Book Review: Seconds

Seconds by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Seconds
by Bryan Lee O’Malley

1 out of 5 stars

Katie discovers a mushroom that will erase her mistakes if she writes down her mistake and eats a mushroom before bed. She wakes up the next day and gets a second chance. Soon she is making mistakes and bad choices all over the place, and just erases them the next day. Her career as a chef is in shambles as she struggles to open her new restaurant, and her personal life is in total chaos since she is sleeping with two different men. A mysterious house spirit appears and tells her that it’s against the rules to use more than one mushroom, but Katie doesn’t care. She keeps erasing all her foolish mistakes and getting further and further from a normal life.

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Book Reviews: The Postman from Space Series

The Postman from Space by Guillaume Perreault

The Postman from Space
by Guillaume Perreault (Goodreads Author), Françoise Bui (Translator)

4 out of 5 stars

Bob is just an ordinary postman delivering mail in space. He likes his boring routine. But one day his boss orders him to take a new mail route and he runs into trouble at every stop! Gone are his predictable days and safe routines, and Bob is thrown into every kind of wild situation and difficult delivery imaginable! He delivers a package to a planet inhabited by dogs and they chase him and take his lunch. One difficult customer refuses to sign for their package until Bob draws them a picture of a sheep. One little old lady has such a messy and chaotic planet that Bob is hit with flying debris caught in the gravitational field. Bob hates his new route, until he realizes that maybe he has just made some new friends.

The Postman from Space by Guillaume Perreault

The Postman from Space: Biker Bandits
by Guillaume Perreault (Goodreads Author), François Bui (Translator)

4 out of 5 stars

Bob is just an ordinary postman delivering mail in space. He likes his familiar routine. But one day his boss orders him to take on a new trainee, and they only have one letter to deliver… to a king! When they take a detour on their delivery route, the Biker Bandits get wind that the king is receiving an important letter and they track down Bob to steal the letter! Along the way, Bob and his trainee, Marcelle, pick up a hitchhiker who was stranded on an asteroid, but Bob doesn’t trust the hitchhiker. Could they be in even more trouble if the Biker Bandits catch up to them?!

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Graphic Novel Review: The Divided Earth

The Divided Earth by Faith Erin Hicks

The Divided Earth (The Nameless City, #3)
by Faith Erin Hicks (Goodreads Author)

5 out of 5 stars

In this final book of the graphic novel trilogy, Kaidu and Rat are trying to recover the lost secret weapon of the ancient people of the Nameless City – a formula for exploding fire. They think it will be easy to sneak into the palace and steal back the book containing the formula; after all, they have snuck in and out of the palace many times before. But their only route past the walls has been demolished, and they will have to find some other way to get past the guards and into the inner library. Meanwhile Kaidu’s father is trying to reach the other nations and gather military support to take back the city from the traitors among the Dao.

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Graphic Novel: The Stone Heart

The Stone Heart by Faith Erin Hicks

The Stone Heart (The Nameless City, #2)
by  Faith Erin Hicks (Goodreads Author), Jordie Bellaire (Colorist)

5 out of 5 stars

In this second book of the graphic novel trilogy, Kaidu and Rat are doing everything they can to protect the monks of the Stone Heart. The monks are the keepers of knowledge in the Nameless City, but the Dao military leaders think they must be hiding the secret weapon that the ancient peoples used to blast through the rock of the mountains. Kaidu and his father are loyal to the Dao general, but they are forced to choose between their loyalties or the truth.

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Graphic Novel Review: The Ballad of Ronan

The Ballad of Ronan by John Walsh

The Ballad of Ronan: Part One
by John Walsh, Jim Walsh, Remy Jackson (Artist), Vito Delsante (Goodreads Author) (Editor)

3 out of 5 stars

Aisling is an orphan with no idea who her parents are. She runs away from the orphanage and meets Ronan, who can’t even remember who is he or where he is from. They both seem to have some strange connection to magical energy that they can’t explain. The priest from the orphanage is involved with a secret society, and he seems to know something about the strange creatures Aisling has seen.

