Tag: book

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey

genre: fiction. classics. psychological fiction.

The Review

Before we get started, I wanted to put a content warning on the below review. Unlike a horror novel or manga which is obviously going to include mature content, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, might catch you unawares. This book contains discussions of mental illness as well as racist opinions and references. So, if that’s something that makes you uncomfortable, this story might not be for you.

Also, this review in its entirety will contain spoilers.

Characters:

This book is unique in that the narrator of the story is not considered the main character. We’re not seeing an omniscient narrator; we’re not even seeing a narrator tell his own story. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a story about Randle McMurphy told from the perspective of Chief. Randle McMurphy is a hotshot. A regular, over-the-top, confident man. He swaggers in to the story and immediately takes over — the narrative and the mental institute both. It’s hard not to be pulled in by the magnetism that Chief describes. McMurphy is totally at odds with everything around him. Where everyone else is subdued, McMurphy is outrageous. He doesn’t take no for an answer and is asking questions the minute he shows up. And this is his whole thing — to stir up trouble. To rock the boat. And that’s exactly what he does. He drives Nurse Ratched up the wall and brings all the Acutes with him. McMurphy is easily relatable to the reader. In a world of insane patients and those suffering from catatonia, McMurphy is the most normal character in the story. You want him to beat the system. Because it’s obvious he’s not insane. Right?

The rivalry between McMurphy and Nurse Ratched is one of the biggest driving plot-points in this story (running alongside McMurphy’s attempt to free the Acutes). They butt heads from the very beginning; recognizing one another as opponents. Although Nurse Ratched doesn’t want to think of McMurphy as an equal, he continues to meet her plays throughout the course of the story and it makes her furious. She doesn’t want an inmate questioning her well-kept authority. She’s maintained it for years and likes it that way. But McMurphy turns all that on its head. He revitalizes the Acutes and rallies them against her. However, throughout the story we still see Nurse Ratched try to bring McMurphy down into the dirt. She refuses to acknowledge how dangerous he is to other staff members; refusing to give him “power.” But she and McMurphy play the game. Each making moves; sometimes in plain view, sometimes in the shadows. But each looking for a checkmate.

Nurse Ratched is unique because she’s portrayed as this iconic Angel of Mercy. She’s there to treat patients, but it’s obvious she takes pleasure in watching them suffer and struggle with their illnesses. Due to the bias of the narrator, I was constantly questioning her true nature as the story went on. Was she really as bad as Chief thought? Or was she really just trying to do her best? Believing in the mental institutes policies? But, as the story comes to a close, I was left to wonder, just because Chief isn’t seeing reality as we do, doesn’t mean it’s any less true. Chief sees things that don’t exist, but are we sure they don’t or is he just seeing an over-exaggerated version of the world’s true nature?

Set-Up:

This story would suffer greatly if it was narrated by a reliable source. For me, this brought about a whole mixture of questions as I was reading. Was what I was reading even happening? Was the mental institute really as bad as Chief thought or was everyone really out to get him? In the end, it’s hard to tell. As a reader, you’re reliant upon the story-teller and Chief certainly tells his own version of it.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is special because we get to see a version of mental illness and mental institutes right out of the 60s. Ken Kesey wrote this a few years after spending some time using drugs for a paid experiment. He volunteered at a psych ward. Kesey may not have been an expert on this subject matter, but he knew enough to make you shiver. Having a 1962 publication date, this book dropped right before deinstitutionalization. People are really starting to question the humanity and morality of mental institutions. Looking into the barbarity of particular practices that go on behind closed doors. This makes the story all the more tragic when we discover that McMurphy has lost his mind. McMurphy was never crazy. In fact, many of the characters in this book aren’t. Many of them would have lived lives that would have been, if anything, unconventional. Maladjusted, maybe. And yet, we see them being treated like these who are barely conscious or self-aware.

The real tragedy of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is seeing how an institution like the one Nurse Ratched is in charge of, can turn anyone insane.

approx read time: 1 month

Rating: 5 out of 5 Screems™

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Ownership: I own the Penguin’s Classic copy of the book as shown above!

Links: Author. Goodreads.

Inkspell by Cornelia Funke

inkspell

the Inkworld series: book two

genre: children’s. fantasy.

The Review

Okay, I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book so hold on to your hat here. This is such a classic series that I had a really hard time choosing a rating. In the beginning, I was all about this, but it just kind of went downhill for me.

