People of Sparks

The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau is the second Book of Ember. As much flack as I gave The City of Ember, I had to pick up the second one as soon as possible. Following the same characters, DuPrau delves into the subject of racism, violence, and tensions of budding war. There was a lot of action, a lot of original material, and it was really exciting to read. I snatched up the third book in the series, The Prophet of Yonwood but it's a prequel. We'll see about that.

3.5/5

City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau is a young adult science fiction novel about a city encased in darkness- lit by a generator no one understands. Standing alone, it doesn't explain much but perhaps the other books in the series do so. The largest issue with the book is the utter ignorance of the characters and their willingness to do absolutely nothing- to question nothing, and to deny any reasonable movement towards progress. In this way the world DuPrau builds is inadequate and unbelievable. Maybe if I were 8 years old I'd be able to accept it. And if I hadn't already read Anthem and The Giver. Maybe then.

2.5/5

Breathers by S. G. Brown

My initial hesitation with Breathers had to do with the genre. A zombie's lament/ love story... come on. But before I knew it I was on page 120. And it just kept getting better. There are a few plot twists and turns but they're not cheesy. At least not until the last twenty pages. It's like Brown got the hang of a quicker pacing and just took off at the end. While the book isn't a literary masterpiece or anything it was very clever and dealt with a lot of social issues. Ideas of preservation, us vs. them, and treatment of zombies were discussed at length. I really enjoyed this book and I'm still pretty pumped up about it!

4/5

Beast by Marian Churchland

Beast by Marian Churchland starts out a little slow but it kicks into gear eventually. By no means is it fast paced but it does read well. Like Asterios Polyp there are a lot of meditations on art. The story follows a girl, Collete I think is her name, through a nightmarish abduction/ art commission. What I liked about it mostly, is that it really did feel like one of my nightmares- which I have a lot. And unlike my nightmares, it turns out to be not so scary after all in the end. It's very strange and not really explained very well but the writing is solid and the art is fantastic. Give it a chance, I'd say.

4/5

The Nobody by Jeff Lemire

The Nobody by Jeff Lemire is a strange tale about a man bandaged from head to toe. While you learn (sort of) why and what he is covering, there is really no final conclusion or understanding at the end. The art is great and the story is told from the perspective of a 16 year old girl named Vikki. Vikki's character and concerns could have been fleshed out a lot more but again, the story wasn't really about her. One quite successful aspect of the graphic novel was the characterization of the place or the atmosphere. Set in a small town it reminded me of the town where Shadow of American Gods spent his off time.

4/5

Coraline by Gaiman

Neil Gaiman's Coraline reminded me what it's like to be a little girl in a most amusing way. Coraline's magical experiences simply get brushed off by the adults in her life. I love when a kid is more knowledgeable than the adults in a book. Also, I love getting into Neil Gaiman's mind inch by inch. This book will take you about an hour or two to read. Other Mother scares me so much, I painted a picture of her. Maybe I'll post that later.

5/5

The People of Paper

The People of Paper by Salvador Placencia begins one way and diverges into a very different path. Crossing the line of fiction and nonfiction create a strange magic within the paper pages, making the reader hyper aware of her place in things. I have never seen anyone do what Placencia has done with this novel. It is poetic, exploratory, inventive, creative, strange, and most importantly, successful.
Thanks Kelsey, for the recommendation.

UPDATE/Just wrote a review for work:
By ignoring conventional literary limitations, The People of Paper delivers a strong understanding of the human condition in an unusual way. One character uses paper origami to resurrect the dead, another character has found the cure to sadness, small star-shaped burns along her arms, and even the author himself is a character, haunted by his powerful imagination, responsible for the lives he has created in paper.
10/25/11


5/5