Falling in Love with Graphic Novels

Before the beginning of this year I had read a total of two graphic novels and it was rather underwhelming, to be honest. Then came the PopSugar Reading Challenge for 2015 and one of them is to read a graphic novel. I decided to pick Saga: Volume One after seeing the series mentioned in the 2014 Favourites videos of so many booktubers.

Alana and Marko are on the run from the armies of their warring planets. They fell in love while Alana was keeping Marko imprisoned and they fled and married. Now they have their first child, Hazel, to take on the run with them. The characters are flawed but lovable; the art is breathtaking; the plot is fast-paced and full of twists. I immediately ordered the other three volumes of the series out so far and gobbled them up.

I was amazed at the depth and quality in just 160 pages and hardly any text. It blew me away. It only took me about 45 minutes to read each instalment and I didn’t expect them to make such an impact and stay with me the way they have. I began to research more. Every genre, age range, prose style and art style is represented; there’s something for everyone and there doesn’t seem to be any of the strict divides between them like with fiction novels.

But do you know what really made me fall in love with graphic novels? It’s all new to me. I can walked into the graphic novels section of Waterstone’s Piccadilly and Forbidden Planet and it was a whole new world. With the exception of a few famous titles and ones that have been adapted into movies or TV shows, I didn’t recognise anything. I was free to browse and pick up books on a whim, either because the spine looked cool or I liked the. Being a YA book blogger for as long as I have means that this experience is extremely rare for me. I walk into a YA section and I rarely see something I don’t know about and it does take away the excitement a little.

But now I have a collection of 13 graphic novels (I’ve only read 5 – whoops!) covering sci-fi, magical realism, noir, mystery, fantasy, contemporary and supernatural. What’s not to like about that?!

Graphic novels are wonderful as they are and I’ll continue to explore them. But if you’re not sure grab one for your lunch break, for the reluctant or slow reader in your life, use it as a palate cleanser or a quick slump-breaker and just give them a try. You might be as surprised as I was!

Sophie 

The Start of Me and You, Emery Lord

Pages: 376

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

Release Date: 31^st March 2015

Edition: US hardback, purchased

Other Titles by this Author: Open Road Summer

It’s been a year since it happened – when Paige Hancock’s first boyfriend died in an accident. After shutting out the world for two years, Paige is finally ready for a second chance at high school…

First: Get her old crush, Ryan Chase, to date her – the perfect way to convince everyone she’s back to normal.

Next: Join a club – simple, it’s high school after all.

But when Ryan’s sweet, nerdy cousin, Max, moves to town and recruits Paige for the Quiz Bowl team (of all things!) her perfect plan is thrown for a serious loop. Will Paige be able to face her fears and finally open herself up to the life she was meant to live?

Open Road Summer bowled me over when I read it a few weeks ago so I practically ran to Barnes and Noble to grab The Start of Me and You on release day. It was perfect.

Paige’s grief over Aaron is all jumbled up. It’s been a year and she still freezes with guilt and shame every time she feels a shred of happiness. A few month relationship has resulted in a broken heart in the most unexpected way possible and she’s still struggling to move on from the grief of it. I love how complexly her emotions are portrayed, how realistically. Everything about her grief rang true, especially the resulting grief of moving on, and it made Paige’s discoveries even more poignant.

Friendship is the blood that runs through this novel just like in Open Road Summer. Following Aaron’s death it was Tessa, Morgan and Kayleigh that held her together. They gave her space, a shoulder to cry on, provided a distraction or whatever it is that she needed, regardless of what it is. They’re exactly the type of friends everyone needs through the bad times, but also through the good. All four girls are very different in personalities, appearance and situation and that brings so many different dimensions to their friendship; it just works. The significance of the friendship to all four girls is so important to each of them as well as to the novel and I was so glad.

But the friendship doesn’t get in the way of Paige and Max. Cute, nerdy, adorable Max became Paige’s life raft; someone to hold her secrets and listen to her fall apart and put her back together again. I loved the banter, the teasing and the bond between them that built without Paige even realising. I love it when a romance develops from a friendship; it has another level of depth and intimacy that a straight-to-love one does sometimes.

Paige’s story is the type that she herself would write. She’s a budding screenwriter who has spent years analysing and decoding her favourite episodes of TV shows and working out what makes the bad ones bad. I really enjoyed seeing her process and how thoroughly she loved it. Her determination to get on the NYU summer course and take a step towards doing something for herself and her career. The fact that Paige managed to put so much effort into it while dealing with her incredibly strange parental situation, her grammy’s Alzheimer’s and trying to complete her get-back-on-track list made her all the more amazing.

With only two books Emery Lord has become a favourite author. Her novels are full of warmth, friendship, heart-ache and a love story that gives me goosebumps. Utter perfection.

