Avatar the Last Airbender Grahphic Novel | The Search | Review

'No matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are. ''

Remember this line from the show as you read this.

I mean what more can I say other than, We get the answer to what happened with Zuko's mother!

I cant believe it took me so long to read this.

I wont be going into what actually happens to Ursa. I will just say I think it was very well done, logically and emotionally compelling.

What I want to put attention to is, "What does this book do for the Avatar world in general? How does it fit in with our established lore?"

I loved it, I think this book was more memorable than The Promise graphic novel. I wanted to go over some of the themes this book covers, and tie ins to the original. (and even a nod to the future)

I don't believe what Im going to talk about is spoilers, but if you dont want to have any ideas you can stop here. Just know that the art is incredible! Inspiring honestly. And you will love every second of exploring the Avatar world from this book.

Some of the themes I liked:

Siblings. This isn't just about Zuko. Azula also needs to find her mother. The fact that Sokka and Katara are on this journey too isnt just a coincidence, and is a nice reminder of healthy and unhealthy sibling relationships. And the sibling theme doesn't stop there!

Faces and Mask. These are very prevalent in this book and work well to weave what we already know. We see the origin of Zukos famous blue spirit mask, and how it ties to Ursa and her background. We get a mention of our favorite centipede Koh - and a new spirit that is incredibly and beautifully realized in this book!

There is a quick nod to female water benders from the north, its nice how some things are not forgotten, it makes what Aang and the group did have lasting consequences for the world.

Very interestingly, if you have the edition I have, you learn how they were working on Korra book 2 Spirits at the same time as this. Alot of the development of how spirits work was essentially worked out in this book and used in Korra (or vice versa) This was an awesome little tid bit and make a fan like my self feel the care and thought they put into making this world grow.

I highly recommend, the stories in this book are fascinating and art beautiful! I expect nothing less from this franchise and they've done it again!

The Rise of Kyoshi | Review

Honestly there was alot of good quotes, but I wasn't marking them.

As much as Kyoshi wanted to stay, in a single, frozen pool of moments, the current carrying them forward was too strong.

I really enjoyed this. If you're caught up on all Avatar shows and lore or content, Kyoshi fits right in while making her own place.

Kyoshi has one of the hardest upbringings of Avatars that we've seen so far. You can see why she becomes the hardened blunt Avatar Aang meets and learns about. All the connections we come across that lead back to the Last AirBender are always a treat.

We learn about her signature style and weapons. We learn a little more about the past Avatars. Most interestingly, and for the first time, we can see each of the 4 nations living at the same time. It was very interesting to hear about how Earth, Water and Air have their own issues. I dont know if this was on purpose or not, but Fire is never mentioned as such, and seems to honestly be the strongest of the 4 nations. Which I think is a perfect casual set up for why Sozin thinks to start the war.

If you recall from the show:
Sozin commented that the Fire Nation was going through a period of great prosperity and wealth and told Roku that together, the two of them could spread it throughout the world by expanding the empire, to make a "brighter future" possible.

I like that Kyoshis world shows why this thought process is possible.

After Aang, Korra was refreshing in her more brash and bullheaded attitude. Kyoshi takes it even a step farther, born into a world with more strife than Korra's. Although there is a little too many similarities between the two sometimes... I almost wish we could have had Korra communicate with Kyoshi at some point.

Anyway, clearly I'm very happy with the story and lore. The writing was also well done, the explanation of Bending was clear and well done, it seemed to have the same respect for the art as the show did.

Very excited for the sequel!

The Fascinators | Review

If you ever cast a spell alone in your room in the dark, wishing you were somewhere - or someone - else, this book is for you.

This little magical novel pulled at many of my emotions. I got angry, sad, empathetic, hopeful, happy. This novel centers on a little religious Georgia town who is barely accepting of magic, homosexuals less so.

We follow Sam and his magic club The Fascinators as they enter into their senior year and things dont go as smoothly as anyone would like.

The magic of the world isn't greatly described, (which as someone who has only read the first Raven Boys book feels similar.) It's more magical realism, its not explored and it's purpose isnt to create a fleshed out magic system. Personally this didnt bother me all that much, it was more a story about people and their lives than the magic of the world.

By the ratings so far, this book isn't being received relatively well. I'm leaning more toward the better than this worst. Especially after the major disappointment that was Infinity Son (another novel released this year that features a gay character in a modern fantasy like story) and my mixed impression of Bonds of Brass (a scifi novel featuring gay characters released this year) this was refreshingly better.

