Saga - Short Review

Saga follows Alana, a “wing”, and Marko, a “horn”. These two forbidden lovers run away from the war between their alien kinds and start a family together. The first page of the series shows Alana giving birth to their daughter, Hazel, who is the narrator of the series. Her parents lover Hazel so much and they want her to see the universe away from the war and turmoil of Landfall, the biggest planet in the galaxy, and Wreath, the small satellite orbiting Landfall. Together the three of them will be tested emotionally and physically as they cross the dangerous moon of Wreath in order to escape bounty hunters, soldiers, and their own people.

            One of the most important and successful elements of Saga is the theme of family. This comic deals with parenthood, protection, and sacrifice. Within the family dynamic of Alana, Marko, and Hazel the reader can see that this trio is more than just a family but an example that these two races can live in harmony. Another element that the comic succeeds well in is the strong sense of symbolism. One of the best examples of symbolism is the anatomy of the different races. The physical representation of characters makes the comic unique.

The narrative captivates the reader to the point where they don’t want to put the comic down. With its strong themes of family and symbolism, the reader receives the privilege of watching Alana and Marko develop as parents while navigating a war-torn moon. The reader is invested in the characters and they want them to succeed in their quest across the universe. With these enchanting characters it is easy for the reader to fall in love with their wit, bravery, and effortlessness. The comic is so good that the reader is so caught up in the narrative that they overlook the beautiful artwork because all they want to do is turn the page to find out what happens next.

4 Kids Walk Into A Bank - Short Review

This hidden gem of a comic is barley known to the comic’s community. Issued by a small publishing company, 4 Kids Walk Into A Bank is much more than just a bunch of silly kids walking in and robbing a bank. This groovy, funny, and clever story was written out of the brilliant mind of Matthew Rosenberg and brought to life from the art of Tyler Boss.  It is a refreshing coming of age story that is all about friendship, family, right and wrong, and childhood innocence. These elements are strongly bound together, hidden in the shadow of stories like the Duffer Brother’s Stranger Things and Ben Affleck’s The Town.

Who can rob a bank first: a tomboy, a nerd, a giant, and a goofball, or two murderers, a skinhead, and a marksman? This comic follows four friends, Paige, Stretch, Walter, and Berger, as they battle school, family, and the task of robbing a bank. Paige’s father has a dark past that he has always tried to keep from Paige. When his past finally catches up to him, Paige is willing to do anything to keep her father out of trouble. She recruits her best friends to help her rob the local bank before her father and his gang of thugs do it first. The four friends need to work together and touch on all of their individual talents in order to get the job done. 

All of these narrative and formal elements fit together and make the comic very successful. The themes in the comic are friendship, family, with contributing elements of innocence and moral decision making. The reader can visually see that Paige is very protective of the people she cares about. The reader sees her defend her friends from bullies and her father from the thugs. Those elements of her character drive her to make impulsive and destructive actions with good intentions. The narrative of the comic is successful because it asks the reader an important question. Does Paige’s actions deem her good or bad?

Update

Currently Reading:

The Hero Of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
They Both Die in the End by Adam Silvera
Saga: Vol 1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
4 Kids Walk Into A Bank by Matthew Rosenberg, Tyler Boss, Thomas Mauer, and Courtney Menard

Passenger Full Review

     Alexandra Bracken is a science fiction and fantasy author. She is known for The Darkest Minds series that was published in 2012. I really enjoyed the first book. I really struggled to finish the second one. Then I could not get through the last one. I read reviews online to see how it ended. This new book Passenger has me fully intrigued.
     We follow Etta, a young violin prodigy, as she embarks on a strenuous journey with a young man, Nicholas. Both of their fates are intertwined and they need to come together to save the future. The book includes puzzles, fights, and love as Etta tries to save her mother from the evil Ironwoods.
     There are some things that work and don't work in this book for me. Overall I love this world that Bracken has constructed. It is easy to understand, detailed, and complex. I want to know more about it and they families that are involved in it. Something that doesn't work for me is love story between Etta and Nicholas. It feels very instant for me. I'm interested to see how their characters develop in the next book.
     Plot: The plot flowed very nicely for me. I loved how quick the setting changed, yet I could fully picture each place. It had a very good pace and did not feel rushed. I also could not really predict too much in this book. I could not predict that ending, at all.
     Characters: I still am not a fan of Etta and Nicholas. I appreciate how brave and smart both of them are, but they still have too many flaws for me to fully fall in love with them. I am hoping this will change in the second book. I didn't really like ether of their character development.  
     Writing Style: I really enjoyed the writing style. Again it flowed very nicely and everything was beautiful. I really enjoyed how everything is so descriptive and detailed. I could picture myself in the scene as if I was watching the characters go about the story.
     Final Thoughts: I loved this quick read and I gave it a 4/5 stars on Goodreads. I loved the plot and writing style so much that I can overlook Etta and Nicholas's instalove.

Asterios Polyp Review

Asterios Polyp is a graphic novel created by David Mazzucchelli.

This graphic novel is amazing.

Plot: The novel is told from the perspective of Asterios's dead twin, Ignastio, as we follow the life of Asterios. We see him fall in love and deal with the separation of his wife. The plot can be confusing at times if you were just to glance and read through quickly. When you slow down you see all the small details that Mazzucchelli put into it.

Characters: Asterios is a very arrogant and rude character. His character development through the novel is remarkable. Hana's character is very meek yet strong. She usually brushes Asterios's rudeness off or don't acknowledge it, but she will stand up for herself and others when he goes too far.

Writing Style: I very much enjoyed Mazzucchelli's writing. He can be very direct in what he wants to  say, yet he can also be philosophical / metaphorical where you really need to think about what he is saying and how he is saying it. I very much enjoyed his writing style.

Composition: The composition of his artwork is stunning. He uses different color pallets to show different people or emotions that they are feeling. When there are no current emotions being displayed Asterios and Hana are purplish in color. When Asterios and Hana are fighting Asterios turns blue and is drawn as very geometrical while Hana is red with whispy and cross stitching lines.

Here is an example:

Overall: I give this novel 5/5 stars on goodreads. The only thing that I did not like was the ending. To me it seemed very rushed and didn't follow the flow as the rest of the story.

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Passenger is about Etta Spencer, a violin prodigy, finding out that she has the power to time travel.

I started listening to the audiobook a couple of days ago and I have become addicted to the story. I don't usually gravitate toward time travel books but this one has really captured my interest. Right now I am about half way through the book.

Plot: The plot line of this book is a little slow to being with.  It took a little while into the book for the action to begin. Now, I like the twist of Etta having to go on this adventure to retrieve the object that her mother "stole".

Characters: There are a couple of main characters so far. Etta to me is a little annoying at time and some of her actions don't make sense to me and I think she is too dependent on Nicholas. He is very mysterious and very confusing to me. This seems like there is an insta-love situation here that I'm not really a fan of.

Writing Style: The writing style is nothing special. I don't really have a problem with it.

Overall: Overall I am excited to see where the rest of the book takes me!

Check out the goodreads page here

Update

Currently Reading:

- Passengers by Alexandra Bracken |  10% Done  | Audiobook

- Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard  |  1% Done  |  iBooks

- A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin  |  65% Done |  Audible 

- Playing While White by David J. Leonard |  34% Done  |  Print

- Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli  |  40% Done  | Print