April Books

[dirtylibrarian]

Looking at Los Angeles
Adult Photography
Recommend?: Definitely!
Los Angeles. Cities. Urban blight. Architecture. Cars. Gas stations. Roads. Houses. Apartment buildings. Landscaping. Streetlights. Moonlight.
A terrific collecting ranging over a number of years. I especially liked seeing Dennis Hopper's house. I would love to do a project like this about Seattle.

The Geography of Girlhood
Kirsten Smith
Teen Poetry
Recommend?: Yes.
Adolescence. Sisters. Fathers. Missing mothers. Junior High. First kisses. High School. Runaways. Parties. Friendship.
A good read and quite decent novel in verse. Teen girls especially will see themselves in the struggles of the characters.

Tricked
Alex Robinson
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Definitely!
Rock stars. Father-daughter relationships. Forgery. Dating. Waitressing. Romance. Obsession. Mental illness. Deceit. Friendship.
Much like his first book, this is a great weaving of separate stories that dramatically all meet. Fun read with great dialog.

The Mummy's Curse (Kindaichi Case Files - Volume 2)
Yozaburo Kanari
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Mysteries. Romance. Murder. Curses. Conspiracies. High school students. Detectives.
Fun teen crime manga, but a bit gory.

Phoenix Endsong (X-Men)
Greg Pak
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Mutants. Reincarnation. Love. Yearning. Dangerous beings. Goodbyes.
Good art with great color. Satisfying enough storyline.

Capote in Kansas
Ande Parks
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Definitely!
Truman Capote. Writers. Ghosts. Murders. Writing. Investigative journalism. Small towns. Death row.
An enjoyable interpretation of events.

Daisy Kutter: The Last Train
Kazu Kibuishi
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Steampunk. Westerns. Criminals. Crime fighters. Romance. Poker. Robots. Train robberies.
Fun with lovely black and white illustrations.

Street Angel
Jim Rugg
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Street kids. Skateboarding. Martial arts. Ninjas. Pirates. Giant squid. Monsters. Fighting. Cursing. Tough girls.
A very fun read, though I'm not sure of its suitability for teens, but a hoot overall.

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Volume 1)
Rick Riordan
Teen Audiobook
Recommend?: Yes.
ADHD. Dyslexia. Greek gods. Parents. Magic. School. Survival. Quests.
Looks to be a very fun series, with high boy appeal.

Grand & Humble
Brent Hartinger
Teen Fiction
Recommend?: Shrug.
High school. Teen guys. Stress. Premonitions. Nightmares. Friendship. Deafness. Theater. Swimming. Politics. Pressure.
A good read with a surprise ending, but not amazing.

Azumanga Daioh (Volume 1)
Kiyohiko Azuma
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Definitely!
Manga. High school. Child prodigies. Crazy teachers. Perverts. Friendship. Fierce cats. Cute dogs. Vacations. Competition. Japan.
I love this series, but actually enjoy the anime even more. Wacky good strangeness.

Bay/Sky
Joel Meyerowitz
Adult Photography
Recommend?: Yes.
Ocean. Surf. Sky. Clouds. Sunlight. Reflection. Water. Sand. Boats. Tranquility.
A nice exploration of the changes of one basic view.

Sorcerers & Secretaries (Volume 1)
Amy Kim Ganter
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Writers. Big Cities. Romance. Book stores. Fantasy.
A nice American manga-style gn with lots for readers to enjoy. Will be watching this series.

Cantarella (Volume 1)
You Higuri
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Shrug.
Manga. Italy. Historical fiction. Soap operas. Borgia family. Romance. Murder. Betrayal. Dark forces. Catholicism.
I can see older teens getting absorbed in this, but I found only one sympathetic character in the whole book.

Life (Volume 1)
Keiko Suenobu
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Manga. Japan. School girls. Pressure. Tests. Friendship. Self-mutilation. Cliques.
Good, if you like emotional and catty teen girl stuff.

True Believers (Runaways - Volume 4)
Brian K. Vaughan
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Definitely!
Orphans. Superpowers. Crime waves. Time travel. Dinosaurs. Psychic powers. Androids. Betrayal. Support groups.
I like all the new directions this series is taking the superhero genre, yet keeping it very teen. Good stuff.

