#ComicsWednesday: Patsy Walker, A.K.A Hellcat! by Kate Leth, Brittney Williams, & Megan Wilson

When it comes to superhero comics, I prefer my stories to be optimistic, fun, and, well, heroic. Not necessarily heroic on a save-the-world scale; I'm every bit as happy to see a superhero who tackles smaller crimes and everyday injustices. In other words, I absolutely love Patsy Walker: A.K.A. Hellcat! and if you're looking for something fun to read this summer, you should definitely add it to your list.

Some readers will be familiar with a different version of Patsy Walker from Netflix's series Jessica Jones where the character goes by the name of Trish Walker, Jessica's adoptive sister. In fact, the character of Patsy Walker has been around since 1944 and has gone through many changes over the last 70+ years. Don't worry about all of that history and backstory though because this is a perfect jumping-on point for new fans.

I first met Patsy in a two volume She-Hulk series written by Charles Soule where Patsy worked as a private investigator for She-Hulk's law office. That series ended with Patsy being laid off, allowing her to start up a new business providing assistance to people with superpowers who need a job other than superhero or super villain. There are currently two volumes available, with the third (and sadly final) scheduled for publication this August.

This series is written by Kate Leth, who before writing for Marvel posted comics about her life and her work in a comic shop online. I've been a fan of her quirky sense of humor for years. Brittney Williams is the illustrator and I enjoyed her cartoony and cute style. Some readers were put off by her use of chibis, but it really worked for me. The bright, cheerful colors were done by Megan Wilson and they really added to the series's overall tone.

~Sarah, Adult Services

#ComicsWednesday Compass South by Hope Larson and Rebecca Mock

If you're looking for an old-fashioned, fast-paced, riveting adventure story, look no further than Compass South by Hope Larson and Rebecca Mock. Our story opens when Alexander and Cleopatra Dodge's father goes missing. Alex and Cleo join a gang to make ends meet until he returns, but a bungled burglary forces the twins into hiding. They assume new identities and head to New Orleans. Alex and Cleo get separated. Each makes their way to San Francisco, unaware that the compass and pocket knife left to them by their father hold the keys to a lost pirate treasure. The pirates want their treasure back.

I loved this book. It had all the hallmarks of an enjoyable family-oriented action movie, but in graphic novel form. Rebecca Mock's illustrations are the perfect fit for this story. If you're a fan of Treasure Island, Indiana Jones, or The Pirates of the Caribbean, you'll definitely enjoy Compass South. I didn't want to stop reading, even when the book ended. Luckily for me, there's a sequel coming out in June. Read Compass South and then look for Knife's Edge later this summer!

- Libby, Youth Services.

Staff Review: "The Day I Died" by Lori Rader-Day

If you were one of the lucky folks who got to meet award-winning mystery author Lori Rader-Day when she visited Carnegie-Stout Public Library back in May, you already know about her most recent book, The Day I Died. A compelling novel of psychological suspense with a Midwestern setting, this novel is a great summer read for anyone on the waiting list for the latest books by Paula Hawkins, Mary Kubica, and Heather Gudenkauf.

The Day I Died starts a bit slow as our narrator and main character, Anna Winger, is not very forthcoming with the personal details. Anna and her 13-year-old son are recent arrivals to the small, rural town of Parks, Indiana, and it's quickly obvious that Anna has spent most of her adult life (literally) running from a dark and abusive past. She makes a living as a handwriting analyst helping the FBI and law enforcement in their investigations, the HR departments of large companies, and people who have questions about prospective romantic partners.

Anna's precarious balance begins to topple when she's asked to consult on a missing persons case for the Sheriff's department of Parks. A very young boy has disappeared along with his mother, a likely victim of domestic abuse. A scenario far too familiar for Anna, who is also feeling pressure from Josh, her barely teenage son. Josh resents their constant moving and has questions about their lack of family.

Mild spoiler to follow. As a native Wisconsinite who has spent some time in the North Woods, I enjoyed how real Anna's fictional hometown of Sweetheart Lake felt.

~Sarah, Adult Services

#ComicsWednesday: Pyongyang by Guy Delisle

Guy Delisle is a French-Canadian cartoonist who has made a career creating biographical comics, building on the strong foundation of his first book, Pyongyang. First published more than 10 years ago, Pyongyang gives readers an interesting glimpse into the secretive and highly controlled world of North Korea. Many things have changed in the past decade, but Delisle's often funny observations of life as a western outsider in North Korea are still fascinating today.

