It had a lot to live up to, but this storybook delivered.
As an adaptation of a film that's easily on my Top 5 Favourite Films of All Time list, it did a wonderful job. 'Pan's Labyrinth' is perfectly suited for the book medium, and the result is just as bold, beautiful, haunting, frightening, melancholy, tearful, ethereal, creative, multilayered, and enriching an experience. A story all about the importance of stories, of children's dreams and innocence and knowledge; about the folly of adults, and their wars and the ways in which they attract death; and the folly of man and his fruitless quest for immortality.
We are each living in our own fairy tale, even when we don't believe in them anymore and think they hold no relevant lessons and truths for us in life.
'The Labyrinth of the Faun' can be read in a day. As well as further insights into its characters and story, it contains little backstories at the beginning of each of its parts, presented as miniature fairy tales within this bigger fairy tale and reality parallel. There's how the labyrinth was built, a witch's curse, a silver watch curse, and more on what the Underground Kingdom is like and who the people and creatures living in it are. There's even a backstory for the Pale Man, and the giant poisonous toad. Pencil illustrations are included.
The writing is extremely well done. The forest, the fairies, the Faun itself, the too-human characters in the real world, the rooms, the temperatures, the suffering, the loss and grief, the hope and bittersweetness - I felt it all, and I never wanted it to stop. The narration can be as sharp as any kitchen blade, or any blow from a desperate, unhappy man. For the majority of reading I found myself more interested in the real world parts and the inner and outer wars the human characters were going through than in the fantasy parts and elements. This might be Cornelia Funke's best work yet, to be honest.
'Pan's Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the Faun' is a must for fans of Guillermo del Toro's filmmaking masterpiece, which I shall now re-watch and gain yet another whole new perspective on it. I've said the following, years ago on my blog, but it is 'one of the best at cinematography, special effects, [music], setting an atmosphere, layering the horror and fantasy elements, psychoanalyzing childhood, and showing the best and worst of humanity'. And it 'shines in its own darkness - a beautiful, ethereal flower on a powerful, magnificent tree'.
Darkly enchanting. Heartbreaking and depressing. But both tellings of 'Pan's Labyrinth' reward and give so much back to you, like all great stories.
This book is not for the faint of heart or weak in spirit. It’s not for skeptics who don’t believe in fairy tales and the powerful forces of good. It’s only for brave and intrepid souls like you, who will stare down evil in all its forms. - On the blurb.
Final Score: 5/5
Sunday 30 June 2019
Saturday 29 June 2019
Manga Review - 'Young Miss Holmes, Casebook 1-2' by Kaoru Shintani
A highly enjoyable manga collection about Sherlock Holmes - only here there is a new rising star, his niece Christie Hope, a Count's daughter and at age ten is almost as clever, quick, deductive, and brave as her beloved uncle. She is precocious, relentless and never gives up; not bad for a rich child who dislikes studying and behaving "ladylike".
Mainly her detective skills are honed from boredom and loneliness in her mansion (her parents are away in India on business), and wanting her uncle, her nearest relative, to be proud of her. Her library is her escape.
Lady Crystal "Christie" Margaret Hope is a precious crystal, all right.
I love all the characters in 'Young Miss Holmes', chiefly Christie's maids: Nora, who starts off illiterate, comes from a poor background, and she is unrefined, uncouth, hilarious, and helps out on Christie's cases, and carries a damn whip - she is a deadly force to be reckoned with; and there's Annemarie, a more proper and traditional maid who looks out for Christie - and carries pistols to help stop crimes. Christie also has a governess who is like her Watson. To reveal her name would be spoiling a previous case where she is introduced, but she is just as sweet and surprising as every other female character.
Really, this manga is super feminist. It features a lot of intelligent women and girls who work together. And they are present for the action, no questions asked.
Each case is often being solved by both Christie and her uncle Sherlock, with Doctor Watson. The little girl and the older, experienced and professional man will either collaborate or work in tandem. To say that Miss Holmes/Hope shows promise is an understatement. She looks up to her uncle and wants to be like him, but she is special on her own. The little blonde Victorian girl is not just cute or contrary; she's a mature, determined, dedicated authority figure as well, possessing a fine sense of humour.
'Young Miss Holmes, Casebook 1-2' is a joy. Well-researched, well-translated, well-put together, well-plotted (the mysteries range from decent to very cleverly crafted), well-characterised, and well worth the investment in every sense. Aside from a few slightly uncomfortable race relations and unsavoury stereotyping for its time period, and a little violence for an "All Ages" manga, plus there's that weird vampire case that only Christie truly gets to the bottom of (vampires are real in this manga - yes, real, and it is apparently a spinoff of 'Dance of the Vampire Bund'), I'd recommend it to anyone, whether you are a Sherlock Holmes fan or, like me, curious about a feminist approach to his stories (especially after being long since sick of the overrated and sexist-as-hell BBC 'Sherlock' series)
My curiosity got the better of me, and I'm happy it did.
"It's elementary, my dear uncle!"
Final Score: 4/5
Mainly her detective skills are honed from boredom and loneliness in her mansion (her parents are away in India on business), and wanting her uncle, her nearest relative, to be proud of her. Her library is her escape.
Lady Crystal "Christie" Margaret Hope is a precious crystal, all right.
I love all the characters in 'Young Miss Holmes', chiefly Christie's maids: Nora, who starts off illiterate, comes from a poor background, and she is unrefined, uncouth, hilarious, and helps out on Christie's cases, and carries a damn whip - she is a deadly force to be reckoned with; and there's Annemarie, a more proper and traditional maid who looks out for Christie - and carries pistols to help stop crimes. Christie also has a governess who is like her Watson. To reveal her name would be spoiling a previous case where she is introduced, but she is just as sweet and surprising as every other female character.
Really, this manga is super feminist. It features a lot of intelligent women and girls who work together. And they are present for the action, no questions asked.
Each case is often being solved by both Christie and her uncle Sherlock, with Doctor Watson. The little girl and the older, experienced and professional man will either collaborate or work in tandem. To say that Miss Holmes/Hope shows promise is an understatement. She looks up to her uncle and wants to be like him, but she is special on her own. The little blonde Victorian girl is not just cute or contrary; she's a mature, determined, dedicated authority figure as well, possessing a fine sense of humour.
'Young Miss Holmes, Casebook 1-2' is a joy. Well-researched, well-translated, well-put together, well-plotted (the mysteries range from decent to very cleverly crafted), well-characterised, and well worth the investment in every sense. Aside from a few slightly uncomfortable race relations and unsavoury stereotyping for its time period, and a little violence for an "All Ages" manga, plus there's that weird vampire case that only Christie truly gets to the bottom of (vampires are real in this manga - yes, real, and it is apparently a spinoff of 'Dance of the Vampire Bund'), I'd recommend it to anyone, whether you are a Sherlock Holmes fan or, like me, curious about a feminist approach to his stories (especially after being long since sick of the overrated and sexist-as-hell BBC 'Sherlock' series)
My curiosity got the better of me, and I'm happy it did.
"It's elementary, my dear uncle!"
Final Score: 4/5
Non-Fiction Book Review - 'Wicca: A Modern Guide to Witchcraft and Magick' by Harmony Nice
A nice new Wicca book for the next generation, by young British Wiccan Harmony Nice, following her YouTube and Instagram fame. I think that even people who aren't interested and don't believe in witchcraft and magick (as she *ahem* spells it), wouldn't be able to resist that beautiful cover. So charming and natural.
Er, right. So 'Wicca: A Modern Guide to Witchcraft and Magick' is basic, and a bit disorganised (I'm not sure about the order in which the subjects are introduced), but it's personal, friendly, self-aware, and informative. Miss Nice writes about the importance of kindness, meditation and keeping calm, and exuding positive energy as a healthy way to live life. It can help with problems from the everyday to the serious, with stress, and depression; Wicca has helped Miss Nice with her own mental health issues since her teen years. One of the reasons that Wicca is freeing. It's an inspiration.
A more contemporary inclusion is listing the positive and negative aspects of practicing Wicca both in the countryside and in the city. Creativity in your practices and expressions is highlighted. It depends on the individual; it is about what works for you and what makes you comfortable.
I also think that Harmony Nice doesn't like 'Harry Potter' that much.
'Wicca: A Modern Guide to Witchcraft and Magick' - A free-for-all Wicca guidebook for millennials that's still deeply respectful and serious, and very well-written, minus the slight muddle of subject order. Contains cute ink illustrations as well. I am happy for Harmony, and wish her and all nature-loving, open-minded and kind Wiccans the best for the future.