The one main negative I will point out is that I feel like this group of friends go through a little bit too much turmoil and we have not gotten enough time with them to care to weather the storm with them. I think all of their back ground and reasoning is realistic and reasonable, but since we dont fully understand their bond I was thinking most of the time for the main character to gtfo of there and forget his friends.

That being said I still really liked this book. It had a little whimsy and small scale events. Sam is our main character and boy does he have some self-esteem issues. I think the lives of these teens are pretty realistic. Even the best of friends are selfish, especially at their age. You want to be their for your friends, but you're at a time in your life where you need to start thinking of the future, where your bigger personal issues probably start becoming more apparent and catch up with you.

I think it's important to keep this in mind as you read this book and devote your time to The Fascinators.

I personally related very well to Sam. Who's lack of confidence led him to some dark paths and he often wondered what his friends were doing all the time, and how he felt left out. I dont think its good to ever take it personally at that age, but it's also not something you can ever help. I spent too many nights over analyzing text messages and wondering if people were hanging out without me, really for no good reason. Its not practical to think that people always have you on their mind (nor should they) but just because you arent doesnt mean they dont like you or enjoy your company.

I think you'll spend alot of time flipping between who you're more upset with between the friends but in the end may not be 100% happy with the results. Though I like that not everything has to end happily ever after, some things I wish were tied up better especially since its a stand alone. I think this surprised me the most, I kept thinking I should check if it would have sequels and I wish i did so I could curb my expectations. I could see myself wanting more of this and now Im left feeling a little disappointed and unsatisfied.

Two side notes.
Denver is so cute, "Can I please wait with you too." Aw!

Also at one point they reference the book I'll Give you the Sun, which is actually one of my all time favorite books with LGBT representation!

Crazy Rich Asians | Review

Let China sleep, for when she wakes she will shake the world.

Once I got past the initial amount of overwhelming family names, characters, and perspectives I quite enjoyed this. I applaud the author for roping in all of these characters and really going deep with some of these perspectives. I have to further applaud him for writing over a 500 page book that has far too many descriptions of...everything, and not making frustrating me. Granted based on the title, the point is to show the wealth, and it sure was shown.

I don't have really any complaints. I originally watched the movie and it actually made me want to read the book. I think I actually still prefer the movie because it turns some characters into more likable creations. But some of the characters in this book were SO damn unlikable! You have to applaud Rachel for how she handles most of the situations. 

I think the worst character is Nicks mother. I hated her so much, I feel like the movie took her character in a better route and I like the finale there rather than this book. Because honestly, the most Eleanor thought was how Rachel was a gold digger and kept wearing brand dresses. But Im sure if Rachel came in dressed...less than, she still would have hated her, so what did she expect, what did she want? In fact we don't fully see Eleanor go from, shes a gold digger to her family is unworthy thought

.

I really liked Astrid in the movie and felt she was the other character I preferred to the movie. The way Astrid handles her husband is so much more satisfying in the movie.

Any way, I've talked too much about the movie, but I felt it was more interesting to compare them rather than talk about the book itself. There weren't many issues with it. I just liked some characters stories than others, I'm sure some were unnecessary and could be taken out. Nick came off way to ignorant to how his family were going to act, and at least he owns up to it, because it's kind of dumb he didnt see it coming.

I found myself usually wanting to get back to Rachel's story. Some of the other perspective were interesting, sitting back and watching these, as they say, crazy rich Asians talk about some baffling subjects and treat each other terribly.

I normally don't read too many books like this but it was fun, and kind of refreshing. I wonder if I'll like it more upon reread when I already am familiar with the characters. I'm still debating on the sequel. Unfortunately it seems more people prefer the first one, and the second, even though it should focus on Rachel and Nick, has too much filler and I dont like we get more side characters but the ending is apparently worth it. Aiyah! Such a struggle.

Anyway I had two things I wanted to bring us as spoilers for the ending:

Astrid- Like I said above, I dont like how Astrid still desperately wanted things to work out, and I can only applaud her ex husband for having enough class and respect to try to make her happy and help her work things out with him. In the movie, I prefer how she shuts down Michael for basically being unable to be enough of a man to accept that Astrid makes the money and that's that. I think the most ridiculous part of the book is that he faked it all. I mean its kinda cringey he sent a text to himself that says "I want you 2 cum in me" or w/e. I dont remember if in the movie this affair is also fake (I dont think so) but atleast the text just says "I miss you in my bed"...so awkward. Im not looking forward to if they get together in the future installments. Astrid deserves better and I think I would completely not care for her if I didn't see the movie version in my head as I read.

