kailey_luminouslibro's reviews
3680 reviews

DNF at page 80
I knew that this was a graphic novel about a really bad guy, but wow. It's all alcohol and prostitution and kidnapping and murder and violence and guns. This book does not gloss over the ugliness.
There is a lot of nasty profanity and graphic violence, and I just couldn't stomach it anymore. Horrid.

Hannalee and her family move to Atlanta after the Civil War, hoping to find work. Her brother, Davey, lost his arm fighting as a soldier in the Confederate Army, and there isn't much work available that a one-armed man can do. Hannalee and her mother both get jobs to help the family, but Atlanta is overrun with Yankee soldiers and all of Georgia is under martial law. Hannalee worries that the Yankees will be rude and violent, but she discovers that many of them are kind and friendly people.

This was an interesting look at a very weird time in history for Georgia. I liked that the book includes many true historic elements, giving a clear look into history through the lens of these characters.

Hannalee is a complex character. She is torn between being loyal to the Confederacy and hating the Yankees or befriending some really lovely people who just want to help. Eventually, she works through her feelings about the war and learns to move forward with her new friends no matter their race or their politics or their status in life. She learns that there are good and bad people on both sides of the war, and not every issue is as black and white as she used to believe.

I liked the writing pretty well, but it was nothing special. The characters are interesting, but, other than Hannalee, not very memorable. The plot moves along, but I found myself skipping over some of the descriptive paragraphs.

In this final book of the graphic novel trilogy, Kaidu and Rat are trying to recover the lost secret weapon of the ancient people of the Nameless City - a formula for exploding fire. They think it will be easy to sneak into the palace and steal back the book containing the formula; after all, they have snuck in and out of the palace many times before. But their only route past the walls has been demolished, and they will have to find some other way to get past the guards and into the inner library. Meanwhile Kaidu's father is trying to reach the other nations and gather military support to take back the city from the traitors among the Dao.

I loved these characters so much! Kaidu and Rat have so many emotional scars, but they find strength and support in their friendship. They have to trust each other absolutely through their adventures. No matter what other cultural or political changes may come up, these two remain loyal to each other, open to listen and respect their differences.

The plot is fantastic and imaginative! Kaidu and Rat get into lots of mischief and dangerous adventures. You get a sense of the depth of the characters and the history of the city. They have to decide what the future of the Nameless City is going to look like, but still respect its past history.

In this third book, we see Rat begin to lay aside her sad past and heal those old emotional wounds. She has to let go of her anger and grief, and learn to live beyond her limited perspective. She has a vision of what the city could be like in the future where people of all nations could live in harmony together. It is that vision that gives her strength to endure.

I love the world building. This book answers some of the questions about the ancient people who first built the city. Now that Kaidu and Rat know the mystery of the secret weapon the ancient people developed, they have to decide what to do with it. It was intriguing to see how the political landscape keeps changing as the nations come together to decide the fate of the city. There are many different cultures that are not blending very well due to prejudices and political unrest, but the friendship between two young people might just be the answer. Kaidu and Rat are determined to protect the city and each other.

The artwork is excellent, and every page is colorful and full of energy! This is such a satisfying end for a great trilogy!

In this second book of the graphic novel trilogy, Kaidu and Rat are doing everything they can to protect the monks of the Stone Heart. The monks are the keepers of knowledge in the Nameless City, but the Dao military leaders think they must be hiding the secret weapon that the ancient peoples used to blast through the rock of the mountains. Kaidu and his father are loyal to the Dao general, but they are forced to choose between their loyalties or the truth.

I loved these characters so much! Kaidu is very open in his ideas. He doesn't just follow the crowd. The rest of the Dao look down on the native people of the Nameless City, but Kaidu is curious about them and respectful of everyone. The rest of the Dao are very focused on military might, but Kaidu prefers book-learning and wisdom just as his father does. Rat has grown up on the streets, and she teaches Kaidu to run across the rooftops, free from the crowds in the streets below. It's really interesting to see how their friendship develops.

The plot is fantastic and imaginative! Kaidu and Rat get into lots of mischief and dangerous adventures. You get a sense of the depth of the characters and the history of the city.

In this second book, we see more of Kaidu and his father growing closer. They haven't known each other for very long, and their relationship is still very tenuous. Kaidu's father has always been so busy with working and politics and trade agreements, and now he realizes that he should have taken more time with Kaidu. It's really lovely to see how father and son begin to grow closer.

I love the world building. This book answers some of the questions about the ancient people who first built the city. There is a mystery behind the construction of the city, and Kaidu and Rat are very curious about it. It was intriguing to see how the political landscape keeps changing as the General and his counselors propose different ideas for the future of the city. There are two different cultures that are not blending very well due to prejudices and political unrest, but the friendship between two young people might just be the answer. Kaidu and Rat are determined to protect the city and its ancient secrets.