Magic/magick is in everything and everyone. It is a form of energy. A way for one so small and insignificant to be at one with the unending, fathomless universe, full of limitless possibilities. Limitless stars to look up to.
Final Score: 4/5
Er, right. So 'Wicca: A Modern Guide to Witchcraft and Magick' is basic, and a bit disorganised (I'm not sure about the order in which the subjects are introduced), but it's personal, friendly, self-aware, and informative. Miss Nice writes about the importance of kindness, meditation and keeping calm, and exuding positive energy as a healthy way to live life. It can help with problems from the everyday to the serious, with stress, and depression; Wicca has helped Miss Nice with her own mental health issues since her teen years. One of the reasons that Wicca is freeing. It's an inspiration.
A more contemporary inclusion is listing the positive and negative aspects of practicing Wicca both in the countryside and in the city. Creativity in your practices and expressions is highlighted. It depends on the individual; it is about what works for you and what makes you comfortable.
I also think that Harmony Nice doesn't like 'Harry Potter' that much.
'Wicca: A Modern Guide to Witchcraft and Magick' - A free-for-all Wicca guidebook for millennials that's still deeply respectful and serious, and very well-written, minus the slight muddle of subject order. Contains cute ink illustrations as well. I am happy for Harmony, and wish her and all nature-loving, open-minded and kind Wiccans the best for the future.
Magic/magick is in everything and everyone. It is a form of energy. A way for one so small and insignificant to be at one with the unending, fathomless universe, full of limitless possibilities. Limitless stars to look up to.
Final Score: 4/5
Sunday 23 June 2019
Book Review - 'Red, White & Royal Blue' by Casey McQuiston
How do you want history to remember you? What impact and legacy do you wish to leave behind? Surely as a figure of hope, progress and prosperity for the human race in the history books?
...
I can't decide what to add next. At least, anything adequate, or short enough for a reasonable review word count.
I mean honestly, how do you review a book like 'Red, White & Royal Blue'?: a story about the First Son of the first female President of the United States and a Prince of England and Wales falling in love.
Brace yourself, and grab a cup of tea and a biscuit. This might take a while.
It's set in a parallel universe where 2016 was not a complete fuckup of a year, and where no one would really ever lose faith in humanity since then, killing something good inside them they didn't even realize was there until it was too late. 'Red, White & Royal Blue' could be just a fairy tale, just escapism, just idealism and optimism in vain, but so what? It's a hopeful universe where people and things can still be fucked and fucked up, but it could have been worse. It could have been our universe.
This novel - this beautiful, pink, powerful, important, fucking hopeful, heartbreaking, devastatingly sexy, emotional roller coaster of a package - all at once drained me and thrilled me to the core. I know I'm jumping the gun on assumptions here, but if there is one novel out of a few that could help heal different kinds of trauma, it is 'Red, White & Royal Blue'.
'Red, White & Royal Blue' is a rivals-and-enemies-turned-friends-turned-lovers plot. Following a national disastrous incident at a Royal Wedding, Alex Claremont-Diaz and Prince Henry, the two most eligible early-twenty-something bachelors in the world, are forced to pretend to be a bromance to save face and US and British relations.
But a grudging admiration and love disguised as hate had already existed between the two long before the humiliating incident. Now, together, they find out more about themselves, partly through each other. Their secret sexual affairs, their emails, begin not long after their friendly hookup for the press.
There are so many secrets, thoughts and feelings that the prince and the President's son have to keep to themselves, as world-renowned public, tabloid and political figures. With their own complex family lives, histories and dynamics, and places to call home with their own histories attached, they have more in common than they initially thought.
(That turkey scene, my god, that's funny.)
No matter how much either of them may want to change the world for the better and be allowed to be their true selves openly, they have to be careful. Not the least because of Alex's mother's reelection bid and campaign, holding on by a thread. The 2020 election is coming up, and there is conspiracy and corruption going on...
First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is half-Mexican, bisexual, and a politically ambitious and insufferable smart-mouth and smart-ass. He likes to make lists, and wears glasses to do work, too.
Prince Henry is gay, depressed, grieving for his late father (who, as a tidbit, played a James Bond in this universe), and he's aloof yet forced into a mask of charm, confidence and white bread blandness for the cameras, into a role he was born into and never asked for. He is doubly-forced to hide who he is by his traditional monarchy family - but specifically his grandmother and older brother - and to carry on the royal lineage, as is expected of him.
How many royals at any time can relate to Henry? He's so three-dimensional, so human. His grief so painfully authentic. I think he's my favourite, and that's not because I'm British.
There is just so much to say about this complex and complicated book: It uses the third-person narration, from Alex's perspective to be precise, and not the first-person - how long has it been since I've read a book that isn't written in the first-person narrative POV? The fact that it's nearly 420 pages long with only 15 chapters, yet I didn't care as the book fully absorbs your attention and investment and doesn't let go. There's the highlighted differences (and similarities, like with imperialism and genocide) presented between English and American customs, traditions and cultures. The overwhelming corruption, illegal acts, lies, nepotism and self-service in politics going back decades, centuries. That sexual predators, crooks, and compulsive liars and lawbreakers can get into politics and win or even lose upwards no matter what. The distinct, biting parallels between the political history and "scandals" here, and ours', much warranted. The history stuff. The geeky stuff. The political stuff and warnings. That the women and POC characters in this story get the most shit done. That the relationship between Alex and Henry, who are adults, is one of, if not the most, sexiest thing I have ever read. And I'm not saying that in a voyeuristic sense, as a straight woman liking hot guy action: they are so in love, so adoring, and so devoted to each other, in spite of having to keep their star-crossed love a secret from the world, that it is hard not to root for them.
Alex and Henry are so real it hurts, and I cared about them staying together, when the world is determined to make that impossible.
Sod it, let's get into the diversity: As I've said, Alex, the arrogant tosser with a heart of gold, is half-Mexican, and he is all-too aware that he gets scrutinized and marginalized constantly for being a First Son, a rising political star, and a national darling who isn't white. Just imagine how his life is going to turn out if everyone finds out he's also bi.
His older sister, June, is wonderful: an aspiring journalist always following the tabloids, and who is always there for Alex, and helps him to get his head out of the gutter (and his own arse) often. Relationships between siblings is another huge theme in 'Red, White & Royal Blue', and Alex and June are sibling goals.
Completing the White House Trio (named by President Claremont's calculating White House press team, as a millennial marketing strategy) is Nora Holleran, Alex's ex and the Veep's granddaughter. Nora is a bisexual tech and maths genius and analyst, also responsible for Alex's much-needed daily arse-kicking. She also may or may not be dating June, it's slightly implied.
President Ellen Claremont is divorced from senator Oscar Diaz, June and Alex's father, and her second marriage is to a lovely, friendly average joe electrician named Leo, who sold his company for her. Ellen starkly wears the pants in this relationship. And she still got to be President.
A senator, Rafael Luna, is Mexican and openly gay. A bodyguard to the First offspring, Cash, is once stated to be pansexual. Secret Service Agent Amy Chen is Asian, based on her last name, and is trans and has a wife. Henry's equerry, Shaan Srivastava, is Indian. The prince's older sister Bea was once in rehab for cocaine addiction, and she's super-supportive of Henry, and wants to play the guitar and perform in shows - not an ideal princess's life, that's for sure. Their mother, Catherine, has been a useless recluse in grief since the death of their father, and without revealing spoilers, I'll say that she becomes a absolute badass at the end. Like how real royalty should be. Alex had a friend in high school who he made out with once, Liam, who is gay and has a boyfriend.
I could go on and on.
Seriously, can you imagine what would happen if anyone of a certain US administration read 'Red, White & Royal Blue'? If anyone from Texas (where President Claremont is from, I might add) or any other right-wing state read it? If anyone who lives in or is involved with Buckingham Palace reads it? They'd shit themselves into a diarrhea coma. A shock like this book existing at all is less than what they deserve.
So much to love! So many reasons for 'Red, White & Royal Blue' to be one of my new faves. It should have been. It was made to be.
If only Alex Claremont-Diaz weren't such a selfish prick.
Okay, double-take: I don't hate Alex, who is the protagonist. No matter how much he says he wants to use his political status to help people, he's nonetheless egotistical, self-absorbed, thoughtless, hypocritical, and makes quick assumptions about people without thinking about their feelings and what they might be going through. A true politician, then. But he is realistic, given his position.
