Middle Grade Monday: Clock Hands

Vale and his family are having a hard time. He scrounges for work as best he can but without an appointment from the guild, he'll never make fair money. He can't get an appointment with the guild because he can't not purchase an entry fee.

When a stranger moves to town, he helps the family acclimate to a new town. Maestro Giuseppe wants to build a clock. His daughter will be helping him. He invites Vale to also help. Vale can't believe his good fortune. 

But he isn't sure the guilds will allow him to work. He's right to be worried. The guilds run everything and they aren't pleased. They make threats, but Vale and his friends aren't backing down. Who will win?

Why I read it: I loved Ink Girls and this is slightly connected. 

My Thoughts: I loved this book too. I love Vale and his new friends and how they stood up to the Guilds. The Guilds had too much power and they weren't using it for good. They were hurting many of the townspeople. This is a great book for a teaching tool - for historical fiction, but also unions/guilds. I loved the art in this book. I hope there are more coming in this companion series. 

Cover Thoughts: Perfect 

Source: My Library

Library Recommendation: A must have for your school and public library graphic novel collection

Middle Grade Review: Ink Girls

Cinzia is the printer's apprentice. Mestra Aronne is determined to publish a story that will anger the ruling family. Even though the story is true; the guards come for both of them in the middle of the night. Cinzia manages to escape. She runs into Elena - she's part of the ruling noble family. Elena thinks she can help Cinzia. Together, they can discover the proof Mestra Aronne has and bring it to the family. With Elena on her side, Cinzia hopes they can save her found family. But will the city support her?

My Thoughts: I loved this graphic novel! There's action, danger, found family, and fighting for good. A group of girls, who wouldn't normally be friends, find each other and fight to change the world. Just one girl has a hard time changing the world, but together, they seem almost unstoppable. A great feminist graphic novel. There's a rumor that this is book one - here's hoping this is true, because I want more Ink Girls! 

Cover Thoughts: Fantastic

Source: my Library

Library Recommendation: A must have graphic novel for your library's collection. 

Author Interview with Marieke Nijkamp

 

About the Book:

You have to know about the monsters of the swamp! When 12-year-old Blake is shipped away to stay with her weird aunt in Fever Swamp for the summer, she expects her weeks to be filled with video games, mosquito bites and a whole lot of nothing. Instead, she finds herself in a spooky turf war between werewolves and wolf hunters in IDW Publishing’s Trade Paperback of Goosebumps: Secrets of the Swamp!

Blake’s never let anything–including her prosthetic hand–slow her down or stop her from crushing her opponents in a game of Lore Hunter, but real-life monsters on all sides take danger and fear to a whole new level, and Blake will need to use all of her gaming skills to escape.

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this graphic novel. I enjoyed the video game aspect, the friendships, and learning the truth about the "monsters" in the swamp. I loved how Blake discovered the truth and fought to help her new friends. The art was fantastic. I really want to read more about Blake and her new friends.

About the Author:

Marieke Nijkamp is a storyteller, dreamers, globe-trotter, geek.

About the Illustrator:

Yasmin Florez Montanez is a freelance illustrator and comic artist from Puerto Rico who is passionate about storytelling and earned an MFA in Sequential Art at SCAD. Yasmin enjoys crafting diverse cultural stories with action packed scenes mixed with quiet moments. Yasmin is pretty much addicted to coffee and loves working around animals

Chatting with Marieke Nijkamp

 Did you read Goosebumps or Fear Street as a kid/tween?

Yes! And those books absolutely terrified me! I got most of them from my local library, but I also owned a few Fear Street books and I can still remember the feel of them—they were bluish mass market paperbacks—and the sheer level of existential dread whenever I cracked them open. 

I'm not a horror reader today, but I loved Fear Street as a Kid. And Christopher Pike.

 Did you have a different process for writing a graphic novel vs writing a novel?

Both are team work in different ways. With my novels, the writing part is fairly solitary until I share a manuscript with my editor and early readers. With graphic novels, the writing is only a small part of it, where my scripts are the starting point, but they would mean nothing without Yasmin’s amazing art.

