Posted on by Maureen · 1 Comment

Cheer Up by Crystal Fraiser

Description

A sweet, queer teen romance perfect for fans of Fence and Check, Please!

Annie is a smart, antisocial lesbian starting her senior year of high school who’s under pressure to join the cheerleader squad to make friends and round out her college applications. Her former friend BeBe is a people-pleaser—a trans girl who must keep her parents happy with her grades and social life to keep their support of her transition. Through the rigors of squad training and amped up social pressures (not to mention micro aggressions and other queer youth problems), the two girls rekindle a friendship they thought they’d lost and discover there may be other, sweeter feelings springing up between them.

My Review

This is a sweet and tender graphic novel about the friendship between two girls. Annie begrudgingly joins the cheerleading squad, and she’s convinced it’s going to be overly peppy kids who she doesn’t have anything in common with. This move places Annie in close proximity to her former friend BeBe, whose parents have conditionally accepted her transition.

At the risk of sounding maudlin, the cheer team grow closer together as they challenge their preconceived notions about each other as they realize that they have a lot more in common than they thought. There is even the beginning of a sunshine/grump romance, which is my favorite trope/pairing of all time.

This book is full of queer joy, although there are some bumps along the way, mostly in the form of marginalization or fetishization. 

I received a digital ARC of this book from Oni Press/NetGalley

Posted on by Maureen

Chef’s Kiss by Jarrett Melendez

Book Description

Now that college is over, English graduate Ben Cook is on the job hunt looking for something…anything…related to his passion for reading and writing. But interview after interview, hiring committee after hiring committee, Ben soon learns getting the dream job won’t be as easy as he thought. Proofreading? Journalism? Copywriting? Not enough experience. It turns out he doesn’t even have enough experience to be a garbage collector! But when Ben stumbles upon a “Now Hiring—No Experience Necessary” sign outside a restaurant, he jumps at the chance to land his first job. Plus, he can keep looking for a writing job in the meantime. He’s actually not so bad in the kitchen, but he will have to pass a series of cooking tests to prove he’s got the culinary skills to stay on full-time. But it’s only temporary…right? 

When Ben begins developing a crush on Liam, one of the other super dreamy chefs at the restaurant, and when he starts ditching his old college friends and his old writing job plans, his career path starts to become much less clear. 

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Posted on by Maureen

Cheater Code by S.A. Foxe and Daz

I want to begin this review by saying that despite the cute cartoony image on the cover, this graphic novel contains explicit sex scenes, and it is not suitable for children of any age.

Kennedy’s world turns upside down when he walks in on Seth, his boyfriend of six years, having sex with another man on their kitchen counter. Despite this monumental betrayal of trust, Kennedy is willing to work on their relationship, but Seth tells him the relationship has been over for a long time and he’s done forever.

A dejected Kennedy retreats into his beloved video games, and then the combination of a power surge and um—bodily fluids—zaps Kennedy into the world of video games.

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Posted on by Maureen

Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol

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Be Prepared is a middle grade graphic novel by Vera Brosgol. We found this book at the town library, and my girls were very excited because they’ve enjoyed some of her other books.

This is a semi-autobiographical story about Vera’s childhood, although she explains at the end how some details were exaggerated, etc. As the story begins, Vera wants nothing more than to fit in with her American classmates. They have American Girl dolls, Carvel ice cream cake, and stuffed crust pizza, and Vera’s single mother simply cannot provide such luxuries. There is only one “fancy” thing that Vera can do to emulate her wealthier classmates, and that is go to sleepaway camp.

Vera’s Russian cultural camp is nothing like the posh camps that her friends attend, and it takes awhile for her to get used to new people, new routines, and of course, the stinky outhouse. It’s not as easy as Vera thought it would be to make friends, and she wonders if she’ll ever find her place. Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Crush by Svetlana Chmakova

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Crush is Svetlana Chmakova’s third graphic novel set at Berrybrook Middle School. I was very excited about the opportunity to read this book because my oldest daughter is in the sixth grade, and she loves graphic novels. For several years, she read graphic novels almost exclusively. She has always been a voracious reader, so this meant that we always had a lot of graphic novels in the house. She has recently branched out and found some novels that she really likes, but she still loves graphic novels.

