Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Review of Drifting House by Krys Lee

Drifting House
By: Krys Lee
Amazon

Amazon Summery:


An unflinching portrayal of the Korean immigrant experience from an extraordinary new talent in fiction.
Spanning Korea and the United States, from the postwar era to contemporary times, Krys Lee's stunning fiction debut, Drifting House, illuminates a people torn between the traumas of their collective past and the indignities and sorrows of their present.
In the title story, children escaping famine in North Korea are forced to make unthinkable sacrifices to survive. The tales set in America reveal the immigrants' unmoored existence, playing out in cramped apartments and Koreatown strip malls. A makeshift family is fractured when a shaman from the old country moves in next door. An abandoned wife enters into a fake marriage in order to find her kidnapped daughter.
In the tradition of Chang-rae Lee's Native Speaker and Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies, Drifting Houseis an unforgettable work by a gifted new writer.

My Review:

Drifting House is a collection of short stories depicting Korean life and change in Korea as well as America. The stories offer an interesting glimpse into the thoughts as minds of people struggling to come to grips with the changes that their worlds are going through. The stories are all about different characters. The only connecting thread besides their nationality is that each main character is going through either a drastic change in their life or the trying to live through their world changing around them. 
I enjoyed reading the various stories. It was interesting to get a look inside the Korean culture and how it drove the characters to make their individual choices, even as the culture itself was evolving. I also enjoyed the author’s descriptions that brought the world of each character to life. From the cold mountains of Drifting House, the title story, the harsh reality of homelessness in the city of Salaryman to California in A Temporary Marriage.
This isn’t a kid’s book; it deals with harsh themes and ideas. Each story had its own unique twist, some more twisted than others. Also each story, while moving, is at its core heartbreaking as well. They are also thought provoking and I think in their own way can help to foster a better cultural understanding.
The only issue I had with the book was that many times there were Korean phrases or references that I wasn’t sure what they meant. The author does little to explain them, and I think that even a small description of what the terms meant would have only added to the richness of the stories. 
Overall it’s a beautiful book. Beautifully written with heartbreaking stories that make you want to be able to save them from their harsh realities or sometimes just from themselves. 

****In compliance with FTC guidelines, I'm disclosing that I received this book for free through GoodReads First Reads. ****
(I recommend everybody should go check out all the awesome first read giveaways they have!)

Manga/Graphic Novel/Video Game Novel Challenge 2012 - November Round Up - Part 2





This challenge is being hosted by Mother/Gamer/Writer.
 For more details on the challenge such as levels, guidelines, PRIZES!!!, just click here.

This post is to  link to all reviews of the books I've read for this challenge this month. To check out  books for this month read by other readers that are taking part in this challenge click here!


I've got one more graphic novel for you guys this month:


By: Jeremy Bastian


Adventures on and under the high seas lead a cursed pirate girl to encounter mythic creatures, gnarled and crusty pirates, and ghostly apparitions as she tries to find her lost father, one of the dreaded Pirate Captains of the mythical Omerta Seas. Cursed Pirate Girl is a whimsical, swashbuckling tale of wonderland journeys and unimaginable dangers, starting in Port Elisabeth, Jamaica in the year 1728, and quickly heading across - and beneath - the waves!


My Review:

This is the story of the cursed pirate girl.  She inadvertently pisses off the local governor by corrupting his daughter by telling her tales of her glorious pirating adventures.  He probably wouldn’t have even known except his daughter proceeds to go all pirate at the dinner he has planned especially for the prince.  At first he is just humiliated, but the prince thinks it is cute, that is until he takes a piece of fruit to the face.  Then he just becomes an ass. I mean really he encouraged Apollonia’s antics and then gets pissy when she accidentally hits him in the face.  Definitely a jerk.  It all leads up to the governor sending someone out to kill the cursed pirate girl and that is what leads into her grand adventure with the parrot Pepper Dice to locate her father in the Omerta Seas.

*Sigh* I liked the story. Too bad it wasn’t able to be completed in one volume.  But I liked the story well enough that I would be willing to pick up the rest of the series to see how it ends.  The story itself, as well as some of the art work, doesn’t take itself too seriously.  While there are some gory parts, of the story, someone loses an eye, and some people get eaten, overall the story is fun. It is also quick paced and there isn’t a lot of down time in the telling, something is always going on.

I liked the characters too.  The cursed pirate girl is fun and takes everything in stride.  Her companions are entertaining as well as some of the more colorful characters she meets along the way. I especially liked Jacob.
****Spoiler Alert **** The ending is a cliffie and definitely leaves one wondering if she will ever find her father.  (I personally want to find out more about the turkey and the dragon pirates. Sorry so spoilery I know)  I personally dislike cliffies that seem to end mid scene, but I enjoyed the story so much so far that I will let it go.
The main issue I had was with the art work and the lettering.  The artwork….there was just soooo much of it.  I liked that there were tons of details.


According to Amazon the book will be available December 25th. I was able to get my copy through NetGalley.



Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Manga/Graphic Novel/Video Game Novel Challenge 2012 - November Round-Up




This challenge is being hosted by Mother/Gamer/Writer.
 For more details on the challenge such as levels, guidelines, PRIZES!!!, just click here.

