Zahra's Paradise - Amir

Zahra's Paradise - Amir

A book-length black-and-white fictionalized portrayal of the aftermath of the 2009 Iranian protests.  A blogger's brother is arrested and goes missing, and he and his mother endure threats and an indifferent and contemptuous bureaucracy to find him.  A heartbreaking and wise look at the Iranian world, from its customs and poetry to the brave souls who resist the tyranny of the charlatans and hypocrites in power.  It's essentially an Iranian MAUS.  [4.5]

Baba Yaga's Assistant - Marika McCoola

Baba Yaga's Assistant - Marika McCoola

After Masha's emotionally distant father remarries, she leaves home to answer an help wanted ad placed by Baba Yaga.  Her only mother figure, her grandmother, has passed away; as a child she escaped from Baba Yaga using charms and her wits, and tells Masha the stories.  Masha soon encounters the witch, who appears ferocious and unpredictable and asks her to undergo some tests; using her grandmother's wisdom, Masha acquits herself well.  But then the old witch appears with three children she'd like cooked for dinner — including Masha's new stepsister.  It's at turns a spooky and witty tale.  Masha's family issues are meant to be poignant, but the volume is too slim for it to have much impact.  This is a fun modern fairy tale, for older kids.  [3.5]

Louisiana Purchase - John Chase

Louisiana Purchase - John Chase

The complete 1953 black and white comic strip, plus the 1982 addenda strips about Oliver Pollock.  Everyone knows the basic story (Jefferson, Napoleon, Lewis & Clark) but this vast epic is the equivalent to an advanced middle-school semester-long unit on U.S. history.  Starting with Ponce de Leon and DeSoto, it covers everything, from the Iroquois Nation to Toussaint Louverture, Robert Livingston, the XYZ Affair, etymologies of various place names (and the dollar sign!), the keelboat men, coureurs de bois, and a healthy peppering of minor historical figures.  Some of the scholarship is dated, and although the book is progressive for its time, it refers to American Indians and African Americans in some stereotypical ways.  Still, this is an amazing work of historical research, so broad that it requires several careful readings.  [4]

Back to the index

Caveboy Dave - Aaron Reynolds

Caveboy Dave - Aaron Reynolds

• More Scrawny Than Brawny - Hapless, scrawny Dave must go out on the Baby-Go-Boom ritual along with the other twelve year olds of his village.  The problem is that Dave is more of a failed inventor than a fighter.  His father invented the wheel and the torch.  His grandfather invented fire.  No one is impressed with his "fork" or "underwear" ideas, so he must go out with the hunters and take down one of the big six creatures or die trying.  It's a prehistoric, less-witty Diary of a Wimpy Kid, drawn in a cartoony, not very appealing style.  The setting is sub-Flinstones in its attention to world-building, and the plot meanders back and forth among Dave's crises, the ritual, his friendships, as if trying to find a Learning Moment.  At one point Dave saves them all using a lever.  You'd think that would be a turning point for his character growth, but no one cares.  The next big idea comes from the arrogant bully, and it's a good and useful one.  Subverting expectations like that is fine, but there' isn't any accompanying character growth.  The humor is strictly kids, Captain Underwear level.  Examples: they call the fork a "forf!" At 240 pages, that grows thin.  And yet, and yet...  It's a silly, fun book with a surprise or two at the end.  Not a bad story for kids.  [3.5]  (For adults, the rating is decidedly lower.)
  

Santa Vs. Dracula - Ed Power

Santa Vs. Dracula - Ed Power

Count Dracula raises an army to attack Santa's North Pole refuge so that he can become the new Santa Clause and thus undo the curse that forbids him from entering houses uninvited.  This isn't your daddy's Christmas TV Special.  Rudolph is actually "Rumspringer," a depressed reindeer with a luminescent nose, who drinks because Santa uses him rather than appreciating him.  Frosty the Snowman is Wintry, who doesn't die easy.  And Mrs. Claus left Santa a while ago for the Boogey Man, and he's remarried a young hot African American woman in lace-up thigh boots who can kick ass.  His head of security is Nick Frosty, a cigar-smoking, eyepatch-wearing elf.  They're attacked by Dracula, My. Hyde, Frankenstein's Monster, and an assortment of emo vampires.  It's a funny concept, but the overall tone doesn't sit right.  It vacillates wildly between broad parody, puns, and silliness, and a high body count and bloody fights.  Plus, spoiler alert, an unpleasant cliffhanger ending.  Not so great for a one-shot Kickstarter project.  [3]

Giant Days - John Allison

Giant Days - John Allison

Vols. 1-6 - Three girls (goth Esther, tough Susan, and naive introvert Daisy) go through the drama of jobs, housing, classes, love, lusts, parents, death, and fighting at university.  It sounds plain when you write it out, but so does Hamlet.  John Allison's enviable wit and gift for unending erudite banter, plus the perfect cartoonish art, makes it a joy to read.  Utterly brilliant.  [5]

