(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Edelweiss. Content warning for sex, violence, and sexual assault/stalking.)
-- 3.5 stars, (Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Edelweiss. Content warning for sex, violence, and sexual assault/stalking.)
-- 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 where necessary --
When young lovers and aspiring criminal masterminds Claire and "Babyface" rob a food truck, they also snatch a bag from a bystander, unwittingly toppling the first domino in an orgy of violence that will lay waste to their entire apartment complex. The bag belonged to a gangster .. and contained a "vase," which in turn held the ashes of his recently departed wife. Now the man's son and his henchmen are out for revenge (and, of course, the urn).
Each chapter tells the story of a different apartment's occupants, as Eric, Paul, and Anton pinball from flat to flat in search of the purloined cremains. Everyone's doing their own crimes - from the stoners who are growing cannabis in their apartment, right on up to the landlord, who's abusing his power to creep on Claire - and nearly everyone is armed to the teeth. By story's end, they're all dead. Except maybe Kasha; I feel like the cat's fate is acceptably ambiguous.
IN THE END WE ALL DIE is a weird little graphic novel. The first chapter gives off subtle PULP FICTION vibes ("honey pie" and "babyface" did it for me), and it kind of stuck with me throughout the narrative. The violence is gratuitous, gross (someone is shot while vomiting, and dies in a puddle of puke ... but he also deserved it, so), and over-the-top; you either dig it or you don't. The synopsis suggests a larger meaning - villains become heroes; good and evil exist side by side; etc. - and, while I guess I can kind of see it, it feels a bit lofty of a description. Honestly, this is just a wild, shoot 'em up, bizarro ride. ...more
(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through NetGalley. Content warning for homophobia.)
--- 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 where necessary(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through NetGalley. Content warning for homophobia.)
--- 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 where necessary --
When her mom gets a new job in Ashford, Vermont, fifteen-year-old Azar is forced to go ahead with her, leaving her dad in Brooklyn to fix up and sell their house. Stuck in the "ass-end of the upper valley," as her landlord puts it, Azar immediately feels out of place. She's brown (Malaysian), wears a head covering (a burqa? hijab? shayla? her classmates can't tell.), and is queer (though not out to her family yet). Luckily, her landlord Shannon Wathe and his kid Tristan provide a welcoming safe space for Azar; she even moves into their side of the house after an especially vicious fight with her mother.
Azar also takes comfort in THE EXILES OF OVERWORLD, an epic space opera penned by none other than Shannon. Moments in Azar's life are juxtaposed with scenes from the book, and fantasy meets reality when Azar engineers a meeting between an insecure Shannon and his indefatigable agent. Before she knows it, she's accompanying Shannon and Tristan to a comic convention .. and then saying goodbye.
I mostly enjoyed LOW ORBIT, even though the ending was bittersweet and maybe not resolved to my complete satisfaction. Shannon was really never held to account for reneging on his promises to a teenage girl in need. (It was all kind of *shrug.*) Plus, there's the whole plot line with Azar's dad, which I won't get into because of spoilers. Otherwise the story and characters are engaging. The dynamics between Azar, Dina, Shannon, and Tristan are compelling, and I especially loved seeing Tristan blossom in a new environment (i.e., the convention).
I think the story's biggest drawback is also its hook - namely, THE EXILES OF OVERWORLD. The passages from the book are just terrible, but I felt like I had to at least skim them, in case they added anything to the narrative (imho, they don't, feel free to skip 'em). ...more
(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through NetGalley.)
In the third installment of "Huda," Huda F. is about to start junior year afte(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through NetGalley.)
In the third installment of "Huda," Huda F. is about to start junior year after a less-than-stellar stint as a sophomore. This year, she's determined to do things right: Get As in all of her classes. Join all the clubs and extracurriculars. Ace her ACTs. And land a full scholarship to university, making her parents proud. To this end, she and her bestie Nabz have everything mapped out on their handy day planner. And their calendar is booked.
Huda's resolve is unyielding ... that is, until she starts crushing on Nabz's locker neighbor, Hassan, a dreamy senior. And then things go from bad to worse when Huda's parents announce that they're getting a divorce. This sends Huda and her sisters - Dena, Neda, Lola, and Amani - into a tailspin, though all deal with the impending split in different ways. Huda gets distracted, angry, and mean: her grades tank, she talks back to her mom, and she even picks a fight with Nabz. All this while she schemes to get her parents back together before the end of their three-month trial separation.
The women and girls in the family end up taking trip to MuslimCon (minus dad, much to Huda's disappointment), where she reconnects with Dr. Haifa, a therapist who did a presentation on mental health at her halaqa. Dr. Haifa's panel on grief might just change Huda's life - and Huda's mom has a surprise of her own.
I've been devouring Huda Fahmy's comics since YES, I'M HOT IN THIS: THE HILARIOUS TRUTH ABOUT LIFE IN A HIJAB, and they never fail to disappoint (though her first book is by far my favorite). HUDA F WANTS TO KNOW? is a bittersweet coming of age story, wherein Huda navigates junior year - not just an as angsty teenage girl, bedeviled by both hormones and unfair parental demands, but as an angsty brown Muslim teenage girl, and the additional expectations that come along with this. I especially appreciated the emphasis on mental health - both with the introduction of Dr. Haifa, as well as a special section at the end of the book. I think we can all relate to Dr. Haifa's panel on grief, and I hope she becomes a permanent fixture in the Huda-verse. ...more
(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Edelweiss.)
So much happens in this latest collection of SPACE BOY, even though the events(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Edelweiss.)
So much happens in this latest collection of SPACE BOY, even though the events transpire over the course of just a day. Most notably, Sophie Brix reaches out to Amy and Qiana. Now that she knows that the girls are captives of the FCP, she's determined to use her wealth and resources to secure their release. Sophie recounts her engagement to - and subsequent estrangement from - the murdered archaeologist Aleksander Lesnik ("Leksi"). And when she gives them the ancient Babylogyptian scroll discovered by Leksi, Amy and Qiana make some truly earth- (galaxy-?) shattering connections.
Meanwhile, Zeph uses Amy's hacked Net Gear glasses to get in touch with Jemmah, and Amy's parents deal with their grief at her "death" in different ways.
Volume 21 of SPACE BOY contains some of the most touching scenes of the series. I teared up when Qiana finally broke down, in an honest-to-goodness, ugly crying fit in front of Amy, thus purging the copper and iodine flavor and allowing the plum and apple to blossom, much to Amy's relief. The scene in which Lacey compares her grief response to Greg's is similarly affecting. I can't wait for them to find out that their daughter is still alive! I'm looking forward to Amy's reunion with Jemmah at least a much. (Their relationship is just so fascinating to me - it was a cunning contrivance on McCranie's part.)
*****
Here's a breakdown of the episodes contained in each TPB. Sometimes I borrow the books from the library, other times I receive early electronic review copies online - and to bridge the gaps in between, I read the strips on Webtoons. Forever and always do I tear my hair out trying to figure out which strips I missed in between the collected volumes.
Loading...
