[BOOK REVIEW] Fables: March of the Wooden Soldiers Volume 4 by Bill Willingham

Title: Fables: March of the Wooden Soldiers Volume 4

Author:  Bill Willingham

Artists:  Craig Hamilton, P. Craig Russell and Mark Buckingham


Genre: Fantasy / Adventure


Year Published: 2004


Year Read: 2012


Series: Fables #4


Publisher: Vertigo Comics

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Strong Language and Gory Violence)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

Brief Introduction:

After reading the third volume in Bill Willingham’s popular graphic novel series, “Storybook Love,” I was interested in seeing more of the many adventures of the “Fables” characters!  “Fables: March of the Wooden Soldiers” is probably the most intense volume I had read so far in the “Fables” series as it deals with the Fables characters being engaged in war!  Anyone who is a fan of the “Fables” series will definitely want to check this volume out!

What is the story?

The story starts out as a refugee had escaped from the Adversary’s oppression, which happens to be Red Riding Hood herself!  But when she reveals her tragic tale to the Fables community, some Fables like Bigby Wolf, suspects that there is something fishy about Red Riding Hood’s tale.  Bigby Wolf and Snow White have to find out if Red Riding Hood is who she says she is or else, something tragic will happen to Fabletown!

What I loved about this comic:

Bill Willingham’s writing!:  I honestly think that Bill Willingham’s writing was definitely exciting and intense in this novel as the Fables characters are experiencing the terrible forces of the Adversary!  I loved the way that Bill Willingham provided a prologue story called “The Last Castle” that actually explains about how the fables escaped from the Adversary and Little Boy Blue’s romance with Red Riding Hood since the story was truly unique and intense at the same time.  I also loved the intensity that Bill Willingham put into the story “March of the Wooden Soldiers” as the theme of war is explored and all the characters are truly affected.  Even though I usually do not like reading about wars in novels, I did wonder about how fairy tale characters would have to get involved in war and this idea did interest me as I read it.  I was also shocked at the ending of this volume as there were so many twists to the plot line that I never would have figure out in the beginning of this novel!

The artwork:  Just like the third volume “Storybook Love,” I loved the different artists working on each story (although in this case, there were only three artists working on this volume which were Craig Hamilton, P. Craig Russell and Mark Buckingham).  I loved the artwork that Craig Hamilton and P. Craig Russell did for the story “The Last Castle” as it provided so much creativity to the story.  I loved how P. Craig Russell did the artwork for the moments between Snow White and Little Boy Blue as Boy Blue is telling his story about how he escaped the Adversary as the artwork looks dark yet slightly detailed and I loved the way that the characters’ eyes actually shone in the artwork.  I also loved the way that Craig Hamilton did the illustrations for the flashback sequence in which Little Boy Blue was working for Colonel Bearskin as the artwork looks bright and colorful and I loved the medieval influence of the artwork as the characters wear medieval clothing to represent the time period that Little Boy Blue tells his story.  Mark Buckingham has done an excellent job with the artwork in the “March of the Wooden Soldiers” storyline as the artwork looks extremely dramatic, especially during the war scenes.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this book:

For anyone who does not like gory violence and strong language, this volume has plenty of both.  There is some bloody and graphic violence in “The Last Castle” and “March of the Wooden Soldiers” as characters is killed off in a gory fashion (characters are slashed open or stabbed to death).  Also, just like the previous three volumes, there is strong language involved which includes the “s” word and the “f” word, so people who are uncomfortable with reading such words might want to skim over these words.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, the “Fables” series is really picking up the pace in these volumes and “Fables: March of the Wooden Soldiers” is definitely one volume that is worth a shot to read through!

