May 2004 Books

[dirtylibrarian]

True Story: Swear to God
Tom Beland
Adult Graphic Novel
Romance. Travel. Fate. Falling in love.
Mushy, but nice.


SECRET


The Fattening Hut
Pat Lowery Collins
Teen Fiction
Tribal culture. Traditions. Women's rights. Rights of passage. Female circumcision. Escape.
Good solid story. While not at all based in facts of a particular culture, tells truths greater than the fiction involved.


Brooklyn Dreams
J.M. DeMatteis
Adult Graphic Novel
Coming of age. Family. Brooklyn. Drugs. God. Love. Enlightenment.
This sat on my self for a long while before I read it. The artistic style really didn't draw me in. But once I started it, I found the storytelling and character compelling and true.


Carver: a Life in Poems
Marilyn Marilyn
Teen Poetry
George Washington Carver. Scientist. Humanitarian. Peanuts. Goobers. Biology.
Excellent biography. A bit slow in parts, but quite inspirational.


Hellboy Junior
Mike Mignola
Adult Graphic Novel
Foul humor. Hitler. Maggots. Aliens.
Yuck.


The Maxx
Sam Kieth
Adult Graphic Novel
Heroes. Social workers. Self delusion.
Bleh.


Those Who Hunt Elves
Yu Yagami
Teen Graphic Novel
Magic quests. Elf stripping.
Lame.


Splintering
Eireann Corrigan
Teen Novel in Verse
Random violence. Trauma. Family. PCP.
Intense read about a family recovering from attack.

SECRET

Stray Toasters
Bill Sienkiewicz
Adult Graphic Novel
Violence. Murder. Psychology. Robots?
Fascinating art, but hard to read.


Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight
Alexandra (BoBo) Fuller
Adult Book on Tape
Africa. Settlers. War torn countries. Boarding schools. Racism. Family. Home.
Depressing, though interesting for getting insight on why people try to live in strange and difficult places.


Messenger
Lois Lowry
Teen Fiction
Community. Corruption. Commerce. Rebirth.
While I fundamentally agree with what the author is trying to illustrate, I felt it was a bit heavy handed. Plus the ending pissed me off.


Heartbeat
Sharon Creech
Tween Novel in Verse
Runners. Art. Aging grandparents. New siblings. Friendship.
Nice, but not remarkable.


The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things
Carolyn Mackler
Teen Fiction
Body image. Friendship. Family. Date-rape. Self esteem.
I adore this book! Very real, fun, and touching. Highly recommended.


Can't Get There From Here
Todd Strasser
Teen Fiction
Homeless teens. Desperation. Choices. Hope.
Great book with endearing, sad characters.


Dragon and Thief
Timothy Zahn
Teen Fiction
Dragonlike aliens. Symbiotic relationships. False accusations. Space travel. Crime.
Good, fun sci-fi for teens.

SECRET

Surviving the Applewhites
Stephanie S. Tolan
Tween Book on Tape
Family. Art. Music. Theater. Basset hounds. Goats. Butterflies. Piercings. Dyed hair.
Very nice, light, fun, positive.


The Hundred Dresses
Eleanor Estes
Grade School Book on Tape
Teasing. Polish immigrants. Drawing. Newbery.
Ok, but a little heavy handed.


Transmetropolitan: The Cure
Warren Ellis
Adult Graphic Novel
Detectives. Deviants. Zombies. Conspiracies.
Violent, gritty, and edgy, but lots of fun. Sorta like a futuristic Hunter S. Thompson.

SECRET

Kira-Kira
Cynthia Kadohata
Teen Fiction
Japanese-Americans. 1950s. The South. Illness.
Beautiful book about family, discrimination, and loss.


my new filing technique is unstoppable
David Rees
Adult Graphic Novel
Office humor.
Much prefer Get Your War On by the same author.


True Confessions of a Heartless Girl
Martha Brooks
Teen Fiction
Small towns. Canada. Teen pregnancy. Choices. Friendship.
Excellent book, with endearing characters.


Violent Cases
Neil Gaiman
Adult Graphic Novel
Childhood. Memory. Gangsters. Storytelling.
Re-release, written with Dave McKean, how can you go wrong?

Comments

[libation.livejournal.com]

Wah, we wanted to get Kira-Kira but they wouldn't let us pick it during selection committee.

[dirtylibrarian.livejournal.com]

How come? I've heard nothing but good things about it.

[libation.livejournal.com]

We are supposed to pick books only from "established" authors so we have to fight to get a first novel, even if it gets a starred review. We have to fight for most YA hardcovers, actually, because we are encouraged to buy paperbacks instead because according to some survey somebody did somewhere sometime they discovered that YA's prefer paperbacks.

Not that any of this frustrates me, of course. ;)