New Blog: Teen Autodidact

Those of you who follow my blog: Autodidact Attack! may be interested in knowing I created a sister blog to review young adult books and discuss adolescent development, which is not only what I study at school and work amid all day, but also a passion of mine. Happy reading!

http://teenautodidact.blogspot.ca/

Medieval Mice!

Mouse Guard: Fall 1152

Ever wonder how mice travel from place to place without getting eaten or lost?  In David Petersen’s vibrant Eisner Award winning graphic novel, the first in a series based on the comic book with the same name (and fame), we are introduced to the Mouse Guard.  An organized band of fearless warrior mice, the Guard is made up of “escorts, pathfinders, weather watchers, scouts and body guards” intent on protecting their charges from danger.  The detailed endpapers present a map of the Mouse Territories (circa 1150) so that the reader can follow along as the cloaked heroes Kenzie, Saxon, Sadie and Lieam protect the town of Lockhaven from a megalomaniac mouse determined to commit treason.  Along the way they battle the shifting elements, as well as fearsome snakes, carnivorous crabs, and a (mouse) house-destroying fire. 

A variety of exciting extras follow the story, including histories of the main towns and a list of common mouse trades.  Appealing to any child or adult with an interest in history (Medieval or otherwise), anthropomorphic animals, fantasy role-playing games or comic books, this beautifully illustrated hardcover is an essential addition to any graphic novel or contemporary book-art collection. 

Mouse Guard’s only drawback is that Petersen’s intaglio and relief prints, highlighted with fantastic autumnal colors, tend to overshadow the sometimes awkward storyline.  The reader feels as if Petersen spent much more time developing the meticulous images and Mouse Guard world and less time on formulating a plot that does his imaginings justice.  Mouse Guard is so visually compelling that it is required to be presented in a graphic format (it would also make a terrific movie).  Very young readers might find the physically almost-indistinguishable multiple characters and limited dialogue difficult to follow and would be advised to pay close attention to the fur and cape colors of the mice, so as to not get them confused.  The text’s “old-timey” vocabulary may alienate some juvenile readers: “The axe itself was forged into being by the blacksmith Farrer.  His family having been slain by predators whilst weaponless.”  Most unfamiliar terms, such as “parapets” and “portcullis,” are discernible through their visual representations, if one knows where to look.  For these reasons, as well as the violent nature of the storyline, recommended for ages 9 and up. 

Lola: A Ghost Story

Jessie is a young Filipino Canadian returning to his family's hometown for his grandmother Lola's funeral.  Although he feels a strong spiritual connection to Lola, he secretly believes she once tried to drown him, and that her "visions" were perhaps the workings of a dark, evil mind.  The reason Jessie feels this way is because he too sees ghosts and demons, including his dead cousin JonJon.

While the premise of a boy who sees ghosts is nothing new, the interesting Filipino cultural lore makes up for any originality the story is lacking.  Readers get to learn about different (but equally scary!) stories about The Kapre (cigar smoking ogre who eats children), The Manananggal (vampire woman who sticks her tongue in a pregnant woman's bellybutton to suck the heart of the baby out of her womb), and The Tiyanak (an evil baby that hides in the woods and seduces people with its pitiful cries).

Although not for everyone, and liable to give some young readers nightmares due to the storyline, the cheerfully drawn pictures are cartoonish enough not to leave a lasting impression on sensitive minds (this isn't exactly The Sandman).  Worth a borrow at the library for a fun Sunday afternoon read.

Geek Girls Unite

I really wanted to like this book.  After all, with a subtitle like: "How Fangirls, Bookworms, Indie Chicks, and other Misfits are Taking Over the World"...how could I not?

It's no secret I'm a geek and proud of it: Geeky employment and educational history?  Check.  Glasses?  Check.  Obscure record collection?  Definitely.  More bookshelves than appropriate wall space?  Wouldn't have it any other way. 

This book didn't excite or inspire me, it just made me tired.  Tired that we live in a culture where women who have chosen to think for themselves have now been offered a book where we get....GUY ADVICE?  Seriously!?  Depending on the kind of "geek" you are (Fashion Geek or Film Geek, but never both!) you get advice on the kind of guy that would best compliment your "geekiness."  Yes, seriously.  I may as well have been reading an article in Cosmo.

I therefore refuse to waste anymore type on this schlock so here is my uber-concise summary:   Bleh.

Unlovable

I have an enduring, delicious predilection for badly-drawn-on-purpose comics that are both hilarious and awkward.  See also:  www.toothpastefordinner.com

The strip Tammy Pierce is Unlovable has been a regular back-page companion to Bust Magazine for years, and always the first thing I turn to.  So I was more than a little pleased when Fantagraphics came out with a 2 volume collection of Esther Pearl Watson's T.P chronicle, complete with glitter clouds that say "Turd Alert!" and "Do you like breasts?"

See, the best part is: the entire thing is based on the REAL 1988-1989 school year diary of a Texas teenager that Watson found in a gas station bathroom in 1995.  The reason it is so funny is that Watson perfectly captures the humiliation and desperation of adolescence using Tammy's own words.  For example:

Anyone who had the pain and pleasure of growing up in the 1980s will cackle with delight (or groan with embarrassment) at Watson's scratchy renderings of shoulder pads, MacGyver, break dancing, and New Wave posturing.  Obviously not to everyone's tastes, Unlovable is for the discerning comic collector, the purveyor of sweaty awkwardness, the betrayer of tact.  In other words: mine.