Comic Review: Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: May 2015

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

The graphic novel debut from rising star Noelle Stevenson, based on her beloved and critically acclaimed web comic, which Slate awarded its Cartoonist Studio Prize, calling it "a deadpan epic."

Nemeses! Dragons! Science! Symbolism! All these and more await in this brilliantly subversive, sharply irreverent epic from Noelle Stevenson. Featuring an exclusive epilogue not seen in the web comic, along with bonus conceptual sketches and revised pages throughout, this gorgeous full-color graphic novel is perfect for the legions of fans of the web comic and is sure to win Noelle many new ones.

Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren't the heroes everyone thinks they are.

But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimona's powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit.

Review:

I’d heard so much about this book, that there was no way it wasn’t on my radar. And I’m glad that I finally picked it up.

First of all, I will say that I was impressed, particularly with all the positive body-image in this book. The way that Nimona chooses to look while human, and then also the hinted romance between Blackheart and Goldenloin—especially with that second one. There’s also the corrupted government trying to control everything, using Blackheart and Goldenloin for their own purposes. Nimona’s reasoning behind sticking to Blackheart but never talking about herself or where she came from. The depth behind all of this was really well done, and surprising.

It all leads up to the ending, which was rather deserving, even if a little sad.

Aside from that, this was a fun book to read. All the scheming and tricks that they use, the comedic antics thrown in. The artwork is pretty, and I love that it’s all in color and hardback. It’s a very pretty book, for sure.

I was impressed with this book, and will hopefully be picking up more like it soon. Definitely recommended.

Novel Review: Crossed (Matched, #2) by Ally Condie

Genre: YA Dystopian Romance

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Penguin (Dutton)

Spoilers?: Some.

Goodreads Synopsis:

In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky — taken by the Society to his certain death — only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.

Cassia’s quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander — who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia’s heart — change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

Available on Amazon.

Review:

This book was quite a bit different than the first, and I did enjoy it quite a bit more. Most of it was much more exciting. The ending, however…

So, in this book, Cassia has been working in some camp thing outside her Province, and Ky has been ‘fighting’ the war in the Outer Provinces. This is told in alternating points of view, which I really liked and worked really well for this story. It made me like Ky a lot more, and I even enjoyed some of his chapters more than Cassia’s.

The first two hundred pages consist of Cassia and Ky separated, whereas Ky has snuck away from his area and is trying to find a way back to Cassia, and Cassia has been put in the Outer Provinces and also snuck away and is trying to find Ky. That was probably my favorite part of the book, as it was very exciting and different and I learned a lot about both of them and the government. Then they met up and the next maybe hundred pages are also really good, where they’re getting to an empty area and deciding to either go to the resistance or the mountains where they’ll be with the lone farmers. Cassia wants the resistance, and Ky wants the mountains, which Ky’s decision at first surprised me but later made sense.

The last bit of the book I did not really like. First of all, I agree with Cassia going to the resistance; I would want to bring down the government as well. But Ky’s agreeing to go with her didn’t make sense to me. Throughout the entire book, he made it clear that he did not want to join the resistance, and even said that that was something he could not do even for Cassia. And then, without showing the reader any thought on him changing his mind, he goes with Cassia to the resistance. That just didn’t make sense to me.

Also, I don’t like the resistance, and I already guessed this would happen. I just didn’t think it would be so obvious. The resistance is pretty much exactly like the Society. They take data on their people, test them and then decide where they get to help out, and the people still have to hide things and aren’t allowed small items because they like them, and the people aren’t given information that does not pertain exactly to their job. It sounds pretty much exactly like the Society, if you ask me. I don’t trust them, I don’t like that Cassia was sent back into the Society, and I just don’t like it.

Now, the romance. I like Cassia and Ky together more than I did in the first place, although I think there’s still a bit too much angst over Xander. I love Xander, and what we found out about him in this book only makes me like him more, and I hope we get to see more of him in the next book and find out more about him, but Cassia just needs to accept what she did to him and move on already. I mean, I get that he’s hurt by what happened, and she’s upset that he’s hurt, and I understand Ky’s worry over her feelings for him, but just move on already. I don’t care for more angst.

We also met a couple new characters in this book. I like Eli, who reminded Ky and Cassia of Cassia’s brother Bram. I liked Vick and feel bad about him. Indie is alright, and rather interesting. We also found quite a bit about the Society out, and what they haven’t told their people about, like the blue pills’ actual meaning and what they’re doing in the war. That was really interesting, and I look forward to finding out more about that.

Oh, also, there's a map at the beginning of the book, which I found really helpful, although it gave away where the resistance was. And I wanted a bigger map, one that included the parts of the Society.

I do plan on reading the last book in the series, since there’s only one left, and I want to find out what happens. I just hope that it’s exciting, and that more happens page by page than in the first two books. And I’m thinking that a lot is going to have to happen, since not too much toward a revolution has yet.

Review: Shine (Shade, #3) by Jeri Smith-Ready

Rating (Out of 5): ~4.5

Publisher: Simon & Schuster (Simon Pulse)

Spoilers?: No.