Rachel's ending with her Mother- that was a really sweet and a heartbreaking story. I wish it had a little more time to breathe before the ending. I dont know if its confronted in the sequel but I would love to have had Rachel confront Nicks mother like she did in the movie (Albeit for different reasons) It just would have been nice for Rachel to tell Eleanor, not for her own sake, but for her mothers. Since what Rachel's mother did was amazing and these stuck up people act like she isnt worthy at all. I just wanted to see some come-upance.

Again though, I preferred how Eleanor was portrayed in the movie and I liked how Rachel resolved it. I think the book showed Rachel with grace, but the movie showed her with wit, intellect and heart.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes | Review

The War for the Districts and the Capitol is over. But is it? The Hunger Games, is the act of continuing this war, but in a way that can be controlled. And Control is one of the many messages of The Capitol, of Coriolanus Snow, and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
I present to you my review of...

I'm going into this with the assumption you are reading this after having gone through this series in publication order, so I wont refrain from warning of The Hunger Games spoilers.

Knowing what awaits us 64 years after this story its not a surprise that this book is tragic. And a big message of Hunger Games is: Hope. This book creates this hope, and you cant help but fall for it.

In general I like a lot of glimpses into a world that we dont know quite yet. The technology is sparse and some things are mentioned that are forgotten in the Hunger Games. The technology can be frustrating because you know how it gets in the Hunger Games, but then also makes for a very interesting, albeit scary contrast between the time periods. North America is directly mentioned and we even find out (atleast I think we didnt know before) that the Reaping is held on the 4th of July. As if we didnt need a bigger reminder of how far the world has fallen.

Interestingly enough (because I don't remember how much it is in the books) but the music from the movies gets its origins here. And it will make you feel things.

I understand that a lot of people didnt want Snows point of view. But I think it 100% worked here. I was getting nervous as so many negative reviews started dropping but I wanted to refuse to look at them until I got my thoughts out. I think it makes sense to hear this story than some character favorites like Haymitch or Mags, etc. I dont think we could have gotten alot out of those stories but fan service and tragic deaths of children.

This book has messages and they come across to me quite clear. We return to a Capitol that isnt at the height of its power like in The Hunger Games. We see the aftermath of a war even if it is 10 years later, and we see what it has done to Snow and his family. We can see that the Capitol is just as much of a mess as the Districts.
We see the 10th annual Hunger Games being decided to have mentors, but instead of district mentors its students from the Capitol mentoring the tributes.
It's with this plot that we see the sad injustice that whether you're District or Capitol, the kids are those that suffer. Which has always been a point to the Hunger Games, to show that innocence can be an illusion, that even they can kill, and its what humans do at base instinct.
But again, here we see it on both sides.

I think the novel does a great job with us understanding Snow and seeing where he's coming from. I'm not sure if The Hunger Games ever gave us a look into why the world would have gotten here, and I think this book does that.

Much like The Hunger Games though, you wont read this book with any fuzzy feelings. You read it feeling angry, sad, beat down, hopeful, and raw. If you want that feeling you got from the original trilogy I think you should read this. If you want the interesting quirky capitol with explosive Games and unique tributes, I wouldn't recommend returning to Panem with this book.

I'm now going to go into specifics that can be considered Spoilers for the book. So only continue if you dont care or have already read.

Dr. Gaul was a very curious character. I could see where she was building up Snow to be an apprentice or atleast teach him her ways. But I didnt think they'd remain on the "same side". I actually wonder if it's because of her experiments that Snow eventually gets his sickness. (Though it seems that someone with old age would simply get. But you never know.)

Tigris - I really began to fall in love with their dynamic. I know she wasn't in it alot but I still liked her and what she had to do for Snow. It makes me sad to know how they end up in the end. But also interesting that we met her in The Hunger Games. I liked how it was setting her up to be the "first" of the tribute designers.

Victors -I was quite interested to see how the life of a victor was influenced after winning. Ofcourse due to this particular story they basically tried to make sure noone knew them. And the "victor village" and prizes wasn't created until after Snow joined the Game Makers. But the idea that Lucy Gray would show up in the Capitol to sing and stuff would have been interesting.

Speaking of Lucy Gray - damn...lets get to it. This was tragic. I didnt expect a love plot to happen, I'm usually not a fan of it. But this felt so realistic and not thrown in. It made sense to get to the point they were at.
Honestly she was such a dynamic character. I still feel like I never could tell her true intentions. As Snow came to realize at the end, she wasn't really a sheep was she? She had vulnerabilities, but she wanted to live, and she had passions. I feel, like with Sejanus, she used Snow for her own uses. I'm still quite torn about that ending, I like that they left it vague. I think there was enough tragedy to not straight up show that she was killed.

