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divineblkpearl's Reviews (732)
I think...I will reread this one in the very near future because it truly didn't stick with me. I got lost somewhere in the middle so the ending left me with mixed feelings. What I did like: tackling the issues of figuring out your identity, sexuality, how depression and suicide affect us, self worth. The artwork is always on point from Asano, in particular I loved the scenes at the shore through the book, especially during the shore.
I 'm not bothered by all the sex and nudity, I believe perhaps there's some scenes that feature that some depth--of action, of silence that tells more that's going on. One thing is for sure is that Inio Asano doesn't spoon feed readers anything and I have enjoyed other works by him like Solanin and What a Wonderful World! yet this one I just couldnt connect with as much as.
I know Asano's trademark is the darker stuff that's not for kids that's haunting and can be funny--maybe I'll reread this one after devoring Goodnight Pun Pun and rereading Nijigahara Holograph. Maybe I'll feel different?
I 'm not bothered by all the sex and nudity, I believe perhaps there's some scenes that feature that some depth--of action, of silence that tells more that's going on. One thing is for sure is that Inio Asano doesn't spoon feed readers anything and I have enjoyed other works by him like Solanin and What a Wonderful World! yet this one I just couldnt connect with as much as.
I know Asano's trademark is the darker stuff that's not for kids that's haunting and can be funny--maybe I'll reread this one after devoring Goodnight Pun Pun and rereading Nijigahara Holograph. Maybe I'll feel different?
My Mommy Medicine is a darling new book for the kid lit crew detailing all the ways “Mommy Medicine can heal all the woes and make any day the best day!” It features a little girl who is under the weather and her mom who is at home with her to make things right.
Danticat’s wording is an adult’s recollection of favorite moments that may be near and dear to readers: a hug so warm and tight it feels like wearing my toastiest pajamas on a cool night” to “sometimes it’s a whispered prayer, just before nodding off at nap time.”
Wright’s illustrations are bright, big and beautiful. They fill up the page, and mom and daughter have various facial expressions the whole way through. The looks on their faces; hiding half their faces between their cards in a card game and the ultra silly, squishy face of the little girl before drinking her hot beverage were favorites of mine.
This copy of the book was taken to story time and loved on lots by the kiddos with an instant acknowledgement of several “SHE LOOKS LIKE ME!!!” cries referring to the little girl main character with her brown skin, curly hair, and mama that also looks like her. The reading raised questions and observations too like, what does a French horn sound like and what color was squash? Was it yellow? This is great for educators, parents, and guardians alike for the younger ones as it invites dialogue and conversation and even a reread. Words are important! Stories are important! Children getting these stories are important!
If you’re looking for a new picture book for your little ones, this one looks to be lovingly created by two Black women. I loved it, and the target audience loved it so much I almost didn’t get my copy of the book back.
http://blacknerdproblems.com/my-mommy-medicine-is-a-hug-from-your-mama-in-a-picture-book/
Danticat’s wording is an adult’s recollection of favorite moments that may be near and dear to readers: a hug so warm and tight it feels like wearing my toastiest pajamas on a cool night” to “sometimes it’s a whispered prayer, just before nodding off at nap time.”
Wright’s illustrations are bright, big and beautiful. They fill up the page, and mom and daughter have various facial expressions the whole way through. The looks on their faces; hiding half their faces between their cards in a card game and the ultra silly, squishy face of the little girl before drinking her hot beverage were favorites of mine.
This copy of the book was taken to story time and loved on lots by the kiddos with an instant acknowledgement of several “SHE LOOKS LIKE ME!!!” cries referring to the little girl main character with her brown skin, curly hair, and mama that also looks like her. The reading raised questions and observations too like, what does a French horn sound like and what color was squash? Was it yellow? This is great for educators, parents, and guardians alike for the younger ones as it invites dialogue and conversation and even a reread. Words are important! Stories are important! Children getting these stories are important!
If you’re looking for a new picture book for your little ones, this one looks to be lovingly created by two Black women. I loved it, and the target audience loved it so much I almost didn’t get my copy of the book back.
http://blacknerdproblems.com/my-mommy-medicine-is-a-hug-from-your-mama-in-a-picture-book/
I’ve always adored fairy tales and folklore and that love has carried on to my adulthood. So this tale was one I wanted to read for sure. Our heroine, a young woman named Casiopea Tun who may have been born under an unlucky star for all she knows, is wasting her youth away in her grandfather’s house. Doing laundry, cleaning floors and overall being treated like a servant without much regard. She’s a survivor with a quiet fire within her that refuses to be extinguished as day in and day out she endures cruel words and a beating here and there. She doesn’t fancy herself as a Cinderella type but dreams of life– of being able to true start living her life free from her grandfather’s house – that doesn’t feel like a home despite his wealth – and out of the dusty, little southern Mexico town.