Delisle first came to Pyongyang, the country's capital, to supervise the production of an animated film that had been outsourced to a North Korean company. His job lasted for two months and when he was not working he socialized with other foreigners and went on highly supervised visits to local tourist attractions.

Delisle's black and white drawings are minimalist and cartoony, which suits the immediacy of a travel guide created by an animator. This isn't a sketchbook, though, and you can see the thought he puts into his panels. The people are distinct and expressive, and the often empty backgrounds draw your focus to his characters' humanity and the intense pressure of life under a totalitarian regime.

~Sarah, Adult Services

Staff Review: Ready, Set, Rogue by Manda Collins

Like a lot of people, I enjoy a good romance novel. And, also like many others, I have my preferences about what I want those novels to be like. When I look for a romance novel I'm usually looking for a historical romance with strong female characters and plenty of humor. Manda Collins's Ready, Set, Rogue was just the kind of book I wanted.

Miss Ivy Wareham has received word that she is one of four women scholars to inherit the home of Lady Celeste Beauchamp, with its magnificent library. Lady Celeste's nephew, the Marquess of Kerr, Quill Beauchamp, is determined to keep the house in the family and drive the bluestockings out. When Lady Celeste's death is revealed to be murder, Ivy and Quill work together to find out what really happened and fall in love along the way.

This is the kind of romance novel I really enjoy. The Regency England setting, the strong and opinionated female characters, and the jokes and hijinks made this a recipe for success as far as I am concerned. There were plot points romance readers will be familiar with, but they didn't feel tired or overdone.

The fact that this is the first in a new series is all the better. I enjoyed the minor characters and am excited to read their full stories in due time. The next book in the Studies in Scandal series, Duke with Benefits, comes out in June.

-Libby, Youth Services.

#ComicsWednesday: Bad Machinery: The Case of the Team Spirit by John Allison

This week I want to tell you about Bad Machinery Vol. 1: The Case of the Team Spirit by John Allison. Bad Machinery started and continues as a web comic. It is the successor to his earlier comic, Scary Go Round. Bad Machinery follows a group of schoolchildren in the town of Tackleford, England. Charlotte, Jack, Shauna, Linton, Mildred, and Sonny solve crimes around town. This is the first case they all tackle together, and it involves the Tackleford City Football Club (that's a soccer team to us Yanks), a curse, and a nice old lady named Mrs. Biscuits.

Bad Machinery is relatable on many levels. The experience in middle school is almost universal, which makes this a great read for the 12-and-up set. The kids deal with bullies, mean teachers, and clueless parents. Allison's humor is dry and, at times, surreal. The witty banter between these kids is honestly laugh-out-loud funny. Read this book in public at your own discretion and don't say I didn't warn you when you get shushed for snorting when you try to hold in a laugh. When you're done with this one, there are five more in print. You can get The Case of the Good Boy, The Case of  the Simple Soul, The Case of the Lonely One, The Case of the Fire Inside, and The Case of the Unwelcome Visitor here at Carnegie-Stout. To read past that, you'll have to hit up the website.

- Libby, Youth Services

Staff Review: Barkskins by Annie Proulx

Barkskins, the new, multi-generational epic by Annie Proulx, won't be for everyone. For one thing, it's over 700 pages long and covers over 300 years of history, specifically the history of the de-nuding of the American landscape by woodchoppers (or barkskins) large and small, individual and corporate. Yes, it's a lengthy tale of the destruction of the great North American forests -- not exactly the feel-good read of the year. At the same time, it's brimming with vitality: lovely, lively writing; gorgeous descriptions of nature; wild and colorful characters. I loved it.

Barkskins opens with the 1697 arrival in New France (now Canada) of indentured servants Charles Duquet and René Sel, both indebted to the same boorish master. The two men quickly part, one dutifully working off his indenture and the other escaping into the woods before losing any more teeth to his master's crude dentistry pliers.

The novel proceeds to tell Duquet's and Sel's stories, following each man's line of descent through multiple generations. Start to finish, they all make their livings from the trees of the vast northern woods, widely considered to be inexhaustible.