This post is to  link to all reviews of the books I've read for this challenge this month. To check out  books for this month read by other readers that are taking part in this challenge click here!


In celebration of the holidays coming up I have 2 reviews this month.  One is naughty and one is nice, both are graphic novels and both were really good! So on with the reviews! I'll start off with my nice pick first. 



By: Evonne Tsang


Can love survive the zombie apocalypse? Maybe Dicey's first chance at a real relationship was dead from the start. She's the star of her high school baseball team, and Jack's the star of the science program. Her idea of a study session includes sleeping in the sun, and his idea of a good game involves dungeons and dice. But opposites start attracting when they're assigned to be partners in a class project. Now an outbreak of a weird infection--it eats your brains and leaves you hungry for more--might not mean just the end of their first date. It might mean the end of everything. Will their relationship fall apart faster than zombies in the Florida sun, or can Dicey and Jack beat the odds and find a happy ending?

My Review:

So my daughter brought this one home for me from school. (Told me she saw zombies and figured I’d like it, what a good girl!) My Boyfriend is a Monster is a cute little graphic novel. It seemed a bit thin at first, but those 124 pages had a whole lotta story packed in them.
I thought the interaction between Dicey and Jack was really cute. The first half of the book you get to see how they first start working together and a little bit about their own personal histories. The zombie action doesn’t start ‘til the second half, but the first part was interesting so I didn’t mind. As for the zombie part itself I think how the zombies come about is a neat twist. 
I liked the artwork as well. It wasn’t as overly detailed as some of the manga I’ve read recently, but it was still well drawn. It seemed more realistic and down to earth, which fit the story perfectly.




The next one is my naughty pick.  Definitely not for those minors on your shopping list this year. But it was REALLY good!  


By: Raven Gregory


The one thing known is that her time spent in a world full of insanity left her a broken adult. However, her courageous will to survive is what ultimately saved humanity. Now the story of Alice's visit into Wonderland is fully revealed and the truth of the terror will be told in full! From Raven Gregory, Ralph Tedesco, and Joe Brusha, the minds behind Grimm Fairy Tales and Return To Wonderland, comes the series that Zenescope fans have been waiting for! Follow Zenescope back down the rabbit hole and discover a world of madness like you've never seen before!


My Review:

Ok, let me start out by saying this isn’t you children’s Alice in Wonderland! It is violent and twisted to say the least. But please don’t let that deter you from picking up this awesome read! 

The story itself loosely follows the original Alice in Wonderland. The same main characters are there, but now Alice is all grown up and the authors have taken the craziness of Wonderland to a whole new dimension. I loved the story. It puts a whole new spin on the Alice in Wonderland idea. It is very twisted though so be prepared. Also there were some references to other previously published issues. But the references didn’t detract from the story itself, if anything, they made me want to find the other issues that were mention so I could read them! 
As I said in the beginning though, it is not a story for kids anymore. It is incredibly violent and graphic. Also Alice is grown up but her clothes didn’t grow with her, so she is very, I repeat VERY scantily clad. 




Hope you like the round-up for this month. Thanks for stopping by!

AimeeKay








Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Thankful For Books Giveaway Hop


I want to thank I Am A Reader, Not a Writer and Tristi Pinkston for hosting this wonderful giveaway! I'd also like to thank Darby Karchut for providing the prize! Now on to what you can win!

So a few days ago I shared with you the great new cover of Griffin's Storm, and Darby has been awesome enough to offer a print copy of Griffin's Storm to one lucky reader out there!



For centuries, there have been rumors about a lowly caste of supernatural beings known as the Terrae Angeli. Armed with the power to control Earth, Fire, Wind and Water, these warriors and their apprentices clandestinely serve as guardians for humans in danger.

An old enemy returns. A new alliance is formed. And Griffin finds himself in the eye of the storm when an ancient racial hatred is set loose, jeopardizing the very existence of the Terrae Angeli.

Once again, the teen guardian angel is forced to battle his worst nightmare. But this time, Griffin comes back swinging. With a vengeance.

After all, an eye for an eye...




Just enter using the Rafflecopter below and then hop on to the next blog on the list! (This contest is open to US residents only. Sorry S&H costs)





a Rafflecopter giveaway


Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Cover Reveal ~ Griffin's Storm by Darby Karchut

by Darby Karchut



For centuries, there have been rumors about a lowly caste of supernatural beings known as the Terrae Angeli. Armed with the power to control Earth, Fire, Wind and Water, these warriors and their apprentices clandestinely serve as guardians for humans in danger.

An old enemy returns. A new alliance is formed. And Griffin finds himself in the eye of the storm when an ancient racial hatred is set loose, jeopardizing the very existence of the Terrae Angeli.

Once again, the teen guardian angel is forced to battle his worst nightmare. But this time, Griffin comes back swinging. With a vengeance.

After all, an eye for an eye...



So what do you think of the new cover??? I think it's a definite change from the first two covers of  Griffin Rising and Griffin's Fire.  (my reviews of both are here and here)  What do you think of the cover change?  Want to find out more about Darby Karchut? Meet her here in the interview she was kind enough to stop by for.
Also I didn't think this was going to be available before December but just found out that you can get your own copy now! Just click here!