Tag: book

The Last Unicorn (GN) by Peter S. Beagle

The Last Unicorn

genre: fantasy. graphic novel.

The Review

So, when I do reviews on graphic novels interpretations, I like to rate them while keeping the reference material in mind. In other words, this will not be a review of Beagle’s original novel from 1968, but will look at how Peter B. Gillis adapted this work into a graphic novel and how Renae de Liz and Ray Dillon illustrated the work.

faithfulness to the original:

This is an absolutely gorgeous interpretation of the Last Unicorn. I certainly recommend this to anyone has either seen or read the Last Unicorn. One of my favorite things about the graphic novel is that it seems to be sort of a mix between the 1982 film adaptation and the novel. Although the art is not exactly the same as the film, it brought back a lot of the same memories of watching this movie as a child. Also, the graphic novel doesn’t just include dialogue, but narration and descriptions right from the original book. These parts turned out to be some of my favorites! They add a little extra to the illustrations that you wouldn’t get just by watching the movie version.

adaptation:

The only thing I didn’t like about this graphic novel interpretation (why it’s getting the rating it is), is that it was hard to keep track of how things were progressing. It jumped around a lot. On one page you’d be in a nice conversation between characters and you’d turn the page and they were in a completely different place with no transition. It seemed the connection between scenes and time gaps was hard to grasp or maybe I was just missing it. There were a lot of scenes that I wished were just a little bit longer and that I think were cut short. Even simple things that I think were skipped over or not highlighted enough to really make the story as amazing as it actually is.

art:

I don’t even know what to say here. The art in the graphic novel is just astounding and really captures the magic of Peter S. Beagle’s novel. The story panels are just as beautiful as the chapter covers.

last unicorn

last unicorn

approx read time: 1 day (you could do it in one sitting if you’re trying)

Rating: 3 out of 5 Screems™

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ownership: I borrowed this from my local library

Gillis. de Liz. Dillon. Goodreads

Go for it, Nakamura! by Syundei

go for it, Nakamura!

genre: manga. romcom. BL. teen

The Review

I loved this! This isn’t something I would normally pick up, but it was lent to me by a friend and I’m so glad it was. I really needed some good, pure romance and that’s exactly what this manga gave me. The comedy is simple and easy. I don’t usually go for comedies, but Syundei has found a perfect balance here to make the story entertaining and fun. The romance is corny, but in a good way.

Nakamura/Hirose

I just wish there was more D:

Characters:

Nakamura is such a relatable main character and I fell in love with him immediately. His relationship with Hirose is so cute. This manga has great little interactions — between Nakamura and his crush, and others.

Set-up:

Honestly though, the best part of this manga is the art style. Syundei really harkens back to that classic 90s manga art. It’s a perfect fit for this story and really sets the tone. The panels have a nice flow and each page is unique in its set-up. I love the cute little screen tones and and background patterns.

Syundei art

approx read time: 1 to 2 hours depending on how much you lose your mind over cute boys being cute

Rating: 5 out of 5 Screems™

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Ownership: I borrowed this from a friend. Thanks, friend ♥️

Author Goodreads

Beyond the Valley of Thorns by Patrick Carman

Beyond the Valley of Thorns

the Land of Elyon series: book two

genres: children’s. fantasy. christianlit

The Review

This is a great sequel to the Dark Hills Divide. It also immediately took my criticisms for the ending of the first book and solved them within the first few chapters. I’m not gonna lie though, this is kind of where I find some issues. Although the story, adventure, and characters are all phenomenal, the thinly veiled creationist backplot was just laid on a little thick. With Abaddon (Elyon’s favorite) being a fallen Seraph (read: angel) and wishing to bring about the fall of mankind through sin…I don’t know. It didn’t make the book bad, it just made it a little less enjoyable for me. However, despite this, it’s still a great read. I look forward to reading the rest of the series and continuing with Alexa’s journey!

Characters:

Most of the characters are carried over from the first book and get even more development in the sequel. I still think Alexa is a really amazing female lead. She’s brave and independent, but not so much that it’s unrealistic for a 12 year old. Also, Odessa is the best and anyone who thinks otherwise can fight me. I mean, have you seen her on that cover?

Set-up:

The story brings Alexa and her group of friends outside of the walls and into the world. This really expands the story to new levels. The evil is much more present and looming. It’s definitely a lot moodier than the first book, but it’s still a good story for any young fantasy fan. (Or adult. I enjoyed it. I’m 24. Come at me.)