He and everyone else are very well aware of his flaws, and he gets shut down and insulted constantly for his cockiness and conceitedness. His loved ones and friends (the real ones he unwittingly manages to make) make it clear to him that not everything is about him. Doesn't seem to work that effectively.
Alex talks too much without thinking, and swears too much, and this is what mainly gets him into trouble. Others do stuff for him, give him stuff, and apologize to him (when really, it is him who should be apologizing), far more than vice versa. People end up helping him out, cleaning his shit, telling him their secrets (when he's hardly earned it) and making him feel better - and the ratio of him being generous, thoughtful, empathetic and sensitive back, is comparatively low.
He shows potential to be a fantastic diplomat, I'll give him that. By the end, I do wish Alex the best for the future and hope he goes far in government, as long as he stays true to his liberal democratic beliefs and his honesty, integrity, love, and being himself... but by the dear power of the blue states, man, seriously think about how others who are not your Prince Charming boyfriend have had it worse than you. Who deserve deeper sympathy.
My point is, upon finishing the book I felt that Alex could have grown up a bit more. Shown more evidence of the good politician he wants to become.
But...
Funny how the smug personality of the main character didn't end up ruining the whole liberal, lefty tome for me. It is that powerful and impactful.
With that said, as a side note, I didn't like how President Claremont is portrayed sometimes, in her role as both president and mother. Indeed, she herself states that being a traditional family woman is what sealed her fate as the president. Sadly that is realistic. A female president is still apparently too much for people to handle in our dick-obsessed world ("Not ready", my fucking foot), but one who is single? Or POC? Or queer? We can hope. Anyway, Claremont is sort-of aloof, but she cares for and loves her children, and is supportive of whatever they do, and whoever they are. But typically, she is at terrible odds with her ex-husband, right down to shouting matches at a family Christmas dinner, and unlike Alex, June of all people sees it as mostly President Mom's fault and problem to solve.
Claremont is called stubborn by her senator ex, like that's a bad trait for the president to have. This is never called out on (though his mansplaining to her is). And everyone in Alex's circle is a feminist, too.
A few or more typos are present that inexplicably got past the editor on the first draft. And despite my shelving this as YA, it is more NA, due to the explicit sex scenes and strong language on nearly every page. But older teens should read it and be educated and thrown emotionally, regardless. Heck, everybody desperately needs to read 'Red, White & Royal Blue'.
Just... I... wow. I'm going to stop here before I find myself at three in the morning still typing about everything I love about 'Red, White & Royal Blue'. It's funny, witty, didactic, passionate, and sexy. It's a love-hate relationship that's filled my heart like a water balloon, fit to burst. Did I mention how bloody hopeful it is, and what it represents?
Read it.
For the world and justice.
Red, white, blue, or rainbow - all colours should receive positive rep.
Final Score: 4/5
...
I can't decide what to add next. At least, anything adequate, or short enough for a reasonable review word count.
I mean honestly, how do you review a book like 'Red, White & Royal Blue'?: a story about the First Son of the first female President of the United States and a Prince of England and Wales falling in love.
Brace yourself, and grab a cup of tea and a biscuit. This might take a while.
It's set in a parallel universe where 2016 was not a complete fuckup of a year, and where no one would really ever lose faith in humanity since then, killing something good inside them they didn't even realize was there until it was too late. 'Red, White & Royal Blue' could be just a fairy tale, just escapism, just idealism and optimism in vain, but so what? It's a hopeful universe where people and things can still be fucked and fucked up, but it could have been worse. It could have been our universe.
This novel - this beautiful, pink, powerful, important, fucking hopeful, heartbreaking, devastatingly sexy, emotional roller coaster of a package - all at once drained me and thrilled me to the core. I know I'm jumping the gun on assumptions here, but if there is one novel out of a few that could help heal different kinds of trauma, it is 'Red, White & Royal Blue'.
'Red, White & Royal Blue' is a rivals-and-enemies-turned-friends-turned-lovers plot. Following a national disastrous incident at a Royal Wedding, Alex Claremont-Diaz and Prince Henry, the two most eligible early-twenty-something bachelors in the world, are forced to pretend to be a bromance to save face and US and British relations.
But a grudging admiration and love disguised as hate had already existed between the two long before the humiliating incident. Now, together, they find out more about themselves, partly through each other. Their secret sexual affairs, their emails, begin not long after their friendly hookup for the press.
There are so many secrets, thoughts and feelings that the prince and the President's son have to keep to themselves, as world-renowned public, tabloid and political figures. With their own complex family lives, histories and dynamics, and places to call home with their own histories attached, they have more in common than they initially thought.
(That turkey scene, my god, that's funny.)
No matter how much either of them may want to change the world for the better and be allowed to be their true selves openly, they have to be careful. Not the least because of Alex's mother's reelection bid and campaign, holding on by a thread. The 2020 election is coming up, and there is conspiracy and corruption going on...
First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is half-Mexican, bisexual, and a politically ambitious and insufferable smart-mouth and smart-ass. He likes to make lists, and wears glasses to do work, too.
Prince Henry is gay, depressed, grieving for his late father (who, as a tidbit, played a James Bond in this universe), and he's aloof yet forced into a mask of charm, confidence and white bread blandness for the cameras, into a role he was born into and never asked for. He is doubly-forced to hide who he is by his traditional monarchy family - but specifically his grandmother and older brother - and to carry on the royal lineage, as is expected of him.
How many royals at any time can relate to Henry? He's so three-dimensional, so human. His grief so painfully authentic. I think he's my favourite, and that's not because I'm British.
There is just so much to say about this complex and complicated book: It uses the third-person narration, from Alex's perspective to be precise, and not the first-person - how long has it been since I've read a book that isn't written in the first-person narrative POV? The fact that it's nearly 420 pages long with only 15 chapters, yet I didn't care as the book fully absorbs your attention and investment and doesn't let go. There's the highlighted differences (and similarities, like with imperialism and genocide) presented between English and American customs, traditions and cultures. The overwhelming corruption, illegal acts, lies, nepotism and self-service in politics going back decades, centuries. That sexual predators, crooks, and compulsive liars and lawbreakers can get into politics and win or even lose upwards no matter what. The distinct, biting parallels between the political history and "scandals" here, and ours', much warranted. The history stuff. The geeky stuff. The political stuff and warnings. That the women and POC characters in this story get the most shit done. That the relationship between Alex and Henry, who are adults, is one of, if not the most, sexiest thing I have ever read. And I'm not saying that in a voyeuristic sense, as a straight woman liking hot guy action: they are so in love, so adoring, and so devoted to each other, in spite of having to keep their star-crossed love a secret from the world, that it is hard not to root for them.
Alex and Henry are so real it hurts, and I cared about them staying together, when the world is determined to make that impossible.
Sod it, let's get into the diversity: As I've said, Alex, the arrogant tosser with a heart of gold, is half-Mexican, and he is all-too aware that he gets scrutinized and marginalized constantly for being a First Son, a rising political star, and a national darling who isn't white. Just imagine how his life is going to turn out if everyone finds out he's also bi.
His older sister, June, is wonderful: an aspiring journalist always following the tabloids, and who is always there for Alex, and helps him to get his head out of the gutter (and his own arse) often. Relationships between siblings is another huge theme in 'Red, White & Royal Blue', and Alex and June are sibling goals.
Completing the White House Trio (named by President Claremont's calculating White House press team, as a millennial marketing strategy) is Nora Holleran, Alex's ex and the Veep's granddaughter. Nora is a bisexual tech and maths genius and analyst, also responsible for Alex's much-needed daily arse-kicking. She also may or may not be dating June, it's slightly implied.
President Ellen Claremont is divorced from senator Oscar Diaz, June and Alex's father, and her second marriage is to a lovely, friendly average joe electrician named Leo, who sold his company for her. Ellen starkly wears the pants in this relationship. And she still got to be President.
A senator, Rafael Luna, is Mexican and openly gay. A bodyguard to the First offspring, Cash, is once stated to be pansexual. Secret Service Agent Amy Chen is Asian, based on her last name, and is trans and has a wife. Henry's equerry, Shaan Srivastava, is Indian. The prince's older sister Bea was once in rehab for cocaine addiction, and she's super-supportive of Henry, and wants to play the guitar and perform in shows - not an ideal princess's life, that's for sure. Their mother, Catherine, has been a useless recluse in grief since the death of their father, and without revealing spoilers, I'll say that she becomes a absolute badass at the end. Like how real royalty should be. Alex had a friend in high school who he made out with once, Liam, who is gay and has a boyfriend.