The Jazz Age is in full swing, and Casiopea wants freedom, to drive a shiny automobile, to go dancing, to travel, to wear pretty things, hell to be able to have a day off. She’s been living in the suffocating presence of those she calls her kinfolk for way too long. Even the relative closest in age to her, her cousin Martin, is a horrid excuse of a human being who thoroughly enjoys his status of being the next (undeserving) head of the family. Martin reminds her of their respective stations every day. Her life takes a huge turn when, as a punishment, she’s left home. She’s left behind as her family leaves on a day trip. Casiopea snoops around in the bedroom of her ornery grandfather to find that he’s left his most prized possession behind: a mysterious wooden box with intricate Mayan artwork and a key he rarely takes off. In opening this chest, she sets herself on a journey where she’ll see sights brighter than many a star and end up changing her own destiny: she accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan God of Death, who requests her help in recovering his throne after being betrayed by his brother.
The Mayan God of Death, whom we learn is “Prince of the Starless Night, Firstborn of Xibalba,” gives Casiopea the name of Hun-Kame’ to refer to him by and is an imposing force. Both girl and God are linked, their destinies tied together as their lives depend on each other to make the trip. Casiopea, named after a constellation by her kind hearted, poetry-loving, dead father, is doomed if they fail, and if she succeeds she is promised her heart’s content. Unbeknownst to her, if they fail, the God braced in the flesh will face a different kind of fate. It is a different type of death, yet one that is far more ideal than her end. It is absolutely fascinating to see these two on the pages, traveling together, experiencing the cities together and meeting all the supernatural bumps in the night together. It’s a visual hourglass of The God becoming more and more human and the girl losing more and more of her life force and what makes her, her.
With each page that brought me closer to the end, I mourned. Yet I wouldn’t dare stop reading and be left wondering who made it to the Black throne and whose life was forfeit. I wouldn’t mind taking another trip, being on another ship with this book close to my heart. I wouldn’t mind re-reading this odyssey that had everything from the bright lights of Mexico City to the darkness of the Mayan underworld. I wouldn’t mind being rocked to sleep by waves big and deep again, with my eyes too heavy to continue reading of the young woman who dared to live and who dared to not give the God of the Underworld his new heart’s desire.
Read the rest of my review here: https://blacknerdproblems.com/gods-of-jade-and-shadow-representation-self-confidence-and-bravery-in-the-arms-of-mayan-folklore/
The Jazz Age is in full swing, and Casiopea wants freedom, to drive a shiny automobile, to go dancing, to travel, to wear pretty things, hell to be able to have a day off. She’s been living in the suffocating presence of those she calls her kinfolk for way too long. Even the relative closest in age to her, her cousin Martin, is a horrid excuse of a human being who thoroughly enjoys his status of being the next (undeserving) head of the family. Martin reminds her of their respective stations every day. Her life takes a huge turn when, as a punishment, she’s left home. She’s left behind as her family leaves on a day trip. Casiopea snoops around in the bedroom of her ornery grandfather to find that he’s left his most prized possession behind: a mysterious wooden box with intricate Mayan artwork and a key he rarely takes off. In opening this chest, she sets herself on a journey where she’ll see sights brighter than many a star and end up changing her own destiny: she accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan God of Death, who requests her help in recovering his throne after being betrayed by his brother.
The Mayan God of Death, whom we learn is “Prince of the Starless Night, Firstborn of Xibalba,” gives Casiopea the name of Hun-Kame’ to refer to him by and is an imposing force. Both girl and God are linked, their destinies tied together as their lives depend on each other to make the trip. Casiopea, named after a constellation by her kind hearted, poetry-loving, dead father, is doomed if they fail, and if she succeeds she is promised her heart’s content. Unbeknownst to her, if they fail, the God braced in the flesh will face a different kind of fate. It is a different type of death, yet one that is far more ideal than her end. It is absolutely fascinating to see these two on the pages, traveling together, experiencing the cities together and meeting all the supernatural bumps in the night together. It’s a visual hourglass of The God becoming more and more human and the girl losing more and more of her life force and what makes her, her.
