Book Review: Evelyn Evelyn

This graphic novel is exceptional! It is dark with some really dark humor, which is right up my alley. The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous and like something I have never seen before in a graphic novel. The story is sad but beautiful. It’s certainly not for the faint of heart but those who have a macabre side will relish this kind of story.

The story follows a pair of twins who are inseparable, literally. They are conjoined twins that share “three legs, two arms, two hearts, three lungs and a single liver”. Their mother was in so much pain during childbirth that she was brought to the nearest doctor who was not actually a doctor at all. When the twins were born, the “doctor” saw that they were joined and grabbed a a chainsaw to cut them. In mid swing, the doctor was shot by the local sheriff and died immediately. Unfortunately, the chainsaw flew out of his hand and killed the twins’ father. And so begins the twins’ journey through various homes ranging from a chicken farm to a whore house to the circus. Sadly, they are never accepted and are forever met with anger, fear, and violence. Still, they always have each other and their dream that they will one day find their way.

I can’t express how much I enjoyed this book. The story is certainly sad but this should not deter readers because there is beauty in the tale. The art is absolutely fantastic and riveting. The author also makes from interesting and at times humorous comments on today’s society and pop culture. It is for this reason that the novel has some levity and I did not come away from it feeling depressed. I will certainly reread it over and over again and drop not so subtle hints to my friends that they must get themselves a copy!!

-DLP

Book Review: I Love You Beth Cooper

I picked up this book at a Border’s liquidation sale. I have seen it on various bookshelves and DVD racks for a couple of years now and thought that I should take a stab at it. I usually don’t like fictional humor or chick lit, but I know I need to try new things. I have to say that though it wasn’t my kind of book, I wasn’t disappointed and I did enjoy reading it.

Denis Cooverman isn’t exactly a nerd, but he is far from being part of the popular crowd.  During his graduation speech, he decides to tell members of the student body how he actually feels about them. The crowd is aghast when he calls out one of his classmates as being a snob and tells everyone that his best friend is gay. Yet the greatest shocker is when he declares his love for the popular Beth Cooper. When he finally speaks to her after the ceremony, he asks her to come to his house that night for a party. Of course, Denis has never thrown a party before and when Beth and her two friends arrive it is only Denis and his supposedly gay best friend in attendance. Yet that doesn’t stop the drama from blasting through his front door in the form of Beth’s military boyfriend. As Beth’s BF chases the whole gang around town, Beth and Denis begin to form a bond that could be just what Denis was looking for.

My favorite part of the novel were the illustrations that opened each chapter showing Denis and his downward spiral throughout the night. There were definitely times when I chuckled at the circumstances that the group found themselves in. I thought that the antics between Denis and his best friend were really cute. Most of all, I enjoyed the ending because I thought it was tender but real. Overall, I wasn’t that impressed but I did have a good time which was worth the $8.

-DLP

Book Review: Calli

Every now and then I love to lose myself in a good young adult novel. I feel like it keeps me in tune to what teens are worrying about these days and it also brings me back to those high school years. While most everyone disliked high school, it is fun to read about other people’s fictional struggles. It is for this reason that I picked up a copy of Calli. I enjoyed the read even if it was a bit boring and stilted at times.

Calli is a high school student who has a perfect life, from the outside. She has a fun best friend, an adoring boyfriend, and parents who think that she’s the greatest daughter. However, her life is far from ideal. In reality, her parents are lesbians one of whom suffers from lupus; her adoring boyfriend just made out with her foster sister in front of the whole school; and her best friend couldn’t care less about any of the problems in Calli’s life. Calli tries her hardest to keep peace in her house, but one night her emotions get the best of her and she acts out in a way that has startling repercussions.

I did enjoy Calli’s character. I found her to be very real. Perhaps that is the reason I was a bit bored by the story because Calli was TOO real. Most readers pick up books to experience a life that they don’t have. This is especially true of young adult readers. While many may pick up books in which they identify with the characters, we still hope that those in the novel make decisions that maybe we are not bold enough to make in our nonfiction world. I felt that Calli was a bit too predictable. Even in her outbursts, she was kind of restrained and repentant. Furthermore, I did think that she had a bit of a charmed life for a typical teenager. The most interesting aspect of the story was Calli’s relationship with her parent, Liz. While this was a substantial part of the book, I still found myself putting the book down more often than I would have liked. I think that there is an audience for this book, I’m just not it.

