Staff Picks

Review in brief: A comic book enthusiast and artist documents her senior year in college a page a day. Strongest recommendation to students interested in becoming artists themselves, but recommended generally to those between the ages of 14 and 35. The full review starts now.

I don't think there's any way for me to describe Natalie Nourigat's Between Gears in a way that conveys how much I enjoyed it.

Nourigat took on the ambitious project of creating a page-a-day graphic novel diary of her senior year at the University of Oregon. The ambitiousness of the project comes through the story of this year, as you learn that she has a thesis to write in addition to jobs to apply for, commissions to finish, and cons to attend--which involves lots of preparation in creating and printing artwork, minicomics, and so on. And then there's life--a necessary tonsillectomy, family visits, relationships with friends and her sorority to maintain, dating, college classes, ridiculous neighbors you only find in campustown, some dating, alley cats, partying, TV shows, movies, music, and her intense appreciation for fashion and shopping. Some entries are fun--drunk Natalie or Natalie being harassed by her responsible side are particularly amusing. Other entries are deep and emotional--one that comes to mind presents three gray, still images and the simple line, "Why do I feel this way?"

I was not an art student in college. I was not a woman in college, not part of any Greek organization, and not particularly social and into parties. But I found this story highly-relatable and authentically reminiscent of my senior year in college--on a basic level, being a college student can be a universal experience. Compound this feeling of connection by the little window Nourigat gives you into her personal life, and I challenge you not to fall in love with her a little bit.

And this says nothing about her artwork. Her style is fun and flexible, veering from realism to chibi depending on the tone she wants to create and this harmonizes brilliantly with whatever context she depicts. At times, her work brings to mind Craig Thompson, Kazu Kibuishi, and occasionally Adrian Tomine. At other times, I feel like I'm reading a well-drawn manga. But the style is uniquely hers, and recognizably so.

While I honestly feel that anyone could pick this up and enjoy it, I think readers between 14 and 35 would get the most out of it. This diary was composed in 2010, and Nourigat makes pop culture references that may be out of reach to older readers--heck, I wouldn't be able to identify the Pokemon theme song if my younger brother hadn't watched it growing up. To younger readers, those not yet Freshman in high school, college may seem to be a distant daydream, and they may be uninterested in classes, papers and the like. High schoolers and college students will appreciate this glimpse into Senior year, and those who've graduate in the last decade-and-a-half will enjoy reliving the experience in someone else's shoes.

In 1923 two sisters set off on a mission to Kashgar, located on the Silk Road, though they speak little or none of the languages in the region.  Lizzie is on fire with religious conviction instilled by Millicent, who is in charge of the mission.  Evangeline is not convinced of the value of their work, but is coming along to protect her sister as well as to travel and experience the world, riding her green bicycle for hundreds of miles as they travel through deathly heat in the desert, and extreme cold in the passes of the Celestial Mountains. 

In present-day London Frieda returns from one of her frequent and lengthy absences for her job to find a homeless man sleeping outside her door.  Tayeb is an artist who often draws birds and feathers, as he grew up working with birds in his homeland of Yemen.  He assists her when she inherits a flat and its contents, including an owl, from a woman she does not know. 

Beautifully written, the two stories wind around each other, linking the challenges and traditions in the lives of the two women. 

A delightful tale of life within the walls of the Tower of London including nuggets of Tower history.

 Balthazar Jones is a Beefeater, and as such he must live in one of the dusty, musty buildings within the Tower walls.  He and his Greek wife Hebe live in the Salt Tower with Mrs. Cook, a one-hundred-eighty-one-year-old tortoise.  Each day Hebe heads off to work at the London Underground Lost Property Office.  Using an archaic and secret code known only to her and her co-worker Valerie, she reunites lost items with their owners (among them a glass eye, an urn full of ashes, Dustin Hoffman’s Academy Award, and racks of false teeth).  Balthazar spends his day answering the same tourist questions.

One day he dresses in his finest uniform and goes to Buckingham Palace.  The Queen has decided to re-establish the Royal Menagerie at the Tower, and Balthazar has been chosen as the keeper of animal gifts from around the world. The chaos which ensues is both touching and hilarious, as the penguins escape, the love birds attack each other with intense hatred, and the Komodo dragon attempts to eat any animal within reach. 

Meredith Baxter was no stranger to show business. Her mother, Whitney Blake, was an American television/film actress who appeared in Hazel, Perry Mason, and multiple westerns over the years. Meredith’s Pasadena, California family life was highly dysfunctional. Her mother was distant and often was secluded behind a closed bedroom door which Meredith was forbidden to enter. After divorcing Meredith’s father, Blake married Jack, a militaristic man who meted out severe punishment to Meredith and her older two brothers. He also made unwelcome sexual advances toward Meredith. This dysfunctional environment caused her self-esteem to take a dive and she often made poor decisions over the years. Meredith starred with David Birney in Bridget Loves Bernie and she appeared in the horror film, Ben, and the political thriller, All the President’s Men. She played Nancy on the prime time television show, Family, starred on Family Ties and appeared on multiple made-for-television movies. She endured a long but destructive marriage to David Birney. Her self-esteem was further eroded as Birney constantly berated her and physically abused her at every opportunity. She became an alcoholic and endured a bout with breast cancer. By the age of sixty she discovered that she was a lesbian and came out publicly in the hopes of tearing down the societal stigma gay persons experience. Baxter is able to prosper and find happiness despite the hardship. Inspiring.

