Bogormen

Title: Manga Classics: Emma
Author: Jame Austen, Crystal Chan (editor), Stacy King (editor), Po Tse (illustrator)
Genre: graphic novel, classic
Rating: 3/5
# pages: 308
Date read: September, 2015

Fair disclaimer: While I absolutely love Jane Austen, and have no problems with graphic novels rewrites, I am not a huge fan of the manga style of drawing. It seems entirely too cutesy for me. However, that is personal opinion and definitely not an indication of the quality of the drawings. They were objectively very gorgeous and extremely detailed - even in the lower res of the ARC.

It is, of course, a very simplified and abridged version of Jane Austen's "Emma", but it stayed very true to the book, and as it's been awhile since I've read the original, I didn't find myself noticing any major changes, or even anything they'd left out. I've been wanting to reread "Emma" for quite awhile, but haven't really been able to make time for it, so this was the perfect compromise. ... even if I did keep comparing it to the movie, "Clueless" (dating myself here: it's one of my favourite teen movies :) ).

It was fun to read this different version of it, and it did come across as a true homage to the original. There can be no doubt that both the illustrator and the editor are big fans of the book.

Like with the Manga version of "Pride and Prejudice" I'd recommend this adaption without hesitation, but as an addition to reading the original - not as an alternative.

Title: The Thing About Jellyfish
Author: Ali Benjamin
Genre: Childrens/YA
Rating: 3.5/5
# pages: 352
Date read: September, 2015

After her best friend dies in a drowning accident, Suzy is convinced that the true cause of the tragedy was a rare jellyfish sting. Retreating into a silent world of imagination, she crafts a plan to prove her theory--even if it means traveling the globe, alone. Suzy's achingly heartfelt journey explores life, death, the astonishing wonder of the universe...and the potential for love and hope right next door.


A quick read - I finished it in a day.

"The Thing About Jellyfish" is a sweet childrens/YA story that tackles a difficult subject - how do you cope with grief? Especially if your feelings about the deceased are conflicted.

I liked the way the story was interspersed with facts about jellyfish as well as flashbacks to Suzy's childhood and friendship with Franny. It worked well and gave us the background without resorting to telling rather than showing. I did think there were some things left unanswered or unexplored which pulled the end rating down to 3.5 stars, but as a whole, I enjoyed the book.

And it had was is possibly the best description of what ADHD is like - both with and without medication - that I've ever read. That was both very powerful and very poignant for a non-ADHD sufferer to read and gave me an understanding of it, that I hadn't had earlier.

Title: Blackout & All Clear
Author: Connie Willis
Genre: Sci-fi, historical fiction
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: 512p (19hrs), 643p (24hrs)
Date read: February 2012, September 2015, August 2024

In Blackout, award-winning author Connie Willis returned to the time-traveling future of 2060 - the setting for several of her most celebrated works - and sent three Oxford historians to World War II England: Michael Davies, intent on observing heroism during the Miracle of Dunkirk; Merope Ward, studying children evacuated from London; and Polly Churchill, posing as a shopgirl in the middle of the Blitz. But when the three become unexpectedly trapped in 1940, they struggle not only to find their way home but to survive as Hitler's bombers attempt to pummel London into submission.

Now the situation has grown even more dire. Small discrepancies in the historical record seem to indicate that one or all of them have somehow affected the past, changing the outcome of the war. The belief that the past can be observed but never altered has always been a core belief of time-travel theory - but suddenly it seems that the theory is horribly, tragically wrong.

Meanwhile, in 2060 Oxford, the historians' supervisor, Mr. Dunworthy, and seventeen-year-old Colin Templer, who nurses a powerful crush on Polly, are engaged in a frantic and seemingly impossible struggle of their own - to find three missing needles in the haystack of history.


An absolutely amazing series, but I am very glad I knew from the set out that "All Clear" was one book split out in two volumes, rather than two individual books. I would have been furious with the cliffhanger at the end of "Blackout" if I hadn't known this in advance. For the same reason I am going to review the two books as one.

In a word - I loved it, and it brought back everything I had loved about Connie Willis' writing in "The Doomsday Book". I liked the way the different plotlines intertwined and was chuffed to spot some of the links before they were made obvious. But as usual, trying to figure out the theory behind time travel gave me a headache ;)

I had serious problems putting the books down, and finished the last one over the weekend. I do recommend reading the fanfic "Nothing Lost" by Drayton as well though, as it provides a very likely explanation for some of the questions I still had after finishing it.