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| # | cover | title | author | isbn | isbn13 | asin | num pages | avg rating | num ratings | date pub | date pub (ed.) | rating | my rating | review | notes | recommender | comments | votes | read count | date started | date read |
date
|
date purchased | owned | purchase location | condition | format | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0061998168
| 9780061998164
| 4.39
| 5,979
| Sep 20, 2011
| Sep 20, 2011
|
 After reading many of Shel Silverstein’s books including Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic, I stumbled upon one of his most recent boo...more After reading many of Shel Silverstein’s books including Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic, I stumbled upon one of his most recent books, which is called “Every Thing on It” and it is just as surreal and hilarious as his previous works! Basically, this book contains poems written by Shel Silverstein and some of my favorites include: All Packed Me and Joe, we’re all packed up, Me and Joe, we’ve got our tickets, Me and Joe, we’re set to go- Hey, wait a minute… Where’s Joe? Whoosh My hair blower worked in reverse today- There’s really not much more to say. What I always loved so much about Shel Silverstein’s books is that the books are always surreal and hilarious, making Shel Silverstein’s books so creative to read through. I have always thought of Shel Silverstein being like Dr. Seuss as his poems would usually have a rhyming scheme and often has outlandish situations happen to the characters; however Shel Silverstein’s poems are often much edgier than Dr. Seuss’ poems since most of his poems involves characters getting hurt or eaten. But, it is that slightly dark quality that I always loved about Shel Silverstein’s poems and this book definitely did not disappoint me in this approach! I loved the surreal nature of these poems as the characters would often meet creatures that are seriously out of this world, such as the poem “My Zoootch” where the bird-like creature actually helps scare a child’s nightmares away. I also loved Shel Silverstein’s illustrations as they are bizarre and simplistic at the same time and I think the black and white colorings of the illustrations really made this book even more unique from the other children’s books.  Parents should know that there are some suggestive poems in this book that includes characters getting hurt or eaten by various creatures. One poem that might disturb small children is the poem “My Hat” which shows an image of a small children wearing an extremely frightening hat that is shaped into a scary face and the illustration of the hat is so detailed that small children will be terrified by the image. Parents might want to read this book before they read it to their children to see if their children can handled some of the somewhat disturbing poems in this book. Overall, “Every Thing on it” is a truly superb book for children who are fans of Shel Silverstein’s works and are looking for books that have surreal images and poems! I would recommend this book to children ages seven and up since it is extremely lengthy and some of the poems might be a bit too suggestive for younger children. Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| not set
| May 04, 2013
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May 04, 2013
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| 078510786X
| 9780785107866
| 3.98
| 3,486
| 2001
| May 16, 2007
|
 Introduction: I have been growing up with “Spider-Man” ever since I was a child and so far, the only comic I had read from the “Spider-Man” series wa...more Introduction: I have been growing up with “Spider-Man” ever since I was a child and so far, the only comic I had read from the “Spider-Man” series was The Amazing Spider-Man: Origin of the Hobgoblin which I did enjoyed. Now, I had stumbled upon the Marvel Ultimate Universe and after I read Mark Millar’s run on “Ultimate X-Men” and kept hearing so many good things on this run, I decided to give Brian Michael Bendis’ run on “Ultimate Spider-Man” a chance. Now at first, I was a little hesitant to read this volume because since I had only read one comic from the original “Spider-Man” series, I felt that I need to be informed on how the origins of the original Spider-Man went before I actually read a remake on this series. However, after I read this volume, I was so happy and satisfied with the results, with or without the original origin stories! What is this story about? In this volume, Peter Parker was your average school nerd who is constantly picked on by the popular kids, including Flash Thompson and yet is best friends with Mary Jane. One day however, when the students ended up going on a school field trip to the Osborn Industries Inc., Peter ends up being bitten by a radioactive spider and he slowly starts to develop powers and a boost of confidence that he never had before. While Peter is enjoying his new powers, he will soon realize that Harry Osborn is up to no-good… What I loved about this story: Brian Michael Bendis and Bill Jemas’ writing: Now from my understanding of the “Ultimate Universe,” it is supposed to be a remake of the original Marvel Universe and after I immensely enjoyed Mark Millar’s revised stories of “Ultimate X-Men,” I started reading “Ultimate Spider-Man: Power and Responsibility” and getting the same results! Brian Michael Bendis’ writing might feel a bit clunky at times, but I really loved the way that we are able to get inside Peter Parker’s head when he started experiencing the spider powers and how he tries to improve on his powers. I also liked the fact that Brian Michael Bendis kept some of the concepts from the original “Spider-Man” origin (Peter Parker getting bitten by a radioactive spider and his relationship with Uncle Ben and Aunt May), but is able to reinvent this origin into a more modern day setting, which I found pretty impressive! I also liked the relationship between Peter and Mary Jane as they just start out as friends in this version and I liked the banter between them as it was hilarious and heartwarming at the same time. I liked the way that Brian Michael Bendis made us really sympathize with Peter Parker as he is constantly being bullied, while at the same time is trying to find his place in the world, which really brought so much depth to this story. Mark Bagley’s artwork: Mark Bagley’s artwork is truly unique to me since the characters’ expressions and bodily structures are extremely different from any other artwork I have seen from other comic books. I loved the way that Mark Bagley made the characters glow on each page as it made the images so beautiful to look at and it really brought out the intensity of the situations. There were times however, where the characters’ teeth seem to show up too much on each panel and I was wondering to myself about why the characters are smiling so much, but it did not totally distract me from the story. What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: The only problem with this comic is that there is some language and violence in this volume, although it is pretty toned down and it is not at all graphic or strong, so young teens should be able to handle this volume. Final Thoughts: Overall, “Ultimate Spider-Man: Power and Responsibility” is a fantastic introductory volume for anyone who wants to read an alternative version of “Spider-Man!” I will admit that diving into the Ultimate universe of “Spider-Man” was really new and a bit weird for me, but this volume greatly set up the characters and you will definitely not be disappointed! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| not set
| May 03, 2013
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May 03, 2013
| Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
| 0425266745
| 9780425266748
| 4.28
| 67,501
| Nov 06, 2012
| Nov 06, 2012
|
 5.5 stars!!! “Love is not the absence of logic, But logic examined and recalculated, Heated and curved to fit, Inside the contours of the heart.” This...more 5.5 stars!!! “Love is not the absence of logic, But logic examined and recalculated, Heated and curved to fit, Inside the contours of the heart.” This, ladies and gentlemen, is a brilliant quote that came out of Tammara Webber’s fantastic contemporary romance novel, “Easy!” When I read so many good reviews about this novel, I just had to check this novel out for myself and see what the rave was all about! Well, imagine my pleasant surprise after I read this book as it was a truly beautiful experience for me and I just have to give out my thoughts on this wonderful novel! Jacqueline Wallace thought that she had the perfect life when she started dating her college sweetheart, Kennedy. Unfortunately, when Kennedy decided to break up with Jacqueline without giving a good reason, Jacqueline finds herself suffering from the break up and she believed that she will never find the perfect guy for her. To make matters worse, Jacqueline is nearly raped by one of the most popular guys in college, Buck, until a mysterious student named Lucas Maxfield manages to save her in the nick of time. Now that Jacqueline notices the mysterious yet hot Boy Scout Lucas, will she find a new and loving relationship with Lucas or will she still remain untrustworthy of ever having another relationship? Oh my goodness, I got to tell you that this book practically blew me away! I had read so many contemporary romance novels during my time, but I never would have thought that I would come across a romance novel that had so much grit and realism to the story that I was practically sitting on the edge of my seat trying to see what will become of the characters! Tammara Webber had done an excellent job at writing this story as the characters and the situations they get involved in are shown in a realistic and intense way and I often found myself getting immersed with how the characters handled these situations. Probably the best thing that I really enjoyed about this novel was the portrayal of the characters themselves! Jacqueline Wallace and Lucas Maxfield are probably my most favorite characters in this novel, along with Erin and Dr. Heller, as they were truly likable and easy to relate to and I loved their interactions with each other! Jacqueline Wallace is truly one heroine that I really sympathized with as she was involved in a dangerous situation and I truly understood her feelings of fear and regret after going through such a horrible experience. It was actually amazing seeing Jacqueline try to stand up for herself as she tries to find her independence after her breakup with Kennedy and her journey to recovery was just truly emotional and beautiful at the same time! Now, Lucas Maxfield is easily one of the greatest college heroes ever created as he would go out of his way to protect Jacqueline! I also loved the fact that Lucas enjoys drawing since that really brought out the artistic (and sexy) side of him and the scenes of Lucas sketching Jacqueline were full of hot and sizzling fun! Also, every time I keep hearing the description of Lucas having a muscular body with meaningful tattoos all over his body, my heart just melts with anticipation! I was amazed at how Tammara Webber tackled the issue of rape as Jacqueline was nearly raped and it was an emotional and heartbreaking ride for Jacqueline to get through. Tammara Webber really made the rape scenes so graphic and realistic that I found myself tensing up whenever these scenes popped up as going through this situation is extremely frightening for anyone. This novel contains extremely strong language including dropping the “f” bomb a dozen times and the “s” word. Anyone who does not like reading strong language might want to skim over these words as they are reading this book. Also, this novel deals with the subject of rape and that topic might be too uncomfortable for many people to handle, especially since it is written in an extremely realistic and graphic way. Overall, “Easy” is truly one novel that every romance reader has to check out and it is easily on my top romance novels lists as of now! This is definitely one novel that really defines the true meaning of love! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Apr 23, 2013
| May 02, 2013
|
Apr 23, 2013
| Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
| 0061996181
| 9780061996184
| 4.24
| 20,389
| Jan 17, 2012
| Jan 17, 2012
|
“Hold on to the ones you love because you never when they will be gone.”
