Book Review: Beautiful Creatures Manga, (Caster Chronicles #1) by Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl & art by Cassandra Jean

Beautiful Creatures: The Graphic Novel by Kami Garcia
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I will preclude this review by saying I have never seen the film or read the novel version of this story, but now, I'm planning on doing both.

What I Liked:
-great characterization (for everyone except Lena)
-impacting images
-artistic symbolism and imagery
-interesting blending of supernatural/fantasy mythos
-elements of mystery
-beautiful art (other reviewers have complained about the sketchy style, but I think it added a depth and rawness to the characters)


What I Didn't Like:
-distinct lack of Southern culture
-Lena felt very flat until the end. There was no character progression for her until the final few pages.

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Book Review: Gandhi: A Manga Biography by Kazuki Ebine

Gandhi: A Manga Biography by Kazuki Ebine
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This manga was a solid 3. There are things that could have been improved upon, but overall, I enjoyed it and learned a great deal.

Pros:
-the transitions of Gandhi's lifetime were made clear (sometimes with manga, the passage of time is not made so clear)
-the different perspectives were refreshing
-the dialogue was human and was excellent integrating real quotes from Gandhi's life

Cons:
-the editor/translator should have paid better attention. There are many misspellings in the dialogue
-sometimes the transitions from one character to another were abrupt

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Book Review: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I won't lie to you. I probably would never have read this if my boyfriend had not been so incredibly passionate about it.

I would have missed out on a story that may very well do for my adulthood what Harry Potter accomplished in my youth.

Things I loved:
-Kvothe's character development was astounding. Seeing his past self and his future self side by side gives such a significant juxtaposition between then and now.
-The side characters are just as amazing. They have depth and breadth and lives that are just as complex as Kvothe's, and Rothfuss treats them with human respect.
-The story was beautiful, intricate and detailed yet still wild and unkempt, just like traditional oral epics. There is a method to this madness.
-The world. Rothfuss has created a mysterious world full of familiar faces that I just wanted to learn more about (and I will continue to in book 2).

Things I did not care so much for:
-Repetitious phrasing (usually in descriptions). When Rothfuss said something he liked, he returned to it.
-References back to foreshadowing
-There were some typos and grammatical errors (but that's more on the editor than the writer)

I loved this novel and I'm ready to get back to this world.

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