Characters:

In comparison to the first book, Inkheart, I felt like Inkspell really let me down in the area of characters. Which was honestly a surprise to me. I really enjoyed all the characters in Inkheart, yet, for some reason, the same characters felt flat and uninteresting in the sequel. It seemed like Funke writes in limited third person with Meggie as the main character (at least that’s how Inkheart was). But in this book, Funke hopped around all over the place and I had a hard time keeping up with whose head I was supposed to be in. And, if Meggie is still supposed to be the main character, she didn’t have a lot of chapters.

One area where Funke succeeds is the covering the unlikeable, but natural emotions of her characters. Meggie and Farid acknowledge their unfounded jealousies. Fenoglio is a whole mess in and of itself (he’s the main villain of this story in my opinion, I hate him). And even Roxanne, in the end, can lash out when she’s in pain. However, the problem is that the positive aspects of her characters can get lost because of her emphasis on the negative. This really made it hard for me to attach to and root for the characters.

Set-Up:

This is the main problem with this book. It is way too long. And I don’t mean page length — I have no issue reading a long book. But man this book felt like it took FOREVER. There were a lot of parts in here that weren’t really important and they took up pages and pages of this story. I understand wanting to flesh out your characters and fill in gaps to give your story substance, but there were so many parts that dragged on for no reason. I loved Elinor in the first book, but her chapters, specifically, were completely unnecessary. She and Darius had no influence on the story at all. If Funke wanted to still have her in the story, she could have stuck with just one chapter and been done with it.

The middle chunk of this book is really where I got stuck. It felt as though nothing was happening and the story was just bouncing around between characters. Chapters that were 3 – 10 pages in length and just adding a ridiculous amount of background or scenic descriptions.

Additional notes: This isn’t a bad book. The Inkworld series is rich and creative, but I find it hard to think of this as a kid’s book. In comparison to Inkheart it feels like it’s on a whole different level. It’s violent, it’s wordy, and it’s long. If anything this is a young adult fantasy story about a 13/14 year old and her experiences in a cruel fantasy realm.

Spoilers below: highlight text block to view

My biggest complaint is that my favorite character dies in the end. Honestly, Dustfinger was the only reason I kept struggling to get through this. Why did this have to happen haha.

approx read time: 23 days (I told you this took me forever. yeesh.

Rating: 3 out of 5 Screems™

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Previous in the series: Inkheart

Ownership: I was going to keep this series, but I’m pretty sure it will be donated now 😂

Links: Author. Goodreads.

Into the Mist by Patrick Carman

into the mist

the Land of Elyon series: prequel

genre: children’s. fantasy. christianlit.

The Review

Technically, this is prequel, but the story is being told to Alexa Daley in between the space of the Tenth City and Stargazer. To me, this is more like the fourth book of the series with really large flashback scenes. It’s set up as a story-within-a-story and takes you to an entirely different kind of tale. Overall, it’s not a bad addition to the Land of Elyon series, but I’m hoping Stargazer really brings it home with a solid ending.

Characters:

The characters for this part of the series are pretty good. Roland and Thomas are both interesting. The brotherly dynamic is a nice touch and makes for relatable interactions throughout the story. Thorn, to me, was the best part of the story. As with the previous three books, I seem to really like the animal characters the best. I just really want a big cat for a friend, okay?

Set-Up:

However, as with the previous two books of this series, I still have problems with the plot. The adventure itself is fun and entertaining, but … I feel bad saying it almost seemed unnecessary. Since I’ve already read the following book, it’s easy to see that Carman wrote this afterwards (or in tandem) so that he could explain what was going to be present in Stargazer. Which is totally fine, but some of it seemed very over the top.

By biggest issue was the idea of these boys experiencing so much responsibility and hardship. I understand the need for characters to “go their own path” and learn on their own, but a lot of things (like literal child abuse) was unnecessary to the story as a whole. There are some other fantasy aspects of the story that are a little ridiculous, but this is targeted from young readers so I can’t really criticize too much here.