After reading Cynthia Hand’s fantastic book Unearthly, I just had to pick up...more “Hold on to the ones you love because you never when they will be gone.” After reading Cynthia Hand’s fantastic book Unearthly, I just had to pick up the sequel to this book, “Hallowed” and oh man, was I blown away by this incredible story! In this novel, Clara Gardner will experience both joy and pain that she had never experience before as she has to make tough choices that will change her life forever! Well, she is part angel after all; how more complicated can her life be? After Clara Gardner, who happens to be part angel, confronted the forest fire that invaded her visions in the first book, she thought that everything would be fine now that she saved Tucker’s life and meets up with Christian. Unfortunately, Clara will soon realize that the forest fire was just the beginning of her problematic visions. Even though Clara is happily dating Tucker Avery and she is becoming fast friends with Angela Zerbino and Christian Prescott, she will soon realize that she would have to make tough choices in her life that could possibly put her happiness in jeopardy. Oh, and did I mention that someone Clara truly cares about will die and that Clara has to find some way to stop it from happening? Wow…I am just so awestruck by how emotional and exciting this book really was! Cynthia Hand’s writing is just as beautiful and heartwarming in this novel as it was in “Unearthly” and I often found myself really sympathizing with Clara’s predicament in either deciding to give up her purpose in order to have a happy life or give up the life she chooses to live in order to fulfill her purpose. I really loved the supernatural themes being explored in this story, especially about the fact that Clara and her family are angels and that they have to serve a purpose given to them during their lives. I also loved the way that Cynthia Hand weaved the angels’ purposes into the story by making the purposes collide with the characters’ personal lives and how the characters react to the purposes they must perform. This is especially prevalent with Clara Gardner as she is constantly shown trying to fight her purpose in order to have the happy life that she desires and yet, knows that deep down, she will have to follow her purpose at some point of her life. But probably the best part of this book was Clara’s relationship with Tucker Avery! I just loved Clara’s relationship with Tucker as she is almost always honest with him and it just made their relationship feel so real to me! Tucker Avery is definitely one awesome hero of this story as he is always understanding of Clara’s feelings and even though he knows that Clara’s an angel, he still loves her anyway. However, I also really loved Christian Prescott, as he gets more development in this book than in the first book as it shows that he cares about Clara, but respect her relationship with Tucker and would do anything to make her happy. I liked the way that Cynthia Hand handled the love triangle between Christian, Clara and Tucker as it was not shown in a negative way where only one of the love interests is shown to be good-natured while the other love interest is shown to be not worthy of the main character. To me, this love triangle was one of the few times I actually enjoyed a love triangle romance in a young adult novel since both Clara's love interests, Christian and Tucker, were extremely likable characters and I would not mind if Clara dated both of them (although I am more for Tucker any day)! I also loved the way that Cynthia Hand handled the sensitive subject matter about the death of a loved one as we see Clara trying to handle this situation with care and it was heartbreaking seeing Clara break down so much when her loved one is dying right before her eyes. I will not tell you who dies in this book, but let us just say that it is someone that we really care about. The only problem with this book is that there is some language sprinkled throughout this book, although the language here is not as bad as some other young adult books. Readers who do not like reading language in a book might want to skim over the language in this book. Overall, “Hallowed” is honestly a brilliant novel that any fan of Cynthia Hand’s works will thoroughly enjoy! Now, I am off to read the third book in this series, Boundless although I will probably have to check out Radiant first before I read the third book! ♥ ♥ ♥By the way… TEAM TUCKER ALL THE WAY!♥ ♥ ♥ Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| Mar 30, 2013
| Apr 21, 2013
|
Mar 30, 2013
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| 0785137688
| 9780785137689
| 4.05
| 57
| Apr 08, 2009
| May 13, 2009
|
 Introduction: When I heard so many good things about one of the most iconic “X-Men” stories, next to X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga and X-Men: Days of...more Introduction: When I heard so many good things about one of the most iconic “X-Men” stories, next to X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga and X-Men: Days of Future Past, “Proteus,” I just had to give this comic a shot! Now, I actually first heard about the Proteus storyline through the “X-Men” cartoon series that came out during the 1990s and ever since then, I was interested in seeing how this popular storyline unfolded in the “X-Men” universe and now, I finally got a chance to read it! What is this story about? In this story, after the X-Men’s intense battle with Magneto, each of the members believed that the other was dead. However, when Moira MacTaggert’s mutant son, Proteus, suddenly breaks out of his prison, the X-Men are reunited again and they have to fight this new menace that not only is out to get Moira MacTaggert’s estranged husband, Joe MacTaggert, but Moira herself! Can the X-Men defeat this new foe? What I loved about this story: Chris Claremont and John Byrne’s writing: As a long time “X-Men” fan, I was always interested in Chris Claremont’s writing during the early years of the X-Men and this comic was just as interesting as the stories “The Dark Phoenix Saga” and “Days of Future Past” were! I loved the way that Chris Claremont wrote Proteus as being a mysterious and frightening character that has a deep grudge against Moira MacTaggert and her estranged husband Joe MacTaggert as it made his character extremely interesting to read and I was actually scared of Proteus’ ability to warp reality to his will while possessing any body he comes across! I also loved seeing how the X-Men had to work together to defeat this foe while going through some personal issues to complete this job. One of the most memorable and intense scenes I had seen in this comic was when Proteus warps Wolverine’s mind and Wolverine ends up being terrified of Proteus. This moment stood out to me because Wolverine is usually shown as being a “tough as nails” character and to see a villain actually break down Wolverine emotionally was terrifying to see. I also liked the fact that this story was not as lengthy as Chris Claremont’s work in “The Dark Phoenix Saga” and “Days of Future Past” as we still get a really effective story while the story was extremely short enough to explain the characters’ personal feelings on this situation. I also loved seeing Havok, Polaris and Multiple Man (Jamie Madrox) appear in this story and actually help the X-Men out with Proteus, since John Byrne’s artwork: John Byrne’s artwork in this comic is truly beautiful and it really captures the spirit of all the characters. I especially loved the images of the X-Men themselves, especially of Jean Grey whenever she goes into Phoenix mode and you can see the powerful aura surround Jean Grey as it shows how powerful she is in her Phoenix form. I also loved the images of Proteus using his reality warping powers against the X-Men as the images look so surreal and distorted and it really gives off the creepy feel of Proteus’ powers.   What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: Not much was really wrong this story, but anyone who does not like seeing surreal imagery used in a disturbing way might feel uncomfortable of the scenes where Proteus warps Wolverine and Nightcrawler’s minds. The imagery during these scenes is extremely distorted and that might frightened anyone who does not like surreal imagery. Final Thoughts: Overall, “X-Men: Proteus” is a truly fantastic story that all “X-Men” fans should check out! Also, in the edition I got, there are three extra stories in this volume that are just as interesting as the main story and they are called “Shreds of Humanity,” “So Good it Hurts,” written by Ann Nocenti along with artwork by John Bolton and “Outside In.” Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| not set
| Mar 28, 2013
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Mar 28, 2013
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| 1607063980
| 9781607063988
| 4.17
| 1,421
| Aug 02, 2011
| Oct 04, 2011
|
Introduction:
Seriously, will I ever put this series down? Every time I pick up a volume from John Layman’s Eisner Award and Harvey Award winning ser...more Introduction: Seriously, will I ever put this series down? Every time I pick up a volume from John Layman’s Eisner Award and Harvey Award winning series “Chew,” things just keeps getting crazier and more interesting than ever before! In this volume, “Chew: Flambé,” things get even more crazy for Tony Chu and John Colby as there is a panic going on in the United States when strange alien letterings suddenly show up in the sky! What is this story about? In this volume, after a mysterious alien language suddenly pops up in the sky, everyone starts panicking and believes that an alien invasion is about to come to Earth! So, it is up to the FDA agents Tony Chu and John Colby to find out about this supposed alien conspiracy and what will it mean for Earth? What I loved about this story: John Layman’s writing: For the past three volumes, I have always said that John Layman’s writing on the “Chew” series has been nothing but fantastic! Well, in this volume, John Layman really brought out true surreal humor as Tony Chu and John Colby get into even more crazy adventures than usual! I loved the way that John Layman made things even more interesting with the mystery surrounding the strange alien language suddenly appearing in the sky and it was great seeing the build up towards solving the mystery of the alien language and what it would mean for Earth. John Layman’s humorous writing is just as top notch in this volume as it was in the previous three volumes and I really love the moments shared between Tony and his twin sister Antonelle “Toni” Chu as Toni is like the annoying younger sibling towards Tony and I love how she truly cares about him despite annoying him at every chance. I also love the character “Poyo,” the rooster who for some strange reason is able to do some kung-fu fighting (do not worry; you will see its moves in this volume)! It was also interesting seeing Tony’s daughter (yes, Tony actually has a daughter) Olive Chu as she seems to have resentment towards Tony and it would be interesting to see in future volumes whether or not her relationship with Tony will improve or not. Rob Guillory’s artwork: Rob Guillory’s artwork is as usual, extremely hilarious and detailed at the same time as it brought in so much humor and tension to the story. I loved the way that the characters look bizarre as their bodies are done in exaggerated proportions, making the artwork truly creative to look at. I also loved the way that Rob Guillory drew the gory scenes during the crime scenes, even though the blood splattering scenes might be a bit too exaggerated, but it just made those situations more humorous to look at than making you cringe in disgust (which I never thought would be possible)! What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: For anyone who does not like gory scenes and strong language, this volume definitely has plenty of strong violence and language. There are many instances where the characters drop the “s” and “f” bombs throughout the stories and that might offend anyone who does not like reading such strong language in a graphic novel. Also, there are many violent scenes of characters getting shot and cut up and blood splattering everywhere and that might make anyone uncomfortable if they are not used to gory scenes. Final Thoughts: Overall, “Chew: Flambe” is really setting things up and I definitely cannot wait to see what this mysterious alien language in the sky is going to do to the characters in the future. I would definitely recommend this volume to any fan of John Layman’s “Chew” series and also check out the other volumes that came before this one: Chew, Vol. 1: Taster's Choice Chew, Vol. 2: International Flavor Chew, Vol. 3: Just Desserts Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| not set
| Mar 28, 2013
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Mar 28, 2013
| Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
| 0525478817
| 9780525478812
| 4.52
| 228,128
| 2012
| Jan 10, 2012
|
 REAL, EMOTIONAL, HEARTBREAKING, FUNNY AND INSIGHTFUL These are the words that perfectly describe one of the most emotional and insightful books I had...more REAL, EMOTIONAL, HEARTBREAKING, FUNNY AND INSIGHTFUL These are the words that perfectly describe one of the most emotional and insightful books I had ever read, “The Fault in Our Stars.” “The Fault in Our Stars” is a beautiful book that is written by John Green, who also wrote Looking for Alaska and I have the pleasure to experience the raw emotion being put into this novel and enjoying every single minute of it! Hazel Grace Lancaster was a young sixteen year old teenage girl who had suffered thyroid cancer at the age of fourteen and when she thought that she was going to die, the doctors managed to give her a medical miracle that would help shrink her tumor. Even though Hazel managed to survive, she was forced to be hooked up to an oxygen tank to enable her breathing. Since that day, Hazel thought that she will never live life the same way again, but then Hazel ends up meeting a gorgeous teenage boy named Augustus Waters, who also happens to suffer cancer, which caused him to lose one of his legs. Hazel and Augustus (Gus) immediately start connecting with each other and the two friends soon realize the importance of following their dreams and understanding life and death. After I heard so much praise for this book and my reading friends urged me to give this book a shot, I just had to pick this book up and man, was I blown away by the emotional intensity that this book brought out in the open! Even though John Green had written several books before this novel, one of the most notable novels being “Looking for Alaska,” “The Fault in Our Stars” was actually the first book I had read from John Green and I enjoyed it immensely! John Green had done a brilliant job at writing a story about how a cancer patient views life after she went through a life threatening situation at a young age. It was fantastic hearing the story from Hazel’s point of view as I loved the way that she details her struggles with coping with her cancer while trying to live her life the best way she can. But, what I really loved about Hazel is that she never let her cancer take control of her life as she is shown to be a sarcastic and easygoing person who tries to understand about life while pursuing her dreams at the same time. Augustus Waters is easily my most favorite character in this novel as he is just as sarcastic as Hazel, but he shows so much intellect about life that I really enjoyed his personal thoughts. I also loved the fact that Augustus truly cares for Hazel and was willing to help her accomplish her dreams while having his own inspirations in life. The banter between Hazel and Augustus is so hilarious and heartwarming at the same time as they discuss the importance of life while joking about their illnesses (although I can see the idea about characters joking about their illnesses being a little uncomfortable for anyone who is actually going through cancer). Since this book deals with a sensitive subject matter, some readers might literally CRY when reading this book (I know that I definitely started crying at the end of this book). Anyone who does not like reading books about characters dealing with cancer might want to handle this book with care. Also, this book has some strong language, so anyone who does not like reading strong language might want to skim over the language. Overall, “The Fault in Our Stars” is easily one of the most thought-provoking and emotional books I had ever read. This was basically the first book I had read about characters experiencing cancer first hand and I was so emotionally invested in both the story and the characters, that I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book to anyone who is a huge fan of John Green’s works. BE FOREWARNED, THIS BOOK WILL MAKE YOU CRY HUGE BUCKETS OF TEARS! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog I would like to thank my Goodreads friend Pimmy♥S for recommending me this book! (less) | Notes are private!
| 1
| May 03, 2013
| May 13, 2013
|
Mar 26, 2013
| Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||||
| 1401221238
| 9781401221232
| 3.96
| 2,592
| Jan 01, 2009
| Apr 07, 2009
|
 4.5 stars Introduction: After reading “Batman: Hush,” I really got interested in Hush’s character and where he came from since we only saw half of hi...more 4.5 stars Introduction: After reading “Batman: Hush,” I really got interested in Hush’s character and where he came from since we only saw half of his story in the original story. But thankfully, some of my reading friends managed to recommend me a story that continues the storyline from “Batman: Hush” and it is called “Batman: Heart of Hush!” With great writing from Paul Dini, who also wrote some of the episodes from “Batman: the Animated Series,” “Batman: Heart of Hush” is definitely one comic you have to check out! What is this story about? Hush, also known as Tommy Elliot, is back with a vengeance and he is planning on making Batman suffer more than ever before! After using the same tactics which involves trying to break Batman’s spirit by using his greatest foes to fight him, Hush manages to accomplish his ultimate goal in breaking Batman and that is kidnapping Catwoman! Can Batman save Catwoman from Hush before it is too late? What I loved about this story: Paul Dini’s writing: After seeing that Paul Dini had written stories for the “Batman” franchise before, which was writing some of the episodes in “Batman: The Animated Series,” the animated series that basically introduced me to the world of “Batman,” I was pleasantly surprised to see that Paul Dini had also written some stories for the “Batman” comics. “Batman: Heart of Hush” was basically the first “Batman” comic book story I had read from Paul Dini and it really started hooking me to his work! Paul Dini had done a great job at providing a more detailed back story on Tommy Elliot in this graphic novel since in Jeph Loeb’s story of “Batman: Hush,” he was shown to be Bruce Wayne’s childhood friend, but that was basically all we got from his character. In this graphic novel however, we get to see how Tommy’s childhood had affected him as a character and how he started leading his life as the notorious villain Hush. Paul Dini also did a fantastic job at making Hush into a calculating villain who knows Batman’s weaknesses and uses it against him, as it truly makes Hush into one of Batman’s most dangerous villains since the Joker! The creepy atmosphere that Paul Dini provided for this story was portrayed greatly as we can feel tension whenever Hush is introduced into the story and the mystery that surrounds the characters and Hush’s plan truly made this story interesting to read through! Dustin Nguyen’s artwork: Dustin Nguyen’s artwork may not be as memorable as Jim Lee’s artwork in “Batman: Hush,” but the artwork is still detailed and brilliantly captures the darkness of the story. I loved the way that Dustin Nguyen’s artwork has dark colorings covering the city of Gotham as it really brings in the darkness of the city and it sets up a creepy atmosphere for the story. I also loved the way that Dustin Nguyen drew the facial expressions on the characters as they look truly realistic, especially whenever the characters look shocked or angry.  What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: One of my biggest issues with this graphic novel was that I felt that the story was a bit too short and that many characters other than Tommy Elliot were not quite fleshed out like in “Batman: Hush.” I understand that this is Tommy Elliot’s story, but I wanted to see more of Nightwing and Catwoman like I did in “Batman: Hush” and have the story expand more on their perspectives on Hush and how Hush affected them as characters. I also wanted to see more romantic moments between Catwoman and Batman since it would have brought more depth to Batman’s determination to rescue Catwoman. Also, even though I usually do not let the artwork affect my reading of comics at times, I felt that the artwork in this comic was not as memorable as Jim Lee’s artwork and that the characters do not look as attractive as they did in “Batman: Hush.” Final Thoughts: Overall, even though I had some problems with “Batman: Heart of Hush” and I still consider “Batman: Hush” to be a better story, it was still a truly interesting read and a great follow up to “Batman: Hush” and “Batman” fans will definitely enjoy this book! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog I would like to thank my Goodreads friend Brandon for recommending me this book!(less) | Notes are private!
| 1
| not set
| Apr 19, 2013
|
Mar 20, 2013
| Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||||
| 1401200923
| 9781401200923
| 4.16
| 5,543
| Jan 01, 2004
| Nov 01, 2004
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5.5 stars!