René Sel marries into the Mi'kmaq tribe of Nova Scotia and through his line we see the fate of America's indigeneous people as white immigrant families flood into the new country, extirpating the wildlife and appropriating all the land, relentlessly chopping, burning, and laying waste to the woods exactly as they had done in the countries they fled. Think The Lorax writ large. Charles Duquet, he of the bad teeth, founds a timber dynasty, amassing enormous wealth and passing on his rapacious greed to his offspring.

Proulx's characters are rarely two-dimensional, never all good or all bad. A number are even quite sympathetic, and plenty of the rascals come to highly undesirable ends.

If you're into American history -- natural history, Native American history, the history of the timber industry, the settling of North America, the French and Indian Wars --  just to name a few areas, this may well be the book for you. Characters roam the globe as well, travelling to China, New Zealand, Europe, and other vividly-wrought locales. The novel is extremely well-researched and very well- written. It's a lively and rollicking tale, and, in parts, very funny. A live-wire herself, Proulx peppers the book with forceful, intelligent women. And as a added bonus, just by reading it, you'll compile an extensive list of the many graphic and gruesome ways people met untimely ends in the good old days.

~Ann, Adult Services

#ComicsWednesday: Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan & Cliff Chiang

Writer Brian K. Vaughan has established a solid reputation as the creator of science fiction comic series that are both popular and critically acclaimed, including Saga, Ex Machina, and Y: the last man. His recent, ongoing collaboration with artist Cliff Chiang is no exception. Paper Girls features a twisted sci fi plot and has earned its creators two Eisner awards.

If you're a fan of science fiction adventure stories and eighties nostalgia (think Stranger Things), you should probably check out Paper Girls. The story features four 12-year-old girls who gang up to survive the danger of teen boys out to make trouble in the early morning hours the day after Halloween in 1988 Ohio. The danger quickly escalates when the girls encounter a gang of scavengers who aren't in costume and a strange device in the basement of a house under construction. It's hard to fully convey the sci fi weirdness without giving away major spoilers, so you'll have to trust me when I say it's cool and only gets cooler in the second volume.

The story is very plot-focused, but even with minimal time for character development Vaughan and Chiang manage to give them distinct personalities. There's an overall snarky tone that helps to lighten the danger the girls are facing. While characters can, and do, die, as a reader I was left feeling like Tiff, Mac, KJ, and Erin are likely to not only survive, but save the day.

Cliff Chiang's art is generally very good, but every now and then I was bothered by quirks in how he draws people. Then another action sequence would start, and I would be lost in the story again. I loved the color palate, which as a non-artist I can best describe as muted, menacing pastels. It's an unapologetically girly touch that I definitely appreciated.

~Sarah, Adult Services

#ComicWednesdays: Snow White: a Graphic Novel by Matt Phelan

Matt Phelan's re-imagining of Snow White is dark, but that's not a bad thing. The story isn't gritty or modern, there isn't any unnecessary gore or violence. The liberties he took make sense for the setting - Depression Era New York City. Snow is the daughter of the "King of Wall Street," but when his stocks plummet, they lose everything. The wicked stepmother poisons the father and chases Snow off into Hooverville. The re-imagining of the seven dwarfs as seven homeless kids, and the Macy's Christmas window as the glass coffin really stuck out to me. Phelan put a lot of thought and hard work into this adaption, and it shows.

The book is largely wordless, and Phelan's illustrations are shadowy and wonderful. The shaded black and white of the makes the pops of color stand out. The pinkish red of the pig heart, the bright red apple, Snow's red lips, the frosty blue Macy's window. It makes the happy ending stand out that much more as the last few pages of the book are in full color.

I would recommend this book to readers 10 and up, though it could be enjoyed by anyone who loves a good fairy tale. The themes are a little dark for anyone much younger than 10, and the wordless nature means that lots of context clues are picked up in the illustrations. Shorter attention spans might have a hard time looking for all of them. You can find Snow White by Matt Phelan in the Children's area of the library.

- Libby, Youth Services.

Staff Review: Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane

Sometimes it’s difficult for me to tell if I’m really enjoying a book while I’m reading it, until weeks later I find the story lingering in my mind. This was the case with Since We Fell, though it has less to do with Dennis Lehane’s writing style than it does with my not frequenting the mystery genre. When you’re trying out something new, there’s a give and take to whether the new stuff sticks or not. Often, the results aren’t settled immediately after finishing the book.