The fact that the Hanging Tree which became a rallying song in the 3rd movie stemmed from Snow is sadly poetic.

It all felt so realistic, and indeed tragic. It seemed to start like any young love, only for the world and ideals to crash into each other. You could see where Snow's faults came in to hurt the relationship. But you could also see where choices outside of his control put him in these situations that caused this. I wish they could have just figured out a way to take Lucy Gray out of the District. I know it could never end truly happily ever after. But the only thing I didn't like was it felt like Snow was going to completely leave her to her fate with the mayor, instead of even thinking that with his new power he could help her. But then again, due to his situation, she could always pose a threat to his life, and if  we know any theme to this series its Survival.

It was still a quite sudden end, I wonder what Lucy Gray thought in those moments. Was she running for her life and depended on Snow, but then realize he would go back. She seemed to know this and resign to run on her own. I dont know, it was tragic for, as Snow said, come down to their own Hunger Games in the woods.

Sejanus is the last thing I want to talk about. He held the most turmoil for me in this story. Because I felt for him, but always was annoyed at him, especially for Snow. Snow wasn't inherently a bad person. But he wanted to keep his name and power as best as he could for him and his family. Sejanus got in the way of this, alot. It actually showed alot of Snow to keep helping him, but all the while you could see the threads that kept Snow tethered to his not entirely selfless reasoning. But like with Lucy Gray, and with the people of the Capitol, you can see where he is being used, even if its not entirely malevolent.

Regardless, Sejanus caused alot of turmoil for Snow, he was quite frankly, and idiot. And it was hard to be completely sympathetic. But him, like alot of the Capitol kids, seemed to have such a realistic friendship with Snow.
In his end, that single idea of Snow remembering an 8 year old boy on the playground with a bag of gumdrops absolutely destroyed me.
It broke me to read this, and picture this. Immediately it brought to me that idea of innocence. And how this poor child spent so much of his life in fear. Sejanus truly was too innocent and weak for this world. Even though I know it was Sejanus' fault, it still makes me sad thinking of this kid.

For Rue, for Prim, for Sejanus.

An Ember in the Ashes | Review

"Loving you is the worst thing that has ever happened to me."

I'm a bit torn on this one. I feel like if it was just the first and last 25% than I would come away more positive. But a lot of that in the middle really frustrated me.

Let me get a lot of my gripes out of the way.

First off- Torture - there was hardly a plot. It really just seemed to be alot of beating, abuse and sexual harassment. I got angry at the injustice, then angry at the characters then just angry at the book for not moving it along. Trauma can make you feel things for characters, but I feel like there was too much in this book that I feel like it was just constant and nothing else was happening.

Second - the plot - or at least whats in the book. I feel like it took such a back seat to the drama (which is my third and most egregious point). The trials that the characters are supposed to be performing seem lackluster and short. The "magical/ shadow elements" were more confusing than interesting. I feel like they could have been implemented better. I'm not saying you had to reveal a lot, since that seems to be what the future books will be about, but still could have gotten me more interested.
I couldn't understand why they allowed certain things to happen. I think thats the frustration of creating "clairvoyant" characters. But it just seemed like no one in this world cared for anyone, they let everyone kill each other. It was just kind of ridiculous, how is this a strong empire? (Unless thats the secret plot of the bad guys? but thats not revealed in this book so it still leaves me annoyed.)

"You think I want to feel this way about you? Watching you find the good in everyone -everyone-but me."

Third - the relationship drama, the terrible communication, the love square? Thats right...there's a love square. I got so fed up with these characters acting like they were in a damn high school drama while there was so much more at stake.
So many times characters would not say the right things, and be really vague which caused more issues to arise, it was really stupid.
I actually liked the idea at first that the two main characters were going to have their own love interests and not each other, because I hate when romance steals most of the central plot. But then it all started to get muddled together and I was dying to get this book over with and just give it a 2 star and move on. But...

The Positives:

A lot of the characters really did have some interesting struggles and compelling motivations. Elias was my most frustrated but I liked how he saw the world and how he wanted to treat people. It contrasted badly with everyone else (Helene) blindly going along with the travesties of the world.
But I still really liked Helene, I wish she didnt turn dreamy-eyed school girl. But I always enjoy a nice badass female and find her power interesting.
It really makes me think the sequels can make some great characters. Thats what I was thinking as this book came to a close. And honestly, that in itself is difficult to pull of, to bring someone from the brink of a rant review.
So you see my conflictions here.

