[BOOK REVIEW] Boris and Bella by Carolyn Crimi

Title:  Boris and Bella

Author:  Carolyn Crimi

Artist:  Gris Grimly

Genre: Halloween / Friendship / Rivalry

Year Published: 2004

Year Read:  2010

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+  (Some Scary Imagery)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

“Boris and Bella” is a spooky Halloween book by Carolyn Crimi along with illustrations by Gris Grimly about two monsters, Boris and Bella, who are extremely different from each other as Boris is the monster who loves to be tidy while Bella is the monster who loves to be messy.  When their friends ended up going to Harry Beastie’s Halloween Party instead of theirs, Boris and Bella might discover that they may have something in common with each other.  If children are in the mood for the spirit of Halloween and comedy, then “Boris and Bella” is just the right book for any child!

Well, well, well!  I have read many Halloween children’s books in my lifetime, but I have never read any Halloween books quite like this before!  It’s got humor, creepiness and friendship!  Carolyn Crimi has certainly done a magnificent job at writing this book, especially when she describes the personalities of each character.  The characters that really stood out the most for me were Boris and Bella themselves as they are the true stars of this book!  I love the way that Carolyn Crimi sets up the book as a creepy version of “The Odd Couple” as Boris is the tidy monster while Bella is the messy monster (and you know that these two aspects are sort of “explosive” when they combine!), which brings out the hilarity of this story as Boris and Bella are always at odd ends with each other.  Gris Grimly’s illustrations are literally something to die for as they are somewhat creepy as you can see all manner of monsters being displayed in this book such as skeletons, vampires, and werewolves.  The illustrations give off a sort “Nightmare Before Christmas” feel as it is filled with monsters and the illustrations look a little dark.  The images that truly stood out for me were the images of Boris and Bella themselves.  Boris is shown to be dressed in a proper grey tuxedo along with bat wings on his back, while Bella is dressed in a long and sloppy looking dress along with green hair that has flies swarming all over it, making the two look different from each other.

Parents should know that there might be some monsters in this book that might scare smaller children such as the skeletons and the werewolves.  However, the images in this book are not as scary as you would find in Edward Gorey’s works since it shows the monsters just dancing around having a good time.

Overall, “Boris and Bella” is a brilliant Halloween book for children who love comedy and monsters and I am definitely sure that this book will remain of the most all-time Halloween classics for children that was ever created!  For recommendations, I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since smaller children might get a tad bit scared at some of the monster images in this book.

[BOOK REVIEW] The Texan's Reward by Jodi Thomas

Title:  The Texan's Reward

Author:  Jodi Thomas

Genre: Historical Romance

Year Published: 2005

Number of Pages: 346 pages

Date Read: 3/11/2014

Series: Wife Lottery #4

Publisher:  Berkley Books

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Some Language and Gun Violence)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

I have been reading Jodi Thomas’s popular “Wife Lottery” series for many years now and when I finally stumbled upon the final story of the batch called “The Texan’s Reward” which stars Jacob Dalton and Nell, I was pleasantly surprised by the results of this book!

Many years ago, Texas Ranger Jacob Dalton befriended a young orphaned girl named Nell (who he fondly calls “Two Bits”) and they had been the best of friends ever since.  But years later, Nell is now a full grown woman and Jacob is having even more problems with her.  After Nell gets injured in the last book when the notorious criminal Zeb Whitaker shoots her in the back causing her to barely walk, Nell decides to get married to a man who could help her around the ranch that she had inherited from Fat Alice, the former owner of a brothel. Unfortunately, Jacob Dalton refuses to let Nell marry anyone and he tries to convince Nell to marry him instead.  Of course, Nell refuses at first for she does not want to keep Jacob down because of her injury, but as time goes by, Nell will soon discover that she might have feelings for the courageous Texas Ranger.

Jodi Thomas has done it again with her brilliant writing of the story and the characters involved!  I loved the way that Jodi Thomas wrote the story as it explores how strong love can be, even if a terrible tragedy (such as Nell getting shot and her injury causing her great pain if she tried to walk) could separate two lovers in a second. I was literally on the edge of my seat trying to see if Nell could ever recover from her injury and could she ever touch Jacob ever again due to her injury.  I loved how Jodi Thomas explored all of those insecurities and present it in an emotional context that literally had me crying and hoping at the same time. Probably the best parts about this book were the character themselves as they were extremely intriguing and brilliant to read about!  I really loved the character of Nell as she was shown as being an independent and kind hearted woman who, despite her injury, is willing to take care of her ranch and protect the people she cares about (especially Jacob)!  I also loved the fact that Nell cares so much for Jacob that she was willing to forsake her chance at marrying him just so he could marry someone who would not weigh down his lifestyle (he is a Texas Ranger after all).  I also loved Nell’s relationship with her friends such as Marla, Gypsy and Randolph Harrison as she treats all of them like family and I loved the way that Nell stands up for them whenever they are in danger. But, Jacob Dalton is probably my most favorite character in this entire book as he is truly one of the best western romance heroes I had ever read about!  I really loved the fact that Jacob Dalton truly cares about Nell and was willing to be with her despite her injury and I loved that aspect of Jacob’s character. I also loved how heroic Jacob was as he can easily take down any threat that would harm Nell and would put his life on the line for Nell.  But the romantic and giddy side of me will always love the physical aspects of Jacob Dalton as he is constantly described as being good looking and having a well toned body that I just can not help but fan myself in anticipation every time they mention his good looks!