Introduction: After reading the first volume of the well-acclaimed “Batman” story, “Batman: Hush,” I just had to check out the second volu...more 5.5 stars! Introduction: After reading the first volume of the well-acclaimed “Batman” story, “Batman: Hush,” I just had to check out the second volume that would conclude this fantastic storyline! Now, that I had just finished reading “Batman: Hush Volume Two,” I can clearly say that this storyline definitely rates along my most favorite “Batman” storylines next to “Batman: The Killing Joke” and “Batman: The Long Halloween!” What is this story about? Continuing from the last volume, the story begins when Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle are attacked by Harley Quinn at the opera! Harley Quinn’s attack was not just coincidence as she is then connected to the Joker, who happens to have shot a close friend of Batman’s, who then leads to the Riddler planning a bank robbery and the story goes on until it reaches its shocking conclusion! What I loved about this story: Jeph Loeb’s writing: Oh my goodness! Can I just say that this volume had really put me at the edge of my seat? Yes I can, as Jeph Loeb has once again written a truly amazing mystery story that not only introduced Batman’s greatest foes (Killer Croc, the Riddler, the Joker, Harley Quinn, the Scarecrow, Ra’s al Ghul and Two-Face) all into one story, but managed to get all of the characters wrapped up into one shocking and twisted scheme that was cleverly thought up by a truly evil mastermind! I really enjoyed the way that Jeph Loeb weaved all the characters’ storylines into one story and it was exciting seeing how Batman would solve the case about who is behind his foes’ activities and who caused the death of one of his most beloved friends. I also loved seeing the developing relationship between Catwoman and Batman as Jeph Loeb truly showed Batman struggling with trying to trust Catwoman and how Batman has to learn to start trusting people despite what happened to his parents when he was a child. I especially loved seeing the appearances of Nightwing (Dick Grayson) and Tim Drake (the new Robin) as they were truly fantastic characters and this was basically the first “Batman” comic I had read that featured both Dick Grayson as Nightwing and Tim Drake as the new Robin! I loved Nightwing the best as he has a bright and hilarious personality and is usually there to comfort Batman whenever he was at his most vulnerable. Jim Lee’s artwork: Jim Lee’s artwork once again was just as beautiful as it was in the first volume! I just loved the way that Jim Lee illustrated the lightning sequences in this volume as the lightning looks truly realistic and it really captured the intense mood of the scenes where Batman is fighting during the nighttime. Probably my most favorite images in this volume was of the fight scenes between the Joker and Batman as the panels suddenly go red as we see Batman beating up the Joker brutally and it really shows how intense this scene really was.   What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: For anyone who does not like hearing language in comic books, this volume does have a bit of language, even though it is not as strong as something you would read out of a Vertigo comic. Also, there is some violence in this volume, especially with characters getting shot and blood spurting out of the wounds. Final Thoughts: Overall, “Batman: Hush Volume Two” was just as good as the first volume and this storyline definitely deserved to be regarded as one of the best “Batman” stories ever as the mystery and the drama was so well built up! This volume has also gotten me interested in Dick Grayson as Nightwing and I am open to any recommendations about some good titles starring Dick Grayson as Nightwing! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog(less) | Notes are private!
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| Mar 16, 2013
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Mar 16, 2013
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| 1401200605
| 9781401200602
| 4.03
| 5,356
| Jan 01, 2003
| Aug 01, 2004
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 Introduction: I have been reading many “Batman” comics for awhile now and after searching for some really good “Batman” stories that were recommended...more Introduction: I have been reading many “Batman” comics for awhile now and after searching for some really good “Batman” stories that were recommended to me by other fellow comic book readers, I keep hearing good things about “Batman: Hush” and I finally picked it up! “Batman: Hush Volume One” is apart of an alternative universe in DC Comics called “Elsewhere,” like where “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns” also came from and I have to admit, I really enjoyed this volume! What is this story about? The story starts off with Batman trying to rescue a young heir to the Lamont chemical fortune named Edward Lamont IV from Killer Croc and after Batman rescues the young heir, he discovers that Killer Croc was trying to steal a case of money, which was stolen in the middle of the fight. Batman then realizes that Catwoman stole the money, but is not sure why she stole the money and it is revealed that Poison Ivy might be the ringleader in this entire scheme. Or is she? Also, Batman makes a trip to Metropolis to learn more about Poison Ivy’s whereabouts and guess who he runs into? What I loved about this story: Jeph Loeb’s writing: Wow! Jeph Loeb’s writing for the “Batman” series just continues to amaze me as the stories are fantastic and the characters are extremely well-written! This volume definitely does not disappoint me as the story and the characters were extremely interesting to me. I especially loved the way that Jeph Loeb portrayed Catwoman and Batman’s relationship with each other as their relationship felt a bit awkward, but in a good way as the sexual tension between Batman and Catwoman was interesting and clever at the same time. It was interesting seeing Batman having trouble with sorting out his feelings for Catwoman since we normally do not see Batman react so strongly to a situation he does not understand. I also loved the way that Jeph Loeb builds up the plot surrounding the mystery of the stolen money and how Poison Ivy is tied into this whole situation. I was practically trying to figure out the mystery of this criminal plan throughout the entire volume as it was cleverly woven into the lives all of the characters involved especially Batman, Catwoman and Poison Ivy. The storyline was clearly intense and dramatic and I was practically sitting in the edge of my seat trying to see the true motive of Poison Ivy’s plans and how it would affect Batman. Jim Lee’s artwork: After seeing Jim Lee’s artwork in the “X-Men” comics, I was interested in seeing more of his work! Well, Jim Lee’s artwork in this volume was absolutely brilliant as the characters look truly realistic and the colorings really brought out the surroundings. I loved the dark colorings done on Gotham City as it really sets the dark mood for the story. I also loved the image of Killer Croc himself as he truly looked monstrous and I loved his green scaly skin as looks truly frightening.   What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: The only problem with this volume is that there is some language and violence that might make readers who are not used to violence and language in books uncomfortable. The language is not as strong here as it would be in other comic books and the violence is probably more problematic as there are scenes of characters being punched and having blood spilling from them. Final Thoughts: Overall, “Batman: Hush Volume One” is a truly fantastic series so far and I cannot wait to see how Batman will uncover this huge mystery in the next volume! “Batman” fans will definitely be impressed with series for many years to come! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
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| Mar 16, 2013
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Mar 16, 2013
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| 1607063352
| 9781607063353
| 4.23
| 3,144
| Oct 14, 2010
| Dec 07, 2010
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 Introduction: After reading the first two volumes of John Layman’s “Chew” series, my interest in this series just keeps rising every time I picked up...more Introduction: After reading the first two volumes of John Layman’s “Chew” series, my interest in this series just keeps rising every time I picked up a new volume! Now, I had finally read the third volume of the “Chew” series called “Chew: Just Desserts Volume Three” and this volume was just as good as the previous two volumes! Being an Eisner Award and Harvey Award winning series, “Chew” so far has definitely deserved the praise it has received over the years! What is this story about? In this volume, things are looking good for Tony Chu! For one thing, he has a new girlfriend in Amelia Mintz, his boss is actually being nice to him and he has the best partner anyone could ever ask for in John Colby! But, when Tony Chu realizes that his ex-partner Mason Savoy is out and up to no good, Tony must choose between being with Amelia and focusing on his job. What I loved about this story: John Layman’s writing: As usual, John Layman has done a brilliant job at writing this volume! The characters were truly interesting to me, especially Tony Chu and John Colby. I really loved the way that John Layman portrayed the relationship between Tony and John as they have great chemistry with each other (I really enjoyed their playful bickering which was extremely hilarious to see)! The fact that both Tony and John are willing to protect each other in times of danger was fantastic to see and I would definitely love to see more of their friendship in the future volumes. I also loved the way that John Layman portrayed Tony and Amelia’s relationship with each other as they truly are a cute couple and I liked the fact that their relationship is more in the progressive stage rather than they are the perfect soul mates because it made their relationship much more believable to look at. Not only does Tony and Amelia have similar powers which is what brought them together in the first place, but it was great seeing how Tony’s job could affect his relationship with Amelia since he is always going to his job and I was always hoping that Tony and Amelia could work through this problem in order to have a more stable relationship with each other. I really enjoyed the way that John Layman balanced the humor and the horror in this story as both genres fitted in so well together and was able to create one interesting storyline! Rob Guillory’s artwork: Rob Guillory’s artwork as usual was humorous and interesting to look at as it set a more comical and intense mood for the story. I loved the way that Rob Guillory made the characters look so exaggerated, despite this being a crime series as it really brought in some humor to the story. I also loved the characters’ shocked expressions whenever something horrific or weird happens to them as it made them truly believable.  What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: Just like the first two volumes, there is some strong language and gory violence involved in the story and anyone who does not like reading about gore and strong language might be a bit offended by this volume. There are many scenes of characters being shot and blood gushing out in an exaggerated fashion and also there is some strong usage of curse words such as using the “f” word a dozen times. Readers who are offended by these aspects might want to skim over these scenes when reading this volume. Final Thoughts: Overall, “Chew: Just Desserts” is a fantastic volume for fans of the “Chew” series and anyone who loves reading about comical crime drama! I am definitely going to check out the next volume in this series soon! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog(less) | Notes are private!
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| Mar 16, 2013
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Mar 16, 2013
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| 1607062607
| 9781607062608
| 4.19
| 4,600
| Apr 14, 2010
| Jun 22, 2010
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 Introduction: After reading the first volume of this fantastic series “Chew: Taster’s Choice,” I was geared up to read the second volume “Chew: Inter...more Introduction: After reading the first volume of this fantastic series “Chew: Taster’s Choice,” I was geared up to read the second volume “Chew: International Flavor!” “Chew: International Flavor” is just as interesting and creative as the first volume and being that John Layman’s “Chew” series is an Eisner Award Winning and Harvey Award Winning series, this volume is definitely something that any comic book fan should check out! What is this story about? In this volume, Tony Chu is back and this time he is working with his old partner John Colby (you know, the guy who had his face cut off in the first volume and now, half of his face is robotic)? Anyway, Tony and John stumble upon a case on the mysterious island Yamapalu and not only does Tony meet a tough female spy named Lin Sae Woo, but he also notices that many of the people who were killed on the island have mysterious bite marks on their necks… Vampires do not exist, do they? What I loved about this story: John Layman’s writing: Just like the first volume, John Layman’s writing is just as good in this volume as it was in the first volume! I loved the way that John Layman characterized each character as all the characters in this volume were written in an exciting and intense way! I really enjoyed the character Tony Chu as he is shown to be a strong and sarcastic character that has already come to terms with his special powers and I loved the scenes where he gets angry at people who make him use his powers for idiotic reasons. I also loved John Colby as he was also just as sarcastic as Tony and yet, he remains to be a great friend to Tony, even standing up for him against his boss. John Layman did a brilliant job at balancing both the humor and the horror in this volume as I found myself laughing at all of Tony’s misfortunes on his adventures. I also loved the little “vampire” twist on this story since at first, I was rolling my eyes at the idea that they would introduce a concept that was used over a MILLION times in other stories, but in this volume, it was actually used in an extremely creative way and I hope to read more about the “vampire” situation in the next volume! Rob Guillory’s artwork: Rob Guillory’s artwork as usual is both hilarious and somewhat disgusting in an extremely good way! Even though this volume is not as disgusting as the first volume, the artwork of the characters discovering murdered bodies is truly effective as you can see the blood spilling out of the victims, which gives the artwork a truly chilling feel. I also loved the way that Rob Guillory made the characters look cartoonish in nature and yet, there is still some intensity to the artwork.   What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: The only problems in this volume involve many scenes of characters getting murdered and some strong language. Even though this volume is not as disgusting as the first volume, there is still a bit of gross humor such as Tony coming across a large pile of poop in his first case that might make any reader feel a bit ill. Also, there is some strong language in this volume, such as the continuous use of the “s” word and anyone who is offended by such words might want to skim over them. Final Thoughts: Overall, “Chew: International Flavors” is a fantastic follow up to John Layman’s “Chew” series and I am definitely looking forward to reading more from the “Chew” series and seeing what kind of wacky and intensifying crimes that our favorite characters will get into next! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog Also, check out my review on the first volume Taster's Choice! (less) | Notes are private!