John Green’s Paper Towns imagines a unique high school queen bee named Margo Roth Spiegelman and the mystery of finding her. Quentin Jacobsen narrates the story, beginning with a childhood memory of finding a dead body in the neighborhood park with Margo. While Quentin and Margo grew apart over the years, he holds a flame for her and she holds the high school’s ruling class back from bullying Quentin too much.

That’s how things are until Margo appears in Quentin’s room covered head to toe in black and makes him her accomplice in a night of adventure and revenge. Then she disappears. But she left clues, and Quentin tries following them to find her. As he searches for her location, he learns things about her that lead him to consider whether he really know her. Who was she? Does she want to be found?

Like all John Green books, Paper Towns reads easy. It’s hard to put down and over before you know it. There’s a cast of characters you wish you knew in real life, like Quentin’s Wikipedia-editing obsessed band geek friend, Radar. And there’s the question for you to mull over, about whether you can ever really know someone—that’s the one thing that keeps it from being a light read, but it’s nevertheless a fun read and recommended for any teen readers.

This book is so good, you can get is as a book on CD, on a Playaway, download it for your MP3 player, or nab a paperback.

Every so often, I'll try a manga. As the young adult librarian, I feel like that's something I should do. I'll hear from teen patrons that they love a title more than life itself and give it a try. Then, often, I'll miss whatever it was that made the manga so great--it's okay, I'm at a different place in life than the teens I work with, but I'd prefer to relate to them through shared love of a story.

That's why I'm hoping they'll enjoy Bunny Drop. It's a series we recently began collecting by Yumi Unita about a young professional named Daikichi who impulsively takes custody of his recently deceased grandfather's lovechild, Rin. Daikichi is single and inexperienced at parenting, not to mention the responsibilities of adulthood. Still, he manages to care for her and it's fun to watch their relationship evolve. The story's touching and funny, though occasionally marred by clumsy translation. It's compelling enough that I powered through those instances to see what happens next. Does Daikichi learn to care for a child? Does he put her above his career? Will he ever find out who her mother is? Will his family accept Rin? Can Rin learn to open up to others?

Really, this manga isn't just for teens. The concept is similar to About a Boy, except Daikichi isn't rich and he's actually related to Rin. If you enjoyed the sweetness and humor of that book/movie, and you don't mind reading a comic book from back to front, give Bunny Drop a whirl.

Ready Player One takes place in a stark, near future where people hide from their dark reality in the OASIS, a virtual world created by James Halliday. As the story takes off lifelong gamer and game creator Halliday has just died and left behind one last game for the ages. I his last will and testament he has bequeathed his entire estate, including control of the OASIS to the first person who can complete his quest in the OASIS.

Our protagonist Wade sees the winning the contest as his only chance to make something of himself and spends nearly every waking moment working on Halliday’s puzzles. Standing in his way is Innovative Online Industries who have created in entire division in their multi-national company to ensure they win the prize and gain control of the OASIS, and they don’t believe in playing fair.

The book is fast paced and littered with reference to the eighties (because Halliday was a 80s fanatic). If you grew up in the eighties you will likely find these references and debate about them a lot of fun. Most of the story takes place in virtual space but the story does spill over into the real world and is pretty dark, as in most stories; good triumphs in the end. I found it a fun read if a little rough around the edges. If good story telling is more important to you than mechanics, this book is for you.  

Budo is six years old, but he looks like an adult. To the people who can see him, that is--he is an imaginary friend, visible only to his human imaginer Max and to other imaginary friends. Imaginary friends are born from people's, pimarily chilrden's, minds and come out looking like pretty much anything--a fully formed person like Budo, a spot on a wall, a robot, whatever. One day, they're imagined and exist, knowing what their humans think they know.

Max is different from other third-graders. He doesn't interact well with others, doesn't like to be hugged or touched, and has serious difficulties in dealing with the smallest changes to his daily routine. He also imagined Budo to look like a normal adult who can pass through doors, and brings his imaginary friend to school with him every day. He has special sessions outside of class with other different students and Mrs. Patterson.

Max begins keeping secrets from Budo relating to Mrs. Patterson, and while Max enjoys having his first secret, Budo knows there's something wrong about this. Then Mrs. Patterson crosses the line, and Budo is the only person able to save Max. Except, of course, he can't talk to anyone other than Max and other imaginary friends, so how can he save his human friend?

I enjoyed the imaginativeness of the story, but when that novelty started to wear off I was compelled by the suspense of Max's situation. I did not like feeling like certain characters should have come to certain solutions sooner, but as I was already suspending disbelief in reading a story told by an imaginary friend, I fought through it. This whimsy isn't for everyone, but if the concept piques your interest, you'll likely read Matthew Dicks's Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend from cover to cover, too.

Loved this book! A BBC British comedy in print. The main character is drawn to perfection; Constance Harding is a totally clueless but well meaning, well-bred, English lady. Her home is "a comfortable five-bedroom Georgian house located on the outskirts of a pleasant village in Surrey." She defines herself as wife to Jeffrey, mother to Rupert (a 25 year old IT consultant) and Sophie (a slightly directionless adolescent); she dotes on her Eclectus parrot Darcy. This book is a year in her life, told through her blog entries. Rupert thought she might want to tell the World Wide Web all about it, rather than him -- "He is such a thoughtful boy." -- so she does. Enter a Lithuanian housekeeper, a troupe of bell ringers, a handsome Argentinean gaucho, and Ivan the Terrible. What a year for Constance! There are a couple of British terms I had to look up, but this emerges as a very entertaining, if a bit messy, story of friendship, family, and love.