailor-made for fellow caveman misogynists and rapists, blatantly created to hurt women. It is also followed by thousands. No doubt certain events in 2016 inspired some of the awfulness of what's written there. It will make you want to scream. Again.
But for my money, the most loathsome character in 'The Nowhere Girls', aside from the teenage male sex offenders and apathetic male cops, is Principal Slatterly. The worst extreme of white feminism, Slatterly flat-out tells Rosina in the principal's office that she got where she is today, as a woman of power, by acting like a man, in a man's world. She could have used her position of power to actually help people, especially people in marginalized groups in society, since she knows and understands what sexism and other types of prejudice are. She could have inspired real change. But instead she keeps to the status quo in order not to jeopardize her own career, because she's a coward. And racist as fuck. Slatterly suspects Rosina of being the ring leader of the Nowhere Girls movement from the start, because of course the one girl she knows at the school who isn't white and quiet would be in charge of something she disproves of. She says she's surprised that Rosina has good grades. On two occasions Slatterly blackmails Rosina on account of her lowly privilege - that she better do what she's told and end the Nowhere Girls, or else she will not be the only person in her poor Mexican family to go to college, and Slatterly will complain about the restaurant Rosina's family owns and so ruin the student's entire life and have her immigrant grandmother, who has dementia, deported. Oh and Slatterly accuses Rosina of doing drugs with no proof whatsoever, getting the poor girl into trouble with her mother for the sole purpose of spiting her. In a just world, Slatterly should be in prison, not in control of the lives of young people she claims she wants to help to make the best future possible. Alas, no mention of her receiving any kind of punishment is ever mentioned. Another case of sad reality, I suppose. Slatterly is no better than the white trash spokeswomen on outlets such as Fox News. She's the Uncle Tom of white women. She's a hypocrite, a tool, and as already stated, a coward. Evil comes in many different forms.
I want to hug 'The Nowhere Girls'. It is intense, and immensely addictive in writing. I could have finished its 400 pages in one day, if not for the chaos of Christmas time. I feel so, so glad and heartened to have had this as my last novel read in 2017. A few flubs cannot diminish its powerful message. Or its humanity.
Sad, harrowing, maddening, yet hopeful on the horizon. 'The Nowhere Girls' is about female relationships. It is about every female out there, most notably young girls, struggling with and suffering through their own individual identities, in a world that hates and fears their freedom and choices. Slut-shaming, victim blaming, blurred consent, anti-feminism, and lack of sex education have no place here.
A constant reminder every year: It is the 21st century. In 2018, we must do better. The patriarchy isn't as unbeatable as we fear, as Grace, Rosina, Erin, and thousands of real women and girls prove every day. Girls' and boys' lives are at stake.
Final Score: 4/5
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