With each page that brought me closer to the end, I mourned. Yet I wouldn’t dare stop reading and be left wondering who made it to the Black throne and whose life was forfeit. I wouldn’t mind taking another trip, being on another ship with this book close to my heart. I wouldn’t mind re-reading this odyssey that had everything from the bright lights of Mexico City to the darkness of the Mayan underworld. I wouldn’t mind being rocked to sleep by waves big and deep again, with my eyes too heavy to continue reading of the young woman who dared to live and who dared to not give the God of the Underworld his new heart’s desire.
Read the rest of my review here: https://blacknerdproblems.com/gods-of-jade-and-shadow-representation-self-confidence-and-bravery-in-the-arms-of-mayan-folklore/
3.7
I love fairytales and folklore with a passion, on the same token I adore the postapocalyptic genre so this postapocalyptic take on the classic "Little Red Riding Hood" caught my eye. First off, having the protagonist be a biracial, disabled young woman with a prosthetic isn’t common. (And possibly bisexual, as there was a line about Red dating people so I thought was to hint at dating guys and girls? It was welcomed and I really enjoyed the development her character had throughout the book. Red is a survivor, a realist and most of all, now alone. No family. No friends. Just her and her common sense and stubbornness that’s kept her alive. In this new world where an infection decimated the most of the population, known as the Crisis changed the world as everyone knew it.
What I loved was the pacing of this book until—well, the climax which fell flat but surfed to a fantastic but realistic ending. (Fell flat as a character from earlier in the book appeared and changed the course of what was happening—very jarring) There is a HUGE defining moment after a bout of action that really makes Red, or Cordelia stand out and shine. There’s flashbacks here and there that take into account the early days of The Crisis that cut in and out and are as heartbreaking and that are informative. I can appreciate the progression of the virus *small spoiler* it evolves-- although the author doesn’t give much detail into more backstory for the virus which may frustrate some readers.
This is a dark and gritty tale and I figured that going in yet there are a number of caution warnings which should include some racial violence/individuals with racist leanings that participate in an event that we, thankfully, don’t get full details on but it stunned me into putting down my kindle. It did its job in producing such a visceral reaction from me, but hey—it does factor in in who I recommend this read to. The Girl in Red is a well written book with a unique premise that draws you in with plenty of moments where I had to highlight line after line that gripped me. The postapocalyptic take on the "Little Red Riding Hood is worth picking up—the situations Red finds herself in and how she reacts are realistic, engaging and emotionally provoking. We get a character that I mostly enjoyed following as her character development is top tier and in the end, her victories, while hard won are earned which makes the ending so satisfying.
I love fairytales and folklore with a passion, on the same token I adore the postapocalyptic genre so this postapocalyptic take on the classic "Little Red Riding Hood" caught my eye. First off, having the protagonist be a biracial, disabled young woman with a prosthetic isn’t common. (And possibly bisexual, as there was a line about Red dating people so I thought was to hint at dating guys and girls? It was welcomed and I really enjoyed the development her character had throughout the book. Red is a survivor, a realist and most of all, now alone. No family. No friends. Just her and her common sense and stubbornness that’s kept her alive. In this new world where an infection decimated the most of the population, known as the Crisis changed the world as everyone knew it.
What I loved was the pacing of this book until—well, the climax which fell flat but surfed to a fantastic but realistic ending. (Fell flat as a character from earlier in the book appeared and changed the course of what was happening—very jarring) There is a HUGE defining moment after a bout of action that really makes Red, or Cordelia stand out and shine. There’s flashbacks here and there that take into account the early days of The Crisis that cut in and out and are as heartbreaking and that are informative. I can appreciate the progression of the virus *small spoiler* it evolves-- although the author doesn’t give much detail into more backstory for the virus which may frustrate some readers.
This is a dark and gritty tale and I figured that going in yet there are a number of caution warnings which should include some racial violence/individuals with racist leanings that participate in an event that we, thankfully, don’t get full details on but it stunned me into putting down my kindle. It did its job in producing such a visceral reaction from me, but hey—it does factor in in who I recommend this read to. The Girl in Red is a well written book with a unique premise that draws you in with plenty of moments where I had to highlight line after line that gripped me. The postapocalyptic take on the "Little Red Riding Hood is worth picking up—the situations Red finds herself in and how she reacts are realistic, engaging and emotionally provoking. We get a character that I mostly enjoyed following as her character development is top tier and in the end, her victories, while hard won are earned which makes the ending so satisfying.
11 pages of gold.
“Your black friend would like to forget that he is your black friend”
“Your black friend would like to forget how you use him like an information desk for black people”
“Your black friend would like to forget about what you’re like at the club”
“Your black friend would like to forget that he is your black friend”
“Your black friend would like to forget how you use him like an information desk for black people”
“Your black friend would like to forget about what you’re like at the club”