• Vol. 7 - Susan goes home for Christmas and struggles with her parents' estrangement (he's living in a caravan in the garden).  The girls, albeit understanding of Daisy's nascent sexual identity, have trouble putting up with Daisy's terrible German girlfriend Ingrid, who turns out to be the worst roommate ever.  Going through some sleepless nights, they hear mysterious things in the forbidden garage.  Susan has mysterious nocturnal assignations.  Esther learns a thing or two about capitalism and decides to go in for protests.  Ed and Graham's terrible roommate Dean meets a girl in a MMORPG and soon there will be wedding bells, maybe? [5]
  
• Vol. 8 - Esther turns her rivalry with McGraw's perfect girlfriend, Emilia into friendship.  Ed wants to date, but can't stop pining for somebody.  Ingrid, ever more annoying to the others,  pressures Daisy to live with her.  Susan's secret paramour is revealed.  The girls look into a new housing situation.  [5]
• Vol. 9 - The end of Year Two!  The girls finally leave their black moldy, woodwormy house to live... apart?  Daisy breaks up with Ingrid, which leaves her in a state of fugue.  Esther has nowhere to live, and Ed blurts out his feelings for her on a drunken pub crawl.  Susan leaves for a summer in a student village.  I continue to be amazed that a marriage of brilliant, witty words and outstanding art can be this good.  [5]
• Vol. 10 - Susan is reluctantly dragged into the grown-up world by living in a flat with McGraw.  Daisy's grandmother finds out about Ingrid, and Daisy looks for a place to live.  Esther and Ingrid try their hand at a career fair.  And Ed deals with the fallout of his drunken reveal.  Absolutely pitch-perfect writing, with pop-culture references and erudite allusions, as always.  I am not a big fan of the art not done by Max Sarin; it just doesn't pop the way his does.  [5]
• Vol. 11 - Daisy and Ed are swindled by their shifty boss at the Christmas village.  Esther briefly dates a nerdy tech bro.  Daisy makes a good residence hall advisor, until she meets her match in a karaoke-loving sweet-talker.  Ed starts dating an athletic Australian, and visits her family in Sydney, where the ex, with his gang of massive criminal-minded oafs, cause trouble.  [5]
• Vol. 12 - Susan gets the old crime-solving bug again and solves the case of the comic book store shoplifter.  Dean gets an illicit emotional support dog.  Daisy gets her driving license, prematurely aging every driving instructor in town.  McGraw's brother comes and gets married; Esther and Daisy attend as a friend couple.  Esther decides to... go home for Easter to work on her dissertation!!  Dun dun dun.  Will there be... non-goth attire?!  [5]
  

Back to the index

Click - Kayla Miller

Click - Kayla Miller [HMH]

1. Click - Fifth grader Olive is a social butterfly, friends with several disparate groups of kids.  But when the talent show is announced, they all seem to form small groups, and Olive finds she no longer "clicks" with anyone. No one asks her to join their group and Olive gets depressed, until her favorite aunt inspires her.  This is a very good kid's story about navigating friendships and being yourself.  I was not a fan of the "Little Lulu" art style, but it doesn't detract from the story.  [4]
2. Act - Book three of Click. Olive is dismayed to learn that her school denies field trips to those who can't pay.  An opportunity to do something about it arises when there are openings for student council.  Unfortunately, two of her best friends announce their campaign, which threatens to drive a wedge between Olive and her friends.  She continues on with her campaign despite how it irritates her peer group, and starts to learn of more injustices.  When she does research, Olive learns about Stonewall, Black Lives Matter, the diner sit-ins, and other acts of justice in American history, which will surely get this book banned in the Cro-Magnon states.  [4.5]
   
3. Clash - This is book four in the Click series.  In this one, a new cool girl, Nat, comes to school, and despite all of Olive's attempts to be welcoming, Nat seems to take a dislike to her.  Soon, Nat is taking advantage of Olive's good nature and trying to take her friends.  When Olive and her friends plan a Halloween party, it all comes to a head.  This one wasn't as interesting to me as Click, because the issues addressed are so common in middle-grade media, and also because there wasn't a dramatic solution; Nat falls from grace all on her own.  [3.5]

Gods of Asgard - Erik Evensen

Gods of Asgard - Erik Evensen

An authentic, earnest retelling of the myths, from the creation of the world to Ragnarok (and back again).  Except for some bowdlerizations of the sexual aspects, it is well researched, and pretty faithful.  The admirable part is how skillfully Evensen puts the at times disjointed stories into a chronological order that forms a narrative.  By emphasizing certain details, he masterfully shows how Loki's character can follow an arc from mischievous but trusted helper to downright evil, hated enemy.  Some of the stories end a bit abruptly or gloss over a logical connection here and there, which I assume is due to a deficiency of time or resources; this isn't the mighty Marvel machine at work.  The detailed black and white art is very good.  Read twice.  [4.5]