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loiscc's Reviews (313)
3.5 stars!!! Beautifully optimistic and hopeful, Autoboyography is about a high school senior, Tanner Scott, a queer kid living in an 'LDS-infested' town, who falls in love with Sebastian Brother, an LDS church member. Sebastian is the mentor in one of Tanner's classes where students must write a book in four months, but it's all Tanner can do to not think about Sebastian and his floppy hair and prominent blush. Their taboo romance will test them both in ways they could never imagine.
This book struck a personal cord with me but critically speaking, I thought the way Autoboyography started was too pedestrian for my tastes. It was a very banal, everyday beginning that did nothing to capture me and compel me to keep reading, nonetheless I carried on reading and my investment was rewarded. If it hadn't been for that, I would have given this book 4 stars on the basis of the emotional connection I shared with it because it is otherwise, an extremely heartfelt and intuitive novel.
This book struck a personal cord with me but critically speaking, I thought the way Autoboyography started was too pedestrian for my tastes. It was a very banal, everyday beginning that did nothing to capture me and compel me to keep reading, nonetheless I carried on reading and my investment was rewarded. If it hadn't been for that, I would have given this book 4 stars on the basis of the emotional connection I shared with it because it is otherwise, an extremely heartfelt and intuitive novel.
The Clothesline Swing by Danny Ramadan is a profoundly abstract contemporary novel about a Syrian refugee couple who fled the war in their country to migrate to Canada. Now they are old and frail men, one of whom is nearing death. The unnamed lovers, 'the hakawati' (storyteller) and the artist trade stories and relive traumatic memories of their war-bridled past, with Death himself as their companion. This book was both beautifully poetic and extremely angering. It was one of the most in-depth books I've read all year.
Love Stage was a laugh-out-loud feel good manga about an effeminate university student called Izumi, who wants nothing more than to escape the glitzy lifestyle of his showbiz family and focus on his dreams of becoming a manga artist. When he was younger, his parents decided it would be a good idea for him to dress up as a girl and appear in a wedding commercial alongside another young actor who went onto become a sensation. 10 years later and the sensation, Ryouma, finds out that his costar, the 'girl' he fell in love with is actually a guy. Despite some problematic scenes, Love Stage was a fun read with a witty sense of humour and disarming appeal that was hard to resist.
Lot is a collection of stories centering on the lives of a dispossessed and sidelined community in Houston, Texas. In particular it focuses on the story of a birracial black Latino man from a broken home and his path of self-discovery. Lot had a very unique rhythm that was hard to settle into at first given all the colloquialisms, vernacular and idiomatic Spanish but I was able to find my footing as the story progressed and empathise a lot more with its characters and their tragic tales of survival, desperation and loss. From a Venezuelan teen with no option than to take up a life in drug dealing to a baseball pro carrying the hopes of the humble neighbourhood that made him, Lot gave me much to think about, like a modern-day piece of art that leaves much to interpretation.
tw: contains offensive language
tw: contains offensive language
Akame ga KILL is about a boy called Tatsumi who comes from an impoverished country village. Tatsumi and his two childhood friends decide to visit the capital where they hope to make enough money to send back to their village.
But Tatsumi's eager ambitions are dashed when he realises the corruption of those who reside in the capital and cruelty of those who hold power. Soon though, he discovers a band of righteous assassins called The Night Raid, whose sole focus is to destroy the empire that wields oppression over the country. When he finds out that his friends have been the victim of a gruesome act, Tatsumi is conflicted about whether he will join the The Night Raid or continue on in his noble endeavour.
This first volume is a high-octane, energy fueled manga that would be ideal for lovers of action and adventure. It had much longer chapters than I'm used to seeing in a manga and some alarmingly graphic illustrations but I loved the very intense and pulsating good vs. evil dynamic, executed to blood-pumping perfection.
But Tatsumi's eager ambitions are dashed when he realises the corruption of those who reside in the capital and cruelty of those who hold power. Soon though, he discovers a band of righteous assassins called The Night Raid, whose sole focus is to destroy the empire that wields oppression over the country. When he finds out that his friends have been the victim of a gruesome act, Tatsumi is conflicted about whether he will join the The Night Raid or continue on in his noble endeavour.
This first volume is a high-octane, energy fueled manga that would be ideal for lovers of action and adventure. It had much longer chapters than I'm used to seeing in a manga and some alarmingly graphic illustrations but I loved the very intense and pulsating good vs. evil dynamic, executed to blood-pumping perfection.
Watch Us Rise is a young adult fiction novel about best friends, Jasmine Gray and Chelsea Spencer who are both passionate about feminism and the arts. They attend a specialist social justice school which together with their friends, Isaac and Nadine, they intend to use as a platform to make their voices heard, despite the attempts of teacher and student alike to silence them.
Let's start with the positives: I enjoyed the very post-modern framework of this book in the way it combined prose with artwork, blogs, poetry and other elements. I also thought this book did well to capture the enthusiasm, passion and anger of the feminist movement, especially nowadays with greater emphasis being placed on intersectionality. I could also appreciate the focus of this book towards a younger audience and how important it is for society to change the script of gender role stereotyping for the benefit of future generations.
As to the reason why I rated this book only two stars despite its impactful societal message, simply put, I thought that the story itself was minimal at best and practically non-existent at worst. The plot and the narrative felt extremely skeletal and the dialogue, manufactured in a way that just didn't flow for me.
