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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Almost Sisters in Books

Jan 23, 2018  
The Almost Sisters
The Almost Sisters
Joshilyn Jackson | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
9
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Great story with a strong cast of characters
Leia Birch Briggs is a self-professed nerd: a graphic novelist with a penchant for comic books, Wonder Woman, and online gaming. So it's not exactly surprising that, with the help of tequila, she'd fall for a handsome man in a Batman costume at a comics convention in Atlanta. What comes next is a bit more of a surprise: Leia is pregnant from that one-night stand, and it's up to her to tell her over-protective family and very Southern grandmother. To top it off, said Batman was African American: not exactly the easiest thing to tell your Baptist family with Southern roots. But before Leia can even tell her family, she gets some disturbing news from Alabama about her paternal grandmother, Birchie. As Leia rushes to Alabama to help Birchie, she also learns that her stepsister, Rachel, is struggling. So Leia and her teenage niece, Lavender, head to Alabama to assist Birchie and break Leia's big news. But it turns out Birchie has some pretty big news of her own. News that will change everything Leia has ever known about her family.

This is one of those ARCs that I don't remember requesting, but I'm really glad I did. It was a pleasant surprise - just a fun, warm novel, even with its serious (and extremely timely) subject matter. I warmed to nerdy Leia immediately (and not just because I have a cat named after said Princess): she's real and flawed and quite relatable. All of the women in Leia's life are well-written and their own people: sweet Lavender, trying to figure out her way in the world as her parents' marriage implodes; Rachel, Lavender's mom, a perfectionist struggling with a lot of imperfection; Wattie, Birchie's best friend, an African American woman living with her in Alabama; and then the amazing Birchie herself, written so impeccably that I could just see her stubborn, regal face pour vibrantly from every page. I fell hard for each of these women and their struggles became mine.

Sure, a lot of this book is a little predictable, but the racial tensions and struggles that Jackson writes about are not: they are real and true. Jackson captures the racial divisions so well - the sweet, kind sweet tea side of the South versus the dark, racist, segregated aspects. I could just picture Birchville and its townsfolk. The novel is excellent in that so much of the story is humorous, yet the serious side is very well-done, too.

Leia is a graphic novelist and portions of the book describe a graphic novel she'd written -- I'm not a huge graphic novel fan, so I wasn't completely into those pieces, but I was able to slide past them. The parallels in Leia's novel to the South didn't elude me, so I appreciated why that was included, even if I didn't always want to read a summary of a supposedly graphic novel. Some of the symbolism and metaphors may be a little too forced/spelled out for us at times, but I still enjoyed the novel very much. Pieces of it made me laugh out loud - Leia's sense of humor and her predicaments, Birchie's tough sensibility. Birchie and Wattie's dynamic was wonderful, and I really cared for those two.

In the end, I really enjoyed this one. There's a great story here as well a plot that doesn't gloss over racial discord. I appreciated both. The cast of characters is great -- real, funny, humorous, and heartbreaking. Certainly recommend.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Librarything (thank you!) in return for an unbiased review.
  
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Ruth Frampton (577 KP) rated Ghosts of the Past (The Bleiberg Project, #1) in Books

Apr 10, 2018  
GO
Ghosts of the Past (The Bleiberg Project, #1)
Serge Le Tendre | 2017
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A graphic novel alternative WWII history thriller, this has some disturbing elements which may not be for every reader, but do add to the realistic element that these things would have happened. This first part of the story takes its reader on a grand journey which leaves the reader wanting to continue in the next part to find out what will happen to its characters. I can easily see this as a blaxploitation-style film, the spies, hitmen and nazi give you a real idea of what to expect.
  
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Liliannar (58 KP) rated It in Books

May 25, 2018  
It
It
Stephen King | 1986 | Fiction & Poetry, Horror
10
8.8 (95 Ratings)
Book Rating
Character development (1 more)
World Building
Gritty (1 more)
Sexually graphic
All time favorite book
This is my absolute favorite book and i can't say enough good things about it. I read this as a young child and it has been a yearly read since then. I have no doubt this book shaped who I am in a huge way and I wouldn't be the same person without it. It's often considered a horror novel, and while there is certainly a horror aspect to it, it's really a story about people and friendship.
  
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Jessica - Where the Book Ends (15 KP) rated The Wicked + the Divine: The Faust Act: Volume 1 in Books

Jan 30, 2019  
The Wicked + the Divine: The Faust Act: Volume 1
The Wicked + the Divine: The Faust Act: Volume 1
Kieron Gillen, Jamie Mckelvie | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry
4
6.3 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
This was my first time reading a graphic novel and the plot of this story sounded interesting but I found that I was quickly confused and losing interest. There didn't seem to be much to the story in this first volume and I don't even feel as though the author did a good job of setting up the plot for future volumes. Originally I had given this story a 4 star rating, and I have since dropped it to a 2 star rating the more I thought about it.