I’ve read a few other reviews of this book online. Some people claim that it took the story a while to get going when compared to other Lehane novels. I certainly didn’t experience that. I had the advanced reader copy on my phone and stayed up late a few nights reading it, ignoring the inconvenience of reading ten lines of text per page and staring into the vortex of the iPhone (sometimes with one eye shut) in the night bedroom. I often forced myself to stay awake to gather the next piece of the puzzle.

The book opens dramatically; our protagonist has a gun in her hand and she’s just shot her husband. She’s grappling to make sense of the discordant feeling of love she has for him. The gun has been used, and now we want to find out why. We jump backward in Rachel Child’s life to figure out how she got into this situation and what could have brought this unassuming girl to such violence.

The book has three sections with separate plot devices pushing the narrative. In the first, we get an overview of our protagonist’s developing years as well as the first intrigue that drives the plot—Rachel’s search for the father whose identity her mother kept secret. Toward the end of the first section, Rachel departs for a career as a reporter. She makes a name for herself covering large-scale events. She is sent to Haiti upon the catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake to cover the devastation and subsequent cholera outbreak. After some extremely traumatic experiences and an emotional outburst on camera, she loses her job.

The second section attempts to restore some normalcy to Rachel’s life. She’s suffering severe panic attacks and stays mostly within the confines of her apartment, but she has a seemingly comfortable relationship with her new husband. He’s supportive of her fragile mental state and they share a strong connection. They get each other’s sense of humor, share the same friends, and catch each other’s pop-culture references. Toward the end of this section, as Rachel starts to work up the courage to leave their apartment, we begin to suspect that either her husband is leading a double life or Rachel’s paranoia is pulling her further from stability. This triggers the next mystery that continues through the third section.

The third section is the most action-packed and climactic of the book. Rachel is pulled into a dangerous world beyond anything the first part has set up. Murder, more mind games, and two ruthless men with guns keep this section moving along.

Since We Fell was a fast read, with a storyline full of intrigue and suspense and tied to relevant world events from the year 2000 on. Lehane’s characters share a sarcastic sense of humor and refer to pop culture from their formative years on (Radiohead, Tom Waits, Beyoncé). My only gripe is, for all the background provided and events that happen to them, the characters lack depth. They’re written as if Lehane’s more concerned with making them hip than relatable. Rachel has suffered traumatic events, but panic attacks aside, we don’t sense any complex emotions. The characters tend most often to sarcasm and cultural allusion, which makes the dark story more fun, but leaves the characters themselves rather like clichés. The book could be taken to another level with a marriage of its wit to more complex psychology. That would make it another kind of novel though. What we have is still an expertly crafted, hip, and suspenseful storyline sure to be fun for fans of the genre.

~Ben, Adult Services

#ComicsWednesday: Sex Criminals by Matt Fraction & Chip Zdarsky

This week's #ComicsWednesday pick is very much Not For Children.

Sex Criminals, an Eisner Award-winning series written by Matt Fraction and illustrated by Chip Zdarsky, contains graphic nudity, sexual acts, drug use, and profanity, and is not something I'm likely to give to my mother. Seriously, if you think this comic might not be for you, you should check out some of the creators' other, more all-audiences-friendly comics. I'm definitely a fan of Fraction's take on Hawkeye.

If you're still with me, here's the short version: two people who have the ability to freeze time when they orgasm decide to use their power to rob banks in order to save a library. It's a concept that you'd expect in a raunchy direct-to-DVD comedy, and there is some juvenile humor. Overall Fraction and Zdarsky have a respect for their characters that lifts this story above the gutters.

In the beginning the comic's focus is on Suzie, the librarian, and Jon, who works at the bank. This is the beginning of their relationship, and readers learn about their pasts and their strange supernatural power along with the characters. As much as this is a goofy sex comedy, it's also a relationship drama. More than anything else though, this series has a sense of fun. You sense, as a reader, that Fraction and Zdarsky are enjoying the creative process.

I'd love to show you an example of the art because Zdarsky is very expressive and his use of color is phenomenal, but you'll have to check out the book to see it for yourself.

~Sarah, Adult Services

Staff Review: The Star Diaries by Stanislaw Lem

I’m glad I decided to check out this little book of short stories called The Star Diaries by Stanislaw Lem. I’ve read Lem’s The Futurological Congress and rate it as one of my favorite books, so felt optimistic going in that these further adventures of Ijon Tichy, the space traveler and hero of The Futurological Congress, would be just as outlandishly cartoonish yet frighteningly plausible.

