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Thundercats Vol 3: Apex Review
INTO THE DEVIL’S LAIR! Following the discovery of Mumm-Ra’s Black Pyramid, Lion-O makes the fateful decision to confront the Devil-Priest of Third Earth one-on-one in his place of power. If the ThunderCats’ brash young leader can defeat his nemesis in single combat, the last survivors of Thundera’s claim to their new home will be secured. But in the aftermath of their epic clash, both Lion-O and the ThunderCats find themselves fighting for their lives in two separate battles – on two different worlds!
It’s been awhile since I read the new Thundercats by Dynamite Comics so I quickly refreshed myself with the previous volume, and jumped right in. We were left with Calica’s betrayal, Lion-O feeling undermined and lost goes on a long walk while his companions pick up the pieces.
And this volume feels like filler. There is some battle, giving Moss’ vibrant and expressive combat scenes plenty of time to shine. Same with issue #13 that gives the splotlight to Snarf who only speaks one word, so we are gifted with a colorful, somehwat adorable and disturbing world through Snarf’s eyes.
Character-wise, there wasn’t much happening. Tygra and Cheetara were in their love bubbles, the Kits were pushed to the side, and Lion-O gets captured before he really does anything.
The only one who gets real depth is Calica as we learn the reasons for her betrayal, but even that is given just a few pages. Her return to the Thundercats with new allies is glossed over in a montage. Too bad Lion-O wasn’t there because it could have infused actual drama and maybe some time waiting to see if they can trust her again. Even the discovery of a new element for the Thundarians to use is explored off-the-page. Anything interesting was off-the-page and it was so frustrating. Issue #15 ended with a potentially interesting time-wimey Terminator idea, but we’ll see how it pans out.
Perhaps Shelvey was trying to give us the calm before the storm, but it left a dud of a volume.
2 stars.
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Book Highlight: Girls to the Front
From the big stage to the US Navy, from laboratories to the boardroom, from the Olympics to the pages in books, these girls and women lead every line. Bold, bright, and empowering profiles by Geisel Honor–winning and #1 New York Times bestselling artist Niña Mata place these incredible changemakers at the very front and inspire readers to tap into their own greatness.
A delightful book giving a glimpse into important figures in US History that helped to bring greater representation to the Asian American community, improved their lives, and/or changed everyone’s lives through their skills and policies. Mata’s illustrations are vibrant and colorful which will draw young readers in, and her succinct descriptions of the main points of their lives and accomplishments will give kids inspiration that they can succeed too.
There were several famous names I already knew like Vera Wang, Kamala Harris, Merritt Moore, and so on, but there were a lot more that were new to me. Such as: Mary Tape of Tape vs Hurley in 1885. She fought against public school segregation in California that separated Chinese students from the others, and won! This would become a precedent for Brown v Board.
Zarina Rashid Hashim was an artistic pioneer in the minimalist movement with her geometric and abstract shapes.
I knew Amy Tan wrote Joy Luck Club, but did you know she also wrote Sagwa the Chinese Siamese Cat?
Gyo Fujikawa was an illustrator for Walt Disney during the 1940s, saving her from Japanese Internment, and would go to illustrate for Robert Louis Stevenson’s Children’s Poems, and over fifty other children’s books.
Helen Zia, a journalist and activist who covered the hate crime killings of Vincent Chen, igniting the Asian American movement in 80s.
Geena Rocero, transgender model and activist.
Tye Leung Schulze, mentored and aided by famous activist, Donaldina Cameron in helping women escape the yellow slave trade in 1800s. She would go on to become an interpreter for Angel Island Detention Center, giving comfort and translation to Asian immigrants, and would become the first Asian women to vote in the US when California gave women suffrage.
Dr. Kazue Togasaki was successful obstetrician in the Japanese internment camps, and would g on to rebuild her practice when released and deliver thousands more for her community.
Ruby Ibarra, songwriter and rapper for hit songs, Someday, Lost Without You and more.
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Love Craves Cardamom Review
Archana Dhawan wants a boy-free zone this semester abroad. Fresh off a breakup, she’s headed to Rajasthan, India—her parents’ homeland—determined to find herself and thrive at her dream art museum internship. No drama. No distractions.