For anyone who does not like language and violence, there is some language in this book such as various uttering of the “h” word and the “d” word, but it is not as bad as some romance novels that I had read.  Also, there is some violence in this book which involves a lot of gun shooting and anyone who does not like gun violence might be unsettled by the gun scenes in this book.

Overall, “The Texan’s Reward” is a truly great finale for the fantastic “Wife Lottery” series and I am pretty sure that any fan of western romance novels will enjoy it for many years!

[BOOK REVIEW] Hawkeye: My Life as a Weapon Volume 1 by Matt Fraction

Title:  Hawkeye:  My Life as a Weapon Volume 1

Author:  Matt Fraction

Artists:  David Aja and Javier Pulido

Genre:  Action / Superheroes / Comedy / Drama / Crime

Year Published: 2012

Year Read:  3/4/2014

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Series: Hawkeye #1 (Marvel NOW!)

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Fight Scenes and Brief Nudity)

Introduction:

Now, I will admit that when I first heard about Marvel launching their “Marvel NOW” line (which is similar to DC doing their “New 52” reboot, except that “Marvel NOW” is not a reboot), I was a bit hesitant about reading any of the comic books from this line because:

1)      I did not like the direction that Marvel was taking some of their franchises (X-Men in particular).

2)      Since I have not been reading Marvel Comics (or DC comics for that matter) that long, I was afraid that I would not understand some of the new comics coming out since I have not read a lot of the previous comics before the 1970s and some from the 1990s yet.

But, after I heard so many good things about this comic book, I just had to put my reservations about the “Marvel NOW” comic book line on hold and give Matt Fraction’s hit series “Hawkeye: My Life as a Weapon” a chance!  Lo and behold, I found myself loving this series and I wanted to read more from “Hawkeye!”

What is this story about?

Basically in this volume, it details the adventures that Clint Barton, also known as the legendary Avenger, Hawkeye, has whenever he is not with the Avengers.  Along for the ride in these adventures, is Young Avenger member Kate Bishop and she and Clint end up fighting crime in New York City while wielding their bow and arrows in the process!

What I loved about this story:

Matt Fraction’s writing:  Now I will admit that this is probably the first time I had ever read an “Avengers” comic book since I am more of an “X-Men” fan, but after hearing so many good things about this comic book, I decided to give Hawkeye a try and I found myself loving this volume!  Matt Fraction has done a brilliant job at keeping this story self contained (which was what I was looking for when I picked up some comic books in the “Marvel NOW” comic book line) and I really enjoyed the solo adventures that Hawkeye went on.  I also loved the way that Matt Fraction made Clint Barton into a truly hilarious and active character and I loved his little quips throughout the entire story.  Some of my favorite lines from Hawkeye was when he was making fun of how the older comic books would set up the dialogues whenever they are translating foreign languages (like you know how the older comic books would tell the readers “translated from Russian” or “translated from Japanese”)? Well, his dialogue would go like this:

“(Some Spanish-sounding stuff)!” or “(French Stuff).”

I also loved the way that Matt Fraction portrayed Clint Barton’s relationship with Kate Bishop as it is both heartwarming and hilarious to look at and it was fantastic seeing another character who had the same sharp-shooting skills as Hawkeye does.