Since she is an expert in the genre, I thought that it would be nice if she could share her thoughts on Crush:

So, I just want to say that I LOVE Svetlana Chmakova’s books, and that I was so exited when I heard there was a third book! Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Super Narwhal and Jelly Jolt by Ben Clanton

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I received a copy of this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Super Narwhal and Jelly Jolt is Ben Clanton’s second graphic novel featuring a delightful friendship between a narwhal and a jellyfish. As the title suggests, much of the plot concerns Narwhal becoming a superhero and Jelly becoming his sidekick. They have a couple of brief adventures in which they try to help another friend fulfill a wish, and they also confront a bully who is calling Jelly “Jelly Dolt” instead of “Jelly Jolt”.   Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Geronimo Stilton #18: First to the Last Place on Earth by Geronimo Stilton

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I received a copy of this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

My daughters love reading the Geronimo Stilton books, as do many of their classmates. We are also very fortunate that our town library has a lovely collection of the Geronimo Stilton graphic novels published by Papercutz. I was very excited about the opportunity to read the newest graphic novel- First to the Last Place on Earth. 

This is the 18th entry in the series, and it follows a familiar formula: Geronimo is summoned by the Professor to travel back in time to thwart the Pirate Cats’ attempt to disrupt a major historical event. This time, the Cats are trying to prevent Roald Amundsen and his Norwegian expedition team from being the first to reach the South Pole. It’s up to Geronimo and his friends to stop the Cats, and ensure that Amundsen and his team reach the South Pole! Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea by Ben Clanton

51b22bx5f3sl-_sx360_bo1204203200_I received a copy of this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea is a graphic novel written and illustrated by Ben Clanton. It is intended for readers of all ages, and will hold special appeal for children in the early years of elementary school.

This novel is broken up into three short stories featuring a charismatic narwhal and his jellyfish friend. In the first story, the friends meet for the first time and try to figure out if they are real or imaginary. The second story contains some important lessons about friendship when Jellyfish feels left out after Narwhal recruits other animals as members of his new pod. Finally, the third story demonstrates the power of imagination when Narwhal and Jellyfish peruse a book with no words or pictures. Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier

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My oldest daughter is nine years old, and she loves reading. She has started reading novels, but her favorite genre has always been graphic novels. Raina Telgemeier has always been my daughter’s favorite author; she has all of Telgemeier’s books, and even met her a few years ago. Needless to say, my daughter has been looking forward to Ghosts for months.

Ghosts is Telgemeier’s newest graphic novel.   Teenage protagonist Cat is not very happy about having to move to the small town of Bahia de la Luna, but her little sister Maya has cystic fibrosis and the climate will help her breathe better. Cat learns that the whole town is really into Dia de los Muertos; she thinks this is silly, but Maya really wants to meet a real ghost.

There is a boy in the story, Cat’s friends tease her about Carlos liking her, but the focus is not on a romantic relationship. Instead, there is an emphasis on friendship; Carlos shows Cat and Maya around the town, and he is the first one to tell them about the ghosts who live near the mission. Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Big Nate: Thunka, Thunka, Thunka by Lincoln Peirce

819wgp58dblI received a copy of this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

My oldest daughter has always been a fan of comic strips like Calvin & Hobbes, Foxtrot, and Peanuts. One of her most favorite strips is Lincoln Peirce’s Big Nate series, so she was very excited when I received the opportunity to read Big Nate: Thunka, Thunka, Thunka.

Nate is a sixth grade boy, and he’s easy for kids to relate to. He has some sarcastic comments to make about school, he hangs out with his friends, and he plays sports.

We have several of the Big Nate books, and what my daughter (and I) like about them is that there is a punchline on just about every page, but Peirce is also building larger storylines Read more