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Alas, the universe is trying to tempt her. On day one, she meets the hottest boy on the train. Soon after, she runs into him again at work. Not only is the museum tied to a palace, but the cute guy, Shiv, is a royal gardener!
As he takes her to the most gorgeous local spots, their undeniable chemistry grows. Then Archi gets shocking news: Shiv is not who he seems. Now she’s left wondering—was this brush with love the beginning of something warm and complex or just another bittersweet end? -
Book Highlight: Ayesha Dean Mysteries
It took me awhile to get my hands on this Australian series, but I’m very glad I did. Ayesha Dean is vibrant new heroine in the teen sleuth genre, following in the vein of Nancy Drew. That is if Nancy Drew knew taekwondo and found mysteries at every vacation spot.
Obviously, she’s not an exact copy, but the similarities were prominent at first as she’s joined by two best friends, the stylish Sara, and the sporty Jess, and is raised by her semi-wealthy lawyer uncle who takes her along his international trips. But like I said, Ayesha is more proactive when she stumbles on a mystery using deduction and lock-picking skills to find clues. Not to mention kind as her desire to help strangers that get injured at museums help to lead her to her next suspect.
The first two mysteries, The Istanbul Intrigue and The Sevilla Secret are almost formulaic as both feature Ayesha teaming up with her friends, and the mystery involving ancient, leather-bound books relating to the Muslim history of the region. She also gets potential love interest at each stop even though it never goes beyond flirty jokes because the long-distance relationships never work out.
Side-note, Lum’s descriptions of the food, architecture and history are nicely woven into the story as well, giving readers a chance to experience each culture in their mind’s eye.
However, her third (and potentially final?) mystery in The Lisbon Lawbreaker breaks away from the formula as she’s on her own in Portugal for an internship and ends up on the other side of the law thanks to a bad case of amnesia. The danger racks up in each book, but this one was the most suspenseful one yet as Ayesha attempts to use her framed status to infiltrate the trafficking ring.
In case it wasn’t obvious from the covers, Ayesha is Muslim and Lum does an excellent job in casually expanding the representation of Muslim women with Ayesha’s portrayal as a kick-butt, fashionable detective whose daily prayers help clear her mind and center herself to solve the mystery. Seriously, look at these covers, she’s so chic!
I heartily recommend US and European readers to try and pick up this series if they can. You’ll get your mystery fix.
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Book of the Month: Outlander
The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of Our Lord…1743.
Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, and shatter her heart. For here James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire—and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.
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Girls Survive: Graphic Novels
I’m sure everyone thought I was done with this series. I was too until a little search brought up that the series has graphic novels. Not graphic novel retellings of the series, but all new stories and historical disasters. The completionist in me had to read them all.
(more…)#ailynncollins, #amyrubinate, #annieandtheunsinkableship, #baileyandtheblaze, #barbaraperezmarquez, #bonnieandthefierycrash, #capstonepublishing, #capstoneyoungreaders, #doloresandral, #emmacarlsonberne, #gemmaandthegreatflu, #girlssurvive, #graphicnovels, #gretaandthenightfire, #historicalfiction, #juliagilbert, #kateandthecityoffire, #lowergrade, #paulinaandtheburningofpompeii, #prudenceundersuspicion, #rachelreads&reviews, #reiescapesdisaster, #rosieandtheraceforfreedom, #susangriner, #tingandthedeadlywaters, #zoeandthethunderingsnow -
Salvación Review
Lola de La Peña yearns to be free from the societal expectations of a young Mexican lady of her station. She spends her days pretending to be delicate and proper while watching her mamá cure the sick and injured with sal negra (black salt), a recently discovered magic that heals even the most mortal sicknesses and wounds. But secretly, she is Salvación, the free-spirited lady vigilante protecting her town of Coloma from those who threaten its peace and safety.
But one night, a woman rides into Coloma, barely alive, to tell the horrifying tale of how her town was obliterated by sal roja (red salt), a potent, deadly magic capable of obliterating anything it comes into contact with, and Señor Hernández, the man who wields it. When Hernández arrives the next day with a party of fifty strong men and promises to return Alta California to México, Lola knows it’s only a matter of time before he brings the region under his rule. All Hernández needs is the next full moon and the stolen ancient amulet he carries to mine enough sal roja to conquer the land.