Spoilers below: highlight text block to view

There was one other bit of plot in Into the Mist that I found difficult to take. The whole business with the Lost Children was over the top. I loved the idea that Armon was saving them from the reign of Grindall and taking them to safety. But was it really necessary to take them all on a 12 day voyage into the Lonely Sea and then dump them on an uninhabited island? Why couldn’t they have set them up somewhere near the Wakefield House even? Considering how small the Land of Elyon actually is, maybe they would be found easily, but I just don’t think sending 10 year olds out to an abandoned island seems like “saving them.”

approx read time: less than a week

Rating: 3 out of 5 Screems™

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Next book in the series: Stargazer

Previous book in the series: The Tenth City

Ownership: this series as been donated

Links: Author. Goodreads.

Shiver by Junji Ito

shiver

genre: manga. horror. teen.

The Review

Happy Halloween! I couldn’t resisted holding off on this review so I could post it today. Just like the last Junji Ito review, this is a horror manga collection and I’ll be including some panels from the stories. If this isn’t your thing, you’ll probably want to skip this one!

Used Record: 2 out of 5

I think the main reason this story landed flat for me was because it was sound dependent. “Used Record” is straight up about a spooky recording that makes listeners obsessed with it. But it’s hard to really get into the story when … well, when you can’t really hear said recording.

Shiver: 3 out of 5

Man, this one had so much potential. It could have been so much scarier though. If anyone has Trypophobia this story is basically your worst nightmare. These random holes start appearing in people’s skin and eventually makes them deteriorate. This is creepy in and of itself, but then Ito starts mentioning bugs and … ick! The imagery is just out of this world for this story. This one honestly ended way too fast. Right when it was getting good.

Fashion Model: 4 out of 5

I can’t really put my finger on why I liked this one so much, but it’s just so fun to read. This lady … she is just so disturbing! This story is very much a slow-build. You know there’s something wrong with the creepy fashion model, but really there’s no outward evidence that she’d a bad person. The end comes up fast and is so satisfyingly grotesque.

fashion model

Hanging Blimp: 4 out of 5

This is such a bizarre story. I can’t even begin to imagine how Ito comes up with the majority of his ideas, but this one is pretty out there. How he manages to make giant head blimps (yes, you read that right) terrifying is just unbelievable. That’s pretty much all I have to say about this one haha.

Marionette Mansion: 5 out of 5

A classic spooky subject that was given Ito’s trademark twist. Marionettes, puppets, whatever. They’ve always been a big subject in the horror genre, but, as always, Ito takes it to a whole new level. Another slow build, this story is inherently creepy from the start, but there’s no violence or straight up here until the very end. This was one of my favorites because it makes you feel uneasy from the very first page.

marionette

Painter: 5 out of 5

I don’t know if anyone here follows me on Instagram, but I love the Tomie story. “Painter” is a part of the Tomie set and it’s perfectly disturbing. The idea of a girl being so beautiful that she drives people mad is sick and it’s the kind of story I’d read over and over again. Although Tomie looks a lot Ito’s other beautiful protagonists, there’s just something about her — which, is kind of her whole thing. This was definitely my favorite story in this whole collection.

painter

The Long Dream: 4 out of 5

This is one of those stories that really gets under your skin. There’s no jump-scare kind of horror or overtly gross imagery (although some panels are creepy). “The Long Dream” was disturbing because of the idea behind it. Every night your dream gets longer and longer. One night your dream lasts a century and you have no idea what had happened the day before. You’ve lived through so much time in your dream that you’ve lost touch with your own reality. So much so that the dream feels so real when you’re in it. So … how can you be sure that this, right now, isn’t a dream. You’ll wake up and it was all in your head. NOPE.

Honored Ancestors: 3 out of 5

This is another one of those “how did he come up with this???” kind of stories. Honestly, I don’t even know how to explain it. Just don’t read this if you’re scared of caterpillars. I wasn’t before, I definitely am now.

Grease: 2 out of 5

If you like gross stories, “Grease” is right up your alley. I do not, so I had a really hard time reading this one. This is a gross fest. Ito really pulled out all the stops for this one and I found myself flipping pages and skimming as much as possible. I can’t even add an image here because there’s no way I’m googling this story.

Cursed Frame: 4 out of 5

This technically isn’t a full story — it’s more of a bonus. But I loved it! This is a companion piece to “Fashion Model”. It’s super short (only a few pages), but those last few panels really hit me. This was a perfect ending to this collection.

cursed frame

The collection as a whole:

I liked this one way more than the first collection I read (Smashed). I think the stories in this set are much better and flowed better when I was reading them. Just like the Smashed, it took a few of the stories for me to really get into the groove of it. The first few are a little weak, but eventually you really get that classic Junji Ito feel.