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| Mar 08, 2013
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Mar 08, 2013
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| 140120113X
| 9781401201135
| 4.29
| 12,174
| 2003
| Sep 01, 2004
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4.5 stars!
After reading almost all of Neil Gaiman’s fantastic run on the “Sandman” series (to the point where I called the year 2012 “The Year of the...more 4.5 stars! After reading almost all of Neil Gaiman’s fantastic run on the “Sandman” series (to the point where I called the year 2012 “The Year of the Sandman” since I had spent the year reading the Sandman comics), I wanted to read Neil Gaiman’s latest story on the “Sandman” series, “The Sandman: Endless Nights,” even though The Sandman, Vol. 10: The Wake was actually considered the final story arc in the “Sandman” series. “The Sandman: Endless Nights,” which is also a Bram Stoker Award winner and a Locus Award winner, is a fantastic series for any newcomer who wants to learn more about the Endless characters! This volume is basically detailing seven chapters that deal with the seven siblings of the Endless and how they meet up with several unsuspecting characters in their stories. The chapters are as follow: Chapter 1: Death: Death and Venice – artwork by P. Craig Russell  Chapter 2: Desire: What I’ve Tasted of Desire – artwork by Milo Manara  Chapter 3: Dream: The Heart of a Star – artwork by Miguelanxo Prado  Chapter 4: Despair: Fifteen Portraits of Despair – artwork by Barron Storey with designs by Dave McKean Chapter 5: Delirium: Going Inside – artwork by Bill Sienkiewicz  Chapter 6: Destruction: On the Peninsula – artwork by Glenn Fabry  Chapter 7: Destiny: Endless Nights – artwork by Frank Quitely For the past few volumes of the “Sandman” series, we were able to really get deep into the dark and mysterious world of Morpheus, better known as Dream of the Endless. Now, we finally have a volume that is dedicated to all of the siblings from the Endless, most notably Death, Dream’s older sister, Delirium, the youngest sister and Destruction, the brother who left the Endless family over four hundred years ago. Neil Gaiman has done a brilliant job at writing this volume as we actually get a closer look at not just Dream, but his siblings and I loved the way that Neil Gaiman explored each Endless character in deep detail. Probably my favorite stories in this volume were “Death and Venice,” “What I’ve Tasted of Desire,” “The Heart of a Star,” and “On the Peninsula” as these stories had the most interesting storylines and really delved into the minds of the characters being presented. Neil Gaiman’s introduction in this volume was probably the best introduction I had read out of any graphic novel (although, I do not normally read the introductions in graphic novels since I easily get bored reading them). Neil Gaiman clearly explains to the readers about why he wrote this volume after his nine year run on the “Sandman” series and it was interesting that Neil Gaiman wanted to do this volume because he wanted to work with different artists while still telling more stories about the Endless. The artwork in this volume, as with the previous volumes, are extremely well done as there are many different artists working on this volume and they include Glenn Fabry, Milo Manara, Miguelanxo Prado, Frank Quitely, P. Craig Russell, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Barron Storey. Probably my favorite artworks in this volume were done by P. Craig Russell, Milo Manara and Glenn Fabry. P. Craig Russell’s artwork in “Death and Venice” was extremely well done as the characters look slightly cartoonish, but still have a realistic touch to the characters’ appearances and I loved the way that the colors are done brightly which makes the artwork pleasing to see. Milo Manara’s artwork in “What I’ve Tasted of Desire” has a brilliant Renaissance Era vibe as the characters are realistic looking and the paintings flow well with the artwork. Glenn Fabry’s artwork in “On the Peninsula” is truly beautiful as the characters have realistic facial expressions and the environment of the peninsula is amazing to look at. The reason why I took off half a star is because some of the stories were a bit confusing to read through. Probably the stories I had the most problems reading through were Delirium’s story “Going Inside” and Despair’s story “Fifteen Portraits of Despair” as the narratives were too complicated to understand since it seems like the stories were being told from a point of view of a crazed mind (although Delirium’s story makes so much sense based on her character). Also, for anyone who does not like violence and language, this volume does have some gory violence and strong language, although the violence is not as strong in this volume as it was in previous volumes. Overall, “The Sandman: Endless Nights” is a fantastic book for fans of the “Sandman” series! Even though The Sandman, Vol. 10: The Wake is often considered the final volume in the “Sandman” series, this volume is sometimes considered the final volume of the “Sandman” series, even though any new reader to the “Sandman” series can read this to gain a better understanding of the “Sandman” characters as a whole. Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
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| Mar 08, 2013
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Mar 08, 2013
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| 1421511304
| 9781421511306
| 4.26
| 6,562
| Dec 05, 2005
| May 01, 2007
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Usually, I have a tough time reviewing manga because the stories are pretty consistent throughout their runs and sometimes it is hard to review a sing...more
Usually, I have a tough time reviewing manga because the stories are pretty consistent throughout their runs and sometimes it is hard to review a single volume without at least dredging up the storylines from the last volume. But, review I shall since I have so much to say about the second volume of Matsuri Hino’s popular series, “Vampire Knight!” In this volume, Yuki Cross, one of the guardians of Cross Academy, realizes that her partner, Zero Kiryu is having trouble coping with being a vampire after a terrible incident where a vampire killed his family years ago. Not only that, but when Yuki goes outside of school grounds one night, she is suddenly attacked by a vampire and since she injured herself early on, she could not defend herself against the vampire! However, two students from the Night Class (who are also vampires) ended up saving Yuki from the attack. When Yuki asks the two night class students (who turns out to be Takuma Ichijo and Senri Shiki) why they rescued her, they ended up telling her that once she comes to the Moon Dormitory at midnight, all will be explained. Now, it has been awhile since I had read the first volume of Matsuri Hino’s “Vampire Knight” series and my memory is a bit rusty about what this series is all about. So, let me just recap a bit about what the overall gist of the series is: *Cross Academy is a school that is attended by two groups of students. One group of students is called the Day Class where normal human beings attend during the day and the other group of students is called the Night Class, where only the vampire students attend. *Basically, the goal of Cross Academy is to have humans and vampires live together in peace and harmony. *Yuki Cross and Zero Kiryu are the guardians of Cross Academy as they make sure that the Day Class students do not associate with the Night Class in order to protect them from the vampires. Now that I recapped the idea about this series, I now would like to give out my opinion on this volume! Matsuri Hino has done a brilliant job at writing and illustrating this novel as the characters are all extremely memorable and the artwork is gorgeous to look at. I loved the way that Matsuri Hino really portrayed both Yuki Cross and Zero Kiryu as they truly stood out so much in this novel. It was really intense in seeing Zero Kiryu coming to terms with being a vampire and how he is constantly suffering throughout this volume because he does not want to give in to the allure of sucking blood from human beings. Yuki Cross was a truly amazing character in this volume as she was the one who tried to help Zero Kiryu through his ordeal and I loved the fact that Yuki is so kind towards Zero, despite knowing that he is a vampire. I also loved the humor in this novel and despite the fact that this series is about VAMPIRES; there are many hilarious moments between the characters especially during the scene where Yuki and Zero go shopping! Matsuri Hino’s artwork is truly gorgeous to look at as the characters’ hairstyles are creative and just looks so smooth. I also loved the way that Matsuri Hino put some shadowing on some panels where the characters have intense looks on their faces as it really brings in a somber mood to the scene. There are some bloody scenes in this novel, especially with some of the vampire characters sucking blood out of some miscellaneous characters and that can be a bit disturbing to anyone who does not like seeing blood in a manga. Also, this was something that bothered me a bit personally, but the fact that Zero Kiryu spends almost the majority of the volume brooding about being a vampire and trying to resist his urges of draining blood from humans got a bit tiresome for me. I understand that what we are seeing is Zero struggling with his inner demons, but I would like to see Zero actually trying to overcome this ordeal and try to move on with his life despite being a vampire. Overall, “Vampire Knight: Volume Two” is a great volume for anyone who is a huge fan of Matsuri Hino’s “Vampire Knight” series and is definitely worth checking out! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
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| Mar 08, 2013
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Mar 08, 2013
| Paperback
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| 1607061597
| 9781607061595
| 4.07
| 7,684
| Dec 09, 2009
| Nov 01, 2009
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 6 stars! Introduction: Alright, now when I first saw the title of this comic “Chew,” I was thinking to myself about what was so interesting about a c...more 6 stars! Introduction: Alright, now when I first saw the title of this comic “Chew,” I was thinking to myself about what was so interesting about a comic book that was all about food? Well, I WAS WRONG! “Chew: Taster’s Choice” which was written by John Layman along with artwork by Rob Guillory and received an Eisner Award for Best New Series and a Harvey Award Winner, was one comic that really knew how to create a plot that not only involves food but also involves a really intriguing crime drama that will shock readers at the very end! What is this story about? Meet Tony Chu who is a detective, but also has a bizarre secret. You see, Tony Chu is known as a Cibopathic, meaning that he can get psychic impressions from whatever he eats, even going as far as tasting dead bodies to find out who murdered the victim and why they murdered that victim. Because of this special ability, Tony Chu gets accepted to the Special Crimes Division of the FDA, which is known as the most powerful law enforcement division in the world and has a new partner named Mason Savoy, who also is a Cibopathic! Now join the adventures of Tony Chu and Mason Savoy as they uncover various crimes that happens in America while using their special talents to solve the cases! What I loved about this story: John Layman’s writing: Wow! Just wow…I had mentioned that when I first saw the title of this book, I actually thought that it was going to be all about food. Well, while John Layman does provide food as a major theme of this comic, the plot of the story is basically a crime drama that involves the murders of many people who are involved in the food market. I loved the way that John Layman created a mysterious and dark atmosphere for this comic as I am a huge fan of crime stories and I loved the fact that Tony Chu uses his special gift as a way to solve crimes. Having Tony use his special gift to solve murders really created an interesting and creative atmosphere for this story as I never would have thought that a person tasting dead bodies to find out more about the murder scenes would actually create intriguing stories about the characters trying to solve crimes. Now, I will admit that I am not a huge fan of gross out scenes and this comic definitely has many gross out scenes, but somehow, John Layman made this experience for me truly worth it! John Layman’s writing was so exciting and creative that I just could not put this book down no matter how disgusting it got and I was drawn into the surreal and dark world of “Chew” and the plot twists that this comic so easily provided. Rob Guillory’s artwork: Rob Guillory’s artwork may be a bit bizarre looking, but it fits perfectly with this type of story as the characters have odd shaped heads and have disproportioned bodies. I also loved the way that Rob Guillory drew the blood scenes in this book as the blood usually squirts out of the characters in weird ways, making the murder scenes look a bit cartoonish yet still have the effect that it wanted to go for (PURE SHOCK VALUE)!   What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: The biggest issue I did have with this comic was that there were many disgusting scenes including scenes of characters vomiting all over the pages and characters biting dead bodies to get a clue on the murders. Most of the time, I do not like disgusting scenes in any story, even though this comic made the gross out scenes seem a bit irrelevant to the story. Also, since this comic focuses on murder scenes, there are many bloody scenes of characters getting chopped up and that might be a bit upsetting for anyone who does not like reading about bloody scenes. Final Thoughts: Overall, “Chew: Taster’s Choice Volume One” definitely exceeded my expectations as I would have never thought that I would read a comic that actually intertwines food and crime into one story and actually create an interesting story that caught my attention from the very beginning! I will definitely be checking out the next volume of this book and see where the characters are going after this first volume! BON APPETITE…IF YOU DARE! Review is also on:Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
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| Feb 15, 2013
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Feb 15, 2013
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| 0786837462
| 9780786837465
| 4.33
| 9,095
| Apr 01, 2006
| Apr 01, 2006
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Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? and The Pigeon Wants a Puppy!. These are all the books I had read so far from Mo Wil...more
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? and The Pigeon Wants a Puppy!. These are all the books I had read so far from Mo Willems’ popular “Pigeon” series! Recently, I had read another book from Mo Willems’ fantastic “Pigeon” series and it is called “Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay up Late!” With witty dialogue and cute illustrations, “Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay up Late!” is a fantastic read for children who are fans of the “Pigeon” series! When the Bus Driver tells the readers that they have to make sure that the Pigeon does not stay up late, the Pigeon comes in and starts trying to persuade the readers to let him stay up late. Once again, Mo Willems has amazed me with his witty dialogues and humorous illustrations in his popular “Pigeon” series! I loved the way that Mo Willems made the dialogue simplistic enough for small children to get a grasp on what is going on with Pigeon and yet is able to make the dialogue from the Pigeon hilarious enough for adults to enjoy. I loved the way that the Pigeon tries to persuade the readers to let him stay up late as many hilarious dialogues pop up whenever he is trying to convince everyone that he should stay up late. One of my most favorite quotes from the Pigeon was this: “How about five more minutes? Come on! What’s five minutes in the grand scheme of things!?” Mo Willems also did a fantastic job at exploring a parent’s frustrations at getting their own children to go to bed and having the Pigeon trying to persuade the readers to let him stay up late is really something that many parents would enjoy reading over and over again! I also loved Mo Willems’ illustrations as they were hilarious to look at and I also loved the simplistic drawings of the illustrations as they were extremely cute to look at! I really loved the image of the Pigeon himself as he has blue fur and constantly has crazy expressions on his face whenever he desperately wants events to go his way. Overall, “Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late” is a fantastic book for anyone who is a huge fan of the “Pigeon” series and for parents who also had trouble getting their children to go to bed! I would recommend this book to children ages three and up since the writing is simple enough for younger children to understand. Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog(less) | Notes are private!