I could go on and on.
Seriously, can you imagine what would happen if anyone of a certain US administration read 'Red, White & Royal Blue'? If anyone from Texas (where President Claremont is from, I might add) or any other right-wing state read it? If anyone who lives in or is involved with Buckingham Palace reads it? They'd shit themselves into a diarrhea coma. A shock like this book existing at all is less than what they deserve.
So much to love! So many reasons for 'Red, White & Royal Blue' to be one of my new faves. It should have been. It was made to be.
If only Alex Claremont-Diaz weren't such a selfish prick.
Okay, double-take: I don't hate Alex, who is the protagonist. No matter how much he says he wants to use his political status to help people, he's nonetheless egotistical, self-absorbed, thoughtless, hypocritical, and makes quick assumptions about people without thinking about their feelings and what they might be going through. A true politician, then. But he is realistic, given his position.
He and everyone else are very well aware of his flaws, and he gets shut down and insulted constantly for his cockiness and conceitedness. His loved ones and friends (the real ones he unwittingly manages to make) make it clear to him that not everything is about him. Doesn't seem to work that effectively.
Alex talks too much without thinking, and swears too much, and this is what mainly gets him into trouble. Others do stuff for him, give him stuff, and apologize to him (when really, it is him who should be apologizing), far more than vice versa. People end up helping him out, cleaning his shit, telling him their secrets (when he's hardly earned it) and making him feel better - and the ratio of him being generous, thoughtful, empathetic and sensitive back, is comparatively low.
He shows potential to be a fantastic diplomat, I'll give him that. By the end, I do wish Alex the best for the future and hope he goes far in government, as long as he stays true to his liberal democratic beliefs and his honesty, integrity, love, and being himself... but by the dear power of the blue states, man, seriously think about how others who are not your Prince Charming boyfriend have had it worse than you. Who deserve deeper sympathy.
My point is, upon finishing the book I felt that Alex could have grown up a bit more. Shown more evidence of the good politician he wants to become.
But...
Funny how the smug personality of the main character didn't end up ruining the whole liberal, lefty tome for me. It is that powerful and impactful.
With that said, as a side note, I didn't like how President Claremont is portrayed sometimes, in her role as both president and mother. Indeed, she herself states that being a traditional family woman is what sealed her fate as the president. Sadly that is realistic. A female president is still apparently too much for people to handle in our dick-obsessed world ("Not ready", my fucking foot), but one who is single? Or POC? Or queer? We can hope. Anyway, Claremont is sort-of aloof, but she cares for and loves her children, and is supportive of whatever they do, and whoever they are. But typically, she is at terrible odds with her ex-husband, right down to shouting matches at a family Christmas dinner, and unlike Alex, June of all people sees it as mostly President Mom's fault and problem to solve.
Claremont is called stubborn by her senator ex, like that's a bad trait for the president to have. This is never called out on (though his mansplaining to her is). And everyone in Alex's circle is a feminist, too.
A few or more typos are present that inexplicably got past the editor on the first draft. And despite my shelving this as YA, it is more NA, due to the explicit sex scenes and strong language on nearly every page. But older teens should read it and be educated and thrown emotionally, regardless. Heck, everybody desperately needs to read 'Red, White & Royal Blue'.
Just... I... wow. I'm going to stop here before I find myself at three in the morning still typing about everything I love about 'Red, White & Royal Blue'. It's funny, witty, didactic, passionate, and sexy. It's a love-hate relationship that's filled my heart like a water balloon, fit to burst. Did I mention how bloody hopeful it is, and what it represents?
Read it.
For the world and justice.
Red, white, blue, or rainbow - all colours should receive positive rep.
Final Score: 4/5
Saturday 22 June 2019
Graphic Novel Review - 'Exorsisters, Volume 1: Damned If You Don't' by Ian Boothby (Writer), Gisèle Lagacé (Artist), Pete Pantazis (Artist), Various
Ahh, so there is room for the Hot Topic, goth-and-witch-loving crowd in 2019.
Seriously though, it's hard not to find 'Exorsisters, Vol. 1' so appealing and endearing.
It's basically about two sisters, Cate and Kate Harrow - well, they're not really sisters; Kate is Cate's soul, which makes them literal soul sisters - who are detectives of the occult. They hunt down demons, exorcise demons, help people to get out of contracts with demons, travel to Hell a lot, play lawyers in Hell, play executioners in Hell... in other words, they're badasses. The sisters are not pretentious goth teenagers starved of attention - they are women on a frightening and thrilling mission.
There is also their mother to deal with. As in, she made a deal with the devil a long time ago that involved her poor, only daughter's soul, during desperate acts. And there's a flying bug ex-boyfriend called Buzz (heh, karma, and sadly he's not Jeff Goldblum), literal fallen angels making dubious decisions, and the threat of an evil darkness - an anti-existence entity, an oblivion - worse than Satan...
'Exorsisters, Vol. 1' is campy and cool, reminiscent of 'Scooby-Doo' and shows like 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and 'Wynonna Earp'. I haven't seen 'Supernatural', which this is constantly compared to, so I can make no comment there. 'Exorsisters' is hardly the first to make that pun in its title, either - it is the title to a classic 'Simpsons Treehouse of Horrors' comic issue. But with so many things in pop culture it can be measured against, it's able to stand on its own by its characters.
Cate and Kate (yeah, that will get confusing saying them out loud) are polar opposites: Cate is the strategist, the bibliophile, the tidy, smartly-dressed Wednesday Addams goth girl; while Kate, the soul, is the wild child, the punk rocker, the alcoholic, she of the snarky comebacks and one-liners. Their relationship is complex (understatement) and subtle, but they do care for each other and would do anything to keep together, through Hell and back.
For all I enjoyed the comic, altogether, surprisingly, it is a little underwhelming. The sisters don't get to accomplish much on their own. Any action they take at the end of the last issue doesn't work, and the cliffhanger makes them look like ineffectual dunces. There are overt Christian themes throughout, which is bizarre for a modern mainstream comic, and I'm not sure many readers will be comfortable with that. The clear good-and-evil, light-and-dark divide is pretty shallow storytelling. But at least there are characters, even an angel and a satanist, who show three-dimensional traits and a grey moral compass.
I still recommend 'Exorsisters, Volume 1: Damned If You Don't'. The colourful artwork is great, and the characters are memorable, charismatic and sharp. The horror is not too scary for younger readers (though it contains harrowing, mature themes), the violence is restrained and never too gory or gross, and it's snappy, clever and thoughtful enough that it doesn't talk down to its audience.
So it goes right up there with 'Spell on Wheels' and 'Misfit City' in contemporary comics about kickass women dealing in the supernatural and the mysterious.
Demon-hunting, occult-sating, finger-licking good.
Final Score: 3.5/5
Seriously though, it's hard not to find 'Exorsisters, Vol. 1' so appealing and endearing.
It's basically about two sisters, Cate and Kate Harrow - well, they're not really sisters; Kate is Cate's soul, which makes them literal soul sisters - who are detectives of the occult. They hunt down demons, exorcise demons, help people to get out of contracts with demons, travel to Hell a lot, play lawyers in Hell, play executioners in Hell... in other words, they're badasses. The sisters are not pretentious goth teenagers starved of attention - they are women on a frightening and thrilling mission.
There is also their mother to deal with. As in, she made a deal with the devil a long time ago that involved her poor, only daughter's soul, during desperate acts. And there's a flying bug ex-boyfriend called Buzz (heh, karma, and sadly he's not Jeff Goldblum), literal fallen angels making dubious decisions, and the threat of an evil darkness - an anti-existence entity, an oblivion - worse than Satan...
'Exorsisters, Vol. 1' is campy and cool, reminiscent of 'Scooby-Doo' and shows like 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and 'Wynonna Earp'. I haven't seen 'Supernatural', which this is constantly compared to, so I can make no comment there. 'Exorsisters' is hardly the first to make that pun in its title, either - it is the title to a classic 'Simpsons Treehouse of Horrors' comic issue. But with so many things in pop culture it can be measured against, it's able to stand on its own by its characters.