David Aja and Javier Pulido’s artwork:  David Aja and Javier Pulido’s artwork were fantastic in this volume as they are reminiscent of the artwork in Frank Miller’s classic “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns” comic book.  I loved the way that David Aja’s artwork in the first three issues is scratchy and bold lined while still capturing the essence of each action scene involving Hawkeye and Kate Bishop fighting against criminals.  Javier Pulido’s artwork in the fourth and fifth issues are much lighter in color tone and much more detailed in designs and I really loved the way that they captured the characters and the action scenes.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

Probably the only issue that I did not care for in this volume was the “Young Avengers Presents #6” issue. For one thing, I do not normally read the “Young Avengers” comic book series, so I will admit that I was a little confused about what was going on, even though this issue is supposed to be when Kate Bishop first meets Hawkeye.  Another thing about this issue was that I felt that the tone of the story was way too different from the tone of the rest of the volume, which was light hearted and action-packed while this issue was dark and had too much soap opera drama for my tastes. So, all in all, I think that this issue was just average and not as good as the rest of the issues in this volume.  Although, I did enjoyed Alan Davis’ artwork in this issue as it was gorgeous to look at and the characters’ facial expressions were realistic.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Hawkeye: My Life as a Weapon” is one truly brilliant volume for anyone who is a huge Hawkeye fan and I am definitely looking forward to reading more of his series in the near future!

My Favorite Book Quotes #1

Love this quote! Whenever books are turned into movies, sometimes the movie could come out so bad that some fans might not want to read the book because of the movie, even though most movies do COME STRAIGHT OUT BOOKS!

[BOOK REVIEW] Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China by Ai-Ling Louie

Title:  Yeh-Shen:  A Cinderella Story from China

Author:  Ai-Ling Louie

Artist:  Ed Young

Genre: Folktale / China / Friendship

Year Published: 1982

Year Read:  2014

Publisher: Philomel Books

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 6+ (Death)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

I have read many different interpretations of the classic “Cinderella” story.  But imagine my delight when I find out that there was a “Cinderella” story that comes from China called “Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China,” which was retold by Ai-Ling Louie along with illustrations by Ed Young and man, was it one brilliant story to read!

A long time ago in China, there lived a young and beautiful girl named Yeh-Shen, whose mother had died when she was a baby.  Unfortunately, her stepmother and her stepsister treated Yeh-Shen as poorly as they envied her beauty and they made her do all the housework.  The only friend that Yeh-Shen had was a fish that she caught in the pond as the fish would give her anything she wanted. Unfortunately, the stepmother ended up killing and eating the fish after she discovered the fish’s secret and Yeh-Shen was left with no friend.  However, the spirit of the fish continued to live on through its bones and it continued to help Yeh-Shen, despite having died at the hands of the stepmother.  One day, the Spring Festival came to town and the stepmother and the stepsister went to the festival without Yeh-Shen.  However, the spirit of the fish continued to help Yeh-Shen by giving her a beautiful gown to wear and Yeh-Shen went to the festival.

Will Yeh-Shen be discovered and will she finally find her happily ever after?

Read this book to find out!

Wow! This book was truly amazing!  I loved the way that Ai-Ling Louie retold this ancient Chinese version of the classic “Cinderella” story, as the story feels so exotic with the Chinese setting and the characters were written truly well.  I also loved the fact that in this version of the story, the “Cinderella” of this story, which is Yeh-Shen, has a pet companion in the form of a fish that grants Yeh-Shen’s greatest desires, even after death, which I found to be truly creepy and yet interesting at the same time!  Ed Young’s illustrations were truly beautiful and creative at the same time!  I loved the way that Ed Young illustrated the events of the story through various shapes of fish, such as having the characters’ hats represent the eyes of the fish and have the characters be drawn inside the shape of the fish.

Parents should know that the ending might be a bit disturbing for smaller children since it seemed to happen so unexpectedly.  I will not say what exactly happened at the end, but let us just say that someone dies a gruesome death at the end and it was extremely jarring to see after the tone of the book had been mainly heartwarming for the most part.

Overall, “Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China” is a brilliant retelling of the classic “Cinderella” story and will be a huge favorite among fans of Chinese folktales and different retellings of “Cinderella.”  I would recommend this book to children ages six and up due to the length of this book and the ending might disturb smaller children.

[BOOK REVIEW] The Boy Who Drew Cats by Margaret Hodges

Title:  The Boy Who Drew Cats

Author:  Margaret Hodges

Artist:  Ari Sogabe

Genre: Japan / Horror / Animals

Year Published: 2002

Year Read:  2014

Publisher: Holiday House

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 6+  (Some Scary Moments)

Buy or Add on :  Amazon  //  Goodreads

Now, I will admit that I had actually read the popular Japanese folktale, “The Boy Who Drew Cats” before; my first exposure being to the Rabbit Ears’ version of the folktale which was narrated by William Hurt.  Well, imagine my surprise and delight when I discovered that there was another version of the classic Japanese folktale that was written by Margaret Hodges along with illustrations by Ari Sogabe that was just as memorable as Rabbit Ears’ version of “The Boy Who Drew Cats!”