I mentioned this last time, but Ito has such a unique artistic style that draws me in. It’s crisp and beautiful even when it’s offset by the horrible images he conjures up. This is a good collection for anyone who’s interested in his work and wants some good spooks!

approx read time: 17 days. I got distracted, okay 😬

Rating: 5 out of 5 Screems™

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Ownership: borrowed from my library

Links: Author. Goodreads.

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

turn of the screw

genre: horror. classics.

The Review

This book had been on my list for years. I finally went out to buy it after watching the opening scene of the Haunting of Bly Manor. I was a huge fan of the Haunting of Hill House and I appreciated the adaptation they did of Shirley Jackson’s book. Since I’d wanted to read the Turn of the Screw already, I figured now was as good a time as any! I certainly wasn’t expecting what this book had to offer.

Characters:

The characters in this story are dated, but not to the detriment of the story. In fact, I think because of when this book was written, the characters are all the more impressive. The main character is a woman. Her confidante is a woman. I love that this story was centered around intelligent women who are still aware their feelings. The governess, the main character, is a force to be reckoned with. She is absolutely sure of her conviction. Very rarely, she doubts herself and continually tries to barrel through her situation with logic. Throughout this, she’s dealing with the strong feelings she has for her charges and the insane events that are occurring around her.

The Governess’s relationship with Mrs. Grose is excellent. I think strong relationships between two female characters are so important in literature and media. These two characters fully support one another through the entire ordeal and this is probably what I liked most. They never turn on one another, even when there is evidence contrary to what the other is saying. There is no drama between them. No false fronts. Just support. To me, this was the best part of the book.

Set-Up:

Despite the phenomenal characters, I can understand why a lot of people rate this book low; it is hard to read. This was published in 1898 so the writing is complicated and convoluted. The English is difficult to decipher and very old-fashioned. In fact, the entire situation is old-fashioned and a little weird. A lot of things that happen in this book — or short story, more aptly — would be completely different in present day. The way the Governess behaves with the children; how the “help,” while still older than the children, aren’t really in charge. This is off-putting, but eventually I got used to it. This book was written in a different time and you have to bear that in mind while reading.

As to the most important part of any horror story: this book really did put me on edge. If you can take the time to really decipher what James is saying and what the words are showing you, there are some absolutely terrifying scenes. The writing was more like an unsettling mood for me than a jump-scare worthy fright, but it definitely did the trick. I have a lot of feelings about the ending. I’ll leave it in the spoiler block below if anyone is interested!

Spoilers below: highlight text block to view

The end of this story is a whole discussion. I was so caught off guard. This ending is so ambiguous and left such a sour taste in my mouth (in a good way. I’m sure that was entirely the point). The fact that James cuts the book off where he does, just makes the story that much better. Because really, you have no idea what happened. Did you just read a book about an insane governess who sees things and finally loses it? Killing one of her charges? Or was she right all along and poor Miles died of fright? Absolutely crazy.

approx read time: this story is only around 86 pages, but don’t let that fool you. It took me 5 days to wade through this.

Rating: 5 out of 5 Screems™

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Ownership: I did purchase a copy of this book and it will be going in my bookshelf!

Links: Author. Goodreads.

The Tenth City by Patrick Carman

tenth city

the Land of Elyon series: book three

genre: children’s. fantasy. christianlit.

The Review

To be honest I was disappointed with this addition to the Land of Elyon series. I thought the Dark Hills Divide was absolutely fantastic so I continued the series. I was a little let down with Through the Valley of Thorns but I was still ready to keep reading. However, the Tenth City was not what I wanted out of this series.

Characters:

I know a lot of people complained about Alexa not doing a lot in Through the Valley of Thorns which was something I didn’t really agree with, but in the third book, this is really apparent. I liked how Carman went about this in the first book. Not making Alexa so brave that she was an unbelievable or unrealistic character, but as the books go on it seems as though Alexa is only following instructions. There are a lot of moments were Alexa could shine and do her own thing to save Elyon, but she’s only given instructions and then follows them to the letter. It completely diminishes her character and seems like she’s only there as a narrator of the story instead of an active participant.