[BOOK REVIEW] Bumble-Ardy by Maurice Sendak

Title:  Bumble-Ardy

Author:  Maurice Sendak


Genre: Party / Humor / Animal / Manners


Year Published: 2011


Year Read: 2012

Publisher: HarperCollins

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Some Scary Imagery and Mischievous Behavior)
 

After years and years of reading Maurice Sendak’s works (Where the Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen are some of my favorite works by him), I wanted to read Maurice Sendak’s most recent works and I just picked up this little gem of a book by Maurice Sendak, called “Bumble-Ardy!”  “Bumble-Ardy” is a truly unique and fun book that children everywhere will definitely enjoy!

A young pig named Bumble-Ardy never celebrated his birthday when he was younger (which happens to be on June 10^th) until his parents were eaten when he turned eight and his aunt Adeline decided to take him in.  However, when Bumble-Ardy turned nine, his aunt decided to give him a birthday party and Bumble invited all of his friends, even though his aunt did not want him to serve them her brine.  When Aunt Adeline left the house, Bumble and his friends start partying!

Will Aunt Adeline find out about Bumble’s party?

Oh my gosh! I never would have thought that I would enjoy any of Maurice Sendak’s most recent works, since I have been a huge fan of  his older works which includes “Where the Wild Things Are” for many years!  But, this book really did surprise me with its whimsical verses and its creative illustrations!  I loved the way that Maurice Sendak wrote this book in a rhyming lyrical prose as it is hilarious to read through.  Some of my favorite quotes in this book included:

“At nine past the piggy swine,

Broke down the door and guzzled brine.”

Maurice Sendak’s writing is simplistic yet creative at the same time, making this book extremely easy for young children to read through.  Maurice Sendak’s illustrations are truly creative and colorful to look at as the images of the characters dressing up in various costumes for the masquerade party are a treat to see!  I loved the six page spread of all of Bumble-Ardy’s guests dancing around in their costumes (which strongly reminded me of the scene in “Where the Wild Things Are” where Max and the Wild Things have their wild rumpus). The costumes that the pigs were wearing included some of the pigs wearing large human masks and skull masks on their faces.  My favorite costume wore by one of the pigs was when one of the pigs was wearing a scary looking black skull mask with a Napoleon like hat on its head.

Overall, “Bumble-Ardy” is a truly brilliant and creative book for children who love reading books about parties and are huge fans of Maurice Sendak’s works.  As an adult, I had no problem with this book, but I guess the only problem that parents might have with this book is that the main character disobeys his aunt and that might encourage young children to disobey their parents. Also, there are some scary images with Bumble-Ardy’s guests dressing up in various costumes, including the skull mask costume that one of the guests wears.  However, this book is told in such a lyrical and fun way that young children and parents should not have any problems with this book!

[BOOK REVIEW] Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Title:  Jellicoe Road

Author:  Melina Marchetta

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Year Published: 2006

Number of Pages: 419 pages

Date Read: 12/9/2012

Publisher:  Penguin Australia

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Strong Language and Child Abandonment)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

After reading “Saving Francesca” and hearing so many good reviews on this book, I had decided to pick up another one of Melina Marchetta’s young adult novels and I came across “Jellicoe Road” (some versions it is called “On the Jellicoe Road”).  “Jellicoe Road” is a Printz Award winning book and I was absolutely blown away by how emotional and exciting this novel really is! 

Taylor Markham was eleven years old when she was abandoned by her mother on Jellicoe Road.  Now seventeen years old, Taylor is not only the new leader of her boarding school dorm, but she will soon uncover many secrets about her life before she came on Jellicoe Road, especially after her mentor Hannah, suddenly disappears from the school without a word to Taylor.  Not only that but Taylor soon meets up with her old sweetheart, Jonah Griggs and she suspects that Jonah knows more about herself then Taylor knows.  Now, Taylor must go on a journey to find out the truth about her mother’s abandonment and the whereabouts of Hannah and what she will discover about her true past will change her life forever!