-DLP

Book Review: An Elegy for Amelia Johnson

It is no surprise to anyone here that I love graphic novels. Whenever a new one comes out, I can’t wait to devour it. Of course I try to be discerning about what I read, but when it comes to graphic novels...I gobble them all up! I picked up An Elegy for Amelia Johnson, basically, because it was on the shelf. I typically don’t like road trip stories but I thought I would take a chance on it because the illustrations looked interesting and it looked like it covered a lot of ground in under 125 pages. This novel met my expectations but, sadly, did not succeed them.

Amelia Johnson is ding of cancer when she contacts her two best friends, Henry and Jillian. Henry and Jillian have never met before but they’re about to get to know each other really well as Amelia sends them on a cross-country journey together. Henry has known Amelia almost all of his life but fell out of touch with her when she moved to New York City to go to college. This is when she befriended Jillian who was her roommate at Columbia University. The two women forged a bond that took them through some tumultuous times. However, they both emerged relatively unscathed. It is Amelia’s deathbed request that these two friends travel together across the country delivering DVDs on which Amelia has recorded her last words. Once on the road, Henry and Jillian realize that Amelia may have had ulterior motives when she chose them both to do this task. They also start to question if either of them ever knew Amelia.

This graphic novel has lofty goals. Any plot that involves deathbed requests AND a cross-country journey is striving a bit too hard to be sentimental and philosophical. I felt that the storyline was highly unrealistic and all of the characters were unlikeable. The emotional scavenger hunt to deliver Amelia’s last words did move the characters around but it didn’t help their development. It was clear from the synopsis on the back of the book what would happen in the end but even I was surprised by the amount of melodrama and cliches that were used. Overall, I think the illustrations were nice even if the story was weak. I think the author has room to grow and I look forward to reading his future works...but I may borrow them from the library instead of buying them.

-DLP

Book Review: Maine

Many of you may remember by review of the author's first novel "Commencement". While I didn't give it that great of a review, I did mention that I was looking forward to reading her books in the future as I thought she had some potential as a writer. It is for this reason that I jumped at the chance to her new novel "Maine". This is certainly very different from her first novel and I love it!

The novel follows four women in the Kelleher family during a monumental summer at their beach house in Maine. Alice, the matriarch, is a strong willed and loose tongued woman who feels little affection for her family. She finds it difficult to relate to her children and grandchildren despite the fact that they are her blood. Her sections flash back and forth between the current summer at her house in Maine and an event from her past that still plagues her with guilt after over 60 years. Kathleen, Alice's daughter, is the misfit in the family. She is a recovering divorce with two children and a worm farm in California that she runs with her boyfriend. Her and Alice have always butted heads which was only exacerbated with Kathleen's father died. However, a momentous event causes Kathleen to uproot herself from her peaceful life in California and come east one last time to face her demons...and her mother. Anne-Marie, Alice's daughter-in-law, is the character everyone loves to hate. She was a stay at home mom who is a stickler for proper manners and etiquette. Though she was from the wrong side of the tracks, she has abandoned most of her past in hopes of becoming an upper-class socialite. Her only problem is her dysfunctional children and distant husband. Maggie, Kathleen's daughter, has always looked for love in all of the wrong places. Unfortunately, this last place left her pregnant and alone. She goes to Maine in an effort to get back to herself and plan her next move. When these four women are forced to share a house (or two), fights erupt, skeletons are unleashed from closets, and their love of family is tested.