Cate and Kate (yeah, that will get confusing saying them out loud) are polar opposites: Cate is the strategist, the bibliophile, the tidy, smartly-dressed Wednesday Addams goth girl; while Kate, the soul, is the wild child, the punk rocker, the alcoholic, she of the snarky comebacks and one-liners. Their relationship is complex (understatement) and subtle, but they do care for each other and would do anything to keep together, through Hell and back.
For all I enjoyed the comic, altogether, surprisingly, it is a little underwhelming. The sisters don't get to accomplish much on their own. Any action they take at the end of the last issue doesn't work, and the cliffhanger makes them look like ineffectual dunces. There are overt Christian themes throughout, which is bizarre for a modern mainstream comic, and I'm not sure many readers will be comfortable with that. The clear good-and-evil, light-and-dark divide is pretty shallow storytelling. But at least there are characters, even an angel and a satanist, who show three-dimensional traits and a grey moral compass.
I still recommend 'Exorsisters, Volume 1: Damned If You Don't'. The colourful artwork is great, and the characters are memorable, charismatic and sharp. The horror is not too scary for younger readers (though it contains harrowing, mature themes), the violence is restrained and never too gory or gross, and it's snappy, clever and thoughtful enough that it doesn't talk down to its audience.
So it goes right up there with 'Spell on Wheels' and 'Misfit City' in contemporary comics about kickass women dealing in the supernatural and the mysterious.
Demon-hunting, occult-sating, finger-licking good.
Final Score: 3.5/5
Manga Review - 'Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 1' by Sorata Akiduki
A nice, sweet little shoujo manga that's so slice-of-life it's barely a fantasy, and the name of the heroine and the semiotics of apples are really the only connection it has to 'Snow White'.
But 'Snow White with the Red Hair' is a lovely, episodic fairy tale manga with inner strength and dimensions.
Manga, manga on the wall, what themes are contained within most of all?:
Devotion, dedication, gratefulness, friendship, and a blossoming romance link everything together.
Rarer than any red hair tone is my capacity to wholeheartedly care about a romance. And I actually like the two main leads and their relationship in 'Snow White with the Red Hair'. Zen is a handsome, charming, sensitive, brave and friendly rebel prince. And Shirayuki...
Let's talk about Shirayuki:
To all appearances she is a typical pretty, demure, frail, and helpless shoujo female lead. But this graceful girl who's not a princess has depth. The story starts with her refusing to become a spoiled, stupid prince's concubine - her rare apple-red hair has been a bane to her her whole life, but she pushes forward and rises above it in optimism - and just before she runs away from her village, she cuts her hair and has it delivered to the prince (who fills in the role of the evil queen here, I might add), because, and I quote, "If I agreed... I'd be no more than an apple he bought at the market... I left him a bundle of my hair... to stare at until he's sick of it."
Sure, a few times Shirayuki is a damsel in distress, but she manages to save herself, without really needing Prince Zen, whom she's dedicated her path of destiny and happiness to, to come and rescue her. She's angry and/or aggressive only when she needs to be.
Her ambition throughout the story is to become an herbalist - a chief herbalist at the court now so that she can be together with Zen, yes, but at this stage it's out of gratefulness to him and to ease his loneliness at the palace. A caring, thoughtful personality does not make a weak heroine.
Shirayuki is smart, well-educated and well-read for a peasant girl, and she's determined, assertive, sarcastic, and possesses sass - and it's subtle. Behind a gentle shell there is bravery and defiance beyond compare. No death threat can stop her. Zen doesn't need to be so overprotective of her, and he'll learn this.
There's a critique of class, royalty and the monarchy, and privileged upbringing in 'Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 1'. Also contained within this calming, beautiful gem of reflection are: a female bodyguard named Kiki, a female chief herbalist named Garak, two hilarious royal palace guards, and a collectively sweet and pleasant atmosphere, even with the threats to Shirayuki.
Recommended to any shoujo manga fan, or anyone who wants a short, relaxing break time. Like reading a visual, fairy tale version of Natasha Bedingfield's 'Unwritten'.
"This is the path I choose. And I won't allow my story to be written by another."
Final Score: 4/5
But 'Snow White with the Red Hair' is a lovely, episodic fairy tale manga with inner strength and dimensions.
Manga, manga on the wall, what themes are contained within most of all?:
Devotion, dedication, gratefulness, friendship, and a blossoming romance link everything together.
Rarer than any red hair tone is my capacity to wholeheartedly care about a romance. And I actually like the two main leads and their relationship in 'Snow White with the Red Hair'. Zen is a handsome, charming, sensitive, brave and friendly rebel prince. And Shirayuki...
Let's talk about Shirayuki:
To all appearances she is a typical pretty, demure, frail, and helpless shoujo female lead. But this graceful girl who's not a princess has depth. The story starts with her refusing to become a spoiled, stupid prince's concubine - her rare apple-red hair has been a bane to her her whole life, but she pushes forward and rises above it in optimism - and just before she runs away from her village, she cuts her hair and has it delivered to the prince (who fills in the role of the evil queen here, I might add), because, and I quote, "If I agreed... I'd be no more than an apple he bought at the market... I left him a bundle of my hair... to stare at until he's sick of it."
Sure, a few times Shirayuki is a damsel in distress, but she manages to save herself, without really needing Prince Zen, whom she's dedicated her path of destiny and happiness to, to come and rescue her. She's angry and/or aggressive only when she needs to be.
Her ambition throughout the story is to become an herbalist - a chief herbalist at the court now so that she can be together with Zen, yes, but at this stage it's out of gratefulness to him and to ease his loneliness at the palace. A caring, thoughtful personality does not make a weak heroine.
Shirayuki is smart, well-educated and well-read for a peasant girl, and she's determined, assertive, sarcastic, and possesses sass - and it's subtle. Behind a gentle shell there is bravery and defiance beyond compare. No death threat can stop her. Zen doesn't need to be so overprotective of her, and he'll learn this.
There's a critique of class, royalty and the monarchy, and privileged upbringing in 'Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 1'. Also contained within this calming, beautiful gem of reflection are: a female bodyguard named Kiki, a female chief herbalist named Garak, two hilarious royal palace guards, and a collectively sweet and pleasant atmosphere, even with the threats to Shirayuki.
Recommended to any shoujo manga fan, or anyone who wants a short, relaxing break time. Like reading a visual, fairy tale version of Natasha Bedingfield's 'Unwritten'.
"This is the path I choose. And I won't allow my story to be written by another."
Final Score: 4/5
Monday 17 June 2019
Scribble #95
So I don't keep repeating myself, here are links to posts I made in the past, which everyone needs to read right now. Nothing seems to change. No one seems to learn. I am genuinely terrified for the human race. Hundreds of years of progress, leading up to this...
Guys, this is happening. This is reality
Scribble #80
Scribble #75
Guys, this is happening. This is reality
Scribble #80
Scribble #75
Saturday 15 June 2019
Book Review - 'Goddess of The Hunt' by Shelby Eileen
For someone who goes by the name of Artemis, who favours and admires her above all Greek gods, and who likes to invoke her, I can't believe that I have never read anything specifically about Artemis until now. Maybe it's the curvy, POC Artemis with a crescent moon on her forehead on the cover of this tome that attracted me so fiercely.
'Goddess of The Hunt' is a series of poems by Shelby Eileen about Artemis; about what makes her so stunning and awesome. It is also about her as an aromantic asexual, and how that's fine. How that's perfectly normal. Her maidenhood is her choice, her freedom. Even though most of the verses express how lonely and depressed this can make her. The forest, the moon, and bows are the loves of Artemis's immortal life. She loves and trusts other people, or she wants to be able to, just not romantically. She's a goddess and hunter, who won't let anyone else define her.
There are also a few poems from the points of view of Artemis's Titan mother, Leto, and Demeter, Persephone, Athena, Hera, and Hestia. All are about how they view and look up to Artemis in their own way. Artemis positively talks about her sister Aphrodite once.
Not all of the poems in 'Goddess of The Hunt' make much sense, but that's part of the beauty and the challenge.
'Goddess of The Hunt' - An insightful little treat for all Artemis fans, and Greek goddess and feminist scholars.
Best quotes:
'She stomps her feet and the sky cracks, marble splits. Family knows the force of her anger. Forest is the only one who doesn't accuse her emotions of being a benevolent, everlasting child's tantrum'.
'I don't know how to write
or breathe or love
in any other way
than spilling my truths all over
and praying to the Gods that someone
anyone
will stay and help me clean up the mess'
'This century, they think, this century maybe she will take up settlement. Grow roots in consort, become mother while remaining maiden, bleed... and deliver the future.'