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| Feb 10, 2013
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Feb 09, 2013
| Hardcover
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| 1587249219
| 9781587249211
| 4.08
| 673
| Oct 26, 2004
| Jun 01, 2005
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After reading the first two books in Jodi Thomas’ fantastic “Wife Lottery” series, The Texan's Wager and When a Texan Gambles, I was definitely lookin...more
After reading the first two books in Jodi Thomas’ fantastic “Wife Lottery” series, The Texan's Wager and When a Texan Gambles, I was definitely looking forward to reading the third book in this series called “A Texan’s Luck” and man, was I in for an enjoyable ride! The story starts off when Captain Walker Larson discovers a shocking revelation when a young and beautiful woman named Lacy Larson walks into his office and tells him that she is his wife. Unfortunately, Walker has no intentions of having a wife and he sends Lacy away back to Cedar Point. Three years later however, when Lacy thought that she got over her disappointment in meeting Walker Larson, Walker ends up back in her life again when he received word that Zeb Whitaker might be after her and he was stationed to protect her at all costs. Unfortunately, Lacy, still upset over Walker shunning her years ago, wants nothing to do with Walker and wants him to leave in the next few days. However, both Walker and Lacy will soon discover that they might have some feelings for each other despite their differences. Wow! I never thought that Jodi Thomas’ “Wife Lottery” series could possibly get even better over time! Jodi Thomas’s writing in this book was so beautiful and emotional that I found myself really sympathizing with all of the characters’ ordeals. I loved the way that Jodi Thomas portrayed the relationships between the characters, especially between Lacy and Walker themselves, who are my favorite characters in the entire book! Lacy Larson was such an independent and kind hearted heroine who refuses to let anyone run her life. I actually sympathized with Lacy at the beginning of the novel since she was scorned by Walker Larson and it was pretty understandable about why she hated Walker throughout most of the book since I probably would have held a little grudge myself if I was scorned like that. I also loved the way that Lacy helped Walker understand more about how love works and the fact that she too was new at the whole “husband and wife” situation really brought out so much chemistry between her and Walker. Probably the best character in this book was Walker Larson himself as he is unlike any other romantic hero I had ever read about before! Walker Larson is shown to be a gruff, secretive and yet tortured character as he felt sorry for what he done to Lacy years ago and tries to make amends for it. It was interesting seeing that Walker had trouble trying to sort out his feelings for Lacy due to him being in the army all the time and I loved the way that he tries hard to please Lacy and protect her at all times, despite his somewhat “cold” attitude. Even though there were not enough sexual scenes to satisfy my romantic urges, the scenes where Walker and Lacy try to get to know each other by taking each other out to dinners and spending some quality “quiet” time together were probably the best scenes in this book and I really loved their witty banters with each other, especially this little gem: “This day was endless not seeing you. I want to get you alone. I don’t feel like sharing you with the world right now.” “I know.” “I thought of being here with you like this all day.” “I know.” “I ached to hold you. Half the time I didn’t even bother to listen to what others were saying.” “I know.” For anyone who does not like reading about sex scenes, this book has some sex scenes, however, it is not quite as explicit as the other sex scenes I have read in other romance novels. Also, there is some brief language in this novel, however the language only showed up once or twice in this novel and it is not quite strong enough to be offensive. Overall, “A Texan’s Luck” is easily one of the most memorable books out of Jodi Thomas’ “Wife Lottery” series and anyone who is a huge fan of western romances should definitely give this novel a whirl! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog I would like to thank my Goodreads friend Lady Danielle for recommending me this series!!!(less) | Notes are private!
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| Jan 31, 2013
| Feb 25, 2013
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Jan 31, 2013
| Hardcover
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| 1607066017
| 9781607066019
| 4.34
| 6,671
| Mar 14, 2012
| Oct 23, 2012
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 6 stars!!! Introduction: After reading so many of Brian K. Vaughan’s works, with “Y: The Last Man” and his “Runaways” series being among the works I...more 6 stars!!! Introduction: After reading so many of Brian K. Vaughan’s works, with “Y: The Last Man” and his “Runaways” series being among the works I had read, I have been enjoying everything that Brian K. Vaughan has done over the years! But, imagine my surprise when I discovered that Brian K. Vaughan had recently created a new comic book series called “Saga!” After hearing so many good things about this comic, I just had to pick this up for myself and see what was so good about this comic and man, was I blown away by the whole concept of this story! What is this story about? Alana, a young woman who has fairy wings and is from the planet Landfall, and her husband, Marko, a young man who has goat horns and is from a moon planet called Wreath, were both soldiers that served in the army. However, when Alana and Marko ended up falling in love with each other despite the fact that their planets are at war with each other, they ended up having a baby together and they tried to escape from the war in order to raise their newborn baby. However, the two lovers will soon discover that they are being hunted because they abandoned their stations and they must reach a planet where they could live in peace before it is too late! What I loved about this story: Brian K. Vaughan’s writing: I am always amazed at how Brian K. Vaughan writes the stories in his comics as the characters are always well-developed and the stories are always creative to read through. Well, Brian K. Vaughan has definitely done a brilliant job in this story as the characters are interesting and the story is extremely inventive! I loved the way that Brian K. Vaughan made the story extremely creative by setting the story in a different dimension where aliens rule the planets and futuristic technology runs society. This story also reminds me strongly of Joss Whedon’s popular TV series, “Firefly” as both stories involves characters living in a futuristic world and I really enjoyed seeing the strange characters that pop up in this comic, especially the images of Alana having green fairy wings and Marko having large goat horns in his head. I also loved the way that Brian K. Vaughan developed the characters as Alana is shown to be a strong heroine who is willing to do everything to protect her child and Marko is shown to be a caring and strong-willed hero who also tries to protect his family from any harm that comes across them. That kind of character development made these characters likable and relatable to me because I always felt for them whenever they are trying to escape a war so that they could raise their baby together in peace. I also loved the futuristic setting of this story as it made the story truly amazing to read through and I enjoyed seeing how the characters deal with war in a futuristic setting. Fiona Staples’ artwork: Fiona Staples’ artwork is a bit scratchy, but it is extremely beautiful to look at as the characters look realistic and I loved the way that Fiona Staples paints the fire and explosion scenes as the fire lighting glows on each page, giving the artwork a dramatic feel. I also loved the appearances of the aliens that inhabit this world, especially the image of Prince Robot IV who has a human body with a television set for a head (kind of reminds me of the robot character in “Fooly Cooly” who also has a human body with a television set for a head)!   What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: Since this story deals with war, there are many violent scenes shown throughout this story. Some of the most violent scenes in this comic had characters getting their heads cut off and their stomachs cut open and that might be too graphic for readers who are not used to gory violence. Also, this comic has strong language that includes using the “f” word and the “s” word, so if you are uncomfortable with such language, then it might be best to skim over these words. This comic surprisingly has strong nudity and it might be best to skim over these scenes if they are uncomfortable to read through. Final Thoughts: Overall, “Saga” is seriously one of the best recent comics I had read for the past few years since “American Vampire” and I only have a few things to say about this series: GIVE ME MORE, GIVE ME MORE, GIVE ME MORE! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog(less) | Notes are private!
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| Jan 24, 2013
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Jan 23, 2013
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| 0399245316
| 9780399245312
| 4.01
| 93
| May 18, 2006
| May 18, 2006
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 I have been reading Patricia Polacco’s works for many years now and after reading one of her works My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother, I just had to re...more I have been reading Patricia Polacco’s works for many years now and after reading one of her works My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother, I just had to read more about Patricia Polacco’s brother Richie! So, I just recently picked up “Rotten Richie and the Ultimate Dare” and I have to say that I was really impressed with this book! Trisha knows how hard it is to deal with her annoying older brother Richie, especially when he starts making fun of Trisha’s ballet class! So to teach him a lesson, Trisha dares Richie to perform in the ballet recital with her. But Richie will only do it on one condition: Trisha has to play the big hockey game with him! Wow! I was totally amazed by this book! Patricia Polacco, as always, has done a brilliant job at telling the readers her life story as a child, with her “Richie” books being the funniest among her collection! I loved the way that Patricia Polacco showed the sibling rivalry between her and her older brother Richie as it was interesting to see and it slightly reminded me of how I get along with my siblings! I also loved the plot of this story about Trisha wanting to show Richie that ballet is not as easy as it look with Richie doing the same about letting Trisha play hockey with him. I like how the two siblings learn to have a better understanding of each other as they both try out the different activities that the other sibling usually plays at and it was interesting seeing how their experiences with doing different activities made them grow as characters. Patricia Polacco’s illustrations are as usual gorgeous to look at as the characters look extremely realistic and I loved the outfits that Richie and Trisha are both wearing as Trisha wears a lovely pink ballet costume and Richie wears a large red hockey suit with “Beavers 13” printed on it. Overall, “Rotten Richie and the Ultimate Dare” is a brilliant follow up to “My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother” and anyone who is a huge fan of books about sibling rivalry will definitely enjoy this book! I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the name calling that Trisha and Richie engage in such as Richie calling Trisha “twerp” might be a bit inappropriate for younger children. Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog(less) | Notes are private!