It's Kind of a Funny Story
Ned Vizzini
Teen Fiction
Recommend?: Definitely!
School. Pressure. Drug use. Depression. Anti-depressants. Suicidal feelings. Psychiatric hospitals. Art. Friendship. Romance.
I wasn't so sure about this book at first, and at times found it to be a little preachy, but overall a very satisfying read.

Talking in the Dark
Billy Merrell
Teen Poetry
Recommend?: Yes.
Family. Friendship. Gay teens. Romance.
An excellent and beautiful first collection, that shows much potential for the young writer.

Mouse & His Child
Russell Hoban
Tween Audiobook
Recommend?: Yes.
Mice. Toys. Windups. Clockwork. Rats. Elephants. Seals. Owls. Weasels. Shrews. Territories. Homes. Journeys. Struggles. Frogs.
What is the appeal of toys moving beyond their prescribed roll in life and finding adventure and meaning? I just don't get it. What does it mean to children and other readers? Will have to think about this more…

Plastic Man: On the Lam!
Kyle Baker
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Definitely!
Plastic Man. DC universe. FBI. Crime solving. Secret identities. Monastery trained heroes. Sidekicks. Humor.
Wacked out interpretation of a classic misfit hero that could only be done by Kyle Baker. A brilliant match up.

Loveless (Volume 1)
Yun Kouga
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Shrug.
Teen boys. Friendship. New schools. Brothers. Loss. Guardians. Love. Fighting. Magic.
Weirdness with strange homoerotic pedophile flavor that makes me uneasy. But the teens seem to like it…

Delights & Shadows
Ted Kooser
Adult Poetry
Recommend?: Yes.
Family. Nature. Memory. Country life. Yard sales.
A nice collection of poetry, with enjoyable individual poems, but not particularly challenging on any level.

A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl
Tayna Lee Stone
Teen Fiction
Recommend?: Yes.
High school. Girls. Sexuality. Dating. Gossip. Rumors. Jerks. Novels in Verse.
A good read, with a slightly misleading title, but enjoyable and not too didactic in its lesson.

Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth (Batman)
Grant Morrison
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Shrug.
Dave McKean. Batman. Asylums. Family. Murder. Sanity. Criminals. Doctors. Mysteries.
While I love both Morrison and McKean’s work, this left me cold, and it was physically difficult to read (hurt my eyes).

Sidekicks (Young Avengers Volume 1)
Allan Heinberg
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Superpowers. Jessica Jones. Marvel Universe. Captain America. Time travel.
Yet another variation on teen up and comers, rebelling against something, trying to prove their worth, yada yada.

Happy Hustle High (Volume 1)
Rie Takada
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Shrug.
Manga. High school. Gender relations. Dating. Flirting. Student council. Surfers. Romance.
Not bad, but not particularly great. Good romantic tension, though.

Light Brigade
Peter Tomasi
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
World War Two. Good and evil. Heaven and Hell. G.I.s. Angels. Monks. Battles. Romans.
Good stuff, but a bit gory for my taste.

Crawling from the Wreckage (Doom Patrol)
Grant Morrison
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Definitely!
Superheroes. Freaks. Dark forces. Multiple personalities. Symbiotic powers. Brains trapped in machines. Creepiness.
Weird and wonderful…typical Morrison. (Have I mentioned, I can't wait to read his Superman?)

A Book about Design: Complicated Doesn't Make It Good
Mark Gonyea
Kids Non-Fiction
Recommend?: Yes.
Graphic design. Color. Form. Shapes. Balance.
Fun book explaining the basics of graphic design for kids.

Mom's Cancer
Brian Fies
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Definitely!
Web comics. Family. Illness. Cancer. Hospitalization. Treatment. Sisters. Nurses. Recovery. New beginnings.
Simple, but revealing book about the journey of a family going through cancer treatment.

Comments

[holyoutlaw.livejournal.com]

I think I've heard about Bay/Sky -- it's views of San Francisco Bay over the course of a year, right? The photos I've seen have been interesting, I bet the whole together would have a lot more power.