Manga Review: Oreimo, Volume 4, by Tsukasa Fushimi, Sakura Ikeda, and Hiro Kanzaki

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Dark Horse Manga

Release Date: 2013

Volumes: 4.

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Popular girls vs. geek girls showdown! Kirino's done all she can to keep her two different groups of friends separate, but as much as she'd like to, she can't keep those two worlds from colliding, and this time, big brother Kyousuke may not be able to help her. He's got problems of his own - Kirino's friends can't decide if he's a dreamboat or a pervert! A smash-hit bestseller in Japan, Oreimo is presented in English for the very first time. Who says girls can't be otaku, too?

Review:

I must admit that the sister character had me interested in the beginning. How could I not instantly like a character who literally found a job (as a model, even) in order to continue funding her otaku habit? I love that.

But then everything else about this series just ruined it.

None of the romantic options in this series interests me. Even his sisters' friends. I don’t care about them. And the hinted romance with his sister is just creepy and uncomfortable. I don’t like that at all.

Aside from that, it was also a little boring. I was not impressed with this series.

Novel Review: Illyria by Elizabeth Hand

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Viking (Penguin)

Release Date: 2007

Spoilers?: No.

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

Goodreads Synopsis:

Madeleine and Rogan are first cousins, best friends, twinned souls, each other’s first love. Even within their large, disorderly family—all descendants of a famous actress—their intensity and passion for theater sets them apart. It makes them a little dangerous. When they are cast in their school’s production of Twelfth Night, they are forced to face their separate talents and futures, and their future together.

This stunning short novel, winner of the World Fantasy Award, is the perfect introduction to Elizabeth Hand’s singular voice. Her many novels offer a window into what it means to create art, to experience it, to feel passionately about the world. Illyria throws her talent into high relief—it is magic on paper.

The Cover:

This cover is all right. It's not horrible, but it's not very eye-catching. I do think it somewhat works for the book, though. It gives a good feel for it, and the image works.

Quotes:

• "'But talent—if you don’t encourage it, if you don’t train it, it dies. It might run wild for a little while, but it will never mean anything.’” (Hardback, pg. 40)
• "You take all these little things and you build a house. You build a character, a shell, and if you build it right, something comes to live inside it.” (Pg. 80-81)

Review:

This book is extremely short, which is part of why I picked it up. It’s short and very thoughtful, kind of slow, but also a little sad.

It’s about these two cousins, the same age, who are in love with each other. They’re part of a large family that live on the same street, some of whom get along, their parents are strict and they don’t really get along with their siblings.

Their relationship is interesting, and I was actually kind of okay with it. Maybe because I knew ahead of time, though. They clearly are the only ones there for each other, with the same interests. They’re both interested in theatre, and him in singing. But while she wants to be an actor, he starts going down a bad path.

I liked the writing, for sure. It’s very pretty and thoughtful, and the image of the tiny theatre will probably stay in my head because it’s so pretty. But it’s also sad. The ending for both of the characters, but especially for him and their family, is kind of depressing. She has a better time, but only marginally. It doesn’t seem like anyone was really happy to me.

It was a worthwhile, pretty read, but sad.

Manga Review: Ani-Imo, Volume 1, by Haruko Kurumatani

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: November 18, 2014

Volumes: 6+

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 2.

Wishlist Thursday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

See?In this body, I can do whatever I like to "my sister."
Youta has always had a soft spot for his twin sister, Hikaru. Soft spoken and docile, she's everything a doting big brother could hope for! But when a freak accident results in the siblings swapping bodies, Youta discovers that his "innocent" little sister is anything but!
Now trapped in Hikaru's body, Youta becomes the object of his "little sister's" advances--advances she now has the testosterone fueled power to back up! Will Youta ever get his body back in this uproarious forbidden love comedy?

Review:

I was intrigued when I first heard of this book, then wary, then intrigued again. I wasn’t too sure what to expect—the incest made me wary, and the art looked iffy, but it sounded interesting enough. And now I’m glad I picked it up.

I don’t think I fully understood what the description meant until I started the book, because I was surprised by what I found.

Youta is loud and exaggerates and dotes on his twin sister. Hikaru is quiet and a loner and everyone thinks she’s creepy and never knows what she wants. Youta understands her perfectly, which is why they’re so close.

And then they switch bodies, and it turns out they’re not even related by blood. Youta freaks out, because he doesn’t know how to handle being in his sisters body, and he’s so sensitive and inexperienced that he doesn’t want to even change clothes. Hikaru, on the other hand, has openly confessed to him that she’s in love with him, and is perfectly happy to be in his body.

I think since their roles are reversed—with the sister being the one hitting on her brother—that I didn’t mind the scenario so much. Plus, they aren’t related by blood.

I also think it’s funny that with their stereotypical roles reversed—with the brother exaggerated and embarrassed and the sister quiet and the instigator—that when they switch bodies, they’re in the sex normally put with those roles. But you never forget that they’re in the wrong body—it’s mentioned a lot without being pushy or overdone. I appreciated that. It's almost a parody of the normal.