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| Jan 24, 2013
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Jan 23, 2013
| Hardcover
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| 0399226710
| 9780399226717
| 4.44
| 4,059
| Sep 15, 1994
| Sep 15, 1994
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 Many of the books I had read by Patricia Polacco were extremely emotional and sad like The Junkyard Wonders and Thank You, Mr. Falker, but none of the...more Many of the books I had read by Patricia Polacco were extremely emotional and sad like The Junkyard Wonders and Thank You, Mr. Falker, but none of them had hit me so close to my heart than her book “Pink and Say.” “Pink and Say” is a story about the friendship between two boys of different races whose ending will make you want to cry for many years to come. Sheldon Russell Curtis was a young soldier who was injured during the Civil War and was left for dead until a young African-American boy named Pinkus comes to his aid and brings him home with him. Pinkus lived with his mother, Moe Moe Bay who was kind and treated Sheldon like her own son. Unfortunately, Sheldon and Pinkus knew that they were putting Moe Moe Bay in jeopardy since they escaped from the Civil War and the marauding Confederate troops were chasing after them. Now they must find a way to get away from Moe Moe Bay before it is too late! Reading most of Patricia Polacco’s books, I have noticed that all of her books always have an underlying theme of accepting other people, no matter how different they are while tying these stories to her real life experiences, which I always believed made her stories even more memorable to read. Now, after reading this book “Pink and Say,” I have to say that Patricia Polacco has truly defined the importance of accepting other people’s differences even under hardships such as war. I loved the way that Patricia Polacco had portrayed the relationship between Pinkus, a young African-American soldier and Sheldon, a young Caucasian soldier, as they treated each other like good friends, despite being of different races. It was fantastic and emotional seeing what the Civil War had done to Pinkus and Sheldon and my heart was actually breaking when they were scared of getting anyone hurt in this war, but they know that they have to fight this war to put an end to slavery. I have always read books about the Civil War, but never had I read a book that actually showed me how the Civil War had affected the people fighting in it in a more up close and personal way. Patricia Polacco had done a brilliant job at showing the horrors and painful emotions that the characters suffered through this war, while stating that war itself is terrible, but you must fight for what you believe is right. Patricia Polacco’s illustrations are as usual, gorgeous to look at as the images of Sheldon and Pinkus communicating with each other was a truly beautiful scene to look at. I also loved the way that the characters look as realistic as it really brings so much reality to this story. Parents should know that this picture book has some images of characters getting shot and blood leaking out of their wounds. This might disturb younger children who want to read about the Civil War, so parents might want to read this book to see if it is appropriate before reading it to their child. Also, the ending was extremely sad as it involves the death of one of the characters (which I will not reveal because I do not want to spoil this book for anyone) and parents might want to read over these scenes before they read it to their children. Overall, “Pink and Say” is easily Patricia Polacco’s saddest yet most emotional book to ever be written and anyone who wants to read about the Civil War through a personal account should definitely check this book out! I would recommend this book to children ages seven and up since the scenes of characters getting shot might disturb younger children. Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
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| Jan 24, 2013
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Jan 23, 2013
| Hardcover
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| 0439023513
| 9780439023511
| 4.03
| 841,698
| Aug 24, 2010
| Aug 24, 2010
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“My Name is Katniss Everdeen. Why Am I Not Dead? I Should be Dead.”
After reading Suzanne Collins’ previous books The Hunger Games and Catching Fire I...more “My Name is Katniss Everdeen. Why Am I Not Dead? I Should be Dead.” After reading Suzanne Collins’ previous books The Hunger Games and Catching Fire I wanted to check out the final book in the “Hunger Games” series called “Mocking jay” and man, was it just as intense and horrifying as the previous two books! After Katniss Everdeen survived the last Hunger Games in “Catching Fire,” she discovers that the Capitol had destroyed her home District 12 as a way to teach Katniss that she cannot defy the Capitol. Katniss and her family then escape to the legendary hidden district, District 13 to seek refuge, only to find out that District 13 is planning a revolt against the Capitol! Now Katniss realizes that she was apart of a major plan to overthrow the Capitol, even though she never knew about it in the first place and now the future of Panem rests on her shoulders as she has to decide on whether or not she should become the Mocking jay that will defy the Capitol! Wow! I was absolutely blown away by how this final installment in the “Hunger Games” was much DARKER, MORE GRUESOME and MORE EMOTIONAL than the previous books! Suzanne Collins has definitely done a great job at building up tension throughout this book as I was seriously on the edge of my seat trying to see if Katniss would be able to fulfill her destiny as the Mocking jay! I loved the way that Suzanne Collins gives us a good insight inside Katniss’ mind about how she has doubts about being the Mocking jay and how it will affect her relationship with her family and friends. I also loved seeing the developing relationships she has with both Gale and Peeta and it was interesting seeing how she was willing to put her life on the line to protect her friends and families from the Capitol’s evil influence. I also loved the way that Suzanne Collins wrote Katniss as a strong heroine who is not only good at fighting, but is extremely intelligent as she tries to think through her problems before acting on them and I think that is a good characteristic that helps Katniss survive through the revolution against the Capitol. I also loved Peeta’s character and I was actually worried for Peeta throughout this book after the Capitol kidnapped him in the last book and did horrible things to his mind. The reason why I gave this book a four star rating is because of the constant love triangle between Gale, Katniss and Peeta. I usually do not do well with love triangles because of the fact that the character in the middle has to spend the majority of the book deciding whether or not he or she wants to spend the rest of their life with whoever they choose. I felt that this aspect of the story sort of took away from the constant action and suspense of the last two books and sometimes, it was hard getting through this book without gritting my teeth in impatience with Katniss choosing who she wants to be with. Another problem that some readers might have with this book is that it has more bloody and sad scenes than the last two books as there are many characters that are killed off in the most gruesome ways in this book. Since this final book deals with war and its consequences, it might be a bit difficult to get through this book without being sadden by the turn of events in this book. Anyone who is planning on reading this book better be prepared for a DARK RIDE ahead of them! Overall, even though “Mocking jay” was not the best of the “Hunger Games” series, it is still a great read for “Hunger Games” fans and the ending will definitely blow you away once you pick up this book! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog(less) | Notes are private!
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| Jan 13, 2013
| Jan 27, 2013
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Jan 13, 2013
| Hardcover
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| 0060530928
| 9780060530921
| 4.09
| 128,470
| Sep 30, 2008
| Sep 30, 2008
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  “There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.” That is pretty much the opening sentence to Neil Gaiman’s classic story, “The Graveyard Book,...more “There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.” That is pretty much the opening sentence to Neil Gaiman’s classic story, “The Graveyard Book,” so you definitely know what kind of book you are getting yourself into! After reading so many of Neil Gaiman’s fantastic books (“Coraline,” the “Sandman” series and “American Gods”), I just had to check out one of his most beloved young adult books, “The Graveyard Book” which also had the honor of winning the Newbery Medal Award! Filled with heartwarming scenes and your average creepy themes, “The Graveyard Book” is certain to be a hit with fans of Neil Gaiman’s works! The book starts off with the murder of an innocent family, which was caused by a man named Jack (they call him “the man Jack” throughout the book). When the man Jack thought that he killed the whole family, it turns out that the youngest child, who was a baby boy, managed to escape from Jack and ran to the graveyard. Since Jack could not find the child, he decided to give off the chase. When the citizens of the graveyard found out that the young boy’s family was killed, a ghost couple named Mr. and Mrs. Owens, decided to raise the boy themselves and they called him Nobody Owens. After that, the young boy Nobody Owens begin having many adventures in the graveyard including meeting the frightening Sleer and meeting a human girl named Scarlett, while also trying to figure out who murdered his family. Wow! I was totally blown away by the plot and the imagery in this book! As always, Neil Gaiman had crafted a brilliant story that not only revolves around the mystery of the murder of Nobody Owens’ real family, but also provided a heartwarming story about a young boy trying to discover who he really is and what he really wants out of life. I loved the way that Neil Gaiman made Nobody Owens into a sympathetic character who only wanted to see what life was like outside of the graveyard since he spent his whole life living in a graveyard and I often felt sorry for Nobody as his curiosity about the real world would not let him rest. It was also interesting in the way that Neil Gaiman mixed in the supernatural elements (such as Nobody Owens being able to fade so no one can see him and his ability to talk to the dead) into the story as it made the story extremely creative and creepy to read through! I really enjoyed the murder mystery aspect of the story as I was literally sitting on the edge of my seat trying to figure out if the man Jack will ever find Nobody Owens and how Nobody Owens would handle the man Jack if he ever comes across him! Dave McKean’s illustrations are simply gorgeous and creepy at the same time as the characters look a bit abstract, as their bodies are far too lean, but it fit the surreal atmosphere of the story! I also loved the way that Dave McKean shadowed the characters’ facial expressions as it made the characters look extremely dramatic and mysterious in every page they appear in. I also loved the creepy images of the graveyard as they really give off a mysterious and frightening feel to the story (the book is called “The Graveyard Book” after all!)   Even though this book is aimed at a young audience, there are some genuinely creepy moments in this book which includes what Nobody Owens did to two bullies at school and some readers might be a bit frightened at the creepy atmosphere of this book. Also, since there are many scenes of dead people talking to Nobody Owens, some readers would be frightened by the scenes of dead people walking around. Overall, “The Graveyard Book” is a truly fantastic book for fans of Neil Gaiman’s works and books with ghost, monsters and friendly strange children! Review is also shown on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
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| Jan 02, 2013
| Jan 12, 2013
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Jan 02, 2013
| Hardcover
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| 0785131590
| 9780785131595
| 4.18
| 2,766
| Aug 12, 2009
| Nov 11, 2009
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4.5 stars
 Brief Introduction: Now, everyone knows that I am a huge fan of Wolverine, so when I heard about this unique little story called “Wolverine:...more 4.5 stars Brief Introduction: Now, everyone knows that I am a huge fan of Wolverine, so when I heard about this unique little story called “Wolverine: Old Man Logan,” I just had to try this comic out! Luckily, I was not disappointed with this story as “Wolverine: Old Man Logan” was one of the most intense and possibly terrifying stories I had ever read about Wolverine! With spectacular writing from Mark Millar and dramatic artwork by Steve McNiven, “Wolverine: Old Man Logan” is definitely one comic book you just have to check out! What is the story? In the future world, the United States is being ruled by the villains of the Marvel Universe (Dr. Doom, Norman Osborn and the Kingpin) and all of the superheroes were killed off, except for two heroes: Wolverine and Hawkeye! Wolverine is now living peacefully with his family as he swore off ever using his claws ever again since a horrible incident happened that dealt with him using his claws. One day however, the evil Hulk Gang wanted their payment in rent from Wolverine and if they do not get their rent money, they will kill Wolverine’s family. So, Wolverine goes on a cross country journey with his partner, a now blind Hawkeye, to get some money for Wolverine to pay the rent. Unfortunately, even though Wolverine is trying to live a peaceful life, he will soon realize that in a world ruled by villains, he will always be a target and he might have to compromise his stance on not fighting anymore once his life and family are being threatened! What I loved about this comic: Mark Millar’s writing: After reading Mark Millar’s fantastic run on “Ultimate X-Men,” I just knew that I had to give this book a try and when I did, oh my goodness, I was totally blown away by this story! Mark Millar had done a fantastic job at giving us a really dark and dystopian world where super-villains ruled the United States and Logan decides to give up being “Wolverine” after a tragic event happened in his past. I loved the way that Mark Millar developed Wolverine’s character and the fact that there would be a day where I would see Wolverine become a pacifist was really surprising to me. I also enjoyed the back story about why Wolverine became a pacifist and what happened to him in the past was a truly terrifying and emotional moment in this book that will make you really sympathize with Wolverine’s predicament. I also loved the idea about this being a “what if” story about what would happened if the super-villains ruled the world and all the super heroes were killed? It rose up so many interesting scenarios in this comic about what the super villains would do once they take over the world and how the world would look like. Apparently, the world is full of people being killed for no good reason and the endless changes to the United States such as California now being called “Hulkland.” I also loved the way that Mark Millar portrayed Hawkeye and Wolverine’s relationship with each other as Hawkeye is always cheerful and can still fight extremely well even when he is blind and I loved the fact that they still remain friends after all the hardships of living in a villain ruled world. Steve McNiven’s artwork: Steve McNiven’s artwork was just so fantastic in this comic! I loved the way that Steve McNiven made the characters looks extremely realistic. The characters’ facial expressions are done extremely well as there are shadows on the characters’ faces whenever they are having dark thoughts. I also enjoyed how detailed the bloody scenes were as blood squirts everywhere whenever the characters are cut up as it gives the scenes a much more frightening feeling.  What made me feel uncomfortable about this book: ~A huge warning for anyone reading this comic~ This comic has oodles and oodles of blood and gore throughout! I had never seen a “Wolverine” comic that had so many scenes of people being killed in the most brutal ways (being cut up) and anyone who does not like seeing any kind of strong violence in a comic might want to skip this comic. Also, there is some language in this comic, although not as strong as something you would see in Scott Snyder’s “American Vampire” or Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman” series, so for anyone who does not like reading language in a book, they might want to skim over these words. I took off half a star because I felt that the beginning was moving a bit too slow and it was not until the middle of the story where things really started to pick up. Also, the story might be a bit confusing for anyone who does not read “Avengers” or any other Marvel comics since it manages to combine most of the Marvel characters into one story (I know I got really confused when the Avengers were mentioned since I barely read the “Avengers” comics (big X-Men fan here). Final Thoughts: Overall, “Wolverine: Old Man Logan” was a really interesting read for me since I usually do enjoy the usual dystopian future storylines and this one was really creative and unique to read through. Wolverine fans will definitely enjoy this fantastic one shot story of everyone’s favorite claw wielding mutant! (view spoiler)[There were many scenes in this book that really shocked me, but the moment that really shocked me the most was the scene where Wolverine accidentally kills the X-Men when Mysterio tricked Wolverine into thinking that he was fighting the villains, not his friends.  (hide spoiler)]Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
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| Dec 30, 2012
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Dec 30, 2012
| Hardcover
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| 1401237185
| 9781401237189
| 4.11
| 681
| Nov 2011
| Oct 02, 2012
