August had its ups and its down. This month was especially hard since it was the anniversary of my dad’s passing, and we had to deal with a bunch of other annoying things that happened. I wish to have a solidly good month.
Archives for August 2017
FROM PANEL TO PANEL • Fee Fi Fo Fum (Mighty Jack and the Goblin King by Ben Hatke)
When Jack and Lilly follow Maddy’s captor through the portal, they are ready for anything . . . except what they find waiting for them in the floating crossroads between worlds. Even the power of their magic plants may not be enough to get them back to earth alive.
Alone and injured, Jack and Lilly must each face their own monsters―as well as giants who grind the bones of human children to feed their “beast” and a fearsome goblin king in the sewers down below.
But when Jack finds himself in a tough spot, help comes from the most unlikely person: the goblin king!
Ben Hatke, the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Zita the Spacegirl, concludes his latest middle-grade fantasy-adventure graphic novel series, Mighty Jack, with the energetic finale to his retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk.[/quote]
Once upon a time, there lived a boy named Jack with his mother and his autistic little sister Maddy. One day, Jack trades his family’s car for a box of magical seeds and discovers these magic seeds grow an entire garden of plants that have hands and legs and are ready to attack. When a portal opens up and an ogre carry Maddy away into their world, it is up to Jack and their new friend Lilly to save her! (To read up on what happens before Mighty Jack and the Goblin King, go read Mighty Jack.)
In this conclusion of a modern reimagination of Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack and Lilly will have to face their own monsters—giants and a goblin king—before they can save Maddy.
FROM PANEL TO PANEL • August 2017 Graphic Novel Releases To Look Out For
I love comics and graphic novels, so what do I do with that love? Well, I turn it into a new feature!
From Panel to Panel is a new feature where I talk about the awesome (and perhaps not-so awesome) comic books and graphic novels I’ve read. Basically, this will be me pushing them onto your laps. You’re welcome.
In August, you get roller derby girls, lots of volume threes of my beloved comics, precious Wirt and Greg on their adventure in the Unknown, an unstoppable wasp, and many more. This month, you need to put these on your TBR list.
Get your shopping carts loaded with all these comics!
| SLAM • VOL. 1 |
|---|
In the fast-paced, hard-hitting, super cheeky, all-female world of banked track roller derby, two young women will have to decide if their budding friendship is stronger than the pull of a team when a win is on the line.
When life starts coming at you like a freight train, you have two options: run away screaming or lean into the hit.
From the first day of Fresh Meat Orientation for the Eastside Roller Girls, Jennifer and Maisie knew they’d be fast friends. But when they’re drafted to different teams, the pull of competition — and their increasingly messy personal lives — threaten to drive them apart. In roller derby you take your hits, get back up, and learn how to be a better jammer, a better blocker, a better lover, and a better friend. Derby can heal your heart . . . but it might break a bone or two in the process.
Bestselling novelist, screenwriter, and retired Los Angeles Derby Doll Pamela Ribon (Going In Circles, Why Girls Are Weird) joins artist Veronica Fish (Archie, Silk) for a tale of friendship, heartbreak, and truly epic jams. — Boom! Sudios
Publication date: August 2, 2017 by Boom! Studios
Buy: LCBS · Amazon · Barnes & Noble · The Book Depository · Indigo · Comixology
Why I’m excited: Roller derby girls! I’ve waited months for this volume to come out because girls roller derbying and friendship!! And you have Veronica Fish as the artist. What a winning combination.
(ARC) REVIEW • Not Your Abuela’s Music (The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Perez)
[note note_color=”#f03b5f” text_color=”#ffffff”]The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Perez • August 22, 2017 • Viking Books for Young Readers (Penguin)
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On Day One, twelve-year-old Malu (Maria Luisa, if you want to annoy her) inadvertently upsets Posada Middle School’s queen bee, violates the school’s dress code with her punk rock look, and disappoints her college-professor mom in the process. Her dad, who now lives a thousand miles away, says things will get better as long as she remembers the first rule of punk: be yourself.
The real Malu loves rock music, skateboarding, zines, and Soyrizo (hold the cilantro, please). And when she assembles a group of like-minded misfits at school and starts a band, Malu finally begins to feel at home. She’ll do anything to preserve this, which includes standing up to an anti-punk school administration to fight for her right to express herself!
Black and white illustrations and collage art throughout make The First Rule of Punk a perfect pick for fans of books like Roller Girl and online magazines like Rookie.[/note]
First sentence: “Dad says punk rock only comes in one volume: loud.”
The First Rule of Punk hits every note with a perfectly pitched scream. Malu—don’t call her Maria Luisa—is into two things: punk music + zines. When her mother moves them to Florida, she finds herself doing things she never thought she would back home: making friends in her new home and getting in touch with her Mexican heritage.
It’s certainly not any book your Abuela has encountered.
(ARC) REVIEWS • One Code At A Time (The Friendship Code by Stacia Deutsch + Girls Who Code by Reshma Saujani)
[note note_color=”#00a5a9″ text_color=”#ffffff”]The Friendship Code (Girls Who Code #1) by Stacia Deutsch • August 22, 2017 • Penguin Workshop
Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Indigo | Library
Loops, variables, input/output – Lucy can’t wait to get started with the new coding club at school. Finally, an after school activity that she’s really interested in. But Lucy’s excitement turns to disappointment when she’s put into a work group with girls she barely knows. All she wanted to do was make an app that she believes will help someone very special to her.
Suddenly, Lucy begins to get cryptic coding messages and needs some help translating them. She soon discovers that coding – and friendship – takes time, dedication, and some laughs![/note]
First sentence: “Lucy…Lucy…Lucy…”
If (you_read_this_book) {
you’ll_learn_coding ( ) ;
you_get_to_see_girls_excited_about_it ( ) ;
}
(ARC) REVIEW • SOS Stranded on Island, Send Help (A Map for Wrecked Girls by Jessica Taylor)
[note note_color=”#000000″ text_color=”#ffffff”]A Map for Wrecked Girls by Jessica Taylor • August 22, 2017 • Dial Books (Penguin)
Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Indigo | Library
We sat at the edge of the ocean—my sister Henri and I—inches apart but not touching at all. We’d been so sure someone would find us by now.
Emma had always orbited Henri, her fierce, magnetic queen bee of an older sister, and the two had always been best friends. Until something happened that wrecked them.
I’d trusted Henri more than I’d trusted myself. Wherever she told me to go, I’d follow.
Then the unthinkable occurs—a watery nightmare off the dazzling coast. The girls wash up on shore, stranded. Their only companion is Alex, a troubled boy agonizing over his own secrets. Trapped in this gorgeous hell, Emma and Alex fall together as Emma and Henri fall catastrophically apart.
For the first time, I was afraid we’d die on this shore.
To find their way home, the sisters must find their way back to each other. But there’s no map for this—or anything. Can they survive the unearthing of the past and the upheaval of the present?[/note]
First sentence: “We sat at the edge of the ocean—my sister, Henri, and I—inches apart but not touching at all. “
Nothing like being stranded on an island that test relationships and reveal certain truths.
On vacation in Puerto Rico, Emma and her sister Henri get shipwrecked on an island with a boy they had just met. They have to rely on each other to survive, but do they?