There is a gay side character who is described as having a crush on someone's brother, but we never meet the brother or see them together.

The artwork is excellent, and every page is colorful and full of energy! I can't wait to read the rest of this trilogy! 

Kaidu moves to the city to visit his dad and attend soldier training along with other young students. His people, the Dao, conquered the Nameless City thirty years before, but tensions still run high between the Dao and the native people. He begins to explore the city and befriends a native girl who calls herself Rat. They uncover some secrets about the city and their loyalties are tested. Kaidu's father is a counselor to the ruling General of the city, and Kaidu and Rat get involved in the shifting politics of the Dao.

I loved these characters so much! Kaidu is very open in his ideas. He doesn't just follow the crowd. The rest of the Dao look down on the native people of the Nameless City, but Kaidu is curious about them and respectful of everyone. The rest of the Dao are very focused on military might, but Kaidu prefers book-learning and wisdom. Rat has grown up on the streets, and she teaches Kaidu to run across the rooftops, free from the crowds in the streets below. It's really interesting to see how their friendship develops.

The plot is fantastic and imaginative! Kaidu and Rat get into lots of mischief. At first it's just some fun adventures, until things take a nasty turn and suddenly they are in serious danger. The action moves along pretty quickly, but you get a sense of the depth of the characters and the history of the city.

I love the world building. This first book introduces the city and some of its history, but there are many questions about the ancient people who first built the city. There is a mystery behind the construction of the city, and Kaidu and Rat are very curious about it. It was intriguing to see how the political landscape keeps changing as the General and his counselors propose different ideas for the future of the city. There are two different cultures that are not blending very well due to prejudices and political unrest, but the friendship between two young people might just be the answer.

The artwork is excellent, and every page is colorful and full of energy! I can't wait to read the rest of this trilogy!

Alea has grown up in the Outpost, a massive spaceship that crash-landed on a frozen planet generations ago. So much time has passed that Alea's generation has forgotten how to use most of the technology their ancestors had, and much of the spaceship is inaccessible because it's buried underground. Alea believes that her society needs to push themselves to do more than just survive in the frozen wastelands of the planet. She wants to explore and find new innovations so that society can thrive. But people are afraid. Alea's friends are struggling too. Some have given up, seeing no hope in the future. When one of Alea's friends commits suicide, she knows she has to find out the truth about the Outpost.

I loved the sci-fi setting for this graphic novel! It's really interesting to uncover the history of the Outpost and figure out how their ancestors survived.

The artwork is really beautiful and colorful. Every page is fantastic, full of energy and emotion.

I was really intrigued by the mystery that keeps building with more and more questions as Alea discovers that there is a lot she doesn't know about her ancestors and her broken-down spaceship home.

The best part of this book is the complex characters. We get to see them each reacting in different ways to the mystery of the Outpost and to the difficult grief in the aftermath of their friend's suicide. They have to work through some tough situations to find that inner strength to make it through.

I was impressed with the positive way that this book explores some really difficult subjects like suicide and drug addiction. There is the character to commits suicide, and also another character who is contemplating suicide. This group of friends come together to support and encourage each other, and they find hope and comfort. Another character doesn't want to deal with their grief and fear, so they turn to drugs. But they quickly realize what a bad decision that was, and they seek medical help to get clean. I was glad that this book dealt with these subjects in a healthy way.

This would have been a four star book, but there is some profanity, so that took it down a star for me. It annoyed me quite a lot.


Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher/author in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts and are not influenced by anyone.

Aisling is an orphan with no idea who her parents are. She runs away from the orphanage and meets Ronan, who can't even remember who is he or where he is from. They both seem to have some strange connection to magical energy that they can't explain. The priest from the orphanage is involved with a secret society, and he seems to know something about the strange creatures Aisling has seen.

I liked the artwork in this graphic novel. It has an ethereal quality that reflects the urban magical setting. I liked the characters pretty well. It would be interesting to see them develop through the rest of the series. I especially liked the mystery of the plot. There are a lot of questions in these first chapters. Aisling has no idea that there is magic in the world, but she keeps seeing all these weird things that she can't explain. It's very intriguing!

There is some violence, but not too bad. However, there is some profanity, and that annoyed me quite a bit. I probably won't continue reading the series, because I just don't want to see all that cursing.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher/author in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts and are not influenced by anyone.

Hercule Poirot's efficient secretary Miss Lemon is upset and distracted, because there have been some strange thefts at the student hostel that her sister runs. Poirot agrees to investigate the petty thefts to help out Miss Lemon's sister, Mrs. Hubbard. At first it seems like random little things that have gone missing, but there are a few items that stand out from the list: a valuable doctor's stethoscope, a diamond ring, a rucksack that was slashed to pieces, and all the lightbulbs in the common rooms. Only Poirot can sift through the clues and find a connection between the missing items. He begins to find out more about the students who board at the hostel, wondering which of them could be thief, or perhaps... a murderer.

