Colored: The unsung life of Claudette Colvin

author: Emilie Plateau
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.06
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2019/04/25
date added: 2019/04/25
shelves: graphic-novels, non-fiction
review:
'Colored: The unsung life of Claudette Colvin with art and text by Emilie Plateau is a graphic novel adaptation of the book "Noire" by Tania de Montagne.

Told in a sort of second person narrative, the reader is put in to a story about a young woman living in a town under Jim Crow laws. When she is thrown off a bus and thrown in jail, she wants to start a bus boycott. This is not Rosa Parks. This is Claudette Colvin and this happened a few months before Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott.

Why is one person famous and not another? Why is it Rosa Parks we remember and not Cladette or possible other people? History can be picky that way and this story tells that along with a little known story.

The art is good with a limited color palette used to good effect. I liked the subtle signs in the shop windows showing the shops that were friendly and not friendly.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Europe Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.


via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://bit.ly/2vvO0g5

Gun Love

author: Jennifer Clement
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2019/04/24
date added: 2019/04/24
shelves:
review:
'Gun Love' by Jennifer Clement is about a young girl living in a car with her mother and what family can mean.

Pearl France lives in a broken down car with her mother Margot. That means they get by eating what they can and being at the mercy of those who prey on the unfortunate. Pastor Rex, in the nearby trailer park, has a 'Guns for God' programme. That brings a man named Eli around who visits Pearl's mother in the back seat of their car. When Eli brings a gun around, Pearl's world is upended.

It's a rough existence and a look into a world that most of us don't want to see. The prose is sometimes luminous, even in the face of some pretty big despair. There is definitely a character journey that Pearl takes, but it felt incomplete to me a little. That didn't stop me from liking this book, if one can be said to like such characters.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Crown Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://bit.ly/2ZBp58H

Dear Mister Essay Writer Guy: Advice and Confessions on Writing, Love, and Cannibals

author: Dinty W. Moore
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2019/04/24
date added: 2019/04/24
shelves:
review:
'Dear Mister Essay Writer Guy: Advice and Confessions on Writing, Love, and Cannibals' by Dinty W. Moore is a series of questions and answers on a variety of subjects told with some kind of hilarious results.

The book is laid out like an advice column for writers with various questions sent in by famous writers and the answers all being told in the form of various essays. The humor is clever. There is wordplay and lists. There is one essay told with Google map locations (you can look it up in google maps as well). One of my favorites was told with the ubiquitous creativity tool: the cocktail napkin.

I really enjoyed this humorous book about writing. I wasn't as familiar with all the author's mentioned, but that doesn't detract from the fun. And I learned all about Montaigne's obsession with cannibalism along the way.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Ten Speed Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://bit.ly/2UEj3QO

Muddy: The Raccoon Who Stole Dishes

author: Griffin Ondaatje
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.47
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2019/04/24
date added: 2019/04/24
shelves: childrens
review:
'Muddy: The Raccoon Who Stole Dishes' by Griffin Ondaatje and Linda Wolfsgruber is a picture book about a picky eater that wants to eat garbage, but on a plate.

Muddy Whiskers is a young raccoon that lives with his family and other raccoons. While the other raccoons are content eating shellfish out of the river and other things they find, Muddy wants to eat human food from the restaurant across the river. The elder raccoons got kicked out the last town for eating out of garbage cans, so they don't like what Muddy is up to.

The illustrations seem a little on the rough side to me. The story is ok, but it's a story about a raccoon stealing food, so that might mean having conversations about what raccoons do versus humans.

I received a review copy of this ebook from North South Books Inc. and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://bit.ly/2L15hrZ

Tokyo Underground (Otaku Blue, #1)

author: Richard Marazano
name: Wayne
average rating: 2.83
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2019/04/22
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Otaku Blue #1: Tokyo Underground' by Richard Marzano with art by Malo Kerfriden is the first half of a story told with two halves. How it turns out will have to wait until the second volume.

Asami is a sociology student who is studying otaku for her thesis. She mainly talks to the cute girls who dress like school girls and maids to attract the attention of the otaku. Meanwhile, local prostitutes have caught the unwanted attention of a serial killer who is collecting parts of their bodies. Inspector Arakawa and his young assistant are looking in to the murders. As Asami gets further in to the world of the Otaku, she gets an invite to meet with mysterious and famous otaku, Buntaro. Could the two stories have a common link?

They most assuredly must, but there are a lot of red herrings being thrown out at this point. I liked the art quite a lot, but the story feels like it's moving slow at this point. Perhaps things pick up a bit in the second half. The cover drew me in, and I think it's quite striking.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Europe Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.


via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://bit.ly/2UCgpLy

Justice League/Aquaman: Drowned Earth (2018-2019) (Justice League (2018-))

author: Scott Snyder
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.00
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2019/04/20
date added: 2019/04/20
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
'Justice League/Aquaman: Drowned Earth' by Scott Snyder and a whole host of artists is a mega-event starring Aquaman and spanning 232 pages over 8 different issues of comic book.

Sea creatures from space invade the Earth and flood it. The Legion of Doom joins the fight. The aliens even bring a death kraken from space. Along the way Aquaman and Mera fight to save Atlantis and Aquaman even tries to appeal to Poseidon. The Titans show up for an issue, then are never seen again. The people of Earth that are touched by the aliens change into sea mutants. This also happens to some of the members of the Justice League. The only thing that may help is something that Arion, Atlantis' greatest hero, built long ago.

It's a pretty massive story, and it flails about a bit. I know the Titans are here just to sell a title, but they didn't have much to do with moving the plot along. Not being a regular reader left me confused about Batman and Dick Grayson. I think the decision to move in the pirate direction seemed a bit silly. Superman in an eyepatch was just kind of dumb. There is lots of action, and how much you care about it all probably will depend on how much you like Aquaman.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.


via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://bit.ly/2GrTP2R

Vault of Frankenstein: 200 Years of the World's Most Famous Monster

author: Paul Ruditis
name: Wayne
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2019/04/16
date added: 2019/04/16
shelves: non-fiction
review:
'Vault of Frankenstein: 200 Years of the World's Most Famous Monster' by Paul Ruditis is a look at all the ways the book Frankenstein has been used in culture and changed along the way.

Starting with the origins of the book by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, we learn of her life and love, the tragedies and upbringing that brought the book to life. We read about the stormy holiday that inspired the author.

From there, the book is transformed into a stage play, then movies, and television and cartoons. How the monster became known as Frankenstein when the book is clear that this is the name of the creator is discussed, along with the invention of the character Igor, who is never in the book. The various ways the monster has been portrayed, parodied and changed are discussed.

Throughout the book are tons of photos from original manuscript pages and paintings of the area in Switzerland where the book was created. There are photos of Boris Karloff having the Jack Pierce makeup applied. There are stills from the many ways the creature has appeared.

I really had a great time reading this book. As a fan of the book and the original James Whale film, I really liked how this book presented things. The material, written and visual, was very interesting.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Quarto Publishing Group - becker&mayer kids!, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.


via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://bit.ly/2UmTgfK