'in a lot of ways
they will push me out of history
because I am a fighter not a lover
all the recognition and tumult of love
fell right off me
the tales that seem the happiest
always have that journey, too
the one I can't make myself take'
'Defeat does not always have to be defeat. It can always, always, be a beginning.'
'I bet they didn't think I'd grow up to be
the way I am
sister of the sun God
daughter of the God of Gods
I am a Goddess with full lips and bared teeth
behind my smile there is poison berries
without warning I'll clamp down, break the skin
spit the juice in your eyes
watch you burn for thinking
I was ever yours to stare at
so hungrily'
'To think of her only as a soft-curved huntress, a moon-devoted maiden, is to not know her at all. Stories paint heroes in such pretty light. A rainbow of deceit and glamour and rewritten history. The narrative becomes so suffocating that only a blood soaked arrowhead can spell out what really matters.'
'I'm here at the height of what the mortals deem divine
I'm at the top of a structure I never wanted to belong in
the only thing keeping them from saying I had it all
is my missing love story
but a moon child like me
only ever grew to crave your strawberry-sweet lips
for a look, not a taste
don't ever think you're not worth it
just because I could never take you
the way you so long to be had'
'She wishes there were entirely different schools of thought prescribed to marriage, union. To connection. There must be, out there, ways to die for someone that do not mean altruistic, all-encompassing, romantic, sexual, love.'
'It is hard to embody woman and lady or even Goddess when my true form, I know now, is balance.'
'you must remember how strong you are
when you feel like an entire ocean is pressing down on
your chest
when you feel like a whole galaxy of emptiness is
swallowing up your voice
you must remember that I sincerely believe you have the
power
to change the world
you must remember that I would go to war for you
you must remember that flowers shift in soil just to face
your light
you must remember that every feeling, big or small, your
heart puts you through
I'll be there if you need to sob it all away
I'll be there if you forget you're as beautiful as a sunset
I'll help you remember
and take care of anyone
who makes you question your worth for a moment'
'I never wanted to be made of stone
I never wanted your hands molding my chest, eyes,
cheeks, hair, feet
in your eyes, I never was flesh
if I were warmer
you might see how
I could fall apart for you
a maelstrom of silver rain, a body weeping its life away
broken, but not without luster
make me ugly, and undesirable
make me all the things I was actually proud of being'
'The skin of her lips- taut, sunset pink, rumored sweet, dreamed cloud-like, capable of silencing, incapable of silence.'
'Gods waste so much blood
on what?
on nothing
one war is never enough
one sacrifice is never enough
and if you believe one villain can bring it all down
or one hero can put it all back together
then you have not been paying attention'
'She wipes and worries at the edges of her existence; stains that don't come out seep through material and lore to paint her skin with her shortcomings. It is useless, this struggle to remain clean. Clean is a lie. Better to be a tarnished warrior than a spotless false god.'
'I think whatever hurt or hollowness you feel when you see someone who is peaceful in their solitude is your own loneliness.' - Leto
Final Score: 3.5/5
'Goddess of The Hunt' is a series of poems by Shelby Eileen about Artemis; about what makes her so stunning and awesome. It is also about her as an aromantic asexual, and how that's fine. How that's perfectly normal. Her maidenhood is her choice, her freedom. Even though most of the verses express how lonely and depressed this can make her. The forest, the moon, and bows are the loves of Artemis's immortal life. She loves and trusts other people, or she wants to be able to, just not romantically. She's a goddess and hunter, who won't let anyone else define her.
There are also a few poems from the points of view of Artemis's Titan mother, Leto, and Demeter, Persephone, Athena, Hera, and Hestia. All are about how they view and look up to Artemis in their own way. Artemis positively talks about her sister Aphrodite once.
Not all of the poems in 'Goddess of The Hunt' make much sense, but that's part of the beauty and the challenge.
'Goddess of The Hunt' - An insightful little treat for all Artemis fans, and Greek goddess and feminist scholars.
Best quotes:
'She stomps her feet and the sky cracks, marble splits. Family knows the force of her anger. Forest is the only one who doesn't accuse her emotions of being a benevolent, everlasting child's tantrum'.
'I don't know how to write
or breathe or love
in any other way
than spilling my truths all over
and praying to the Gods that someone
anyone
will stay and help me clean up the mess'
'This century, they think, this century maybe she will take up settlement. Grow roots in consort, become mother while remaining maiden, bleed... and deliver the future.'
'in a lot of ways
they will push me out of history
because I am a fighter not a lover
all the recognition and tumult of love
fell right off me
the tales that seem the happiest
always have that journey, too
the one I can't make myself take'
'Defeat does not always have to be defeat. It can always, always, be a beginning.'
'I bet they didn't think I'd grow up to be
the way I am
sister of the sun God
daughter of the God of Gods
I am a Goddess with full lips and bared teeth
behind my smile there is poison berries
without warning I'll clamp down, break the skin
spit the juice in your eyes
watch you burn for thinking
I was ever yours to stare at
so hungrily'
'To think of her only as a soft-curved huntress, a moon-devoted maiden, is to not know her at all. Stories paint heroes in such pretty light. A rainbow of deceit and glamour and rewritten history. The narrative becomes so suffocating that only a blood soaked arrowhead can spell out what really matters.'
'I'm here at the height of what the mortals deem divine
I'm at the top of a structure I never wanted to belong in
the only thing keeping them from saying I had it all
is my missing love story
but a moon child like me
only ever grew to crave your strawberry-sweet lips
for a look, not a taste
don't ever think you're not worth it
just because I could never take you
the way you so long to be had'
'She wishes there were entirely different schools of thought prescribed to marriage, union. To connection. There must be, out there, ways to die for someone that do not mean altruistic, all-encompassing, romantic, sexual, love.'
'It is hard to embody woman and lady or even Goddess when my true form, I know now, is balance.'
'you must remember how strong you are
when you feel like an entire ocean is pressing down on
your chest
when you feel like a whole galaxy of emptiness is
swallowing up your voice
you must remember that I sincerely believe you have the
power
to change the world
you must remember that I would go to war for you
you must remember that flowers shift in soil just to face
your light
you must remember that every feeling, big or small, your
heart puts you through
I'll be there if you need to sob it all away
I'll be there if you forget you're as beautiful as a sunset
I'll help you remember
and take care of anyone
who makes you question your worth for a moment'
'I never wanted to be made of stone
I never wanted your hands molding my chest, eyes,
cheeks, hair, feet
in your eyes, I never was flesh
if I were warmer
you might see how
I could fall apart for you
a maelstrom of silver rain, a body weeping its life away
broken, but not without luster
make me ugly, and undesirable
make me all the things I was actually proud of being'
'The skin of her lips- taut, sunset pink, rumored sweet, dreamed cloud-like, capable of silencing, incapable of silence.'
'Gods waste so much blood
on what?
on nothing
one war is never enough
one sacrifice is never enough
and if you believe one villain can bring it all down
or one hero can put it all back together
then you have not been paying attention'
'She wipes and worries at the edges of her existence; stains that don't come out seep through material and lore to paint her skin with her shortcomings. It is useless, this struggle to remain clean. Clean is a lie. Better to be a tarnished warrior than a spotless false god.'
'I think whatever hurt or hollowness you feel when you see someone who is peaceful in their solitude is your own loneliness.' - Leto
Final Score: 3.5/5
Manga Review - 'Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 1' by Kamome Shirahama
A gorgeously-drawn, rich, engaging and endearing witch fantasy adventure manga.
Young Coco is a Muggle fascinated by the magical world she inhabits. A world where it is accepted that witches are born, not taught. She desperately wishes she were a witch and could cast spells as well. But she learns the hard way how magic actually works, and who can cast spells, and what prices you pay in using magic carelessly.
It is up to the handsome elder witch Qifrey and his three girl apprentices, Tetia, Richeh and Agott, to guide Coco in the ways of witches, and uncover the secrets they keep, in order to help her fix her devastating mistakes.
'Witch Hat Atelier, Vol 1' is boundlessly charming and creative, with likeable and distinguished characters. Qifrey is one of the few males in this, and there's a high-ranking witch, Alaira, who has dark skin. This hero's journey and shonen-like story arc is almost entirely female-led, complete with a dark-haired jealous rival, Agott, and a cute animal sidekick called a Brushbuddy.