Set-Up:

As far as plot goes, there are a lot of “twists” that felt cliche that didn’t really add to the actual story. There’s nothing wrong with predictable plot twists, but these were unnecessary. This was supposed to be like the climax of the trilogy, but it was just uninteresting. I really didn’t want to give this book a bad review, but it was just so disappointing in comparison to how great the Dark Hills Divide was. With all of this said, I’m still going to finish the series as I remember enjoying Stargazer and the one about Thomas and Roland when I read them as a child.

approx read time: around three days

Rating: 2 out of 5 Screems™

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Next in the series: Into the Mist

Previous 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.

Inkheart (2008) movie adaptation

inkheart

based on Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

The Review

So, this review will be very different than what I’ve done previously on this page. Obviously, this is not a book review. This is a review of the movie adaptation of Cornelia Funke’s book, Inkheart. If you’re looking for the book review, please follow the link at the end of this post. This review will follow a different structure than the book reviews. Similar to the graphic novel adaptations, this review will discuss the portrayal of the characters and scenery, the faithfulness to the original work, and the quality of the film in general.

If you have not read the book, this review will contain spoilers!
Portrayal:

Helen Mirren and Paul Bettany are pretty much the best things that happened in this movie. I thought Elinor was a little dull in the book, but Helen Mirren portrays her amazingly. Elinor is crazy in this movie and I love it.

Dustfinger was always my favorite character and Paul Bettany really brings out that duality of his character in this movie. Plus…

dustfinger

Now, don’t get me wrong. I acknowledge that they made Dustfinger’s ugly, disformed face and completed dismissed that…but I’m okay with it haha. The problem, for me, with Dustfinger in this adaptation was not in Bettany’s portrayal, but in how the movie changes his decisions around. In the book, I could really sympathize with Dustfinger’s character and understand (although not approve) of his choices. In the movie, his actions are much more harmful to those around him. He clearly has the opportunity to better the situations that they’re in and chooses not to. Most of these parts are unique to the movie as well.

Meggie’s actress is pretty good. She wasn’t really memorable to me which…she’s supposed to be the main character so I don’t know what that really says about her. Although, it would be hard to shine amongst a cast like this.

Brendan Fraser, on the other hand, certainly looks like Mo but his acting was spotty and flat. I was so disappointed with him. He doesn’t really read aloud too well, which is kind of the whole point of the book/movie?

I was really excited to see Andy Serkis as Capricorn but it just wasn’t what I wanted. He was a fine enough villain, just not Capricorn. In the book, I thought Capricorn had this horribly intimidating presence, but Serkis didn’t portray him that way.

We shouldn’t talk about Basta and the Magpie. They’re atrocious.

I liked the idea of Jim Broadbent being Fenoglio but he wore on me as the movie went on.

Faithfulness:

The general story is faithful. It’s obvious what book this is based off of. However, because of the adjustments they made to “pick-up” the pot, the story feels weak. This is especially true once they escape Capricorn’s village. All the characters just end up bouncing around and filling in parts of the plot like weird, unfitting puzzle pieces that don’t really match up.

My biggest issue with this adaptation is how reckless they were with Mo and Meggie reading things out of the books. The book spends pages and pages emphasizing how harmful it was to the characters to be read out of their stories, yet this movie attempts to up its actions sequences by ripping things out of their stories without a second thought. What is the Wizard of Oz going to do without Toto or the tornado? This was the most egregious “error” in my opinion because it completely went against the lesson the book was trying to teach.

Resa’s whole character is very odd in this adaptation. The movie makes it seem like her and Dustfinger have known each other for years, but somehow Resa only asks him about her family during the events of the movie. It’s very confusing and doesn’t fit right.

The ending was woefully different. I understand that they wanted to emphasize Meggie’s part in the ending, considering she’s supposed to be the main character, but I thought it made the story collapse in on itself. Meggie was the main character in the book and I liked that she wasn’t responsible for everything in the end. Meggie literally fixes everything in the end by writing a few words on her arm??? It felt corny and made the “rules” of the Inkheart world feel fake. However, Helen Mirren riding in on a unicorn was the best part of the movie.

elinor

Quality:

A lot of this movie felt hokey to me. I get that this is a children’s movie, but its got a PG rating. They could have made the Black Coats and Capricorn m much better. This really had potential. The CGI is good, the acting is decent. I just — how could they make something so bad with a cast like this?

Rating: 4 out 10 wish I was actually ded™ instead of watching this

ded

book review: Inkheart

IMDB

Smashed by Junji Ito

Smashed

genre: manga. horror. teen.

