Laika (Graphic Novel Challenge #6)

Sputnik II was launched in 1957 and a dog named Laika

was inside. Nick Abadzis graphic novel tells the stories of Laika the dog, Korolev the Russian space engineer, and Yelena the veterinarian. While not completely non-fiction, Laika contains a great deal of history while at the same time being quite entertaining. I was not a huge fan of the art in this book but I did appreciate the story and the humanity it lent to my perceptions of the Russian space program.

Re-Gifters (Graphic Novel Challenge #5)

Dixie has a massive crush on Adam, one of the guys in her hapkido class and it's proving to be a bit of a distraction to her. Enough of a distraction that Dixie uses the fee for tournament she has been training for to buy Adam a very expensive birthday gift. When she tries to win a free spot at the tournament, things do not go well. Only with the help of her best friend Avril does she get a chance to compete. While Dixie pines over Adam, she develops a friendship with a tough guy named Dillinger and eventually Dixie realizes that what goes around truely does come around.

Mike Carey, Marc Hempel, and Sonny Liew created a graphic novel which will resonate with teens and adults alike.

The Case of Madeleine Smith (Graphic Novels Challenge #4)

In comic form, Rick Geary relates the story of Madeliene Smith, an upperclass Scottish woman, and Emile L'Anglier, the son of a seed merchant. This scandalous romance ends with Emile's violent illness and death. But how, excactly, did he die?

If I ever become a history teacher, I will definitely use graphic novels in my classroom. The story of Madeleine and Emile was completely engrossing and along the way Geary relayed information about class relations, medicine, romance, and law in 19th century Scotland. The Case of Madeleine Smith is the 8th book in a series entitled A Treasury of Victorian Murder.

American Born Chinese (Graphic Novel Challenge #3)

This graphic novel written by Gene Luen Yang begins with a tale about a money king who wanted to be a god but because of his monkey-ness he was cast out of heaven and was none too pleased about it.

Then the novel shifts to tell the story of Jin Wang. Jin Wang was born to parents who met eachother after moving from China to America. When he was nine years old, Jin's parents moved from Chinatown to an overwhelmingly white suburb. He encounters the offhanded cruelty of his classmates but becomes fast friends with a new boy from Taiwan named Wei-Chen.

A third storyline begins with a boy named Danny who's unbelievably stereotyped Chinese cousin Chin-Kee (complete with buck teeth, yellow skin, eyes permanently squinted shut, and botched English) comes around as he has once a year and proceeds to mess up Danny's life.

For the rest of the book, the novel switches between the Monkey King's story, Jin Wang's story, and Danny's story. It explores identity and acceptance and the innate desire of wanting to fit in.

The Plain Janes (Graphic Novels Challenge #2)

The outcast crowd - the new girl, the smart girl, the jock girl, and the wannabe actress. In this graphic novel by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg, all of these high school "rejects" are named Jane. When main Jane, who the story follows, lived in the city, a bomb went off where she was hanging out. Though Jane was uninjured physically, she cut off and dyed her hair and visited a John Doe who was injured in the bombing. She looks through his sketchbook, the only thing he had on him, and she turns to art to help her get through her shock and confusion. Her parents, much to Jane's dismay, decide to move to the suburbs.

Jane begins school at Buzz Alrdin High where she refuses invites to hang out with the "cool" kids and instead tries to make friends with the Janes at the rejects table. Though they aren't interested in her at first, the four Janes end up as the P.L.A.I.N Janes - people loving art in neighborhoods. This secret club uses art to save themselves from the dissapointments and pain of high school.

I read this novel in just a few hours and thought it was pretty good. I like the idea of using art to make life interesting and I love the friendship the girls form - it's something everyone going through high school needs.

castle waiting (graphic novel challenge #1)

my first graphic novel! i was not sure how this was going to go. sure, i read the comics in the washington post but haven't read anything like this before. linda medly's castle waiting is a compliation of the stories of several characters who have all ended up at castle waiting.

the story begins with a mostly traditional sleeping beauty retelling...up until she's kissed by the prince. at that point, sleeping beauty takes off with prince hans and leaves the castle and it's recently awakened inhabitants in the lurch. the town surrounding the castle had long since been abandoned but the castle became a sort of refuge for people and animals and odd combinations of the two.

then jain comes along, a pregnant young woman fleeing her abusive husband who is not the father of her child. as jain adapts to life at castle waiting, she hears the stories of peace, the bearded lady/nun and her friend nessie who is also a bearded lady and clarice, a third bearded lady. their stories sort of ran together for me after a while. in fact, what i thought this book would sort of follow and explain jain's story but jain practically dissapears about halfway through the book and is used only as the person who the other character's stories are being told to.

i think castle waiting is a creative story but i felt a little let down in the end...i wanted more to be explained and concluded than actually was. i almost hope there is another volume written that ties up jain's story. but if not, it was a fun read anyway.

graphic novel challenge

well, i finished hans christian andersen and i have been wanting for a while to give graphic novels a try so here i go! the graphic novels challenge is to read 6 graphic novels before the end of the year. here are my choices:
1. american born chinese by gene luen yang (a printz winner)
2. re-gifters by mike carey and marc hempel
3. laika by nick abadzis
4. the case of madeleine smith: by rick geary
5. the plain janes by cecil castellucci
6. castle waiting by linda medley