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Maybe an Artist, a Graphic Memoir Banner

Book Review: Maybe an Artist, by Elizabeth Montague

I accepted a review copy of Maybe an Artist, by Elizabeth Montague as part of it’s tour with TBR and Beyond Book Tours. The book was also featured over on Sadie’s Spotlight. So, you can hop over there for author/artist information and the official tour schedule.

Maybe an Artist, a Graphic Memoir

A heartfelt and funny graphic novel memoir from one of the first Black female cartoonists to be published in the New Yorker, when she was just 22 years old.

When Liz Montague was a senior in college, she wrote to the New Yorker, asking them why they didn’t publish more inclusive comics. The New Yorker wrote back asking if she could recommend any. She responded: yes, me.

Those initial cartoons in the New Yorker led to this memoir of Liz’s youth, from the age of five through college–how she navigated life in her predominantly white New Jersey town, overcame severe dyslexia through art, and found the confidence to pursue her passion. Funny and poignant, Liz captures the age-old adolescent questions of “who am I?” and “what do I want to be?” with pitch-perfect clarity and insight.

This brilliant, laugh-out-loud graphic memoir offers a fresh perspective on life and social issues and proves that you don’t need to be a dead white man to find success in art.

my review

I’m really into graphic memoirs right now. So, I was excited to get my hands on this. I thought it was a poignant, funny, super cute coming of age story. The art is perfect for the tone of the book. There is humor (especially round the passage of time) and I think a lot of young people will relate to the struggles Montague depicts.

I did kind of feel like starting the book with the events of 9/11 felt odd. I grasped that it marks the reader in time and was, of course, a salient experience for a lot of people that age. But it also felt abrupt and anchor-less, since we didn’t even know Montague  yet.

All in all, however, I enjoyed this though. I’ll be passing it to my 15-year-old next. She’s left-handed, starting to feel the strain of choosing a future life path, art-minded, and vacillating about whether to include it in her career plans. I think even people not sharing quite so many qualities with past Montague will get a lot out of this book. But I especially think my budding artist will.

photo maybe an artist


Other Reviews:

Maybe an Artist by Elizabeth Montague Blog Tour

Review: Maybe an Artist by Liz Montague

 

FATE-AWAKENED banner

Book Review: Fate Awakened, by Jocelyn Montana

I accepted a review copy of Fate Awakened, by Jocelyn Montana as part of its book tour with Rockstar Book Tours. The book was also featured over on Sadie’s Spotlight. So, you can hop over there for author information, an excerpt, tour schedule, and chance to win a copy of the book for yourself.

 

A fierce werewolf consumed by his past. A human used as bait. A connection neither expects.

A MONSTER TO EVERYONE BUT HER …
Hans lives only for vengeance. No more Pack. No friends. Only the dark void inside him tormenting him about his past. Yet when he meets a dark-haired beauty, desire tears through him and changes everything. But werewolves never take mates, and to claim her would doom him and ensure the rising evil wins.

AN ORDINARY HUMAN TO EVERYONE BUT HIM …
One moment Briony’s eating in the tavern, and the next a necromancer has her tied up in a cave as bait for a werewolf. Stuck in the middle of a centuries old battle, she needs to escape. Now. Except when the werewolf arrives and she gets her chance, she doesn’t run. No—she helps him and decides to join him to face a formidable enemy who will do anything to kill her. And with each day that passes, every gentle touch, every silky purr, the werewolf claws his way further into her heart.

BOUND TOGETHER AGAINST AN ANCIENT EVIL …
They have one month to work together to take down a sorceress. One month to decide to remain together forever. Everyone in Briony’s life has left her, and she doesn’t believe in love anymore. Secrets in Hans’s past prevent him from making Briony his. They may save the world, but will they save each other?

my reviewI thought that this book was OK. It didn’t light me on fire. But I strongly suspect that it will some people, depending on what you’re looking for in a monster romance. The writing and editing is mechanically fine. The plot holds together and the characters are likeable enough. So, it all just comes down to personal preference. And this is where I was left to just kind of shrug.

Sure, Hans is a monster who doesn’t take human form. But he feels awfully human-like. This is  exacerbated by just how colloquial a lot of the dialogue is. I was often yanked out of the narrative by some particular turn of phrase that just felt a little too normal to be coming out of the mouth of a non-human who presumably wasn’t socialized in modern America.

Similarly, despite being a planet with two suns, two moons, and fantasy creatures, surprisingly recognizable things would pop up—like Baba Yaga. I mean sure, all the monsters were recognizable ones. Though sometimes called something different, there were elves, shifters, goblins, trolls, etc. But when mythological characters show up by name, I’m left wondering if this is a different world or a far future post-apocalyptic Earth. Either is fine. But the fact that I’ve finished the book and can’t tell you isn’t. In the end, it just felt inconsistent.

fate awakened photoMostly though, I found that I was just bored with a lot of it. There’s an interesting fight to save the world going on. But it feels like set dressing to the romance. And, as sweet as that romance is, it wasn’t enough to keep me interested for 330 pages.

So, all in all, I’ll call this a middle of the road read for me, while acknowledging that it’ll float someone’s boat for sure.


Other Reviews:

Beers Books Boos: Fate Awakened

 

TWELFTH GRADE NIGHT banner

Book Review: Twelfth Grade Night, by Molly Horton Booth

I accepted a review copy go Twelfth Grade Night, by Molly Horton Booth, Stephanie Kate Strohm, & Jamie Green through Rockstar Book Tours. The book was also featured over on Sadie’s Spotlight. So, you can hop over there for the tour schedule, an excerpt, author/artist information, and even a chance to enter a giveaway.

Vi came to Arden High for a fresh start and a chance to wear beanies and button-ups instead of uniform skirts. And though doing it without her twin feels like being split in half, Vi finds her stride when she stumbles (literally!) into broody and beautiful poet-slash-influencer, Orsino. Soon Vi gets roped into helping plan the school’s Twelfth Grade Night dance, and she can’t stop dreaming about slow dancing with Orsino under the fairy lights in the gym.

The problem? All Vi’s new friends assume she’s not even into guys. And before Vi can ask Orsino to the dance, he recruits Vi to help woo his crush, Olivia. Who has a crush of her own . . . on Vi.

my review

Well, I thought this was simply adorable. It touches briefly on loss and grief. But is mostly focused on finding ones self, found family, sibling and familial love, and the trials and travails of (magical) high school. I’ll admit that the magical element wasn’t explained in any way (other than a tie-in with the title). It just is and I struggled with that a little bit. But that wasn’t a huge deal.

There is a fun—if somewhat eclectic—cast, plenty of representation and diversity, and a satisfying happy for now ending. The art is lovely and the moral of the story endearing. All in all, I’ll call this one a win. (And now I’ll pass it on to my 15-year-old. Because I know she’ll love it.)

twelfth grade night photo


Other Reviews:

Twelfth Grade Night – Blog Tour

Twelfth Grade Night by Molly Horton booth, Stephanie Kate Strohm, and Jamie Green Book Tour post