First off, I don’t know how translator Michael Kandel does it. These stories are masterfully translated from the original Polish. The force of the language — the beauty, the puns, the made-up jargon — comes through clearly in the English translation. Only a truly gifted translator could do this. I’ve read the English version of Lem’s most well-known work, Solaris, notoriously translated from a poor French translation, and had to force my way through it. The Star Diaries tales are mind-melting, playful, satirical, and sometimes dark. None of the fun creative wordplay came through in Solaris.

Lem’s been likened to Bach for the artistry with which he constructs his stories and to Einstein for his sweeping intellect — comparisons certainly ripe for scrutiny. I can say that Lem’s mind works on a different level from many of us mere mortals. Tichy’s adventures are a vehicle for Lem’s scientific and philosophical speculation. He often uses other planets and life forms to illustrate an outsider’s view of human behavior or to show how similar intelligent beings evolve far in the future, seamlessly bringing to light many of our foibles. Understanding the scientific jargon or made-up words (both of which are liberally used and often mixed together) isn’t essential to enjoying the stories. The stories are dense, but completely readable and a lot of fun. There are puns-a-plenty thrown around and each re-reading brings about more snorts and chuckles.

To show what one is in for, I’ll share bits from two of my favorite stories. Time slips are always ripe for good humor. The first story in the book is probably the funniest of this kind that I’ve ever read. Ijon Tichy finds himself having to fix a rudder on his one-man rocket ship, a job that takes two. After going through a gravitational field Monday, he’s awakened by the Ijon Tichy from Tuesday. Several time slips later, things turn to chaos as the ship fills up with Tichys from various days of the week and they quarrel over fixing the rudder. It’s not really even necessary to keep things straight as the story moves maddeningly and hilariously forward.

In one of his more satirical/philosophical stories, Tichy finds himself on a distant planet, whose dominant life forms bear many similarities to homo sapiens. Most of the revealing and interesting information about this world comes from the history books being read by our protagonist. One example, illustrating humans’ endless desire for ‘more,’ deals with the inhabitants’ physical “enhancements.” When science has advanced so that people can have whatever appearance they wish, naturally people get restless (see Lem’s humorous illustration of an “Octabod”— a skeleton with 8 legs). The physical and monstrously cartoonish characters that eventually inhabit the planet no longer resemble us, but are eerily within the realm of reason.

These fantastic stories, written in the late 50s through early 70s, will muster up questions pertinent to technological issues we face today. They can be simultaneously frightening and hilarious. In terms of style, Lem has been compared to Borges, Vonnegut, and Philip K. Dick, among others. His stories share elements with these authors but are still entirely Lem. This book is definitely not for everyone, but fans of satire, scientific speculation, and unconventional stories should love it.

~Ben, Adult Services

#ComicsWednesday: The Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks & Jordie Bellaire

A city, built on a mountain pass, constantly invaded and claimed for the surrounding nations, each nation calling it something different. The people who live in the city call it the Nameless City, and the invaders who try to give it names are outsiders.

The current nation to occupy the City are the Dao. Kaidu, our hero, is a Dao boy who comes to the city to meet his father and train for the military. Kaidu is more of a dreamer than a fighter, and his father is a scatterbrained military strategist. Kaidu sneaks out of the palace and meets a headstrong girl named Rat. Rat is a girl of the City, and she runs like the wind. Kaidu and Rat become unlikely friends, and when the City they both love is endangered, they stand together to fight injustice.

I really enjoyed this book. I've been a fan of Faith Erin Hicks since I first read The Adventures of Superhero Girl. The Nameless City introduces us to a lushly imagined world, full of relatable characters and thought-provoking situations. At its heart, this is a story about friendship in the face of adversity, and it is incredibly enjoyable.

Hicks' drawings and Bellaire's coloring are seamless. The color palette and the story reminded me of the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. If you're a fan of those shows, then you will enjoy The Nameless City. The second book in the series, The Stone Heart, comes out next month. I can't wait!


-Libby, Youth Services.