 It doesn’t really change my process though. I’m a pretty consistent plotter, who needs to know what the shape of a book or a story or a comic is, before I can start writing. And with writing individual issues, that’s all the more important, because it helps to lay the groundwork for details later on!

 

Each book I've read of yours encompasses inclusivity - how important is it to include inclusivity and diversity in your books?

I want to make sure the stories I write reflect the world I know. So inclusivity is incredibly important to me, because every reader should be able to see themselves reflected in stories.

 I love this!

Are you a video game player? Have you ever had video game skills come in handy in real life?

I am! I don’t game as much as I used to, but it’s still one of my favorite ways to relax and decompress. I primarily tend to play rogues in RPGs—though I’m doing a mage run through of Dragon Age: Inquisition right now, and that’s been a fun experience! But my stealthing and lockpicking skills don’t usually come in handy 😉

 Still, playing games also helps me think through plot difficulties and other story snags, so in that sense, they definitely help!

Makes perfect sense to me.

 

Is this the end of the story? Please tell me no!

It’s the ending. . .for now.

 Basically, right now, there are no plans for a next book, but never say never!

 

Anything you'd like to share that I didn't ask?

Just a massive shoutout to the creative team who worked on this book. Like I said, it isn’t just my words in the slightest. My words are only a small part, and Yasmin Flores Montanez has been a fantastic cocreator. Rebecca Nalty is responsible for the wonderfully creepy colors, and Danny Djeljosevic lettered many a wolf howl and did so fantastically. And finally, the amazing cover is by Clara Meath with colors by DJ Chavis!

Graphic Novel Review: The Oracle Code

After a shooting incident, Barbara Gordon is left in a wheelchair. Her father believes the best place for her to heal is the Arkham Center for Independence, which is a place for teens for mental and physical rehabilitation. 

Barbara is not happy being there.

She's also not hearing anything from her best friend.

She's angry at the turn her life took. Other teens attempt to befriend her, but she's not interested. Not until one girl comes to her room in the middle of the night. That girl tells strange stories about people disappearing. 

Barbara doesn't believe any of it, but one day she wakes up and Jena is gone.

Barbara knows something is very wrong here. She's not going to rest until she figures out this puzzle.

My Thoughts: I really liked this graphic novel.  I loved learning more about Barbara Gordon. I loved her determination, her strength, and her love for solving puzzles. I love that she didn't back down when she knew something was wrong. My heart hurt for her as her best friend didn't answer her messages for the longest time.  I like how she confronts him and how things go from there. I loved the ending. I hope there are more graphic novels of the Oracle coming.

Cover Thoughts: Strong. I love how determined she looks

Source: Book sent for review

Library Recommendation: Grab this one for your school and public library. 

On Your Radar (10)

Title: Before I Let Go

Author:  Marieke Nijkamp

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Publication Date: January 23, 2018

Why it Should be on Your Radar:
Haunting Mystery
The Setting
Friendship
Sexual Orientation
Timeline of the Book
Stays with you long after you close the book
Art
Secrets
Small town drama


Cover Thoughts: Captures the book completely - well done
Source: Reviewed for SLJ
Final Thoughts: A must have for Public and School Libraries

Upcoming Review: This is Where it Ends

At 10 am, the principal ends her welcome to the new semester speech. Two minutes later, the students get up to leave. That's when they discover the doors won't open.

The bullets start flying.

54 minutes later, it's all over. But what happens in those minutes will forever change the lives of everyone involved. 

My Thoughts: What a powerful book! I couldn't stop reading it despite the tears rolling down my cheeks. I have to say, I hate that we live in a world where this happens. This book captures the terror of what I imagine the situation to feel like...and I hope that no one has to go through this again.

I liked the different perspectives of the book at different places in school at the time of the shooting. I liked the diverseness of voices. 

I felt the fear. I felt the heartbreak. I felt the emotional pull of this story. I can't say I liked this book because it's such a terrible type of story - but it was a good book and a story that needs to be told.

Cover Thoughts: Powerful
Source: ARC sent for review
Release date: January 5th

Final Thoughts: Pick this up and read.  Then pass it on. A very important book for all.