Additional notes: the ChristianLit aspects are a little stronger in the sequel, but still do not distract from the overall story.

Approx read time: 2 days

Rating: 3 out of 5 Screems™

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Next book in the series: The Tenth City

Previous book in the series: The Dark Hills Divide

Ownership: I used to own this, but have since donated it to my local library

Author Goodreads

The Science of Evil…by Simon Baron-Cohen

Science of Evil

genres: nonfiction. psychology. research.

The Review

First of all, if this wasn’t obvious already, don’t read this unless you’re interested in scientific books on psychology/psychiatry research. Now: this was a very interesting read. Although it was a little different than what I had expected. Because of the title, I was expecting something a little darker. More related towards the idea of evil and the bad things that people do. However, Baron-Cohen’s book is all about empathy. But to be honest, this was a very refreshing book on the ideas of “evil.” Baron-Cohen is very adamant in clarifying his opinions and what they do or do not relate to and it’s interesting to take his ideas and fit them into whatever thoughts you may have on your own. Definitely would recommend this to anyone with an interest in psychology and how the human brain can justify or simply not understand acts of “evil.”

Research:

The more scientific chapters on neurology were a little dull if you don’t have any prior experience with that specific field, but the rest of the book certainly makes up for it. I think Baron-Cohen’s examples were the best part of the book. Each adage was taken from real events and used to express ideas that the author had in order to more easily relate them to the reader. There are examples of violence, but also examples of individuals with mental illness that may or may not contribute to acts of cruelty. That is not to say Baron-Cohen only focuses on the negative. On the contrary, he is very clear in identifying positive ways in which a lack of empathy can influence an individual (this was certainly one of the most interesting sections to me).
Make sure you read until the end. To me, the last chapter (6) was the most interesting. This is where Baron-Cohen really takes all of his evidence and examples and sums it up into a nice conclusion.

approx read time: around fifteen days

Rating: 4 out of 5 Screems™

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Ownership: I own a copy of this book 👍🏻

Author Goodreads

The Dark Hills Divide by Patrick Carman

The Dark Hills Divide

the Land of Elyon series: book one

genres: children’s. fantasy. christianlit.

The Review

This is one of my absolute favorite children’s fantasy books. Pretty sure I read this like 25 times. It’s been sitting on my bookshelf for years and I couldn’t resist re-reading. Thoroughly entertaining, The Dark Hills Divide has a little bit of everything a young reader needs: adventure, mystery, secrets, magic, puzzles, and a little bit of rule breaking. The mysteries and puzzles are intriguing enough for anyone to follow and I found the animal magic to be adorable. It’s not an overly-complicated or particularly original story, but it’s fun and that’s good enough for me when it comes to a kid’s book. As an adult, I was hoping for more information on the Land’s background and history, but I’m looking forward to reading the next three books again to fulfill this need!

Characters:

Alexa is a wonderful 12 year old character to follow in her adventures through Bridewell. She’s brave, smart, snarky, and really shines through in this story. I absolutely love that this series is led by such a great female character and there’s no allusion to her needing a male companion. I’m all for girl MCs! The other characters are just as colorful and easily distinguishable — something I sometimes struggle with in children’s books.

Set-up:

Have you seen that cover art? I’m not gonna lie, that was art was 100% why I picked this up as a kid. The writing is very easy to follow — a children’s book through and through. I remember some of the anecdotes or inferred sentences went over my head as a kid, but nothing so complicated that it ruined the story for me. I didn’t notice any typos or missed edits.

Spoilers below: highlight text block to view

The only thing I wish was different about the book was something that happened in the last few pages. [ Both Yipes and Alexa lost their ability to talk to animals! It’s a great way to show maturity and character growth but I thought the animals were such rich characters themselves and I would have liked to hear more from them in the future books.

Additional notes: The Christian aspect to this book is pretty obvious, but I didn’t find it to be overwhelming in any way. It’s certainly worth the read even if this genre addition makes you leery.

approx read time: less than 24 hours (although idk if this is an accurate time considering I blasted through this in one sitting. #SorryNotSorry)

Rating: 5 out of 5 Screems™

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Next book in the series: Beyond the Valley of Thorns

Ownership: I used to own this, but have since donated it to my local library

Author Goodreads