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Graphic Novel Review: Lady-Bird

Lady-Bird by Fabrice Sapolsky

Lady-Bird
by Fabrice Sapolsky, Starr, Dawn J., Sapulpo, Daniele (Illustrator)

4 out of 5 stars

This graphic novel follows Mina, a girl with an extraordinary ability to defy gravity. Her blood can cure any disease, and she has been locked in a basement for as long as she can remember with a nurse drawing her blood each day. When she escapes, she discovers that her family’s past reveals a much more complex relationship with her captors than she could ever imagine.

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Graphic Novel Review: Loonicorns

Loonicorns by Ced

Loonicorns
by Ced

3.5 stars
A little girl with a horn mysteriously appears in Looniland right when a plague begins sweeping through the city. Could it be that she brought the sickness with her? The unicorns and cyclopes who live in the city are divided into groups of “pretties” and “uglies”, but only the “pretties” are getting sick. It’s up to Kurb and his “ugly” friends to find answers by going on a quest!

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Comic Review: Spacekid iLK

Spacekid iLK by Andrew  Hammond

Spacekid iLK: Invasion 101
by Andrew Hammond (Goodreads Author)

4 out of 5 stars

iLK is a normal alien boy, flying around with his parents in a spaceship and invading planets. But when iLK’s father conquers Earth, he gets tired of being the supreme ruler of such a boring planet, and gives the job to iLK to teach him some responsibility. Earth is soon in danger, and it’s up to iLK to save the planet with the help of some friendly Earthlings!

Spacekid iLK by Andrew  Hammond

Spacekid iLK: Stranded! (Spacekid iLK, #2)
by Andrew Hammond (Goodreads Author), Imogen Russell Williams (Editor)

4 out of 5 stars

Spacekid iLK is stranded on Earth, where Emilio is now in charge and has started a contest to be declared king of the world. iLK is forced to attend a boarding school. He tries to “make friends” by “recruiting” his fellow students to fight back against the evil Emilio, who has taken over the planet. When a mysterious bubble-shaped alien race show up, they seem friendly so iLK asks them to help him win the election to become king of the world.

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Graphic Novel Review: Everyday Hero Machine Boy

Everyday Hero Machine Boy by Irma Kniivila

Everyday Hero Machine Boy
by Irma Kniivila, Trí Vương

4 out of 5 stars

A mysterious robot boy crash lands in a city, and soon his programming detects a threat. The programming goes into combat mode, attacking bystanders and accidentally destroying a grocery store greenhouse. But when a little bird is hurt, his programming seems to awaken a consciousness and the boy becomes aware of his actions. He looks around and realizes that the devastation is his own fault. He tries to make amends and rebuilds the greenhouse. He is adopted by a sweet lady, who he begins to call his grandmother. Gradually he learns to be human and fit in with society. But there are those who would use his robot programming for their own selfish ends.

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Graphic Novel Review: Tales of a Seventh-Grade Lizard Boy

Tales of a Seventh-Grade Lizard Boy by Jonathan    Hill

Tales of a Seventh-Grade Lizard Boy
by Jonathan Hill 

5 out of 5 stars

Tommy has a secret. His family are actually lizard people trying to blend in with the human world. Tommy has to wear a human skin over his green lizard face. It’s difficult trying to be “normal” in middle school when everything is so different from your own lizard culture.
Tommy meets other seventh-graders who also have trouble fitting in. One of his new friends, Dung, is a Vietnamese boy who is dealing with culture shock and trying to learn English. They bond over their differences, discovering that they have more in common than they realized.

I loved this graphic novel! The plot is hilarious and emotional. The characters are complex. Their stories are meaningful. The setting and background are interesting. And the storytelling style is superb!

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