Wow…just wow for the umpteenth time.  Now, I know that I had mentioned before that I loved reading “Saving Francesca” and I still love that book, but after reading “Jellicoe Road,” I think that “Jellicoe Road” is a few leagues above “Saving Francesca” in terms of storytelling and character development.  I loved the way that Melina Marchetta build up the mystery surrounding Taylor’s past and how it affects her current state.  This was probably the main reason why I loved reading “Jellicoe Road” because I was constantly sitting on the edge of my seat every time certain clues were being thrown out regarding Taylor’s past such as why Hannah suddenly left the school and why her mother abandoned her on Jellicoe Road all those years ago.  I also liked the character Taylor Markham herself and even though there were times where her aggressive attitude towards other people annoyed me a bit, I can sort of sympathize with her because of how she finds it hard to trust anyone after her mother abandoned her and Hannah, the closest person she had to a family, suddenly left the school without telling Taylor.  I really enjoyed Taylor’s relationship with Jonah Griggs, Raffaela, Ben, and Chaz Santangelo as they are close friends with her and I loved the way that these characters all tried to help Taylor through her trust issues with other people and also, showed her the true meaning of friendship.  I really enjoyed the way that Melina Marchetta set this story in Australia since I love reading stories located in other countries and I also loved the way that Melina Marchetta described the Jellicoe Road as being a road where trees sort of hang over the roads, like a canopy and that just gives me a wonderful image about the road every time I read this book!  I really liked the scenes where Taylor was reading Hannah’s manuscripts (the italicized sections of the book) as they tell the stories about the characters Tate, Narnie, Jude, Fitz, and Webb and even though the stories were truly heartbreaking and touching, the significance of the manuscript scenes is definitely something that shocked me after I finished reading this book! 

For a novel that is aimed at young adults, there is some pretty strong language in this novel including dropping the “f” bomb and the “s” word.  If anyone does not like reading strong language in a novel, then it might be best to skim over these scenes.  This novel also deals with the subject of child abandonment and anyone who has ever gone through this situation, might find it hard to read through this book.

Overall, “Jellicoe Road” is a truly emotional and engaging novel that anyone who is a fan of Melina Marchetta’s works or love reading young adult novels about real teenagers dealing with real life will love for many years to come!

* 2007 Australian Book Industry Award Nominee for book of the Year for Older Children
* 2007 Queensland Premier's Literary Awards Nominee for Young Adult Book Award
* 2008 Cybils Awards Nominee for Young Adult Fiction
* 2008 W.A. Young Readers Book Award (WAYRA) for Older Readers
* 2009 Printz Award

[BOOK REVIEW] Fables: Storybook Love Volume 3 by Bill Willingham

Title:  Fables:  Storybook Love Volume 3

Author:  Bill Willingham

Artists:  Lan Medina, Mark Buckingham, Linda Medley, and Bryan Talbot


Genre: Fantasy / Adventure


Year Published: 2004


Year Read: 2012


Series: Fables #3


Publisher: Vertigo Comics

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Strong Language and Gory Violence)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 
 

Brief Introduction:

After reading the first two volumes in Bill Willingham’s well-praised graphic novel series “Fables,” I just had to check out the third volume “Fables: Storybook Love” and at this moment, this volume has restored my faith in the “Fables” series!  That is not to say that the first two volumes were not great, but when I read the first two volumes, there was not enough development going on for the characters and I felt that I was reading filler stories rather than a good introduction to this series.  For anyone who wants to read a good volume of the “Fables” series, this is the volume to definitely pick up!

What is the story?

In this volume, there are several stories that really make up the future set up for the Fables characters including “Bag O’Bones,” which tells the story of Jack trying to trick Death, “A Sharp Operation” where Bigby Wolf has to stop a news reporter from exposing the secrets of Fabletown, “Storybook Love,” the main story where Bigby Wolf and Snow White realize that someone from Fabletown is threatening to kill them and “Barley Corn Brides” where it tells the story of how the Lilliputian Forces tried to find barely corn to produce more women in their village.