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 5.5 stars! Brief Introduction: Wow! I had never seen a comic book series get better and better over time since Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman” series and Joss...more 5.5 stars! Brief Introduction: Wow! I had never seen a comic book series get better and better over time since Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman” series and Joss Whedon’s run on “Astonishing X-Men!” Scott Snyder continues to amaze me with his stellar storytelling in the “American Vampire” series and the fourth volume is definitely one of the best volumes I had read so far in this series! With brilliant writing from Scott Snyder along with fantastic artwork from Rafael Albuquerque, Jordi Bernet, Roger Cruz and Riccardo Burchielli, “American Vampire: Volume Four” is definitely one volume that will not disappoint you! What is the story? In this volume, there are a total of three stories that each details all the characters’ progression into the 1950s: The Beast in the Cave: This story is about how Skinner Sweet and Jim Book were once as close as brothers, but when the Indian Wars broke out and a new threat is unleashed, Jim and Skinner’s relationship with each other might never be the same again. Death Race: Meet Travis Kidd, a nineteen year old teenage boy who not only sports a Greaser look and lives in the 1950s, but he also happens to be one of the best vampire hunters ever around and he has a vengeance with one vampire in particular. The Nocturnes: Meet Calvin Poole, an African-American man who has a tough life in the 1950s as blacks were frowned upon in society and he is constantly harassed by the citizens because of the color of his skin. However, what the citizens do not know about Calvin is that he is apart of a secret organization that hunts vampires, while also harboring a dark secret about himself. What I loved about this comic: Scott Snyder’s writing: Man, Scott Snyder just continues to amaze me with his stellar writing! Scott Snyder has cleverly weaved a fictional tale with historical elements that affects the characters’ situations. I really enjoyed the fact that we are learning more about Skinner Sweet’s past as he was involved in the Indian Wars and his relationship with Jim Book, which we learned about in the previous volumes. Scott Snyder has done a fantastic job at providing a broad back story about Skinner Sweet and as I start learning more about Skinner Sweet’s back story, I start to understand more about where his vicious nature was coming from and how he affected history in many different ways. Probably my most favorite story in this entire volume was the one regarding Travis Kidd, as his story was the highlight of this volume (his picture is even on the front of the cover)! I loved the way that Scott Snyder developed Travis Kidd’s character as he is not shown as a stereotypical “greaser” boy, but hearing his tragic back story regarding his parents really made me feel so much sympathy for his character and I also loved the fact that Travis Kidd is able to take down any vampire he comes across! I also enjoyed the way that Scott Snyder told Calvin Poole’s story and I felt sympathy for him as he had to suffer through racism in the 1950s and I also loved his dark past storyline as it really made him stand out as a character. I still enjoy the way that Scott Snyder weaves fictional characters into historical elements like the Indian Wars and the racism and prejudice that dominated society around the 1950s and is still able to focus on the characters trying to fight off vampires without using real life historical figures in the story. Rafael Albuquerque, Jordi Bernet, Roger Cruz and Riccardo Burchielli’s artwork: The artwork in this volume was amazing as each artist contributed greatly to the stories in this volume. Jordi Bernet’s artwork in “The Beast in the Cave” was quite different then from what I usually see from the “American Vampire” series as the artwork is shown in much brighter colors and the characters look a bit generic. I loved the way that Jordi Bernet gave shadowing to the character’s faces which brought out a dramatic effect to them. Rafael Albuquerque once again brings true creativity to the “American Vampire” series by doing the artwork in “Death Race” and I loved the dark and gritty feel of the artwork as it greatly complements with the horror story. Roger Cruz and Riccardo Burchielli’s artwork in “The Nocturnes” were truly well done as Roger Cruz’s artwork makes the characters look truly realistic while Riccardo Burchielli’s artwork is a bit more simplistic, but still has enough dramatic effect to the story. What made me feel uncomfortable about this book: For anyone that does not like strong violence, this volume has many gory scenes of characters being bitten by vampires and blood squirting everywhere, so it might be hard to get through those scenes. Also, this volume has strong language which includes the “s” word and the “f” word, so readers who are offended by coarse language might want to skim over those words. Final Thoughts: Overall, “American Vampire: Volume Four” is just full of shocking surprises that really has me geared up for the fifth volume and now that this volume introduces new characters Travis Kidd and Calvin Poole, I cannot wait to see where their stories are going to go in the next volume! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
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| not set
| Dec 30, 2012
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Dec 30, 2012
| Hardcover
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| 1401233333
| 9781401233334
| 4.21
| 1,636
| Apr 2011
| Feb 07, 2012
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 Brief Introduction: I am definitely on the roll with Scott Snyder’s fantastic series, “American Vampire” and the third volume of this series does not...more Brief Introduction: I am definitely on the roll with Scott Snyder’s fantastic series, “American Vampire” and the third volume of this series does not disappoint me! “American Vampire: Volume Three” is probably the most intense out of the entire “American Vampire” series as Scott Snyder’s dramatic writing and Rafael Albuquerque, Danijel Zezelj, and Sean Murphy’s artwork contribute greatly to this volume! What is the story? In this volume, there are two stories being told regarding Pearl and Felicia Book. In the first story, it is the 1940s when there is war between America and Imperial Japan and Pearl’s husband, Henry Preston, is called into battle to fight off a group of vampires that are sighted on an island near Japan. Unfortunately, Skinner Sweet happens to be in the same group as Henry and he is planning revenge on Henry and only Pearl can rescue her husband from Skinner Sweet! In the second story, Felicia Book, the daughter of Jim Book, who was killed by Skinner Sweet, goes on a mission with Cash McCogan to Nazi occupied Romania to find Dr. Erik Pavel, who claims that he has a cure for vampirism! What I loved about this comic: Scott Snyder’s writing: What can I say? Scott Snyder’s writing for this series continues to get better and better as the characters are thrown into new and troubling situations! For one thing, I loved the way that Scott Snyder actually made the story progress in the timeline as the setting goes from the 1920s to the 1940s and it really gives the story a more realistic feel to the characters. It is rare that I see many comic books actually progress the characters forward in time, so this was a welcoming change for me! I also loved the way that Scott Snyder tied in the historical aspects of World War II into this story without trying to twist the history of World War II. Usually, the problems I find with stories that has historical elements mixed in with fantasy elements is that sometimes it tries to state that the fictional characters were actually involved in any kind of historical event that happened in history. What I like about what was being done with combining the historical aspects of World War II with the fictional characters of “American Vampire” is that they never really mentioned any historical figures like Hitler and the stories were more centered on the characters and their fight against vampirism while using the historical elements to bring the reader into a whole new world on the idea of vampires existing in such times. I also loved the way that Scott Snyder developed the relationship between Pearl and her husband, Henry, as Henry seems to have second thoughts about their marriage since Pearl is a vampire and is much younger than he is and he wanted to feel wanted again. I also loved the way that Pearl and Henry still cared about each other, despite the fact that Pearl is a vampire. Rafael Albuquerque, Danijel Zezelj, and Sean Murphy’s artwork: Rafael Albuquerque, Danijel Zezelj and Sean Murphy all contributed greatly to the artwork of this volume as each artwork is scratchy yet dramatic for these stories! In the story “Strange Frontier,” where it talks about Skinner Sweet’s former lover, I loved the way that Danijel Zezelj made the artwork a bit brighter than what you would normally see in “American Vampire” and I also loved the way that the characters’ faces are shadowed in which makes them look really dramatic. The only problem I have with Danijel Zezelji’s artwork is that sometimes it is hard to distinguish the characters’ facial features since it seems like their facial expressions are lumped into one expression as there are barely definite linings on the characters’ faces that could really detail their emotions. Rafael Albuquerque’s artwork is as usual, brilliantly done as the artwork is scratchy and yet, it fits perfectly for this type of story. I loved the way that Rafael Albuquerque illustrates the characters’ facial expressions in a dramatic way as I really felt the emotions that the characters were feeling. Sean Murphy’s artwork in “Survival of the Fittest” was extremely well done as the characters’ faces are shadowed in such a dramatic way and I loved the snow covered landscape when Cash and Felicia came to Romania! What made me feel uncomfortable about this book: As with the previous volumes, there is some strong language and gory violence in this volume including people having their heads ripped off and that might be disturbing for anyone who is not a huge fan of gory violence. As for the strong language, there are many instances where the characters drop the “f” bomb and say the “s” word, so readers might want to skim over those words if they are uncomfortable with reading them. Final Thoughts: Overall, “American Vampire: Volume Three” is a fantastic volume where using historical context in a fantasy series is used extremely well and anyone who is a huge fan of Scott Snyder’s works will easily enjoy this volume of “American Vampire.” Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
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| Dec 30, 2012
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Dec 30, 2012
| Hardcover
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| 1423151283
| 9781423151289
| 4.33
| 2,605
| Apr 03, 2012
| Apr 03, 2012
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 After reading Mo Willems’ classic “Pigeon” books, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! and The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! I wanted to check out more books f...more After reading Mo Willems’ classic “Pigeon” books, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! and The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! I wanted to check out more books from this series! So, I picked up Mo Willems’ most recent book from the “Pigeon” series, “The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?” and I really enjoyed it! “The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?” is a fantastic read for children who are fans of Mo Willems’ “Pigeon” series! When the Duckling ends up getting a cookie because he politely asked for one, the Pigeon ends up getting angry at the Duckling and starts complaining about why he did not get a cookie. What I always loved about Mo Willems’ works in children’s books is that he knows how to make sarcasm into its own breed of humor and still make it appropriate enough for young children to understand. Told in the same vein as the previous “Pigeon” books with the Pigeon always complaining about not getting things his way, Mo Willems makes this book extremely hilarious and cute at the same time as the Duckling easily gets a cookie for being polite, while the Pigeon does not get a cookie. I loved how Mo Willems’ writing is simplistic yet hilarious to read through as there are only a few sentences per page and it is mostly dealing with the characters making statements about getting a cookie. I also loved the fact that the story pointed out that the reason why the duckling got a cookie was because he asked politely (a point he constantly makes to the Pigeon) and that is a positive aspect to the story that I really enjoyed since it would teach children about being polite when asking for things they want. It was extremely hilarious seeing the Pigeon over react (as usual) to the Duckling getting a cookie while he in the past never got anything he wanted. Mo Willems’ illustrations are simplistic and yet cute to look at, especially of the image of the duckling himself as the duckling is yellow, has big blue eyes and a small round body. Overall, “The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?” is a truly clever little story that every fan of Mo Willems’ “Pigeon” series should definitely pick up! I would recommend this story to children ages three and up since the story is appropriate for small children; unless the Pigeon’s hyperactive behavior is a bit too much for smaller children. Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
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| Dec 30, 2012
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Dec 30, 2012
| Hardcover
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| 0785138056
| 9780785138051
| 3.83
| 526
| Oct 01, 1996
| Jan 20, 2010
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 Introduction: After I heard so many good reviews on this comic, I just had to read this and oh boy, I just have so much to say about this particular...more Introduction: After I heard so many good reviews on this comic, I just had to read this and oh boy, I just have so much to say about this particular comic book! I know that so many events had happened before “X-Men: Mutant Massacre” happened (as was stated by the characters in this comic), but I wanted to read this so badly that I was willing to skip the last few issues of “X-Men” just to get to this comic! “X-Men: Mutant Massacre” was a first for me in many different ways: it was the first “X-Men” comic book that I read that featured Elizabeth “Betsy” Braddock, also known as Psylocke, the first time I had read about the original “X-Factor,” the first time I had read about “The New Mutants,” the first time I had read “Daredevil” and the first time I had read about the “Power Pack.” With the combined writing of Chris Claremont, Louise Simonson, Walter Simonson, and Ann Nocenti and the combined artwork of John Romita Jr., Terry Shoemaker, Bret Blevins, Walter Simonson, Jackson Guice, Sal Buscema, Jon Bogdanove, Rick Leonardi, Alan Davis, and Barry Windor-Smith, “X-Men: Mutant Massacre” is definitely a story that “X-Men” fans have to check! What is this story about? When the Marauders, a group of mutant assassins, started killing most of the Morlock community, the X-Men, now lead by a Mohawk wearing Storm, step in to help out the Morlocks. Meanwhile, X-Factor, a group of mutant hunters who are actually the original five X-Men (Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Beast and Angel) in disguise, try to defeat the Marauders while Angel goes through an emotional trip that would change him forever. Also, this comic features guest appearances from Thor, Daredevil, the New Mutants and the Power Pack who also try to help out the X-Men in defending the Morlock community! This graphic novel contains stories from: Uncanny X-Men (issues #210 – 214) X-Factor (issues #9 – 11) New Mutants (issue #46) Thor (issues #373-374) Powr Pack (issue #27) Daredevil (issue #238) What I loved about this story: The story: Usually, I do have problems with reading crossovers in comics because the stories almost never match up as long as you have different writers writing each story, but for a crossover, I found this story pretty impressive! I liked the fact that all of the stories mentioned in this graphic novel actually flowed well together and it felt like we were getting one cohesive storyline instead of having several different things happening all at once and it made me really enjoy the storyline! I really enjoyed the way that each different writer had a different take on the Marauders attacking the Morlocks as we see the attacks on the Morlocks from the X-Men, Thor, the Power Pack and Daredevil’s viewpoint. The stories that I really enjoyed in this graphic novel were the stories written by Chris Claremont as he wrote the stories for “Uncanny X-Men” and “New Mutants.” I loved the way that Chris Claremont made the story extremely dramatic and intense as we witness many Morlocks being killed in brutal ways and the X-Men characters dealing with the tragedy emotionally. I really enjoyed how Chris Claremont handled Storm’s character as we see her being emotionally affected by the situation and how it affected her position as the leader of the X-Men and it was truly moving seeing Storm struggle with being the leader of the X-Men. I also enjoyed seeing Storm as the leader of the X-Men since it was rare of me to see her in such a position. I really enjoyed Chris Claremont’s writing in “New Mutants” as the characters were really interesting, especially Illyana Rasputin (Magik), Warlock, Danielle Moonstar (Valkyrie) and Samuel Guthrie (Cannonball) and it was great seeing a younger generation of X-Men step up the plate in this tragedy. Louise Simonson’s writing for “X-Factor” was fantastic as it was interesting seeing the original five X-Men work together again and I enjoyed seeing how the murdering of the Morlocks affected them and how the mutant community looks at them as they were disguised as the mutant hunting team “X-Factor” even though they were trying to help the mutants. I also enjoyed Louise Simonson’s writing in “Power Pack” as it was hilarious and intense at the same time as I really enjoyed seeing the adventures of Franklin Richards and the Power Pack as it is rare that I see a comic book with small children being superheroes, which I thought was really cute! I really like Ann Nocenti’s writing in “Daredevil” as the fight between Daredevil and Saber tooth was really intense and I enjoyed the inner monologues of Daredevil as it really defined his position in being a superhero. The artwork: Out of all the graphic novels I had read, “X-Men: Mutant Massacre” probably had the most artists I had ever seen out of any graphic novel! Each artist had contributed greatly to this storyline and I had enjoyed each one! My favorite artwork in this book came from Jackson Guice’s artwork in “New Mutants,” Rick Leonardi’s artwork in “Uncanny X-Men,” John Romita Jr’s artwork in “Uncanny X-Men,” and Sal Buscema’s artwork in “Daredevil.” (I know that there is some hate on John Romita Jr.’s artwork in current comics, but I enjoyed the scratchy artwork he created for this storyline). What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: The reason why I gave this book a four star rating was because I felt that Thor’s side of the story was a bit of a distraction for me as it focused too heavily on Thor and I am not used to the “Shakespearean” dialogue that Thor usually talks in. Also, you can tell that so much has happened before this storyline, so anyone (like myself) who just jumped in to read an X-Men comic might be wondering about how half of the events that happened to the characters happened in the first place. This was back in the days when continuity was important in comics. This comic also deals with the theme of death and sorrow as many characters are killed in this graphic novel and that might upset sensitive readers. Final Thoughts: Overall, despite the four star rating (the “X-Men” storylines alone are five stars in my book), “X-Men: Mutant Massacre” is definitely one of the darkest yet most invigorating series I had ever read and anyone who is a huge fan of the X-Men will definitely enjoy this book! (view spoiler)[At the end of this book, I've wondered whatever happened to Kitty Pryde, Nightcrawler and Colossus? They were injured in battle, but they never really told us if they ever got better or not. That was apart of the story I would have like to see resolved. Also, here are some of my favorite moments from this comic:  (hide spoiler)]Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog(less) | Notes are private!