Will I eventually put up the sequel? Im more inclined to than I was around the 60% mark. But for now Ill leave it at 3. Solid, but I think I was hoping for a bit more considering how popular and loved it us.

Bonds of Brass | Review

Bonds of Brass is a Space Opera that starts with a will they wont they romance and evolves into a fight of Empires...and Im not sure if I like that.

This book jumps straight into the action and we already see our two romantic protagonists, Gal and Ettian 2 years into their friendship. I kept this thought in my head as I read because I wasn't too sure if we would need their earlier history to feel these two characters are believable.

But honestly, it wasn't too bad. I think the character development and set up early in the book eased this concern. Ettian is clearly traumatized or still haunted by his Empires fall, but he takes a less cliched approach by seeing the logic in it as he tries to move past it because there's nothing he can do. (This doesnt really hold up by the ending and Ill get to that in a spoiler discussion.)
**I however want to say that in my original notes I had it written as "his Empires destruction" because I honestly couldn't tell for most of the book what planets belonged to his old empire and what happened to them.

I think this is the biggest fault of the book. The universe or galaxy or whatever the author created didnt feel cohesive or even very sci-fi. I didn't fully comprehend that he was still living on his home planet it was just ruled by a different empire. And ill get into it after Gal how I feel about these Empires.

Gal is the prince of the Empire that took over Ettians. At the beginning of the book, the story starts with someone revealing his identity causing Ettian and Gal to run for Gal's protection. I liked Gal. I think a major contention of the book is whose side you'll back. Gal is trying to better than his parents, but still wants to be normal while not running away from his responsibility. Besides some odd moments of "blood" being unchangeable and he seems destined to become his warring parents, I think he does a good job trying to balance this.

So thats the majority of the early half of the book. Ettian coming to terms with Gal's true identity, while they both try to protect him to get him to his throne. As I said, it's not cut and dry who is technically in the right and you'll spend alot of time trying to decide who's feelings you validate between the two.

After the 60% mark is when things turn all the more political and you need to start questioning why Umber is even bad? I heard this is supposed to be inspired of Poe and Finn from Start Wars (I dont see it at all, I think I would have enjoyed a fanfiction of them better than this book) so we will use that as an example. You KNOW why the Empire is bad in Star Wars. They are domineering, ruthless, strip planets of resources and leave nothing.
Umber isn't quite like that. Unless the author is leaving things out it makes it quite clear that Umber brought structure to the planets, even if they did ruthlessly take down those opposing them. It has clear hints of how it's kind of supposed to be like the Empire, but I think to still make Gal come of sympathetic, the author didnt go all the way with it. It leaves you contemplating what's really right and what should happen, and not in a good way unlike with the relationship between the boys.

Furthermore with that topic, it gets quite frustrating as you can't tell if retaking the Archon Empire from the Umber is something that should be done? It seems like it's happening just for vengeance or to get even? Its a very conflicting book, and some may enjoy this.

Now for the most part this was a 4 star book for me. I felt the general angst and issues felt real and reasonable. But the world didn't seem very unique and the sci-fi elements, besides flying ships in space, didnt really feel interesting. The ending however, I just couldn't help dropping it to a 3.5, it just rubbed me the wrong way and Ill discuss why next.

Spoilers for the ending:
We get the reveal, in the last 10 pages really, that Ettian is also a Prince. I think on principle I dont like this trope. It seemed really cliched and I didnt like how it immediately felt like all the build up of Ettian being "normal" was thrown out the window.
I felt like this wasn't set up well at all and I honestly have to question if the author planned it from the beginning. You'd think if he was a true prince or heir, he would have shown more loyalty toward his people. That fine line of him being loyal to Gal so he could get him on the throne, while dealing with his own Empire falling, COMPLETELY dissolved. It made my sympathy for Ettian crumble as I back track to find these pieces and realize how badly Ettian betrayed Gal, and it only gets worse. It ends with no communication between the two about working together, and accomplishing his original goal. Its incredibly frustrating and I think left like that to build drama for the sequel.
And Ettian was right, it WAS cruel to make Gal crown him at the end. It just felt so stupid, like do these people not care about making peace. Do they really think Gal will be able to better control his empire when shit like this happens. This ending ruined Ettian for me.
I just think the ending ruined so much and on reread it will be all the more frustrating knowing what we know now but its just DOESNT add up and does not conclude well.
It's still a decent book, but damn did this ending leave a sour taste in my mouth and I HATE that it became one of those "good books with bad endings" SMH so fckn hard.
I hope the sequels can redeem Ettian for me. But he better work DAMN FCKN HARD, and they better not try to put that shit on Gal.