There are also real stakes to the heroine's quest: Poor Coco leaves her old home for a new and magical one, to save her mother from a terrible curse which, by her own foolhardiness, she caused. She also uses a skill she already had - sewing, stitching and threading - to improvise and improve on her own magic, to develop her character. Coco uses magic in her own way, and silliness and audaciousness aside, she is fully determined, and that is admirable.
'Witch Hat Atelier' is a witch manga that is just my cup of tea. It's a new 'Harry Potter' story that actually feels fresh. There's liveliness, danger, mystery and intrigue. It teaches how magic should be used for kindness, happiness and helping others, never for manipulation and greed. It looks amazing and it is amazing.
There's also a toilet that leads to the depths of the universe. 'Nuff said.
Welcome to the world of magic.
Final Score: 5/5
Young Coco is a Muggle fascinated by the magical world she inhabits. A world where it is accepted that witches are born, not taught. She desperately wishes she were a witch and could cast spells as well. But she learns the hard way how magic actually works, and who can cast spells, and what prices you pay in using magic carelessly.
It is up to the handsome elder witch Qifrey and his three girl apprentices, Tetia, Richeh and Agott, to guide Coco in the ways of witches, and uncover the secrets they keep, in order to help her fix her devastating mistakes.
'Witch Hat Atelier, Vol 1' is boundlessly charming and creative, with likeable and distinguished characters. Qifrey is one of the few males in this, and there's a high-ranking witch, Alaira, who has dark skin. This hero's journey and shonen-like story arc is almost entirely female-led, complete with a dark-haired jealous rival, Agott, and a cute animal sidekick called a Brushbuddy.
There are also real stakes to the heroine's quest: Poor Coco leaves her old home for a new and magical one, to save her mother from a terrible curse which, by her own foolhardiness, she caused. She also uses a skill she already had - sewing, stitching and threading - to improvise and improve on her own magic, to develop her character. Coco uses magic in her own way, and silliness and audaciousness aside, she is fully determined, and that is admirable.
'Witch Hat Atelier' is a witch manga that is just my cup of tea. It's a new 'Harry Potter' story that actually feels fresh. There's liveliness, danger, mystery and intrigue. It teaches how magic should be used for kindness, happiness and helping others, never for manipulation and greed. It looks amazing and it is amazing.
There's also a toilet that leads to the depths of the universe. 'Nuff said.
Welcome to the world of magic.
Final Score: 5/5
Book Review - 'I Love You So Mochi' by Sarah Kuhn
2021 EDIT: Just as adorable, squishy, beautiful and awe-inspiring as on the first read. I love art, and Japan, more than ever. I love that 'I Love You So Mochi' subverts the harmful Tiger Mother cliché in a lot of ways. It is also about generational gaps, and elitism in the art world when there really shouldn't be. All creativity, anything that ignites and inspires the soul, is important. Go out there and do what you want, and be who you want to be.
Also, there are no mean girls; no antagonists in sight. How refreshing!
The charming, funny and cute romance doesn't hurt it, either. Neither does the OTT hilarious and cute female friendship theme.
Final Score: 5/5
Original Review:
Holy mochi mochi.
'I Love You So Mochi' is, without a doubt, one of the cutest books I've ever read. If a book could be a yogurt dessert filled with candy and compressed into one giant actual mochi that you could just bounce on like jelly and have a swim inside it, that wouldn't even come close to the sweet, gorgeous, digestible and adorable YUM that is 'I Love You So Mochi'.
I could hug and squeeze it all day.
'I Love You So Mochi' is about the Japanese American teen Kimi Nakamura, as she tries to navigate what her purpose in life is and where her passion lies, defying the expectations of others, just like any teenager getting close to college age. Her artist mother, who defied her own parents' expectations and sacrificed everything for her passion, for living in the States, and for Kimi, thought that her daughter would be a painter like her. But as it turns out, that is not Kimi's passion. This revelation is sudden, and it practically breaks Kimi's mother's heart. So, at a surprise letter of invitation from her maternal grandparents to stay with them in Japan, Kyoto for spring break, Kimi takes the opportunity, partly to find out more about herself and receive inspiration, and partly to get away from her mum's heartbroken eyes for a while.
So much beauty and culture she finds in Kyoto too! And a cute boy in a big mochi costume in front of a mochi stand.
Kimi loves fashion and designing and making clothes - she loves colourful and "clashing" tones and styles - but that has always merely been a hobby, not a career choice. But it is clearly her passion, and in Japan, with guidance from her mochi boy, Akira, and from her grandparents who are warming up to her, she will come to embrace all the colours and textures that surround her every day. So mochi inspiration will move her to tears; move her deep in her soul.
Along her artistic journey, Kimi will try to make it up to her mum by emailing her about her "Kimi Originals", the evolution of her clothing designs (not the least of which is a candy wrapper dress made for her friend Bex).
It is Kimi's Super Important Quest of Self-Discovery. And it is fabulous. And delicious.
This book does not sell on cuteness alone. It is a "be yourself" and "follow your dreams and passions" kind of story without being patronizing, shallow and unrealistic, yet it's still positive and uplifting. It shows how important art is. It is for all creative types - I wish I had read something like it when I was younger.
It is also a Japan and Kyoto tourist guide. I had been to Japan recently, and had even been to some of the sites that Kimi and Akira go to. It brought back beautiful memories and insights, such as the shrines, like Fushimi Inari Taisha, and oh, the deer in Nara! And the cats! I want to go back to Japan more than ever! To try new things and further appreciate it. The couple of mochi lovers even go to a pug cafe! It is one of the cutest things I've ever read about.
Japan is truly is one of the most fascinating and breathtaking places in the world; no surprises that Kimi falls in love with it.
Kimi as a main character is as sweet, adorable and wide-eyed as her story. She's not the brightest goldfish in the koi pond, and indeed it is a little annoying that she hasn't figured out her passion for fashion sooner (though to be fair she's had her mother's painting expectations pressured on her), but when her passion shines, she shines. She's funny, naïve and lovely, and does grow braver and surer of herself in her time in Japan. Not content with only fantasising that something might happen to her - she has to go out there and do it. How I related to her.
Kimi discovers what is inside herself, as well as her family's history.
At least it is never said that Kimi is supposed to be super smart; one thing worse than an idiot protagonist is an idiot protagonist who we keep getting told is really clever and a prodigy, when they have the common sense of a weed given to a pheasant. This is sadly all-too common in YA.
Eccentric tastes Kimi also has two equally exuberant besties, Atsuko and Bex (wow, this is two books I read in a row with a character named Bex, who is the protag in 'Going Off Script'). Atsuko is an advice columnist versed in the ways of luuurve and firing squads (partly joking... one hopes), and Bex is loud and proud; a dark-skinned queer girl who's into kittens and unicorns and hyperbole. It is Kimi's candy wrapper dress that gets Bex a girlfriend, Shelby. The girls' Skype conversations - between Kimi in Japan and Atsuko and Bex in America - are some of my favourite parts in the book. They're such wonderful and supportive friends and their dialogue is hilarious.
I cared more about the friendship love than I did the romantic love. Akira is a good guy - capricious, super helpful, cheeky, nice, slightly snarky, and torn between his dream of becoming a doctor and supporting his family by working at his uncle's mochi stand. The handsome piece of mochi is huggable. He can be adorably romantic when he wants to. Still, I find the girl friends relationship in Kimi's life to be more interesting, that's all. Though the romance grew on me; inevitable since Kimi spends the majority of the book hanging out with Akira, in a possibly short-lived relationship as she is in Japan for only two weeks.
Well, their teenage love starts because of a tanuki, not just mochi. That's something.
I love the complicated yet assuredly loving relationship Kimi has with her mother. Ms. Nakamura is not exactly a typical Asian Tiger Mother (one of the reasons why I couldn't get past the first chapter of 'American Panda' is because the mother there is so horrible it hurts). As a Japanese artist living in the US, and whose work is being set up for a gallery, no doubt Ms. Nakamura is under a lot of pressure and high expectations of her own, and constant scrutiny. She has a strained, now almost-nonexistent connection with her parents in Kyoto, who had wanted her to take over the family farm.
Kimi's grandparents, who she had never met before, grow to love having her around. The task is harder for her grandmother (her grandfather, her Ojiisan, is a sweetheart from the start). Obaasan is distant - Kimi reminds her of her overseas daughter - but it is soon discovered that she too loves sewing and designing clothes, and the two begin bonding and shopping together. The granddaughter could help in bridging the estrangement between her grandparents and her mother. Obaasan and Ojiisan also share a sweet history together, and they are a lovely couple, mirroring Kimi and Akira, and Kimi's star-crossed parents (but they're not tragic, they still adore each other).
