November Books

[dirtylibrarian]

Hana-Kimi: Vol. 1
Hisaya Nakajo
Teen Graphic Novel
Manga. Gender bending. High jumping. Fandom. Crushes.
Why are these so popular?

The Wish List
Eoin Colfer
Teen Book on Tape
Good and evil. Heaven and hell. Bad kids. Last chances. Redemption. Adventure. Intergenerational relationships. Friendship.
Interesting premise. Good reader. Not sure how teens will respond.

Runt
Marion Dane Bauer
Tween Fiction
Wolves. Nature. Pack behavior.
Nice for nature loving grade school or maybe junior high kids. Easy read.

The Invisibles - Volume 1: Say You Want a Revolution
Grant Morrison
Adult Graphic Novel
Secret societies. Alternative realities. Secret agents. Marque de Sade. Keats and Shelley.
Foul, repugnant, and fascinating. Should not be left in the same room as children.

SECRET

The Invisibles - Volume 2: Apocalipstick
Grant Morrison
Adult Graphic Novel
Secret societies. Alternative realities. Secret agents. Drag queens. Witches.
Amazingly creative stuff, though disturbing. A bit violent for my tastes.

Eerie Queerie! - Volume 1
Shuri Shiozu
Teen Graphic Novel
Ghosts. Possession. Homosexuality. Forgiveness.
Homoerotic tension brought out by the main character being possessed by ghosts? A bit of a stretch for me.

Bird
Angela Johnson
Teen Fiction
Family. Friends. Heartbreak. Loneliness. Runaways. Kindness. Running. The South.
A lovely little book.

Faultline
Janet Tashjian
Teen Book on Tape
First love. Comedians. Stand-up. San Francisco. College applications. Dating abuse.
Great book on a tough subject.

The Invisibles - Volume 3: Entropy in the UK
Grant Morrison
Adult Graphic Novel
Voodoo. Giant insect alien things. Conspiracies. Secret societies. Alternative realities.
This book really sucked me into the series.

The Year of Secret Assignments*
Jaclyn Moriarty
Teen Fiction
Epistolary novels. School rivalries. Boy-girl relations. Communication. Depression. Loss. Humor.
Fun book, with interesting layering.

The Invisibles - Volume 4: Bloody Hell in America
Grant Morrison
Adult Graphic Novel

A Field Guide to Sprawl
Dolores Hayden
Adult Non-Fiction
Development. Sprawl. Urban planning. Manifest destiny. Airplane photography.
Fascinating topic, and disturbing new perspective.

The Invisibles - Volume 5: Counting to None
Grant Morrison
Adult Graphic Novel

The Invisibles - Volume 6: Kissing Mr. Quimper
Grant Morrison
Adult Graphic Novel

The Invisibles - Volume 7: The Invisible Kingdom
Grant Morrison
Adult Graphic Novel

Pool Boy
Michael Simmons
Teen Book on Tape
Loss. Wealth. Betrayal. Fathers and sons. Privilege. Poverty. Work.
Much better than I was expecting, helped I suspect by the reader. But a satisfying story, and lots of guy appeal.

Leviathan
Jens Harder
Adult Graphic Novel
Whales. Oceans. Giant Squid! Man vs. Nature. Water.
Great art, but not a very clear story arc.

Assignment, Shanghai : Photographs on the Eve of Revolution
Jack Birns
Adult Non-Fiction
Photography. China. Revolution. Journalism.
Interesting look at a turning point in history.

Rosemary's Backpack
Antony Johnston
Teen Graphic Novel
AI. Teen hackers. Skateboarders. Government secrets. Military development.
Ok, but not great.

Honey, Baby, Sweetheart
Deb Caletti
Teen Fiction
Good girls. Rebellion. Bad boys with motorcycles. Librarian mothers. Book groups. Intergenerational relations.
Not bad, but I wanted more. Romance not terribly believable.

Before We Were Free
Julia Alvarez
Teen Book on Tape
Dominican Republic. Dictators. Revolution. Family. Danger. Hiding. Escape.
A good book, read well by the author, but I still wanted more.

Candyfreak: A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America
Steve Almond
Adult Non-Fiction
Candy. Candy bars. Trends. Candy production. Personal fixations.
An interesting read, but left me wanting much more. Focus was limited.

Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
Lynne Truss
Adult Non-Fiction
Punctuation. Language. Human nature.
Finally I have learned the difference between its and it's! This is a surprisingly fun book, on what could be an incredibly dry subject.

How I Live Now
Meg Rosoff
Teen Fiction
Stepmothers. Travel. Extended family. First love. Kissing cousins. War. Occupation.
Strangely compelling read. Good first novel.

Sleeper: Out in the Cold
Ed Brubaker
Adult Graphic Novel
Undercover agents. Superpowers. Assassins.
From the same universe as The Authority.

Tell It To Naomi
Daniel Ehrenhaft
Teen Fiction
High school. Journalism. Advice columns. Secrets. Family. Friendship. Crushes.
Not bad, but not great either.

Let Me Go
Helga Schneider
Adult Non-Fiction
Mother-daughter relationships. Abandonment. Nazi party. SS officers. Hate.
Quick, but difficult read. Good for trying to understand how people can get caught up in terrible national policies.