Determined to protect everything she loves, Lola—as Salvación—races against time to stop his plans. What she didn’t count on was the distracting and infuriating Alejandro, who travels with Hernández but doesn’t seem to share his ambitions. With the stakes higher than ever and Hernández getting closer to his goals, Lola will do anything to foil his plans—even teaming up with Alejandro, whom she doesn’t fully trust but can’t help falling in love with.
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The Cuffing Game Review
It is a truth universally acknowledged that when there is a hot person, there is also someone with a crush on them.
Mia Yoon has a plan for everything. Get a full ride to her dream film school in Los Angeles, behind her mom’s back, and escape her middle-of-nowhere hometown—check. Produce her own dating show starring other people and their crushes—check. But everything goes off the rails when she has to enlist the help of her own secret crush, Noah Jang, a boy she’d rather hate.
Despite being a campus celebrity voted “most eligible student bachelor,” Noah can’t remember the last time he was in a relationship. And he’s perfectly content with that, thank you very much, especially since just the word feelings makes him uncomfortable. But he can’t stop staring at Mia, who keeps glaring at him in class. And when she asks him to be on her dating show—as one of the contestants—he can’t say no.
As Noah goes on more and more romantic dates on The Cuffing Game and Mia watches from behind the camera, something feels off. With the showrunner and contestant slowly falling for one another, can the show still go on?
Lyla Lee can always be counted on for a feel-good rom-com that will make me smile. This one was no different.
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Asgardians: Loki Review
As night falls on Asgard there is one who does not dream. Loki, a trickster of epic proportions, has much to think on. He hearkens back to his challenge to the wolf Fenrir to break the strongest Dwarf-made chains. He remembers Thjazi, the jotunn in monstrous eagle form, and his pursuit of the apples of youth. And he worries he has fallen out of favor with his blood brother, Odin. Can he use his cunning and wiles to worm his way back in? Or, feeling spurned, will Loki choose to burn it all down?
Ah, Loki always steals the show as O’Connor notes in his Author’s Note. As the trickster archetype, it’s hard not to be entertained by his pranks, and when he receives his comeuppance for said jokes.
One can’t deny he always causes trouble, but the Asgardians tolerate them because they need him, and it’s that convenience that breeds resentment. As a jotun, Loki is always on the outside, and being used whenever the gods want starts to grind under his skin.
O’Connor does a great job in highlighting Loki’s isolation and the way the Asgardians create their own villain with how they use, and then disparage him. However, it doesn’t completely praise him as poor, misunderstood trickster god. He crosses a line that is hard to defend as he utilizes two innocent people rather than face the real gods he’s angry with because at heart, Loki is a coward.
Also, it is not stated within the text, but in the Author’s Note, I liked O’Connor’s insight into how both Odin and Loki are trickster gods, but because Odin is the head god, he is always within the status quo. His tricks save the day, and benefit him. Loki is the opposite in that his tricks cause the problem, and save the day (but probably causes another problem down the line) and often humiliate him in some way. He’s the bad side to tricks, and he has no where to go but further down the road of darkness. A self-fulfilling prophecy if you will.
Which brings me to the surprise secondary protagonist of the book, Frigg. She whose prognostication is greater than her husband’s, yet she tells no prophecies. Frigg knows all, but she is wise enough not to interfere because it is all pre-destined. It creates a compelling yet tragic arc, and I’m amazed how O’Connor adds depth to one of the hidden female figures of the Norse pantheon. Odin always overshadows her even though she’s more powerful, and it’s cool to see her get recognized.
I knew a few of the myths like Loki stealing Idunn’s golden apples, but the one involving Skadi’s marriage to Njord was hilarious. Initially, they seem disconnected, but they do build a sense of ominousness leading to Loki’s point of no return, and more importantly the end we were building toward-Ragnorak!
Honesty, that might be the one flaw to this book, and that it feels like too light, trying to fit in these last few myths before it comes to the big finale which is what O’Connor really wants to get to.
But now that he’s set the seeds I’m eager to see how it ends, and hope Ragnorak will be released soon instead of the three year wait between Olympians 11 and 12.
3 stars
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Sunrise on the Reaping Review
As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.
Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.
When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.
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Rachel Reads & Reviews 