I really enjoyed this mystery! Poirot is one of my favorite fictional detectives, and I always love to see the methodical way that he approaches a mystery. In this story, he is assisted by Inspector Sharpe, and they have a deep respect for each other and very similar methods.

It was adorable to see Poirot sort of realizing for the first time that Miss Lemon has a family and a life outside of her work. She's just such an efficient machine at her job that it's difficult to imagine that she's a human person with a life. It's like when kids see their teacher outside of school, and they are astonished that their teacher is a person! Haha!

I had already seen the TV episode of this story with David Suchet as Poirot, so I thought that I remembered the answer to the mystery, but then as I was reading, I started to wonder if maybe I was misremembering. There are so many red herrings and plot twists, that I started to doubt my memory, thinking, "Well, it couldn't be that guy, because he has an alibi, but I thought I remembered that he was involved somehow, but I guess not." That's just how good Christie is at weaving a complex mystery! She really keeps you guessing!

At first, I wasn't seeing the connection between the title of the book and the story, other than the fact that the hostel is located on Hickory Rd. But the more I thought about it, the more I started to see some themes of childhood nursery rhymes. Hickory Dickory Dock could be a reference to being in the dock, like being on trial. Mrs. Hubbard is nicknamed "Ma" or "Ma Hubbard" by the students under her care, just like the nursery rhyme Old Mother Hubbard. That nursery rhyme also mentions a cupboard, which features at one point in the mystery. There are also a lot of references to various characters' childhoods, wondering if they had a bad childhood which might have caused them to have emotional issues that would make them steal. One character is described as "crying like a child", and another is described as saying "silly childish" things or having a childish attitude. Some of the thefts are referred to as childish pranks. So there is definitely an underlying theme that explains the title; it's just not obvious at first.

Although there are a lot of characters in this book, it's fairly easy to keep track of them all, because they are usually referred to by both their first and last name in the narrative. There is also a helpful Cast of Characters list at the beginning of the book.

It was really interesting to analyze all these different characters and their personalities. They are all young people, full of passion and energy, thrown together in this hostel where they share meals and a common room. Tempers flare. Attractions spring up. Everything they do ends up being dramatic, even if they are just drinking a cup of coffee. And Poirot observes it all, making his own conclusions.

A family group are visiting Jerusalem, and they make the trip to see the ruins of Petra. Their fellow travelers notice that the family seem on edge, nervous, and even afraid. Their mother, Mrs. Boynton, controls every aspect of their lives, and she takes delight in cruelty, torturing them emotionally and mentally for years until they are almost crazed.
When Mrs. Boynton is poisoned at Petra, suspicion falls on each of her children. They are relieved that she is dead. They must have killed her to escape from her brutality. Only Poirot can discover the true killer and sift through the timeline of events that led to Mrs. Boynton's death.

I loved this mystery so much! It's a psychological enigma with many layers. There are the Boynton family themselves with their nervous personalities and years of bitterness. Then there are the fellow travelers who observe the family from the outside, speculating on their slow descent into madness. And there is Poirot, who sees past all the lies into the truth.

I really liked exploring the relationships between the characters. There is a married couple who might split up. There is a young man who falls in love with a stranger on a train. There is a strong bond between brother and sister who are willing to lie to protect each other. The dynamic between these characters keeps changing throughout the story and their relationships develop.

I always love Christie's writing style! The mystery has many red herrings, but the clues are all clearly laid out at the end. And the backdrop of the mystical Petra and the long history of Jerusalem is just perfect to explore these deep themes of life and death and mental anguish and love.

This graphic novel follows Ellie, who is very awkward and clumsy when it comes to sports. Her mother encourages her to try a lot of different sports so that she can make friends with her teammates. However, Ellie only wants to draw and dance. She takes after her artistic father who is a musician. Ellie makes friends with some kids who take ballet classes, and secretly learns a few dance moves, but her mother refuses to pay for ballet lessons, saying all that frou-frou stuff is a waste of time. But Ellie knows that she could be good at dance if only she was given a chance!

I liked this graphic novel a lot! The artwork is colorful on every page, and the expressions of the characters are very dynamic and emotional. It really brings that emotional intensity to the story.

I liked that Ellie is struggling in the beginning, but she finds her balance, both with her friends and with her family. Both she and her mom have to learn to communicate better, and it's good to see how they both grow and learn.

I remember when I was a kid being forced to play sports at youth camp, and all I wanted to do was read and play piano. It was torture, and I was always scared that I would injure my hands and be unable to play piano the same ever again. I related to Elli's struggles quite a lot. I think a lot of artsy kids would too.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts and are not influenced by anyone.