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| Dec 21, 2012
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Dec 21, 2012
| Hardcover
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| 1401222358
| 9781401222352
| 4.40
| 1,855
| Jan 01, 2008
| May 12, 2009
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 Introduction: After reading the first book of Brian K. Vaughan’s classic graphic novel, “Y: The Last Man,” I just had to read more from this Eisner A...more Introduction: After reading the first book of Brian K. Vaughan’s classic graphic novel, “Y: The Last Man,” I just had to read more from this Eisner Award winning series! So, I finally picked up the second book to “Y: The Last Man” and it was just as INTENSE, HEARTBREAKING AND EXCITING as the last volume! What is this story about? Yorick Brown, along with his new allies, Agent 355 and Dr. Allison Mann, still embark on the journey to reach Dr. Mann’s lab in San Francisco so that way, Dr. Mann can provide a cure for the epidemic that broke out and killed all the males in the world. Suddenly, the three allies are confronted by a Russian woman named Natalya Zamyatin who claims that there are still men in outer space and that they are on their way to Earth! Unfortunately, the four new allies will also have to face against the Israeli troops who want to take Yorick in! What I loved about this story: Brian K. Vaughan’s writing: Wow! Brian K. Vaughan’s writing is just as stellar in this volume as it was in the last volume! As I had mentioned before, I really enjoyed the set up that Brian K. Vaughan brought to this series as you have to wonder about what the world will be like without men. In this volume, Brian K. Vaughan further develops the story as we are introduced to more obstacles that Yorick and his allies have to get through to get to San Francisco. I loved the introduction of Natalya Zamyatin as she brings an interesting dynamic to the story as being the one who warns Agent 355 and Yorick about more men coming to Earth and I was on the edge of my seat trying to see what will become of the male astronauts and whether or not their arrival to Earth will change how everything in the story has been progressed so far. It was also great seeing another tough heroine in the story as Natalya will soon surprise you in this volume! I have been enjoying the intense storytelling that Brian K. Vaughan brings to this volume and I loved the way that Brian K. Vaughan had really developed the characters as we see a darker side to some of these characters that we never saw in the previous volume which made the stories even more interesting! Pia Guerra, Goran Parlov, and Paul Chadwick’s artwork: Pia Guerra, Goran Parlov and Paul Chadwick’s artwork was amazing in this volume as all the characters are drawn dramatically and realistically. I loved the artwork done by Pia Guerra in the stories “One Small Step” and “Safeword” as the characters have realistic features and the backgrounds were realistically drawn, especially the scenes with the trees. Paul Chadwick’s artwork in “Comedy and Tragedy” is similar to Pia Guerra’s artwork as he does a brilliant job in shadowing the character’s faces whenever they are in a dark lighting. Goran Parlov’s artwork in “Widow’s Pass” probably has the most well-defined facial expressions for the characters as the characters show realistic shocked expressions on their faces and their hair is drawn beautifully as they are wavy. What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: Just like the first volume, there is some strong language in this volume including the infamous “f” word and “s” word and anyone who does not like reading strong language might want to skim over these words. Also, this volume has more gory violence than the last volume as there are more characters being killed in gruesome ways such as some characters being shot to death and blood is shown spurting everywhere. Final Thoughts: Overall, “Y: The Last Man: The Deluxe Edition Book Two” is a truly brilliant follow-up to the first volume and anyone who is a huge fan of Brian K. Vaughan’s works or loves reading about post-apocalyptic worlds will definitely want to pick this series up! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog(less) | Notes are private!
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| Dec 21, 2012
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Dec 21, 2012
| Hardcover
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| 1423109600
| 9781423109600
| 4.34
| 6,736
| Apr 01, 2008
| Apr 01, 2008
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After reading Mo Willems’ classic picture book, “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus,” I wanted to try out the other books in the “Pigeon” series and I...more
After reading Mo Willems’ classic picture book, “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus,” I wanted to try out the other books in the “Pigeon” series and I finally stumbled upon “The Pigeon wants a Puppy!” “The Pigeon wants a Puppy” is a great follow up to “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus” and anyone who is a huge fan of Mo Willems’ “Pigeon” series will definitely enjoy this book! Basically, this story is about how the Pigeon wants to have a puppy and constantly keeps telling the readers about how it will try to take care of the puppy and love it. However, what will the Pigeon think when its wish actually comes true? “I want a puppy!”  Those were the exact words spoken by everyone’s favorite blue pigeon! Mo Willems has done a brilliant job with this book as the story is extremely simplistic (it is basically just about a pigeon telling the audience that it wants a puppy). I always loved the way that Mo Willems made this story extremely funny and cute at the same time as the Pigeon constantly tells the audience that it wants a puppy and I loved it when the letters on the pages are highlighted in red whenever the Pigeon gets overexcited or angry as it really adds to the Pigeon’s emotions about the situation. Mo Willems’ illustrations are as always simplistic with a touch of your usual humor as the pigeon has big round eyes and is blue and the illustrations look like it was hand drawn by a child as the characters look extremely simple. I also loved the image of the “puppy” at the end of the book! I will not tell you what the puppy looks like, but it was certainly surprising to look at such a puppy! Overall, “The Pigeon Wants a Puppy!” is a fantastic book for children who also went through the same situation about asking their parents for a puppy or something they really want and I think that many children will read this book for many years! I guess if there was a problem with this book, is that the Pigeon might seem a bit demanding in wanting a puppy and parents might want to alert their kids about not being too demanding about asking them want they want, but this book is still loads of fun for little kids ages four and up! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog (less) | Notes are private!
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| Dec 12, 2012
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Dec 12, 2012
| Hardcover
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| 1401202225
| 9781401202224
| 4.31
| 11,522
| Jan 01, 2006
| Nov 01, 2004
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Brief Introduction:
After reading the third volume in Bill Willingham’s popular graphic novel series, “Storybook Love,” I was interested in seeing mor...more Brief Introduction: After reading the third volume in Bill Willingham’s popular graphic novel series, “Storybook Love,” I was interested in seeing more of the many adventures of the “Fables” characters! “Fables: March of the Wooden Soldiers” is probably the most intense volume I had read so far in the “Fables” series as it deals with the Fables characters being engaged in war! Anyone who is a fan of the “Fables” series will definitely want to check this volume out! What is the story? The story starts out as a refugee had escaped from the Adversary’s oppression, which happens to be Red Riding Hood herself! But when she reveals her tragic tale to the Fables community, some Fables like Bigby Wolf, suspects that there is something fishy about Red Riding Hood’s tale. Bigby Wolf and Snow White have to find out if Red Riding Hood is who she says she is or else, something tragic will happen to Fabletown! What I loved about this comic: Bill Willingham’s writing!: I honestly think that Bill Willingham’s writing was definitely exciting and intense in this novel as the Fables characters are experiencing the terrible forces of the Adversary! I loved the way that Bill Willingham provided a prologue story called “The Last Castle” that actually explains about how the fables escaped from the Adversary and Little Boy Blue’s romance with Red Riding Hood since the story was truly unique and intense at the same time. I also loved the intensity that Bill Willingham put into the story “March of the Wooden Soldiers” as the theme of war is explored and all the characters are truly affected. Even though I usually do not like reading about wars in novels, I did wonder about how fairy tale characters would have to get involved in war and this idea did interest me as I read it. I was also shocked at the ending of this volume as there were so many twists to the plot line that I never would have figure out in the beginning of this novel! The artwork: Just like the third volume “Storybook Love,” I loved the different artists working on each story (although in this case, there were only three artists working on this volume which were Craig Hamilton, P. Craig Russell and Mark Buckingham). I loved the artwork that Craig Hamilton and P. Craig Russell did for the story “The Last Castle” as it provided so much creativity to the story. I loved how P. Craig Russell did the artwork for the moments between Snow White and Little Boy Blue as Boy Blue is telling his story about how he escaped the Adversary as the artwork looks dark yet slightly detailed and I loved the way that the characters’ eyes actually shone in the artwork. I also loved the way that Craig Hamilton did the illustrations for the flashback sequence in which Little Boy Blue was working for Colonel Bearskin as the artwork looks bright and colorful and I loved the medieval influence of the artwork as the characters wear medieval clothing to represent the time period that Little Boy Blue tells his story. Mark Buckingham has done an excellent job with the artwork in the “March of the Wooden Soldiers” storyline as the artwork looks extremely dramatic, especially during the war scenes.  What made me feel uncomfortable about this book: For anyone who does not like gory violence and strong language, this volume has plenty of both. There is some bloody and graphic violence in “The Last Castle” and “March of the Wooden Soldiers” as characters is killed off in a gory fashion (characters are slashed open or stabbed to death). Also, just like the previous three volumes, there is strong language involved which includes the “s” word and the “f” word, so people who are uncomfortable with reading such words might want to skim over these words. Final Thoughts: Overall, the “Fables” series is really picking up the pace in these volumes and “Fables: March of the Wooden Soldiers” is definitely one volume that is worth a shot to read through! Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog(less) | Notes are private!
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| Dec 12, 2012
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Dec 12, 2012
| Paperback
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