Sophie   

Film Review: Big Hero 6

RELEASED: 30th January 2015

RUNNING TIME: 102mins

RATING: PG

SCOTT ADSIT ~ Baymax

RYAN POTTER ~ Hiro

DANIEL HENNEY ~ Tadashi

TJ MILLER ~ Fred

JAMIE CHUNG ~ Go-Go

DAMAN WAYANS JR ~ Wasabi

GENESIS RODRIGUEZ ~ Honey Lemon

JAMES CROMWELL ~ Robert Callahan

ALAN TUDYK ~ Alistair Krei

MAYA RUDOLPH ~ Cass

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

(from imdb.com)

From Walt Disney Animation Studios, the team behind Frozen and Wreck-It Ralph, comes Big Hero 6, an action-sized comedy-adventure about the special bond that develops between Baymax, a plus-sized inflatable robot, and prodigy Hiro Hamanda. When a devastating event befalls the city of San Fransokyo and catapults Hiro into the midst of danger, he turns to Baymax and his close friends adrenaline junkie Go Go Tomago, neatnik Wasabi, chemistr whiz Honey Lemon and fanboy Fred. Determined to uncover the mystery, Hiro transforms his friends into a band of high-tech heroes.

TRAILER

VERDICT

I watched this on the plane to New York and it was the perfect film to pass a few hours in the clouds. I loved it.

We start off with two brothers, both exceptionally talented with robotics and technology. Tadashi goes to ‘Nerd School’ and wants Hiro to go too – so he introduces him to his creation, Baymax, a huge, inflatable care provider. And he’s adorable. Hiro quickly realises that those miniature robots he builds are nothing to what he could do at Nerd School. Then tragedy strikes.

I cried on a plane, and not even a misty eyes on a night flight; I cried in broad daylight on a crowded plane. And it wasn’t the first time… It’s emotional but also funny and energetic. I loved the ragtag band of heroes that created awesome costumes and crazy cool tech to discover the truth about the fire and bring justice. Okay, I realise that was really vague but I want you all to discover the wonder of this film with minimal knowledge of the story. Just trust me.

Big Hero 6 is an incredible film. Friendship, family, grief and cool tech, Disney’s latest is a must-see for everyone – I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Sophie 

Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Becky Albertalli

Pages: 313

Publisher: Puffin

Release Date: 7^th April 2015

Edition: UK e-proof, NetGalley review copy

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. And worse still, so will the privacy of ‘Blue’, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing.

With messy dynamics emerging in in Simon’s once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s life suddenly becomes just a little complicated.

Now Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out – without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or a fumbling shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s ever met.

You know how everyone has been singing the praises of Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda for ages now? It's all completely true!

Simon is adorable. I love that he's not super cool or super weird, not crazy popular or a loner; he's a generally happy, quirky and funny guy who falls in love with a mystery guy over emails. The story doesn't revolve around Simon coming to terms with his sexuality, but his forced coming out and learning the ropes of his new life almost - it reads as a contemporary romance YA. I loved it.  - 

Simon and Blue's email exchanges throughout Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda pretty much gave me a perma-smile. The cuteness, the flirty, the geekery, the innuendos - it's just perfect. The way they gradually revealed snippets of their personalities and their lives and Simon made wild speculations about the identity of Blue. I did eventually guess who Blue was but it didn't make me love the reveal and the resulting smooches any less. 

Although Simon's burgeoning relationship with Blue and the challenges that they face in revealing their identities and their real lives takes centre stage, other relationships aren't left behind. The strength of the friendship between Simon, Nick, Abby and Leah is one of my favourite elements of the novel. A group that have been friends since early childhood welcoming in crushes, family troubles and new additions to the group and all which that effects took me straight back to high school.There are few things as scary as the fear of losing your best friends to someone newer, brighter, shinier than you and the battle of wills between Leah and Abby showed this beautifully. The fact that there were awkward moments, fights and hurt feelings made it achingly real.

Then there's Simon's family. It's still strangely rare to find a sibling relationship that isn't all out war so Simon's connection wit his sisters, Alice and Nora, was a breath of fresh air. There were the normal ups and downs but an overwhelming affection and a lifetime of in-jokes. It made me want to see all of my siblings and try and build something of what they had. Simon's parents are pretty cool, as well. They're funny and slightly odd and they just all fit together; it made sense that Simon, Alice and Nora came from them and you usually get the parents and children posed as polar opposites. 

Becky Albertalli's debut is a touching and funny tale of awkward, lovable Simon falling head over heels in love. I want to read it all over again.

Thanks to Puffin and NetGalley for the review copy.

Sophie 

Favourites: (Pre-NYC) March 2015

M&S Fudge and Chocolate Hot Cross Buns

Someone I follow on Twitter mentioned these and I had to try them. Turns out they’re just as good as they sound. Luckily, being from M&S I have to walk all the way into town to get them otherwise I’d eat them for all three meals…

Image source: http://bit.ly/1BLEOlh

#ukyaba Day

What a day! Early in the afternoon I met Gayle Forman with Jim, Stacey, Daphne and AJ Grainger (Captive), we had some food in Wahaca and then headed over to Kensington. It was so lovely to see all of my friends, make new ones and watch them win awards for their brilliant blogs. Such a wonderful bookish day in London!

Holiday planning

The late night Googling, me and my sister shouting places we want to go and things we want to do from our room – such fun! We’ve decided to do day trips to Coney Island, DC and Boston while we’re in NYC :D

Sophie