Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling Illustrated by Jim Kay

 

4 Star

Harry was raised by his aunt and uncle.  Never realizing he was special or how his parents died.  When he finds out his parents were killed by a wizard and now, he is going to go to a wizard school.  He expects to learn new

The Story: What can I say about Harry Potter other than it was a good story liked by most.  It has an interesting plot that has a good flow.  There are moments that the kids in it are very stupid that make no sense but overall, it makes sense that kids would do that.  I loved seeing the relationships form between Harry and his friends and teachers.

The Illustrations:  The pictures are on almost all the pages and combines the wonderful words of Harry Potter with pictures that enhanced the story.  They took the images of the actors who played them in the movie but illustrated them with a little bit of a twist.  One of my favorites is on page 55 where Harry is being taken across the water to school for the first time.  It has Harry and Hagrid in a boat and there are water drops and birds and you can see the strokes of the water on the page.  I really enjoy this adaption of the book.  I think the only version I liked more was the audio book narrated by Jim Dale.

Book 1 Harry Potter

The Flame Game by R.J. Blain

 

3 Star

Bailey and Quinn have had another wedding but this time with all their friends and family.  If only they could live happily ever after.  Instead they will need to track down a corrupt police chief, so he won’t be able to come after Bailey.

If you dig down deep with this story, there is a good story.  However, there is way too much irrelevant things put into the story.  At one point they are shopping and trying on leather jackets.  The jackets have Kevlar in them.  Why I needed to know this I don’t know why but I do.  There were also things that were brought up that they needed to investigate like Bailey’s co-workers from book one but then they never went anywhere with it.  In the last book they adopted two kids and a whole menagerie of animals and other then the pets they weren’t in this book at all.  As this was supposed to be the last book with these two as main characters, I would have liked to see some of the strings tied off.  Bailey’s parents were briefly in the book, but you get any conclusion with them.  Overall, there were some very good parts of the book but needed someone to cut out the parts that weren’t needed to progress the story.

Book 16 A Magical Romantic Comedy (with a body count)

Manga Classics Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Po Tse

 

4 Star

This is just a graphic novel rendition of the classic novel by Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice.  I love this book to begin with and I like reading graphic novels so I thought I would give it a shot to see if it was as good as the original book.  I actually enjoyed it a lot.  The pictures enhance story and will probably make it easier for someone to read the classic via drawing.  I didn’t notice anything big missing.  The hardest part for me was with Manga you read back to front so when I picked it up, I would start like normal and then have to remind myself it was the opposite.  The artwork was beautiful, and the artist gets so many details in the drawings it surprised me.  The biggest issue really was the layout of the story in the book.  Otherwise it was totally worth the read.

Very, Very, Very Dreadful: The Influenza Pandemic of 1918 by Albert Marrin

 

4 Star

In the beginning of 1918 World War I was being fought when troops began coming down with influenza.  By the summer, a second wave of the epidemic was traveling around the world, through the troops and civilians alike.  Influenza killed more millions more soldiers than the war had.  In the space of eighteen months 500 million people contracted influenza.  They can only estimate the lives lost was between 50 and 100 million. 

This book was so intriguing.  It combines historical information with science.  It also looked at the impact that was had on the world due to the epidemic.  This is written for a young adult audience which makes it more readable then some other books on the subject.  I really liked seeing the different pictures Marrin selected for the book.  It helps enhance what you’re reading.  It was interesting to see how disease was handled in the early 20^th century.  If you’re looking for a quick but informative read this definitely one you should pick up.

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Illustrated by Harmony Becker

 

5 Star

This is a graphic memoir of George Takei’s childhood during World War II when his family was transported to an internment camp for the Japanese.  It shows the joys and terrors those being held went through.  The issues of legalized racism.  As well as the choices his parents had to make to keep themselves safe and together.

First the story.  I picked this up for my job and when it came in, I ended up not being able to put it down.  The story was well written and heartbreaking.  The more I read the angrier I became.  I don’t really remember learning much about the internment camps other than a foot note so seeing it laid out in this graphic novel was stunning.  If there was a number bigger than five this book would get it.

Now the graphics.  I’ve never seen anything else illustrated by Harmony Becker but her pictures were amazing.  There were so many details in her pictures even when it was just an individual in the panel.  The images enhanced the story and made it that much better.

Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore

 

5 Star

In the early 20^th century, the best jobs young women could get were in the factories.  These women were told radium was harmless.  One of best uses of radium was to paint the watch faces with it so it would glow.  The way the women would do this to get the crisp lines was to moisten the tip of the paint brush in their mouth and dab into the radium.  They would do this throughout their shift.  When they started to die, and others became ill it was brushed off.  This is the true story of the women who fought against big business to find financial relief and assistance.  It wasn’t just big business who denied the consequences of radium but also government.  With mounting lawsuits against companies using radium public support swung in the women’s favor and government had to step in and create new regulations to protect workers.

This was a horrifying book to read but in a good way.  It was well written, and I couldn’t put it down.  It was incredibly upsetting to read about what the girls and women went through and how they were disregarded by so many.  It felt like it was well researched and showed a different subject that isn’t talked about.  Moore balances telling the individual stories of the people vs business cover-up and corruption very well.  You never lose sight of the victims.  Highly recommend reading this book.

Moonlight Sins by Jennifer L. Armentrout

 

4 Star

Julia Hughes played it safe her entire life and she still ended up screwed.  She is forced to start over in the Louisiana bayou as a home health nurse for a wealthy family’s troubled sister.  She has a scorching hot encounter with a strange man only to find out it is her new boss.  Lucian and his brothers have been dealing with a lot after the apparent suicide of their father.  Lucian doesn’t have time for a romance, but he can’t stay away from Julia.  Will they be able to keep each other safe and figure out who is causing all the problems?

This is the book that hooked me to Jennifer L Armentrout.  I loved seeing their relationship progress as well as finding out who was causing all the problems.  The family dynamic was weird but in a good way.  You were never sure if the brothers actually liked each other or not.  I also enjoyed the fact that Julia didn’t instantly forgive Julian for being a dick in the beginning and made him work for it.  The one downside of the story was the plot twist at the end.  It wasn’t really a twist.  I had it figured out pretty quickly, but I was more interested in Julia and Lucian’s relationship than that twist.  Overall, enjoyed and can’t wait for the next one.

Book 1 de Vincent