Comic Review: Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant

Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant
Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant by Tony Cliff

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love it so much!!! Action and adventure and friendship and travel and everything… Ah, so good!
So this is the story of two unlikely traveling companions, who go looking for adventure and go up against a dirty pirate king. They escape from hoards of bad guys in Delilah’s flying boat, and then stop for a cup of Selim’s famously delicious tea and biscuits. Continue reading

Book Review: The Boy Who Lost Fairyland

The Boy Who Lost Fairyland
The Boy Who Lost Fairyland by Catherynne M. Valente

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

How to describe the delicious whimsy and melancholy of Valente’s books? It’s impossible to do, but I shall try.
It’s like spiced cinnamon tea served in a golden teacup with all the honeyed tears of your childhood heart when it first broke into pieces. No, that’s not it. It’s like cool peppermint tea in a silver chalice and all your favorite golden words at the bottom… no, no, that’s not it either. It’s like your heart and mind are at war, and when they finally call a truce they sit down for a lunch of memory sandwiches and warm library books baked with pink icing. But it’s all wrapped up in a glittering fairy story, so you don’t mind so much that your heart was just sliced open and your mind picked apart.

This fourth book in the Fairyland series is no exception! I was wary, as many were, since this book is not about September; but I immediately fell in love with the new characters, and cheered them on through their adventures.
This is the story of Hawthorne, who is whisked away to be a changeling and make trouble in the world of men. When he meets Tamburlaine, they become friends and discover that they are not so very different. The two find their way to Fairyland and are immediately roped into a quest. Continue reading

Book Review: The Adventures of Superhero Girl

The Adventures of Superhero Girl
The Adventures of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin Hicks

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

These comics are wonderfully clever and fun! They are set up almost like daily comic strips with little punchlines, but with a longer story line too.
Superhero Girl has some awesome superpowers, but struggles to pay her rent, buys capes at secondhand thrift stores, and suffers from insecurity because her brother is a cooler, more popular superhero. When she has to put up with snarky comments from Skeptical Guy AND battle an alien monster, Superhero Girl has to call up all her patience and superhero know-how to save the day, and get her laundry done. Continue reading

Book Review: Shades of Grey

Shades of Grey
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gah! The Ending! What?!? My brain can’t stand it, and my heart is limping along all hurt and crushed and stuff. Dis book!

Okay, let me start from the top. This is the story of a dystopian future world where most people can only see one color or some not any color at all. The Greys are looked down on and oppressed by the Colorgentsia, and everyone’s place in society is determined by the percentage of color they can see.
There’s definitely a “1984-Big-Brother” vibe going on with the government controlling every aspect of the citizen’s lives.
In the middle of it all is Eddie, a high-color Red with a bright future, until he meets and instantly falls in love with a Grey named Jane. Jane is involved with some very deep revolutionary stuff, and Eddie gets dragged into it all, somewhat against his will, but mostly because he’s too good-hearted, kind, and morally upright to cheat and play the system like everyone else does. Continue reading