I know this sounds like a lot of material, but Sullivan pulls it off without ever confusing the reader. Each character has her own dynamic and personality which is a feat when writing a novel that is constructed of all female narrators. Interestingly, none of the characters are likeable but I was still hooked on their every word. Perhaps the reason is that every family has an Alice, Kathleen, and Anne-Marie. The dynamics between the four women was fascinating and completely real. I would have enjoyed some insight from the men in the family, but I think that's another book as this one is all about the Kelleher matriarchy. Some reviewers were annoyed that the book didn't have more to do with Maine and wasn't really a beach read. Both of these statements are true. If you're looking for chick lit complete with a quirky main character and prince charming, this is absolutely not your book. If you're looking for a book that drops the names of various town and restaurants in Maine so if you have been to Maine you can feel like you're "in the know"...this is not it! This is a reasonably dark family drama that just happens to be set on the beach. Unfortunately, I could not give this book five stars because some of the Kathleen sections were a bit cliched or clunky. I felt that all of the other women were well developed and unique. However, I felt like I had met Kathleen before in many novels and Lifetime movies. Still, it didn't hurt my opinion of the novel which I will certainly be recommending.

-DLP

Book Review: Lies that Chelsea Handler Told Me

While it is not exactly an enormous feat to read all of Chelsea's books, I feel as if I have come to know her over the years through her essays and memoirs. When this book came out, I was a bit leery. Though it's about Chelsea (who is almost always funny), it wasn't written by her and therefore I was suspect. Still, I had read all of her previous books and was in a serious Handler drought so I decided to take a chance. I was disappointed. While I chuckled a few times and smiled every couple of chapters, it lacked the side-splitting milk-coming-out-of-your-nose kind of laughter.

Basically this book is a collection of essays written by Chelsea's family, friends, and writers about the pranks that Chelsea has pulled on them ranging from attempting to ruin a co-workers honeymoon to trying to get her brother to sleep with one of her staff. Some of the essays are funny but it's really hit or miss. Interestingly, I found the sections written by her comedic writers to be the least funny and those written by her family made me giggle. Still, I think these essays made her come off as sounding mean and ungrateful. While I have a suspicion that this isn't true, it did taint my view of her a little bit.

For fans of Chelsea, I think you might find some interest in this book. But I will spend my time re-reading "Are you there vodka" instead.

-DLP

Book Review: Lucille

I picked up this book recently because many of the reviews I read compared it to "Blankets". While I didn't adore "Blankets", it had a certain appeal to me that I still haven't been able to put my finger on. I thought that maybe this book would have that same appeal. Unfortunately, I felt that it had all of the negative aspects of "Blankets" and none of the positives. I know I shouldn't compare it to another work, but even on its own I found it lacking.

The graphic novel follows Lucille who is a troubled anorexic teen with few friends. She struggles with her relationship with her mother and often feels alone in the world. Her only confidante is an older woman in the geriatric unit of the hospital. At first, it seems that she is just your average conflicted adolescent. However, it becomes clear that she is suffering from numerous issues that are rooted in her unhappiness for herself. The second main character in the graphic novel is Arthur who is also a troubled youth. We first meet him when he is trying to convince one of his peers to sell his soul to Satan in exchange for a date with a girl and good grades. It is soon revealed to the reader that Arthur is dysfunctional because of his father's alcoholism and rage. Though Arthur loves his father, he is pained by his father's violent actions. Of course Arthur and Lucille meet and they are able to find in each other the love and acceptance that no one has shown them. That is until they journey out on their own and realize that the grown-up world may be even less forgiving than their adolescent world.

While I think the story was interesting, I feel like plots centered around misunderstood teenagers is a bit hackneyed. We have all seen it before in graphic novels, movies, TV, and literature. While I am always looking for people to put a new pin on it, "Lucille" does not do that. Additionally, I felt like the characters were beyond depressing. I love dark stories and crave unhappy characters in my novels. Yet, this went even a bit too far for me! I typically love simplistic graphics when reading a serious novel. Unfortunately, these illustrations seemed to make the story even more drab and depressing. Granted, the final page states that it is the end of part 1; therefore, one can assume that there will be multiple parts to this story. I hope that the future parts are a bit more developed than this installment and that the author turns away from the cliched plot of the poor outcast kids finding each other. Still, if there is a part two...I doubt I will pick it up.

-DLP