When I think of the authorial intent behind this book, I don't think the storytelling was its primary focus. I believe the political import of this book was the main driving factor and if such is the case then this book certainly achieved its aim. But if the purpose of this book was to speak about women's rights whilst also delivering a solid storyline then unfortunately this book didn't work for me inasmuch as I fully appreciate what it was trying to do.
Let's start with the positives: I enjoyed the very post-modern framework of this book in the way it combined prose with artwork, blogs, poetry and other elements. I also thought this book did well to capture the enthusiasm, passion and anger of the feminist movement, especially nowadays with greater emphasis being placed on intersectionality. I could also appreciate the focus of this book towards a younger audience and how important it is for society to change the script of gender role stereotyping for the benefit of future generations.
As to the reason why I rated this book only two stars despite its impactful societal message, simply put, I thought that the story itself was minimal at best and practically non-existent at worst. The plot and the narrative felt extremely skeletal and the dialogue, manufactured in a way that just didn't flow for me.
When I think of the authorial intent behind this book, I don't think the storytelling was its primary focus. I believe the political import of this book was the main driving factor and if such is the case then this book certainly achieved its aim. But if the purpose of this book was to speak about women's rights whilst also delivering a solid storyline then unfortunately this book didn't work for me inasmuch as I fully appreciate what it was trying to do.
You Should See Me In A Crown is a cute, lovable young adult fiction novel about high school student, Liz Lighty who starts a campaign to become prom queen of Campbell County and thus win a scholarship to the highly coveted Pennington college.
This book has all the key elements that work perfectly in books directed at younger readers; high school drama, crushes, short chapters, a greater emphasis on dialogue, all the pop culture references you could possibly want and it delivers all this with an empowering, intuitive narrative that celebrates black queer women. To that end, I think this book definitely achieved all it set out to do and would recommend it to the aforementioned group.
I did find reading this book to be an all round pleasant experience but it felt so average and sub-par as to be forgettable. This book had some of the cheesiest lines and clichés, it had the 'miscommunication troupe,' which honestly is the worst kind of troupe there is in my opinion and characters that felt like plot devices as well as a super predictable ending. However as a young adult novel, I thought it was solid and there were moments I thoroughly enjoyed so I gave it an average rating of 3 stars.
This book has all the key elements that work perfectly in books directed at younger readers; high school drama, crushes, short chapters, a greater emphasis on dialogue, all the pop culture references you could possibly want and it delivers all this with an empowering, intuitive narrative that celebrates black queer women. To that end, I think this book definitely achieved all it set out to do and would recommend it to the aforementioned group.
I did find reading this book to be an all round pleasant experience but it felt so average and sub-par as to be forgettable. This book had some of the cheesiest lines and clichés, it had the 'miscommunication troupe,' which honestly is the worst kind of troupe there is in my opinion and characters that felt like plot devices as well as a super predictable ending. However as a young adult novel, I thought it was solid and there were moments I thoroughly enjoyed so I gave it an average rating of 3 stars.
Akame ga kill! Vol 2 continues Tatsumi's journey as he trains to become an assassin under the tutelage of the Night Raid, a band of highly skilled killers on a mission to overthrow the oppressive rule of the empire. This volume had a lot more exposition and world building compared to the first volume which made for more prominent story-telling but it didn't lose focus on the action-packed core of the manga. There were many suspenseful fight sequences right the way through and some new foes to be overcome. I enjoyed the various character arcs and I thought they were told purposefully, providing the right amount of relief from the relentless action.
I thought that the violence was, in places, overly gratuitous as though we needed constant reminders of how evil the empire is, with no real intent behind it and I thought some of the villains were too one-dimensional, such as Zank the Beheader who just seemed like an impossible villain to defeat with a very weak backstory.
However, I did really enjoy the fight scenes involving all the female leads Akame, Leone and Mein, it did an excellent job of portraying these women as strong and formidable.
I thought that the violence was, in places, overly gratuitous as though we needed constant reminders of how evil the empire is, with no real intent behind it and I thought some of the villains were too one-dimensional, such as Zank the Beheader who just seemed like an impossible villain to defeat with a very weak backstory.
However, I did really enjoy the fight scenes involving all the female leads Akame, Leone and Mein, it did an excellent job of portraying these women as strong and formidable.
Fence is a young adult sports graphic novel that follows the story of Nicholas Cox, the illegimate son of a former fencing champion. Nicholas may come from humble beginnings but he possesses a heady determination and spunkiness that drives him to follow in his estranged father's footsteps.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this graphic novel, I thought it was exhilarating, explosive with just the right amount of still moments to provide relief from all the high energy excitement. It also did a good job of creating a feeling of high stakes, which in turn made for some nail-biting scenes that constantly kept me guessing.
I thought the struggle that Nicholas' character faces developed in a very believable way and that the intense rivalry he shares with Seiji was wonderfully illustrated. Also, I loved the post-modern diversity of the characterisation.
I found it very difficult to fault this graphic novel, there is so much worth gushing over, including the climactic ending that left me wanting more.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this graphic novel, I thought it was exhilarating, explosive with just the right amount of still moments to provide relief from all the high energy excitement. It also did a good job of creating a feeling of high stakes, which in turn made for some nail-biting scenes that constantly kept me guessing.
I thought the struggle that Nicholas' character faces developed in a very believable way and that the intense rivalry he shares with Seiji was wonderfully illustrated. Also, I loved the post-modern diversity of the characterisation.
I found it very difficult to fault this graphic novel, there is so much worth gushing over, including the climactic ending that left me wanting more.