What I loved about this comic:

Bill Willingham’s writing!:  Just like the first two volumes, I really enjoyed the way that Bill Willingham tied in all of the fairy tale and folklore characters into a more modern day setting as they were run out of their homeland by the Adversary and are forced to live in the human world.  I believe that Bill Willingham’s style of storytelling has definitely improved in this volume as the characters are much more fleshed out in this volume than they were in the previous volumes.  I really enjoyed seeing more of the relationship between Snow White and Bigby Wolf as they seem to slightly complement each other, with Snow White being proper and authoritative and Bigby Wolf being more gruff and sly.  Bill Willingham has also done a brilliant job at mixing in some snappy dialogue to the characters within a dramatic storyline, such as hearing funny lines from Little Boy Blue while he and Jack and Bigby are trying to sneak into the news reporter’s apartment to erase his photos of Fabletown.  I also loved the little side stories like “Bag O’Bones” and “Barley Corn Brides” as they not only go into depth about the characters such as Jack and the Lilliputian people, but they also slightly bring up points about how the Adversary affected their lives (which was something I have been complaining about how the first two volumes rarely went into detail about the Adversary).

The artwork:  This was the actual first volume I have seen from the “Fables” series that uses several different artists to tell each story and I think that it greatly fits with the mood of each story.  Probably my most favorite artwork in this graphic novel was the artwork done in the story “A Sharp Operation” which was done by Lan Medina.  I loved the way that Lan Medina gave details to the characters facial expressions as they reflect anger and sadness and I also loved the way that Lan Medina made all of the characters extremely realistic, which really brings out the dramatic nature of the story.  I also enjoyed the artwork in “Storybook Love” done by Mark Buckingham, although my only quip with the artwork is the way that the characters’ faces lack vivid detail like Lan Medina’s artwork.  The artwork done by Linda Medley in the story “Barley Corn Brides” was the one that truly stood out from the rest of the artwork as the characters look like cartoon characters and the colorings were much brighter in this story.  Bryan Talbot’s artwork in “Bag O’Bones” was truly realistic and dramatic as the battle scenes are done in vivid detail.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this book:

Anyone who does not like strong language and gory violence in a graphic novel might be a bit put off by this graphic novel.  The language is extremely strong as it uses words like the “f” word and the “s” word and that might be offensive for anyone who does not like strong language.  Also, there are many gory scenes in this graphic novel, especially in the story “Bag O’Bones” and “Storybook Love” and since they are extremely graphic, this would be too unsettling to read through.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Fables: Storybook Love” is definitely much more improved from the previous volumes as the characters are better developed and we actually get to see something really happening with the storyline.  Now, I am definitely looking forward to the rest of the “Fables” series!

[BOOK REVIEW] Amphigorey Too by Edward Gorey

Title:  Amphigorey Too

Author:  Edward Gorey

Genre: Horror / Fantasy


Year Published: 1975


Year Read: 2012


Series: Amphigorey #2

Publisher: Perigee Trade

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 8+ (Death, Violence and Disturbing Imagery)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

EDWARD GOREY’S MOST DISTURBING STORIES PART TWO!

After reading the first volume of Edward Gorey’s “Amphigorey,” I decided to check out the second volume “Amphigorey Too” and see if my inner Edward Gorey fan girl self would enjoy this volume as much as the first volume.  I will admit that I was amazed at this second volume as it is just as disturbing and interesting as the first volume!

In this volume, there are a total of twenty stories collected by Edward Gorey, which includes:

1)      The Beastly Baby

2)      The Nursery Frieze

3)      The Pious Infant

4)      The Evil Garden

5)      The Inanimate Tragedy

6)      The Gilded Bat

7)      The Iron Tonic

8)      The Osbick Bird

9)      The Chinese Obelisks

10)  The Deranged Cousins

11)  The Eleventh Episode

12)  The Untitled Book

13)  The Lavender Leotard

14)  The Disrespectful Summons

15)  The Abandoned Sock

16)  The Lost Lions

17)  Story for Sara

18)  The Salt Herring

19)  Leaves from a Mislaid Album

20)  A Limerick

Just like the first volume, Edward Gorey has done a brilliant job with both writing and illustrating this book!  Edward Gorey’s writing has a sophisticated tone as the stories seem to take place in Old Victorian times and the writing greatly complements the creepy atmosphere of the stories such as using words like “atrocious,” “beastly,” and “abandoned” to really bring out the creepy situations of the stories.  Edward Gorey’s illustrations are just as effective as they were in the first volume as the coloring is in black and white.  Even though the characters look a bit simplistic, the images of the characters performing horrible deeds such as an image of a baby ripping off a cat’s head, is brilliantly done as the images are not too gory.  Some of my favorite stories in this volume were “The Beastly Baby,” “The Chinese Obelisks,” “Story for Sara,” and “The Disrespectful Summons.”

~Once again…~

THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR CHILDREN!

There is a lot of disturbing content in this volume that would scare small children such as images of characters ripping animals’ heads off and children being tortured and eaten by various threats.  Also, the writing might be too difficult for smaller children to really understand since it is written in a more sophisticated manner that contains many large words like “monotonous,” “innumerable” and “interred.”  The reason why I took off half a point from this book was because some of the stories like “The Iron Tonic,” and “The Salt Herring” were a bit boring to read through and sort of slowed down the stories for me.

Overall, “Amphigorey Too” is a great sequel to “Amphigorey” as it has enough disturbing content and sophisticated storytelling that will make Edward Gorey fans drool with anticipation!  I would recommend this book to older children and teens since there is so much disturbing content (characters being killed) that would disturb smaller children.

[BOOK REVIEW] Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems

Title:  Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs

Author:  Mo Willems

Genre: Dinosaurs / Humor / Fairy Tale / Remake


Year Published: 2012


Year Read: 2012

Publisher:  Balzer + Bray

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 4+ (Nothing Objectionable)

“Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale”

“Edwina the Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct”

“Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!”

These are the books that I had read from the creative mind of Mo Willems and I will admit that I had enjoyed almost everything that Mo Willems has written over the years!  Well, I just read Mo Willems’ most recent children’s book and that is called “Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs” and it is definitely one story that every children and adult will enjoy for many years!

Once upon a time, there were three dinosaurs (a Papa Dinosaur, a Mama Dinosaur and some Dinosaur who was visiting from Norway) and one day (for no reason), they decided to make three bowls of chocolate pudding at varying temperatures and go…someplace else.  They were definitely NOT doing this to set up a trap for an unsupervised little girl who happens to come along to their house.  So, when Goldilocks approaches their house, she will be in for a big surprise!

Wow…just…wow!  I cannot believe I had never heard of this book (well, the fact that it was just recently made in 2012 had something to do with it), but now that I had finally checked this book out, I am just so amazed at how awesome this book turned out!  When I saw the title “Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs,” the first thought that came into my head was that we finally had a remake of a classic fairy tale since it has been awhile since I had read children’s books that were retellings of old fairy tales.  The second thought that came into my head was that the moment I read this title, I knew that this book was going to be something really creative and hilarious and I was right!  Mo Willems certainly knows how to create a story that is not only pleasing to children, but also pleasing to adults!  I loved the writing style of this book as the characters are hilarious and the narration is sarcastic and witty.  Probably my most favorite quote out of this entire book was stated by the narrator:

“The first bowl of chocolate pudding was too hot, but Goldilocks ate it all anyway, because, hey, it’s chocolate pudding, right?”

Who could resist chocolate pudding?  I know I cannot resist chocolate pudding!  I loved the idea about Mo Willems using three dinosaurs for this story instead of three bears since it really gave this book a more creative flair and I loved the fact that the baby dinosaur is actually a dinosaur who was visiting from Norway since it was a different twist to the original story.  I also loved the way that Mo Willems slightly alerted the readers about the three dinosaurs’ plans in trying to get Goldilocks to come to their house and yet used hilarious lines to avert the idea about the dinosaurs preparing to make a meal out of Goldilocks such as:

“The three Dinosaurs went Someplace Else and were definitely not hiding in the woods waiting for an unsuspecting kid to come by.”

