Graphic Novels!
9:00 PM
Hey everyone!
I know it's been awhile since I've made a post. I was on Spring Break last week after a very hectic quarter at school, and so I was happily living it up in relaxation: watching movies and TV, catching up on quality snuggling with my dog... as well as binge-reading for pleasure to make up for lost time. I read quite a few books over break, and most of them turned out to be graphic novels, a genre I've been exploring and that have quickly become one of my new favorites. So, I thought I'd give you a sneak peek at the graphic novels I read and hopefully some of these will interest you enough to want to read them, too!
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| DISCLAIMER: I haven't technically read Tangles yet (though am anxious to start it!) and there were a few other books I read that are not included in this piece: Anya's Ghost and Friends With Boys, both of which I highly recommend you pick up! |
Tomboy by Liz Prince
Quick review:
This was easily one of my favorites. I related so much to this book, having grown up being a tomboy myself, not to mention just being able to relate to so many aspects of childhood, growing up, the differences between girls and boys, and that cringe-worthy "health" video they played for all of us in 6th grade as we were on the threshold of adolescence. Not only does this have a great story and adorable artwork, but it teaches so many lessons about gender and the roles we're all expected to fill, making this such an important book in my eye that I think everyone should read.
An old favorite turned graphic novel: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, (adapted by Hope Larson)
Quick review:
The original classic children's novel by Madeleine L'Engle is one of my absolute favorite books, so as soon as I found out they made a graphic novel version of this, I knew I had to pick it up. I have to say, the original-to-graphic novel adaptation translated exceptionally well in this book. I thought the artwork was gorgeous as well, and especially loved the blue tint throughout. It made this, visually, a very captivating book to flip through. It was also wonderful, of course, to see a book I love come to live with the illustrations of some of my favorite characters like Mrs. Whatsit and Aunt Beast.
Next up, Calling Dr. Laura by Nicole Georges.
Quick Review:
Along with Tomboy, this was probably my favorite out of the graphic novels I've read. The artwork in this novel is one of my favorites and I think is so detailed and so well-done. What stands out for me about this one, though, is that this isn't merely a cutesy graphic novel - not to belittle the value of the other graphic novels I've read! But this graphic novel is presented with such honesty and there are so many subjects interwoven: love, independence as well as dependence, finding your place, family issues (unstable families, abuse, not knowing where or who your real family is...), among so many others. This is not so much a graphic novel as a visual, evocative autobiography.
Unlike the others, this is actually quite a large book. I was surprised when I picked it up! It's about the size of your typical atlas. I couldn't even take a proper picture featuring the entire cover of the book...
... because otherwise, it would've looked like this:
"Where'd my head go?"
But in all silliness, this is an outstanding graphic novel, one that I would rank highly right next to Blankets by Craig Thompson.
Well, those are just some of the graphic novels I had the pleasure of reading. Again, I hope this post encourages you to venture into the graphic novel genre. If you have any suggestions for other graphic novels I should read, let me know with a comment, or just comment below to tell me your favorite graphic novel.
Until next time!
1 comments
Absolutely love a wrinkle in time. I'm obsessed with graphic novels. Will definitely follow your blog :) Please check out mine if you have time! Mostly crude poems and observational humour. Silly stuff. Thanks! http://ribstheblog.blogspot.co.uk/
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