Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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A Delightful Medley of the Finest New Middle Grade Graphic Novels

Freestyle by Gale Galligan

Growing Pains by Kathryn Ormsbee and Molly Brooks

The Baby-Sitters Club #12: Jessi's Secret Language by Chan Chau

Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega and Rose Bousamra

Tidesong by Wendy Xu

The Tryout by Christina Soontornvat and Joanna Cacao

October 23, 2022 by GentleRain Leave a Comment

My love of middle grade graphic novels continues to deepen as more and more great books come out. Over the past week I read these six, which almost all came out recently (Tidesong came out in 2021). What really struck me about most of them is the wonderful diversity of viewpoints and experiences, which makes for a varied and rewarding reading experience. Hopefully as the generation of kids reading these grows up, we will see a similar boom in YA and adult graphic novels. Freestyle […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books Tagged With: Chan Chau, Christina Soontornvat and Joanna Cacao, Claribel A. Ortega and Rose Bousamra, female friendships, friendship, Gale Galligan, graphic novels, growing up/coming of age, Kathryn Ormsbee and Molly Brooks, middle grade, Self-acceptance, Self-confidence, Wendy Xu

GentleRain's CBR14 Review No:113 · Genres: Children's Books, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books · Tags: Chan Chau, Christina Soontornvat and Joanna Cacao, Claribel A. Ortega and Rose Bousamra, female friendships, friendship, Gale Galligan, graphic novels, growing up/coming of age, Kathryn Ormsbee and Molly Brooks, middle grade, Self-acceptance, Self-confidence, Wendy Xu ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

The Magicless Hero who Muscles His Way Through, and we’ve seen it all before

Mashle: Magic and Muscles, vols. 1-2 by Hajime Komoto

January 1, 2022 by CoffeeShopReader Leave a Comment

I think I saw an excerpt of Mashle: Magic and Muscles somewhere and decided it looked dumb. Then I decided to give it another chance when I was shelf-surfing in the library which turned out to have volumes 1-2. The premise of this manga series and most of the key characters so far are pretty recognizable. The hero Mash is a magicless idiot with only ridiculous strength to get by in a world where magic defines your status and prospects. To get his dad out […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Graphic Novels/Comic Books Tagged With: #fantasy, graphic novels, Hajime Komoto, magic, magic school, manga, Mashle Magic and Muscles

CoffeeShopReader's CBR14 Review No:3 · Genres: Fantasy, Graphic Novels/Comic Books · Tags: #fantasy, graphic novels, Hajime Komoto, magic, magic school, manga, Mashle Magic and Muscles ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Read it just so I’d be prepped for the movie.

Eternals by Neil Gaiman

May 17, 2021 by narfna Leave a Comment

I read this over two months ago now, and it didn’t make a strong impression on me at the time, so this review isn’t going to be based on anything really concrete. Just FYI. I’ve actually had this on my TBR forever, because Neil Gaiman, but the premise never grabbed me enough for me to actually do the (slight) work of picking it up. But the movie is coming out soon-ish, so I figured I’d give it a go. And it was fine! I liked […]

Filed Under: Graphic Novels/Comic Books Tagged With: Comics, eternals, eternals 2006, graphic novels, John Romita Jr, marvel, Marvel Comics, Neil Gaiman, superheroes

narfna's CBR13 Review No:40 · Genres: Graphic Novels/Comic Books · Tags: Comics, eternals, eternals 2006, graphic novels, John Romita Jr, marvel, Marvel Comics, Neil Gaiman, superheroes ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Does what it says on the tin!

Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang

October 15, 2020 by narfna Leave a Comment

This was good and I liked it, but I didn’t expect it to be so young-skewing. It’s definitely a middle grade book. Older teenagers and adults can read and enjoy it, but it’s not really an all-ages read. Aside from that, it was really well done. I went into this with no background, and it was a fun read that way, but I wish I would have read the historical context/afterword from Yang at the back of the book first. Better yet, I wish they […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: adapted from radio, DC Comics, Gene Luen Yang, graphic novels, Gurihuru, historical fiction, Immigrants, middle grade, Superman, superman smashes the klan

narfna's CBR12 Review No:145 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: adapted from radio, DC Comics, Gene Luen Yang, graphic novels, Gurihuru, historical fiction, Immigrants, middle grade, Superman, superman smashes the klan ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Play me your tiny violins and order me a waaambulance, because this review is very whiny.

Fence, Vol. 4: Rivals by C.S. Pacat

September 8, 2020 by narfna 3 Comments

These take way too long to come out and they are way too short give me the next one nowwww. Seriously, it’s so frustrating. I just binge re-read the first three volumes as a refresher, and then went straight into this one, and it took me all of an hour, and then it was done, and now I have to wait. And I’ve been trained to wait since I was a wee-reader, but for some reason, waiting for this series is something that is very […]

Filed Under: Graphic Novels/Comic Books Tagged With: boarding school, c.s. pacat, Comics, fence, fencing, graphic novels, johanna the mad, LGBTQIA, narfna, Rivals, vol. 4

narfna's CBR12 Review No:128 · Genres: Graphic Novels/Comic Books · Tags: boarding school, c.s. pacat, Comics, fence, fencing, graphic novels, johanna the mad, LGBTQIA, narfna, Rivals, vol. 4 ·
Rating:
· 3 Comments

“Nobody died. how can you kill an idea? How can you kill the personification of an action?” “Then what died? who are you mourning?” “A point of view.”

The Sandman, Vol. 10: The Wake by Neil Gaiman

August 26, 2020 by narfna Leave a Comment

This is the second time while reading this series I have been sorely tempted to give one of these five stars, and I probably will when I revisit in future. What’s holding me back right now is that for most of this, I was only mildly emotionally engaged, but the very last issue, “The Tempest,” is one of my favorite things in this series, and maybe that Gaiman has ever written. I got a little teary while reading it, and in a different state of […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Horror, Speculative Fiction Tagged With: #fantasy, Charles Vess, Comics, graphic novels, horror, narfna, Neil Gaiman, The Sandman, the wake

narfna's CBR12 Review No:102 · Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Speculative Fiction · Tags: #fantasy, Charles Vess, Comics, graphic novels, horror, narfna, Neil Gaiman, The Sandman, the wake ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
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