The artwork is pretty, and the characters are rather well done, with some surprises thrown in. The humor is good, and the exaggeration isn't over the top. There is a color page at the front, and it is very pretty. Hikaru is in love and emotional, and I felt for her a few times. Youta just plain doesn’t know what to do.

At this point, I’m really glad that I picked this volume up, and am looking forward to reading more.

Novel Review: Live Through This by Mindi Scott

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Genre: YA Contemporary (Romance)

Publisher: Simon & Schuster (Simon Pulse)

Publish Date: October 2nd, 2012

Spoilers?: Minor/Vague.

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

Teaser Tuesday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the outside, Coley Sterling’s life seems pretty normal . . . whatever that means. It’s not perfect—her best friend is seriously mad at her and her dance team captains keep giving her a hard time—but Coley’s adorable, sweet crush Reece helps distract her. Plus, she has a great family to fall back on—with a mom and stepdad who would stop at nothing to keep her siblings and her happy.

But Coley has a lot of secrets. She won’t admit—not even to herself—that her almost-perfect life is her own carefully-crafted façade. That for years she’s been burying the shame and guilt over a relationship that crossed the line. Now that Coley has the chance at her first real boyfriend, a decade’s worth of lies are on the verge of unraveling.

In this unforgettable powerhouse of a novel, Mindi Scott offers an absorbing, layered glimpse into the life of an everygirl living a nightmare that no one would suspect.

Something Specific:

Quotes!:

•  "Whenever Mom and Tony talk about What's on Boys' Minds, I want to scream." (Hardback, pg. 25) YES. I feel this way All. The. Time.
• "'Please,' Jacob says, with a wave of his hand. 'I'm the jump freakin' master.'" (Hardback, pg. 82) Does anyone else get the reference that I made with this quote? Please?
• "'You're not acting like yourself at all.' 'Maybe this is my real self and no one noticed before.'" (Hardback, pg. 273) I've thought about things like this so much...

Review:

I really wanted to love this book. And I did like it a lot. But the ending kind of ruined everything for me.

Coley is having problems. Her home life isn’t very good at the moment, and she’s trying to hide that behind a very chipper attitude. Her mom married someone else and had three kids, which makes her feel like an extra, unneeded. Her brother feels the same way, but he’s been away at college. Only, now he’s back, and while he and Coley have always been close, that’s not particularly a good thing.

At school, Coley has lots of friends, gets along with everyone. Except her ex-best friend, who she’s not speaking to anymore. She’s gotten closer with a different girl, Ming, as well as a boy at school, Reece. Then there’s Noah, a boy she’s known most of her life, who everything think she’s going out with, when she’s not.

(Also, throughout the story, there's this reference to a very popular movie/book series, which makes a lot of sense once you find out what the big problem Coley has is. It made sense to me because I've never read the books or seen the movies, but for someone who has (or is just faster than me), they'll probably catch the meaning much faster than I did. And, while I liked that a bit, I also think maybe it was a bit too obvious, given how often the movies are talked about. Just wanted to mention that before I really get into my opinion.)

I liked Coley. I liked how she tried hiding everything behind a smile, but I do tend to find those characters interesting—and there just isn’t enough of them out there. I like most of the characters, actually. Ming seemed nice and interesting, and her ex-best friend, Alejandra, seemed interesting near the end of the book. I really like Noah, he’s very sweet. And I also really liked Reece. I even liked Coley’s step-siblings.

My biggest problem is the ending. The ending just kind of ruined everything for me, as I said, and I’m not happy about it. If it hadn’t been for the rest of the book, and I was only rating on the ending, this book would have only gotten two stars. Because I didn’t like it. I was even mad at it. Like, I wanted to throw the book across the room, and would have, were I the kind of person who did that.

I’ve read other books that ended like this one did. It’s a common ending, and while I would usually like more to the story, sometimes it even fits. This one, didn’t.

Usually when it ends like this, the reader is left feeling like everything is going to be okay, like the main character, and everyone around her, is going to find out the truth and deal with it, and that they are ready to deal with it. It’ll be hard, but they will be okay and are capable. I didn’t feel like that with this one.

In this book, it felt like the rest of the story still needed told. It felt like things were just getting started when the book ended. I mean, I do want more story, I would like to read how things fall apart and come together after this, but I also feel very unsatisfied, and like the story isn’t finished. There’s more to it, and I feel like I should get to read what that is.

I mean, I want to read her parents reactions to what happened, and I feel like there were several hints within the book that would lead to the readers' seeing how they reacted, that deserve coming to a head. I don’t feel like what’s going to happen next with Coley and Reece is settled in any way, and I feel that should be told. Also, Noah’s reaction to finding out. And how her brother is going to react, which will surely be bad.

I’m just… I’m really unsatisfied and upset and angry, and I feel like there should be more. I want a sequel, very badly, and I don’t think there’s going to be one. I want there to be, I think one deserves to be made, but I don’t think there will be one.

Nonetheless, I am still planning, and looking forward, to whatever Scott releases next.

The Cover:

 I rather like the cover, plus I think the meaning of it fits with what happens in the book.