Mo Willems’ illustrations are as usual hilarious to look at as the three dinosaurs look cartoony with their long snouts and small round eyes and I loved the fact that both the Mama and Papa dinosaur were green while the Norwegian dinosaur was red.  I also loved the illustrations of Goldilocks herself as she has short blond hair and large round eyes that makes her look so oblivious to anything happening around her.

Overall, “Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs” is a truly brilliant retelling of the classic fairy tale and children everywhere will definitely re-read this book over and over again for many years!

[BOOK REVIEW] A Lot Like Love by Julie James

Title:  A Lot Like Love

Author:  Julie James

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Year Published: 2011

Number of Pages: 274 pages

Date Read: 12/1/2012

Series: FBI / US Attorney #2  

Publisher: Penguin

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 18+ (Sex Scenes and Strong Language)

To be honest, I was actually surprised that Julie James would make a sequel to her first book “Something about you” (a book I read years ago) and ever since I read that book and “Practice Makes Perfect,” I just had to try out more books by her!  “A Lot like Love” is the perfect romance novel to read for anyone who is a fan of romance novels that has a bit of crime and mystery thrown in!

The book starts off with the FBI trying to arrest Xander Eckhart, who has secret dealings with mob leader Roberto Martino, but the only way to do that is to find someone who has close connections with him.  Enter Jordan Rhodes, daughter of billionaire, Grey Rhodes and who also happens to be the owner of Chicago’s top wine store!  To get Jordan Rhodes to participate in the capture of Xander Eckhart, the FBI promised that they will release her brother, Kyle Rhodes, who had been put in prison for shutting down Twitter.  Jordan agrees to this and decides to sneak into Xander’s exclusive party, but she must be accompanied by a date that the FBI assigned her and that date happened to be Nick McCall!  Nick McCall is the FBI’s number one undercover agent and in order to fool Xander, Nick and Jordan would have to act like an actual couple.  However, both Jordan and Nick will soon discover that the undercover work will become more complicated as they start to develop feelings for each other!

Wow! What can I say?  This book was just so fantastic that I found myself fanning myself at every turn!  Julie James has done a brilliant job at not only providing us with hot and sizzling romance, but also enough crime drama that really carried the story!  I loved the fact that since Julie James had attended law school, the experiences that the characters go through when dealing with the FBI business and the judicial system sounded so authentic that it makes me want to deal with the law system myself!  What I loved so much about this book were the characters themselves as they were funny, sarcastic, sweet and awesome at the same time and I really felt so much excitement for these characters!  I also loved the way that Julie James brought back Jack Pallas and Cameron Lynde from the first book “Something About You” as we can see how they are doing in their relationship in this book and they provided a great supporting cast for the main characters.  Now onto the best characters in this entire book and that are Jordan Rhodes and Nick McCall themselves!  I just loved the fact that Jordan Rhodes is such a strong female character as she is sarcastic and smart at the same time!  I loved how independent Jordan really is as she never tried to rely on her father’s money to get her through her life; instead she owns her own wine business and she is shown being so knowledgeable about the wine that she sells.  I also loved the way that Jordan is quick to stand up for herself, especially against anyone who gets in the way of what she wants.  Now, let us talk about the hero of this story and that is Nick McCall!  I just loved Nick McCall as he is just as sarcastic as Jordan is and they really complement each other perfectly!  I also love how sexy Nick McCall is, whether he is in his fancy work suit or he takes off his shirt to show off his muscles!

For anyone who does not like sex or strong language in a novel, this novel has plenty of strong language, including the use of the “f” word and the “s” word.  Also, the sex scenes in this novel are explicit, so it would be best to skim over these scenes if they are uncomfortable to read through.

Overall, “A Lot Like Love” is a fantastic read for anyone who is a fan of Julie James’ works and loves reading crime and mystery novels with a dash of hot romance thrown in!  Now, I am off to read Kyle’s side of the story next!