The Review

As a disclaimer, this is a horror collection and I’ll be including panels from the manga in this review. So if that isn’t your thing, maybe skip this one. This also won’t follow the same format as most of my reviews because this is a collection of stories. I’ll list out each one and say a few words and then move on. At the end, I’ll discuss the collection as a whole.

Bloodsucking Darkness: 4 out of 5

This was a solid opening for this collection. This is a perfect example of how Ito uses his storytelling to discuss important societal topics. This story is focused on a girl struggling with bulimia and general eating disorder. Ito puts his own spin on the idea and gets his way right under your skin.

bloodsucking darkness

Ghosts of Prime Time: 2 out of 5

Honestly, I didn’t really get this one. It was fine. I just didn’t find it scary or particularly interesting. The idea behind this story is pretty weird too. I think I would have rather had a story focused on why the main character can see spirits. I’m sure that he would have experienced scarier things than these two creepy comedians. Just felt kind of “eh.”

Roar: 3 out of 5

There was nothing really wrong with this story, but there was nothing about it that I loved either. It’s a good interpretation about life after death and holding on too long to those who have passed on, but that’s about all I got from it.

Earthbound: 5 out of 5

This. This is the one that really reassured me that this collection was going to be worth it. Because oh my gosh. This story is so unsettling and inherently creepy that I was glad I wasn’t alone when I was reading it. The imagery is pretty off-putting on its own, but the way Ito wraps up the story and the reasoning behind these Earthbound people … wow. Way to go, Ito. I’m disturbed and I love it.

Earthbound

Death Row Doorbell: 2 out of 5

Another okay read. It’s got a good purpose. It’s all about forgiveness and moving on after a crime has occurred. Violence for the sake of violence and all that jazz. The idea is good, but the delivery didn’t really impress me. It was probably because I was still so shaken from “Earthbound” haha.

The Mystery of the Haunted House: 4 out of 5

Um, so this isn’t necessarily a unique story, but holy crap. This is some scary stuff. Ito really goes all out with his art for this one. The monsters are disgusting and so grossly evil that I wanted to turn the pages as fast I could. I’m not including a pic for this one because no thanks.

The Mystery of the Haunted House (Soichi’s Version): 3 out of 5

This is pretty much a sequel to the previous story and provides both a conclusion and explanation. This is a good follow-up, I just didn’t really love it.

Soichi’s Beloved Pet: 4 out of 5

This started out with a really low rating for me because I hate pet violence. I think it’s a horror copout to inspire immediate disgust from an audience. However, this story redeemed itself. This cat is crazy and the imagery is so gross and Ito-esque. What else could you want besides a haunted, violent kitty?

beloved pet

In Mirror Valley: 3 out of 5

This just felt like a weird Romeo and Juliet story that Ito put his own twist on. It was cool, but not really memorable.

I Don’t Want to Be a Ghost: 5 out of 5

This was a ride. This felt like a classic Junji Ito story for me. I loved every second of it. The scary girl, the blood, the ghosts. There’s nothing wrong with this one at all and no one can convince me otherwise. Pure gold.

be a ghost

Library Vision: 5 out of 5

Jeez I loved this one as well. The idea of a haunted library is just 👌🏻 The obsession and the slow growing spookiness of this story is excellent. This one kind of had me looking over my shoulder and feeling uneasy. And nothing really happened! It was just that good.

library

Splendid Shadow Song: 2 out of 5

I wasn’t a huge fan of this one. It’s a cool idea, but the delivery of it in a manga is a little unforgiving in my opinion. It’s about a musical or sound anomaly so it’s hard to portray on paper. Or at least, it was hard for me to interpret.

Smashed: 2 out of 5

I was actually already familiar with “Smashed” because I watched the Junji Ito Collection anime. I think “Smashed” is right on the edge of my understanding. Because I think I get it, but I don’t … get it. Got me?

The Collection as a whole:

I’ve been on kind of Junji Ito kick for the past month and it’s the perfect time. Nothing gets you more into the Halloween spirit like some of Ito’s work. This collection is about as unsettling as it gets. There were a few stories in here that I wasn’t overly impressed with. However, Ito more than makes up for them with some of the later parts of this collection. Ito is such an impressive story-teller to me because he takes everyday phenomena and puts then into the most terrifying retellings imaginable. I think Ito succeeds so much because he focuses on the unsettling. Don’t get me wrong, some of his stories are absolutely terrifying, but the majority just kind of creep under your skin and settle there.