The story starts off with a poor farmer and his wife having difficulty feeding their children.  While the rest of the children can work efficiently on the farm, their youngest son was not strong and efficient in working on the farm, even though he was extremely clever.  So, the parents decided to send the youngest son to a priest so he can prepare for priesthood.  Unfortunately, the boy loved to draw cats, but it would always get him into trouble with the priest until one day, the priest told the boy to get out and gave him a small warning before he left:

“Avoid large places at night; keep to small.”

Disappointed, the boy wandered around town until he came to an abandoned temple that was rumored to contain a large goblin that terrorized the people of the village.

Will the boy survive the goblin’s wrath and what importance will the priest’s words have on the boy?

I have always enjoyed the story of “The Boy Who Drew Cats” and this version of the classic Japanese folktale does not disappoint me!  I loved the way that Margaret Hodges retold this story as the story was full of horror that set me on the edge of my seat!  I actually sympathized with the young boy in this story as his own family had to send him to a priest since they could not feed all of their children and then, the boy gets kicked out of the priest’s home since his ability to draw cats had gotten him into trouble.  I was actually rooting for the boy throughout the story as I wanted him to get his happily ever after, after going through so much turmoil in his life.  I also enjoyed the little author’s note at the end of the book by Margaret Hodges as she describes about where she got the inspiration to write this story and where this story originated from.  Ari Sogabe’s artwork was truly gorgeous in this story and some of my favorite images were of the trees and the landscape of Japan as they look truly colorful and realistic and it really brought out the beauty of this story!

Parents should know that this story has some scary moments, including the young boy’s encounter with the goblin and that might scare young children who do not like reading about monsters.  However, I will say that this version is not as graphic as the Rabbit Ears’ version, so parents might have an easier time helping their children deal with the dark nature of this story since the violence is extremely low key in this version.

Overall, “The Boy Who Drew Cats” is a fantastic story for children who enjoy reading horror stories and Japanese folktales. I would recommend this book to children ages six and up since the dark themes of this story might scare younger children.

[BOOK REVIEW] The Far Side Gallery by Gary Larson

Title:  The Far Side Gallery

Author:  Gary Larson

Genre: Animals / Comedy / Comic Strips

Year Published: 1984

Year Read:  2/23/2014

Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC

Series: The Far Side Gallery

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 7+ (Some Suggestive Themes)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

Introduction:

After reading “The Far Side Gallery 3,” I was dying to check out more of Gary Larson’s “Far Side Gallery” series and I stumbled upon a collection of Gary Larson’s “Far Side Gallery” series in “The Far Side Gallery” (man, I am talking about the “Far Side Gallery” so much in this review)!  Anyway, this collection of “Far Side Gallery” stories is just as memorable and hilarious as the “Far Side Gallery 3!”

What is this story about?

Basically, this “Far Side Gallery” collection contains comic strips from “The Far Side,” “Beyond the Far Side,” and “In Search of the Far Side” and the comic strips all contain hilarious situations that involve various animals and human beings.

What I loved about this story:

Gary Larson’s writing: Gary Larson’s writing is as usual hilarious and witty to read as the various characters in these comic strips are always making sarcastic comments about the situations they are thrown into.  As usual, Gary Larson managed to make some of the puns such as “Hat Hunters” and “Water Buffaloes” come to life in a literal sense and I just rolled over laughing when I read these strips! Some of my favorite comic strips in this collection are:

“Big Bob says he’s getting tired of you saying he doesn’t really exist.” (When the boy’s imaginary friend grabs the boy’s father roughly by the shirt).

“We’ve made it, Warren! ...The moon!” (When two astronauts landed on the moon, but one of the astronauts accidentally hit the other astronaut’s helmet, cracking it).

The real reason dinosaurs became extinct (Showing the dinosaurs smoking cigarettes).

“For twelve perfect years I was a car-chaser.  Pontiacs, Fords, Chryslers…I took them all on…and yesterday my stupid owner backs over me in the driveway.” (A dog tells another dog in heaven how his owner killed him with a car).

Gary Larson’s artwork:  Gary Larson’s artwork as usual is hilarious to look at as the characters have exaggerated bodies such as their bodies being larger than their heads.  I also loved how hilarious the artwork becomes during the collection’s most hilarious moments such as the artwork of the astronaut smashing another astronaut’s helmet after pronouncing that they are on the moon at last.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

For anyone who feels uncomfortable about dealing with the concept of heaven and hell, there are a couple comic strips in this collection that deals with heaven and hell, although it is not as frequent as it was in the “Far Side Gallery 3.”

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “The Far Side Gallery” is a fantastic collection of Gary Larson’s best work in the “Far Side Gallery” series and anyone who is a huge fan of Gary Larson’s work in the “Far Side” series will easily enjoy this collection!