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jenniferdeguzman's reviews
318 reviews
Confessions of a Blabbermouth by Louise Carey, Mike Carey
3.0
A bit frantic in tone and pacing, but I connected with the mercurial and dramatic Tasha. Aaron A.'s art is fun and the character designs are great, each character very distinctive, though I found myself distracted by the girls' meaty hands a few times. They seriously could kick ass in arm wrestling.
I don't think the implication of sexual abuse is a good farcical device for a comedy, however. Just for the record.
I don't think the implication of sexual abuse is a good farcical device for a comedy, however. Just for the record.
Kimmie66 by Aaron Alexovich
3.0
Aaron Alexovich tackles the increasingly important question of online identity, and he does it in a way that's fun and spooky, with a main character who is, oh my god, adorable. I love her hair. Her voice is a little teenage-girly, but I can handle that, and it fits the character and the story. Unlike a lot of graphic novels I've read lately, Kimmie66 treats a traumatic event as a traumatic event. (Really, how do these girls in other graphic novels do this? One accidentally kills two men and then her father gets murdered, another is inadvertently responsible for a kindly old man losing his mind, and another's grandmother turns out to be a Satanist, and they bounce back so easily from these horrible events!) Telly is appropriately devastated by the death of her friend, and her quest to find out what happened to Kimmie and who she "really" was comes across as earnest, touching and believable.
And Aaron is just an awesome artist. The futuristic world he creates is just the right balance between make-believe and realistic.
This book has the best cover design of the Minx books, I think.
And Aaron is just an awesome artist. The futuristic world he creates is just the right balance between make-believe and realistic.
This book has the best cover design of the Minx books, I think.
Have You Seen the Horizon Lately? by Jamie S. Rich
4.0
Necessary disclaimer: The author is a pal, and I'm the first name in the acknowledgments.
Julia Jimenez, one of the protagonists (it's pretty well divided between her and the recluse author Percival Mendelssohn) is a pretty cool chickie, the kind I'd like to hang out with. She has the same curse/blessing of obsession I do, too. I would, however, warn her against her sweeping generalization of literature graduate students based on her acquaintance of all of one ("Those who can, do; those who can't go to grad school"? Do what? I want to ask. The lit grad students can do a lot, like appreciate and understand literature with depth and intensity) and compliment her on the down-to-earth attitude she brings to her dream romance. I would have been one foolish girl in her place.
Mostly, I love the way this story unfolds, Julia's search for Percy, and how their friendship grow through books, especially. Julia's fascination with Percy changes as he becomes a real person to her, and Percy's curiosity about Julia, as the first new person to enter his life in years, propel the story in a floaty, otherworldly way. The solitude in which they get to know each other, the way in which for a while they're only presences in the same house, never seen directly--it's almost as if they're both ghosts bringing each other back to life.
Julia Jimenez, one of the protagonists (it's pretty well divided between her and the recluse author Percival Mendelssohn) is a pretty cool chickie, the kind I'd like to hang out with. She has the same curse/blessing of obsession I do, too. I would, however, warn her against her sweeping generalization of literature graduate students based on her acquaintance of all of one ("Those who can, do; those who can't go to grad school"? Do what? I want to ask. The lit grad students can do a lot, like appreciate and understand literature with depth and intensity) and compliment her on the down-to-earth attitude she brings to her dream romance. I would have been one foolish girl in her place.
Mostly, I love the way this story unfolds, Julia's search for Percy, and how their friendship grow through books, especially. Julia's fascination with Percy changes as he becomes a real person to her, and Percy's curiosity about Julia, as the first new person to enter his life in years, propel the story in a floaty, otherworldly way. The solitude in which they get to know each other, the way in which for a while they're only presences in the same house, never seen directly--it's almost as if they're both ghosts bringing each other back to life.
Paris by Andi Watson
I won't give star ratings to books that I worked on as an editor, but I will review them!
Paris is a beautiful book about love and art and learning how to use one's passion. Andi Watson's story makes what some would see as an unconventional romance seem like the most natural thing in the world, and Simon Gane's art is simply to die for.
Paris is a beautiful book about love and art and learning how to use one's passion. Andi Watson's story makes what some would see as an unconventional romance seem like the most natural thing in the world, and Simon Gane's art is simply to die for.
A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906 by Simon Winchester
4.0
I was one of Simon Winchester's students when he was a guest professor at San Jose State University while he was researching this book. It was my last semester as an undergraduate, and my writing benefited immensely from his guidance. So obviously I have a bit of a bias!
I am not as fascinated by tectonic plates as I am by people. However, Winchester is a trained geologists, and he describes geological events with clear analogies that help non-science-minded people like myself understand the formation of continents and fault lines. The history of any earthquake begins with the formation of the earth, and I appreciate his admirable effort to show that human enterprise is at the mercy of forces that are ancient and unstoppable.
The real meat for a humanist like me is the story of people who went through the earthquake, and I do wish that he had devoted more time to that. What was it like to live in the tent cities? Are there any first-person accounts of that? There is a bit of distance between the narrative and the personal experiences victims of the quake that I would have liked to see collapsed (no pun intended), but perhaps that would be suited to another kind of book.
Winchester makes a subtle point without outright contrast in depicting the government's response to the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire. In a time without 24-hour news feeds, email, fax machines or airplanes, the government promptly provided for victims of the earthquake. He knows that in the reader's mind will be the shameful response to Hurricane Katrina as contrast.
Also appreciated is Winchester's examples of how the quake's effects rippled sociologically and economically. We here in the Bay Area are united by our experiences of earthquakes, and he reminded me that the structure of a life I hold dear is very precarious indeed.
I am not as fascinated by tectonic plates as I am by people. However, Winchester is a trained geologists, and he describes geological events with clear analogies that help non-science-minded people like myself understand the formation of continents and fault lines. The history of any earthquake begins with the formation of the earth, and I appreciate his admirable effort to show that human enterprise is at the mercy of forces that are ancient and unstoppable.
The real meat for a humanist like me is the story of people who went through the earthquake, and I do wish that he had devoted more time to that. What was it like to live in the tent cities? Are there any first-person accounts of that? There is a bit of distance between the narrative and the personal experiences victims of the quake that I would have liked to see collapsed (no pun intended), but perhaps that would be suited to another kind of book.
Winchester makes a subtle point without outright contrast in depicting the government's response to the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire. In a time without 24-hour news feeds, email, fax machines or airplanes, the government promptly provided for victims of the earthquake. He knows that in the reader's mind will be the shameful response to Hurricane Katrina as contrast.
Also appreciated is Winchester's examples of how the quake's effects rippled sociologically and economically. We here in the Bay Area are united by our experiences of earthquakes, and he reminded me that the structure of a life I hold dear is very precarious indeed.