It doesn’t help that his artistic style is jammed right between beautifully aesthetic and disgustingly horrible. The lines are crisp and pretty which only makes every turn of the page a gamble. Sometimes Ito slaps out a terrifying panel with no warning just after a page turn. It works almost perfectly like a movie jump-scare. I don’t know how he does it. This is a great collection and it definitely picked up (for me) around the middle. This is a must for any Ito fan, horror fan, or anyone just looking for a spooky seasonal read.

approx read time: about 4 days

Rating: 4 out of 5 Screems™

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Ownership: I borrowed this one from the library 👍🏻

Author. Goodreads.

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

Inkheart

the Inkworld series: book one

genre: children’s. fantasy.

The Review

I haven’t come upon a book like this in quite a bit. I’d been meaning to reread this for awhile because I wanted to get it out of my bookcase. But, I have a feeling that after reading the rest of the books again, these will be staying.

Characters:

Honestly, where I think this book shines the most is with its characters. I liked Meggie and Mo both. I fell in love with Dustfinger immediately. Elinor is hilarious and it’s so fun to see that reluctant, “normal” character in stories like this. She doesn’t want to be there at all and is constantly questioning the sanity of everyone around her. The main characters all have their own personalities and motivations.
The only characters I didn’t attach to were the villains. Capricorn is intimidating, but Funke could have taken his character further. However, this is done for a reason that I appreciate. Inkheart goes out of its way to reduce the amount of violence within its pages. The villains, although ruthless, shy away from it.

Set-Up:

I read Inkheart when I was very young and think that’s the reason I didn’t really care for it. I was reading a lot of fast-paced, action-packed books like the Harry Potter and Charlie Bone series. Inkheart is more densely packed with descriptions and explanations. It’s a calmer book. A more realistic type of fantasy story when it comes to the action and the conflicts. There are certainly plenty of high-danger interactions, but this story is more subtle than most in this genre. That’s what really makes Inkheart so precious. Inkheart is one of those classics that never ages. It’s a staple for any child (or adult!) who loves the fantasy genre.

Additional notes: I think I’ll be doing a review of the film adaptation eventually. So keep your eyes out for that!

approx read time: 10 days

Rating: 5 out of 5 Screems™

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Next in the series: Inkspell

Movie adaptation review: Inkheart (2008)

Ownership: I own this. I was going to donate it, but I have a feeling I’ll be keeping it once I finish the series.

Links: Author. Goodreads.

Black Clover (Vol. 1) by Yūki Tabata

Black Clover

Black Clover: chapters 1 – 4

genre: manga. shōnen. fantasy.

The Review

I picked this manga up at the library the other day because I was absolutely in love with the anime. I was a little disappointed in reading the first volume of the manga and not really getting the same feeling as the anime, but that’s what I get for watching the anime first. That being said I still plan on reading the rest of the series.

Characters:

In comparison to the anime, I think the characters are undeveloped in this first volume. That’s one of the main reasons I didn’t care for this volume. Asta and Yuno just feel like basic shōnen MCs. Which, of course, nothing wrong with that. But you’ve got to have a little more to keep your audience interested. It’s very easy to see the comparison a lot of people make between Black Clover and Naruto. Asta/Naruto. Yuno/Sasuke. Even Noelle gives off some Sakura vibes in the beginning. But, honestly, this doesn’t really bother me. Naruto is a great series. Why mess with something that isn’t broken?

Set-Up:

Black Clover has a lot going for itself. The art (both in the manga and anime) is usually quite nice.

Black Clover page

I think the reason I didn’t feel the connection with the manga was because the action scenes were so hard to follow. I thought the paneling and sound effects were kind of confusing and specific actions/movements weren’t emphasized enough so that I think if I hadn’t watched the show beforehand, I would have been really confused. Even some of the regular dialogue scenes can be really busy and overcrowded.

Black Clover page

Anime: Even though I wasn’t impressed with the first manga volume, the anime is phenomenal and I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys action-packed anime. I’ve seen the entirety of Season 1 (episodes 1 – 51)

approx read time: 1 to 2 hours

Rating: 2 out of 5 Screems™

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Ownership: I borrowed this from my local library

Author Goodreads