Goodreads Synopsis:

 In this dramatic conclusion to the Shade trilogy, Aura and Zachary’s relationship sizzles as the secrets of the Shift are revealed.

Life can change in an instant, and no one understands that better than Aura. It’s been almost a year since her boyfriend tragically died. She’s finally letting go of Logan’s violet-hued ghost, but not her search to uncover the truth about her past.

As the first in a generation that can see ghosts, Aura is convinced she has a connection to the Shift. She’s trusted Zachary, ever patient and ever by her side, with all that she knows. But when the government threatens his life in an attempt to learn Aura’s secrets, she will stop at nothing to protect herself and the one she loves...even if that means betraying her own heart.

Review:

This was actually a really good ending to the series, which I am glad for.

This book concludes what the DMP wants with Aura and Zachary and them trying to get in the clear and not fess up to what they know. They find out some more things about their connection to the shade and shift and shine, and how to fix everything, among other things…

The most frustrating part of the book is probably the first, um, maybe 200 pages, where Zach has been taken away, and so we have no idea what is going on with him, and Aura has no contact with him. Mostly, I just missed him and wanted to know what they were doing to him, and it was way too long to wait. But, finally, that got mostly resolved, and Aura got to go overseas to visit him for their little vacation, and she got to meet his friend Martin, and see his parents some more, and they saw the Newgrange and all of that stuff.

Within the first almost 200 hundred pages, there wasn’t a lot of actual action (not in some of the rest of the book, either). Aura was trying not to do anything stupid, which was much better than her going out and doing something stupid (like she almost did at one point, actually). That’s one thing that I like about Aura: she isn’t stupid or rash. She knows not to blurt something out or rush into things without thinking them through. I appreciated that.

The second half of the book was mostly spent with Aura and Zach, and it was very nice (particularly the sexy scenes, as well as the sweet ones; I enjoyed those). We got to meet Martin, Zach’s gay friend, whom I actually didn’t remember being mentioned before aside from on Twitter, which is probably only due to the other books being a bit fuzzy in my mind. That’s how things tend to get with the minor characters when it’s been a while -- with Aura’s friends as well -- that they get blurry and I don’t remember who is who. But as I was saying, we got to meet Martin, who I very much enjoyed. We didn’t get to see a lot of him, but I liked what I did see. I would not mind more time getting to know Martin. (Which, I think, we might get when Zachary’s novella comes out, maybe?)

There was no Logan in this book, only in memory. He’s actually mentioned quite a few times, which I was not expecting and so was nice, but I still missed him a bit. I am happy with Aura and Zach being together now, much more settled than I was with the previous book, but I do still like Logan. (Most of this is probably because of Twitter; Logan and Zachary, and Aura, having Twitter accounts is fantastic.)

At the beginning, Aura’s friends/Logan’s family and band mates were a little blurry, but became clear as the book went on. I’m actually a little disappointed that I don’t get to see more of them. Megan and Mickey were interesting and angsty; Siobhan and Connor were cute and I wanted to get to know them more; Dylan was sweet and maybe-adorable (it’s still up-for-grabs in my head), and I liked him and wouldn’t mind getting to know him better as well (also, he said this one pretty amazing thing, where he called Zachary a “freakin’ superhero. Captain Patience or something.” I thought it was pretty adorable). I'm not sure how I felt about the romantic stuff between Dylan and Aura, and I was glad that nothing happened between them in this book (although it was cute seeing Zach get slightly jealous about them). I like Aura and Zach, maybe I just want to see Dylan with someone, since I like him, too.

As I said above, the ending was really good. Most of the action didn’t really start until the last maybe 50 pages? Which, at first, made me think that the book wasn’t going to get completed very well, but I was wrong. It wasn’t rushed, but went very smoothly. Also, I keep saying that not a lot of action happened, but I don’t mean that it was boring, or things weren’t occurring; they were, and it was exciting and interesting. It’s just that, this series is a bit more plot and character oriented than action-packed; which is definitely not a bad thing.

Oh, I guess I should mention the DMP and all of that stuff. The DMP frustrated me with how they went about things, as did their competitors and the people who made the Black boxes, and I liked how everything with them ended, and how Aura (and her friends and classmates) stood up to them. The conclusion to what they were doing was good, as was the, um, ending with Aura and Zachary and their connection with the shift (trying to keep it vague here). I was happy with it.

I really enjoyed this book, and I am definitely going to miss Aura and Zach (and Logan, and Martin, and everyone else). I’m very much looking forward to reading her other stuff/future YA releases.
(Also, I wanted to mention the covers. I preferred the original ones, not these weird new ones. They're just not as pretty to me, I guess. Plus, it bothers me that the new one doesn't match my others, all of which I have in hardback with the original artwork. I hate it when publishers change the style in the middle of a series [or, um, within of a series when it's not finished releasing]. I understand, though, that they are trying to make them more appealing to the eye. Below, tell me your thoughts on the new covers?)