Love is represented in all of its forms in 'I Love You So Mochi'.
Another great appreciation is the mention of the Japanese American interment camps in World War II, in one of Kimi's emails to her mother, when talking about the death of her paternal grandmother. Kimi's paternal great-grandparents had gone through the internment, and it is remarked as the travesty that it is; one that should not be repeated. For an otherwise lighthearted YA book, 'I Love You So Mochi' doesn't ignore elements of racism and classism that Asian people face in America, and even the tenseness and barriers between the Japanese and Japanese Americans.
Props for restraint in mentioning anime only once!
Extra cute factoid: Kimi's mum has a childhood stuffed piggy called Meiko.
Overall, if 'I Love You So Mochi' doesn't make you want to go to Japan, and eat mochi, noodles and ramen, and look up Japanese dresses online - or any pretty dresses - then you might not be human. Every "Kimi Original" is a delight: I wish for illustrations! Plus recipes for different kinds of mochi.
Beautiful, hilarious, educational, inspiring, hopeful, and so, SO cute, the book warms my heart, fires my brain, and sweetens my mouth.
You gotta try this mochi.
Final Score: 5/5
P.S. Oh, Happy 550th Review for me, too! Perfect for such a passionate book!
The charming, funny and cute romance doesn't hurt it, either. Neither does the OTT hilarious and cute female friendship theme.
Final Score: 5/5
Original Review:
Holy mochi mochi.
'I Love You So Mochi' is, without a doubt, one of the cutest books I've ever read. If a book could be a yogurt dessert filled with candy and compressed into one giant actual mochi that you could just bounce on like jelly and have a swim inside it, that wouldn't even come close to the sweet, gorgeous, digestible and adorable YUM that is 'I Love You So Mochi'.
I could hug and squeeze it all day.
'I Love You So Mochi' is about the Japanese American teen Kimi Nakamura, as she tries to navigate what her purpose in life is and where her passion lies, defying the expectations of others, just like any teenager getting close to college age. Her artist mother, who defied her own parents' expectations and sacrificed everything for her passion, for living in the States, and for Kimi, thought that her daughter would be a painter like her. But as it turns out, that is not Kimi's passion. This revelation is sudden, and it practically breaks Kimi's mother's heart. So, at a surprise letter of invitation from her maternal grandparents to stay with them in Japan, Kyoto for spring break, Kimi takes the opportunity, partly to find out more about herself and receive inspiration, and partly to get away from her mum's heartbroken eyes for a while.
So much beauty and culture she finds in Kyoto too! And a cute boy in a big mochi costume in front of a mochi stand.
Kimi loves fashion and designing and making clothes - she loves colourful and "clashing" tones and styles - but that has always merely been a hobby, not a career choice. But it is clearly her passion, and in Japan, with guidance from her mochi boy, Akira, and from her grandparents who are warming up to her, she will come to embrace all the colours and textures that surround her every day. So mochi inspiration will move her to tears; move her deep in her soul.
Along her artistic journey, Kimi will try to make it up to her mum by emailing her about her "Kimi Originals", the evolution of her clothing designs (not the least of which is a candy wrapper dress made for her friend Bex).
It is Kimi's Super Important Quest of Self-Discovery. And it is fabulous. And delicious.
This book does not sell on cuteness alone. It is a "be yourself" and "follow your dreams and passions" kind of story without being patronizing, shallow and unrealistic, yet it's still positive and uplifting. It shows how important art is. It is for all creative types - I wish I had read something like it when I was younger.
It is also a Japan and Kyoto tourist guide. I had been to Japan recently, and had even been to some of the sites that Kimi and Akira go to. It brought back beautiful memories and insights, such as the shrines, like Fushimi Inari Taisha, and oh, the deer in Nara! And the cats! I want to go back to Japan more than ever! To try new things and further appreciate it. The couple of mochi lovers even go to a pug cafe! It is one of the cutest things I've ever read about.
Japan is truly is one of the most fascinating and breathtaking places in the world; no surprises that Kimi falls in love with it.
Kimi as a main character is as sweet, adorable and wide-eyed as her story. She's not the brightest goldfish in the koi pond, and indeed it is a little annoying that she hasn't figured out her passion for fashion sooner (though to be fair she's had her mother's painting expectations pressured on her), but when her passion shines, she shines. She's funny, naïve and lovely, and does grow braver and surer of herself in her time in Japan. Not content with only fantasising that something might happen to her - she has to go out there and do it. How I related to her.
Kimi discovers what is inside herself, as well as her family's history.
At least it is never said that Kimi is supposed to be super smart; one thing worse than an idiot protagonist is an idiot protagonist who we keep getting told is really clever and a prodigy, when they have the common sense of a weed given to a pheasant. This is sadly all-too common in YA.
Eccentric tastes Kimi also has two equally exuberant besties, Atsuko and Bex (wow, this is two books I read in a row with a character named Bex, who is the protag in 'Going Off Script'). Atsuko is an advice columnist versed in the ways of luuurve and firing squads (partly joking... one hopes), and Bex is loud and proud; a dark-skinned queer girl who's into kittens and unicorns and hyperbole. It is Kimi's candy wrapper dress that gets Bex a girlfriend, Shelby. The girls' Skype conversations - between Kimi in Japan and Atsuko and Bex in America - are some of my favourite parts in the book. They're such wonderful and supportive friends and their dialogue is hilarious.
I cared more about the friendship love than I did the romantic love. Akira is a good guy - capricious, super helpful, cheeky, nice, slightly snarky, and torn between his dream of becoming a doctor and supporting his family by working at his uncle's mochi stand. The handsome piece of mochi is huggable. He can be adorably romantic when he wants to. Still, I find the girl friends relationship in Kimi's life to be more interesting, that's all. Though the romance grew on me; inevitable since Kimi spends the majority of the book hanging out with Akira, in a possibly short-lived relationship as she is in Japan for only two weeks.
Well, their teenage love starts because of a tanuki, not just mochi. That's something.
I love the complicated yet assuredly loving relationship Kimi has with her mother. Ms. Nakamura is not exactly a typical Asian Tiger Mother (one of the reasons why I couldn't get past the first chapter of 'American Panda' is because the mother there is so horrible it hurts). As a Japanese artist living in the US, and whose work is being set up for a gallery, no doubt Ms. Nakamura is under a lot of pressure and high expectations of her own, and constant scrutiny. She has a strained, now almost-nonexistent connection with her parents in Kyoto, who had wanted her to take over the family farm.
Kimi's grandparents, who she had never met before, grow to love having her around. The task is harder for her grandmother (her grandfather, her Ojiisan, is a sweetheart from the start). Obaasan is distant - Kimi reminds her of her overseas daughter - but it is soon discovered that she too loves sewing and designing clothes, and the two begin bonding and shopping together. The granddaughter could help in bridging the estrangement between her grandparents and her mother. Obaasan and Ojiisan also share a sweet history together, and they are a lovely couple, mirroring Kimi and Akira, and Kimi's star-crossed parents (but they're not tragic, they still adore each other).
Love is represented in all of its forms in 'I Love You So Mochi'.
Another great appreciation is the mention of the Japanese American interment camps in World War II, in one of Kimi's emails to her mother, when talking about the death of her paternal grandmother. Kimi's paternal great-grandparents had gone through the internment, and it is remarked as the travesty that it is; one that should not be repeated. For an otherwise lighthearted YA book, 'I Love You So Mochi' doesn't ignore elements of racism and classism that Asian people face in America, and even the tenseness and barriers between the Japanese and Japanese Americans.
Props for restraint in mentioning anime only once!
Extra cute factoid: Kimi's mum has a childhood stuffed piggy called Meiko.
Overall, if 'I Love You So Mochi' doesn't make you want to go to Japan, and eat mochi, noodles and ramen, and look up Japanese dresses online - or any pretty dresses - then you might not be human. Every "Kimi Original" is a delight: I wish for illustrations! Plus recipes for different kinds of mochi.
Beautiful, hilarious, educational, inspiring, hopeful, and so, SO cute, the book warms my heart, fires my brain, and sweetens my mouth.
You gotta try this mochi.
Final Score: 5/5
P.S. Oh, Happy 550th Review for me, too! Perfect for such a passionate book!
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