I was going to wait and do a “Best of” recap highlighting my favorites from this year but I am impatient. Instead, here’s another round of reviews. (Ignore my cracked hands… winter has started and I am NOT prepared!!)
Heart-Shaped Tears by Abby Jame
Oh my gosh this was so incredible – I love the art style so much. The slime girls who are too tired to go out (“No I look gross”), the demons, the bright colors juxtaposed with the apathetic aesthetic of it all… This really resonated with me, as a teen from the early 2000’s and having gone through the growing pains of technology and social media as they were forming, and developing relationships through and around that technology… There was just something very nostalgic and beautiful about this book.
Chain Mail Bikini: Anthology of Women Gamers
Normally I am not an anthology person because I like a more lengthy plot but these stories are pretty cute. I love the art, and the realism of all the characters – there is something so refreshing to see art by women, where women look like real women, and not the often too-polished action bimbos in mainstream comics – a nod to this phenomenon in the title itself. I really enjoyed these vignettes – some were longer than others – and I definitely relate to a lot of them, especially ones that indicated feeling disparaged as a casual gamer, or playing only certain “girl” games, like Animal Crossing which is the only video game I have ever cared about.
The Walking Cat: A Cat’s Eye View of the Zombie Apocalypse by Tomo Kitaoka
Really loved this one – picked it up as a recommendation from Leef at Mission Comics (thanks, Leef!) and it did not disappoint! I love zombie apocalypse stories, and this is a unique twist in that it follows the POV of a cat named Yuki. I did find myself getting a little attached to some of the humans but was brutally reminded that the humans in the story are not main characters, it’s Yuki. Definitely worth a read if you like zombies and cats…! This is going on my holiday gifting list for sure.
The Cleveland Heights LGBTQ+ Role-Playing Club by Doug Henderson
This was actually a huge letdown for me. I read it pretty quickly, so I will give it points for that. It was fun for the most part, albeit a little all over the place at times and some of the character building was really weak. The biggest complaint I have is that the author introduces the only trans character by telling us her deadname – that is such a massive no-no, it’s just utterly unacceptable. What I found more problematic however was that when I looked at Goodreads, I saw a LOT of people saying the same exact thing. How on earth are you going to give your book for FREE to people in advance of a final print, get the exact same feedback from pretty much everyone about this one, extremely fixable problem, and then still send it to print without making any changes whatsoever??? I have this up for sale on my website, but I knocked about half off because it’s just not worth full price in my opinion. I heard the author read at one of the litcrawl events last month, and I thought the passage he read was great so I picked it up, but I kind of wish I had read the reviews first. To echo other reviewers: it was a great concept but it was poorly executed. There was some good writing, but overall this was a miss.
You Should See Me In A Crown by Leah Johnson
Love this book! This is such a well-written, cute, thoughtful narrative of a young sapphic teen who feels more than a bit out of place and I so, so recommend this book. I think this will resonate with anyone who likes YA novels, sapphic novels or even just a lighthearted gay story with a happy ending. I was crying tears of joy towards the end of the book (no one judge the girl crying on the bus ok?) and just absolutely in love with the whole thing. The pacing, the characters, the writing – just everything about it was amazing. I have become so passionate about this book – listen, if you are as tired of the sad gay storylines as I am and you just want some happy gay girl content, you should pick up this book and give it a read.
Bitch Planet: Triple Feature
Somehow I ended up with a handful of anthologies this year, which is somewhat out of character for me, lol. But this one I just had to get. If you’re a fan of the Bitch Planet series like me, you will want to check this one out. I have one copy, but can order more – just say the word. This graphic novel includes three separate short story style vignettes, all equally heartbreaking and infuriating, in the same veins as you may have experienced if you read the first two in the Bitch Planet series.
Even Though We’re Adults by Takako Shimura
This is such a great series – it’s really a thoughtful story between two women, one of whom is definitely a “late bloomer” while the other finds herself falling for married women/taken women, over and over again. Normally, I am more of a sci-fi / dystopian / horror genre fan but I do like slice of life / romance stories when they are explicitly queer. and this fits the bill for sure. There is no beating around the bush at all here, which I appreciate. I am over stories which allude to or insinuate but never outright state the queerness. I’ve just finished the third volume and frankly, I am more than a bit frustrated with Ayano who is not doing a very good job divorcing her husband, but I am committed to the ride at this point, and I want to know where this is going.
Pluto by Naoki Urasawa and Ozamu Tezuka
Pluto is the type of story that I’ve always found intriguing and one which I will always like to read on some level, even if it isn’t always executed that well (lol, I’m a simple woman). Heavy sci-fi dystopian, it features exactly the type of world I’ve always wondered about, one where robots gain AI and what that might look like. In this rendition, there are a select number of super-powerful AI robots who are being targeted for some unknown reason (we learn more about the various webs and entanglements as the series continues) and there is a significant allegory here in the anti-robot hatred that laces the entire story which creates a level of depth (or attempted depth – I don’t know if I can tell how well this is executed – I’m on volume 4) and darkness that makes this series worth following. I have really enjoyed it so far, and am curious to learn more about the shady operations and backstories of our core characters.
That Full Moon Feeling by Ashley Robin Franklin
Not too much to say about this one other than that it is VERY cute and VERY gay. I love my fantasy stories to be fun and gay and just really enjoyed the heck out of this. The art is great, the story is easy to follow and overall this is just a really pleasant and delightful little book that I really recommend. Two copies are available in my store now – get ’em while they last!
Well, I think I should probably cut myself off here. I think all of these titles are actually available on the store – but it’s possible there are only one or two, because as of right now I am collecting a wide variety of titles and not getting many in bulk (I don’t want to end up with too many multiples) – so if you see something you like, it could be worth it to let me know sooner rather than later. That said, I can probably get my hands on anything I’ve reviewed here.
Since I’ve gotten all these books in, there are a LOT that I need to read so I am doing my best to read as many as I can so that I can give honest and thoughtful reviews and recommendations. I’m working on little “Holiday Gift Lists” (titles to get for the different types of people in your life!) to have available at my booths in December and I’ll post them here as soon as I’m finished.
I just started Whipping Girl by Julia Serano (yes I know I’m late to this party…by about 15 years) and I already know it’s on my must-read. I’ve got her follow-ups (Excluded & Outspoken) in-stock as well that I’m looking forward to reading.
As usual, follow the instagram & twitter to stay up to date on all events and incoming inventory. I work full-time as a receptionist right now but I am doing my best to keep these channels updated. I have an unboxing youtube channel that I’m going to start uploading some recent videos to as well, so stay tuned for that later on…
XOXO