PASSIONATE ABOUT SCHOOL LIBRARIES

Tag: Comics

Book Review: Lovely, Dark, and Deep

Lovely, Dark, and Deep – Justina Chen – Arthur A. Levine Books – Published 31 July 2018

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Synopsis

What would you do if the sun became your enemy?

That’s exactly what happens to Viola Li after she returns from a trip abroad and develops a sudden and extreme case of photosensitivity — an inexplicable allergy to sunlight. Thanks to her crisis-manager parents, she doesn’t just have to wear layers of clothes and a hat the size of a spaceship. She has to stay away from all hint of light. Say goodbye to windows and running outdoors. Even her phone becomes a threat when its screen burns her.

Viola is determined to maintain a normal life, particularly after she meets Josh. He’s a funny, talented Thor look-alike who carries his own mysterious grief. But the intensity of their romance makes her take more and more risks, and when a rebellion against her parents backfires dangerously, she must find her way to a life — and love — as deep and lovely as her dreams.

My thoughts

Lovely, Dark, and Deep by Justina Chen is a brilliant novel about chasing life even when what that life might be dramatically different from what you were expecting. Lovely, Dark, and Deep is beautifully written, with a likeable heroine and a nice mix of uplifting messages and humour.

Viola has her life all planned out – first travel overseas with her Aunt, then major in journalism before becoming an international foreign correspondent traveling to war zones and other dangerous places to expose and report the truth. But when Viola develops a reaction to the sun, her whole world shifts – first with sizeable hats and an abundance of sunscreen to blackout curtains and limited screen time. Her diagnosis coincides with meeting Josh – graphic novel writer, Thor-look-alike – who carries his own secrets and grief. Viola is sure that her condition will not limit her, but testing the boundaries brings many risks for which even Viola could never have planned.

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Display: Graphic Novels

Graphic Novels Display

Graphic novels are eternally popular at our library. This simple display was created to celebrate the range of graphic novels available and hopefully entice some new readers to try these engaging texts. It also made an excellent ‘filler’ display for a week when we weren’t celebrating any particular special day or event.

The background for the lettering was created by photocopying a few pages from a variety of popular graphic novel titles. I then cut them into triangles, varying the length and width. I stuck the bases of the triangles to a large sheet of white paper.  The white lettering is the font Agency FB which I cut using the library’s Cricut machine, and stuck to orange cardboard, which I layered over the top of the sheet holding all the triangles in place.

At first, I was going to add an orange border to the display board, but in the end (and due to lack of time) I left it plain.

This display has been one of our biggest turn-over displays, as I frequently have to replace the books on display. The students also love trying to spot their favourite characters or panels in the slices of artwork.

 

Book Review: Save The Date

Save The Date – Morgan Matson – Simon Schuster – Published 5 June 2018

♥♥♥♥

 

Synopsis

Charlie Grant’s older sister is getting married this weekend at their family home, and Charlie can’t wait—for the first time in years, all four of her older siblings will be under one roof. Charlie is desperate for one last perfect weekend, before the house is sold and everything changes. The house will be filled with jokes and games and laughs again. Making decisions about things like what college to attend and reuniting with longstanding crush Jesse Foster—all that can wait. She wants to focus on making the weekend perfect.

The only problem? The weekend is shaping up to be an absolute disaster.

There’s the unexpected dog with a penchant for howling, house alarm that won’t stop going off, and a papergirl with a grudge.

There are the relatives who aren’t speaking, the (awful) girl her favorite brother brought home unannounced, and a missing tuxedo.

Not to mention the neighbor who seems to be bent on sabotage and a storm that is bent on drenching everything. The justice of the peace is missing. The band will only play covers. The guests are all crazy. And the wedding planner’s nephew is unexpectedly, distractingly…cute.

Over the course of three ridiculously chaotic days, Charlie will learn more than she ever expected about the family she thought she knew by heart. And she’ll realize that sometimes, trying to keep everything like it was in the past means missing out on the future.

My thoughts

Save The Date is a hilarious novel about family, growing up, and learning to accept change. In the midst of a wedding where everything that could go wrong does, the characters of Save The Date will warm your heart and make you smile.

Charlie Grant loves her big, loud, crazy family. So Charlie can’t wait for this weekend, her sister’s wedding and a chance for all her siblings to return home, for them to be a united family unit again. But when the wedding planner bails, Charlie’s absentee brother actually turns up, and Good Morning America plans to do a home interview upon the conclusion of her mother’s famous cartoon, Charlie knows that she will have to fight to ensure everything is perfect.

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Book Review: The Geek’s Guide to Unrequited Love

9781481456531

The Geek’s Guide To Unrequited Love – Sarvenaz Tash – Simon and Schuster – Published 14 June 2016

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Synopsis

Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy…
Archie and Veronica…
Althena and Noth…
…Graham and Roxy?

Graham met his best friend, Roxana, when he moved into her neighborhood eight years ago, and she asked him which Hogwarts house he’d be sorted into. Graham has been in love with her ever since.

But now they’re sixteen, still neighbors, still best friends. And Graham and Roxy share more than ever—moving on from their Harry Potter obsession to a serious love of comic books.

When Graham learns that the creator of their favorite comic, The Chronicles of Althena, is making a rare appearance at this year’s New York Comic Con, he knows he must score tickets. And the event inspires Graham to come up with the perfect plan to tell Roxy how he really feels about her. He’s got three days to woo his best friend at the coolest, kookiest con full of superheroes and supervillains. But no one at a comic book convention is who they appear to be…even Roxy. And Graham is starting to realize fictional love stories are way less complicated than real-life ones.

My thoughts

Set over three days at the New York Comic Con, this is a fun and yet touching story of friendship, the adoration of all things sci-fi and fantasy, drawn, filmed and written, and the heartbreak that comes with loving someone who may not love you back.

Graham and Roxy have been best friends for years. They share everything, from their love of Harry Potter to their love of the comic the Chronicles of Althena. So when Graham realises that he feels more for Roxy than just friendship, he decides that the comic con is the perfect place to reveal his new-found feelings. But the course of love never did run smooth, and Graham has his work cut out for him.

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Book Review: The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak

The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak

The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak – Brian Katcher – Katherine Tegen Books – Published 19 May 2015

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Synopsis

It all begins when Ana Watson’s little brother, Clayton, secretly ditches the quiz bowl semifinals to go to the Washingcon sci-fi convention on what should have been a normal, résumé-building school trip.

If slacker Zak Duquette hadn’t talked up the geek fan fest so much, maybe Clayton wouldn’t have broken nearly every school rule or jeopardized Ana’s last shot at freedom from her uptight parents.

Now, teaming up with Duquette is the only way for Ana to chase down Clayton in the sea of orcs, zombies, bikini-clad princesses, Trekkies, and Smurfs. After all, one does not simply walk into Washingcon.

But in spite of Zak’s devil-may-care attitude, he has his own reasons for being as lost as Ana-and Ana may have more in common with him than she thinks. Ana and Zak certainly don’t expect the long crazy night, which begins as a nerdfighter manhunt, to transform into so much more…

My thoughts

A book set almost completely at a comic convention. Tick. A story where the characters get together over one night and it doesn’t read as insta-love. Check. Hilarious moment after twist after timely disaster. Tick, tick, tick. A book you just have to devour in one go. Check. Basically this book is just completely awesome. It was a book I needed, the perfect mix of humour, geeky references and crazy.

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