March 2011 books

[dirtylibrarian]

Rosebush
Michele Jaffe
Teen Fiction
Recommend?: Yes.
Suspense. Popularity. Attempted murder. Guilt. Betrayal. Parties. Liars. Hospitals. Romance. Family.
Dark, suspenseful, and sometimes difficult to find likable characters, but I think teens will love it.


Underground
Jeff Parker
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Caves. Rangers. Thugs. National Parks. Tourism. Small town politics. Adventure. Romance.
Exciting realistic comic with awesome illustrations.





7 Billion Needles (Volume 1)
Nobuaki Tadano
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Shrug.
Manga. Aliens. Destruction. Japanese teens. School. Outsiders. Possession.
Nice art and interesting enough story, I just wasn't into it.


Green Monk
Brandon Dayton
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Adventure. Fighters. Giants. Justice. Witches. Curses. Quests.
Quick read, but packs a lot in.

Midnight Robber
Nalo Hopkinson
Adult Fiction
Recommend?: Yes.
Science fiction. Caribbean cultures. Crime. Punishment. AI. Escapes. Aliens. Legends. Rape. Incest. Survival. Friendship. Costumes.
Didn't always follow the slang, but a good read overall.

Girl Comics
various
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Women writers. Women artists. Marvel characters. Women's history.
Fun and very well done. Had quite a few of my favorites included.




Pomegranate Soup
Marsha Mehran
Adult Fiction
Recommend?: Definitely!
Iranians. Revolution. Escape. Ireland. Cooking. Food. Acceptance. Racism. Travellers. Romance. Friendship. Family.
Lovely little book with great recipes and history lessons mixed together.

The Boy in the Dress
David Walliams
Tween Fiction
Recommend?: Yes.
England. Family. Single fathers. Brothers. Soccer. Fashion. School. Girls. Cross-dressing.
Nice message and sweet characters, but less compelling than I hoped.




Graffiti Paris
Fabienne Grevy
Adult Non-Fiction
Recommend?: Yes.
Paris. France. Street art. Stickers. Stencils. Spray paint. Tile. Paintings.
Lovely collection of various stuff sighted around Paris. Makes me want to make my own.

Death's Greedy Comeuppance (Goon - Volume 10)
Eric Powell
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Definitely!
Thugs. Ghouls. Quests. Birthdays. Slaughter. Cake. Loss. Tragedy.
Yet another excellent collection of Goon comics.





One Crazy Summer
Rita Williams-Garcia
Tween Audiobook
Recommend?: Yes.
Summer vacation. Oakland. Absent mothers. Poets. Black Panthers. San Francisco. Sisters.
Very good. Doesn't back away from tough questions, but makes them understandable to a kid.

Bodyworld
Dash Shaw
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Small towns. Drugs. Addiction. Sex. Maps. High school. Creeps. Fires. Aliens. Plants.
Highly experimental and strange to the point of trippy.





Love & War (Library Wars - Volume 1)
Hiro Arikawa
Teen Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Manga. Japan. Censorship. Special agents. Librarians. Libraries. Books. School.
Kind of silly, but you've got to love the premise.

The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee
Sarah Silverman
Adult Audiobook
Recommend?: Yes.
Autobiography. Childhood. Adolescence. Bed wetting.. Sleepovers. Family. Friendships. Comedy. Humor. Stand-up. Writing. Sex. Profanity. Faux pas.
Enjoyable, and possibly encouraging to youth struggling with bedwetting and aspiring comedians.




Think Again
JonArno Lawson
Teen Poetry
Recommend?: Yes.
First love. Summer vacations. Romance. Poetry. Confusion. Communication. Frustration. Heartbreak.
Delightfully short poems, capturing lots of the teen emotional roller coaster. I just wish it had lingered on the bliss part a bit more.

Artichoke Tales
Megan Kelso
Adult Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Indie comics. War. History. Perspective. Family. Romance. Tradition.
Great style, just didn't stick with me much.



Mockingbird
Kathryn Erskine
Tween Audiobook
Recommend?: Definitely!
Asperger's. Loss. Brothers. Fathers. School shootings. Emotions. Friendship. Councilors. Frustration. Closure.
Just beautiful. Captures this unique voice so well.

Far from Home (Zita the Spacegrl - Volume 1)
Ben Hatke
Kids Graphic Novel
Recommend?: Yes.
Science fiction. Portals. Aliens. Giant mice. Asteroids. Heroes. Friendship. Exploration. Adventure. Rescues.
Both cute and well done. Would be great for 3-5th graders.



Alvin Ho: Allergic to Birthday Parties, Science Projects, and Other Man-Made Catastrophes (Alvin Ho - Volume 3)
Lenore Look
Kids Fiction
Recommend?: Definitely!
Humor. Massachusetts. Grade school. Siblings. Costumes. Birthday parties. Manners. Boy-girl relations. Tours. Cemeteries. World records. Friendship. Family.
Such a delightful series. I do so love being able to rely on it for a good laugh.


Wolverine: Worst Day Ever!
Barry Lyga
Tween Fiction
Recommend?: Yes.
Wolverine. X-Men. Schools. Invisibility. Super powers. Friendship. Mentoring. Comics.
Silly fun. Good for tween boys I think.





Which "Aesthetics" Do You Mean?: Ten Definitions
Leonard Koren
Adult Non-Fiction
Recommend?: Shrug.
Art. Perception. Theory. Aesthetics.
Aesthetically satisfying to look at, but not the most fulfilling read.