Staff Review: An Atlas of Countries that Don't Exist by Nick Middleton

From ethnically-divided separatist states to absent-minded libertarians taking over uninhabited islands, you'll find this and more in An Atlas of Countries that Don't Exist: a Compendium of Fifty Unrecognized and Largely Unnoticed States by Nick Middleton.

This short book presents fifty would-be countries and a brief description of how each came to be. And I really do mean brief -- only 1-2 paragraphs are devoted to each selection, leaving it up to the reader to do further research on how each separatist movement was formed. Each selection includes stunning visuals: maps, diagrams, and official flags.

The book serves as a nice primer on 20th-century history. The quasi-countries include former communist strongholds, areas forgotten during post-colonial independence, and ethnic divides that continue to simmer.

I'd recommend this book to any lover of history or geography and perhaps to certain readers who need a short nonfiction book to submit for their Great Reading Challenge. 😉

~ Mark, Circulation

#ComicsWednesday: Through the Woods by Emily Carroll

When I was a kid I loved Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, but as I got older, I lost my taste for horror. I, however, love the creepy stories in Emily Carroll's collection Through the Woods.

Emily Carroll's beautiful art is what convinced me to read outside of my comfort zone. I'd first encountered her work in a blog where she and Vera Brosgol illustrated historical fashion. I was impressed by the way Carroll could give hints of a person with a personality and a story to tell from just a single image. That ability to capture emotion in her drawings is what takes Through the Woods from good to great.

The stories are creepy and well paced, with a striking use of color. Twisted lines, washes of gray, and deep black shadows with bright pops of color help to create the creepy atmosphere. This book is eerie and haunting, without being the gorefest so common in modern horror, although the red is sometimes blood. Most importantly, readers are given room to imagine what lurks in the dark spaces.

This book is a great pick for anyone who loves classic ghost stories, especially readers who might otherwise avoid contemporary horror. And if you find yourself wanting more, be sure to check out Emily Carroll's website, where she has several other comics available to read.

~Sarah, Adult Services

#ComicsWednesday: The Wicked + The Divine by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, and Matthew Wilson

Gear up, folks, for a #TagTeamComicsWednesday review!

This week Libby and Sarah team up to gush about one of their favorite comic series: The Wicked + The Divine by writer Kieron Gillen, artist Jamie Mckelvie, and colorist Matthew Wilson (plus some notable guest artists along the way).

PLOT SUMMARY

Twelve gods are incarnated as humans every ninety years. They become famous for what they are, treated like the ultimate celebrities. Within two years, all twelve of them are dead. We follow teen and ultimate fangirl Laura as she is given the chance to meet her heroes. Upfront warning: there is violence, death, sex, drug use, and all sorts of things that make this comic very much for adults.

If you’re waiting for the American Gods television series to premiere at the end of this month, The Wicked + The Divine might help tide you over. Likewise, if you’re waiting for The Wicked + The Divine Vol. 5 to hit the library shelves in June, check out American Gods by Neil Gaiman (if you haven't already).

OUR THOUGHTS

Okay, I'm just going to state right up front that avoiding spoilers is going to be SO HARD. But for any readers who have managed to exist on the internet without encountering major spoilers for this series, I do not want to ruin the experience for you. Even though I'm pretty sure Libby and I could fill this entire post with our favorite fan theories and unanswered questions.

SO MANY QUESTIONS. SO FEW ANSWERS. It's one of the best and most frustrating things about this series. If you're a fan of cliffhangers, TW+TD has you covered.

But oh boy, do tiny, cryptic references pay off BIG later on down the line.

Yeah, like “I hope you were paying attention to that random one-liner in the first issue because THAT MEANS EVERYTHING NOW AND NOTHING WILL EVER BE OKAY AGAIN.” I mean, that might be an exaggeration, but that’s how it makes me feel.

Haha. No. You were right: nothing WILL ever be okay again. Don’t get too attached to anyone. This is some Game of Thrones level of say goodbye to your favorites...

Best idea: don’t pick favorites. Easier said than done, but it’s the only way to escape emotional trauma. But before the reader gets the wrong idea, this series is 100% worth the emotional trauma. I think one of my favorite things about this series is the worldbuilding

The worldbuilding starts subtle. This feels like a very contemporary England, with fairly regular people, but they gradually add in the history and depth through bits and pieces and cryptic hints until before you know it you’re signed up for a fictional character’s mailing list.

I knew I wasn’t the only one who signed up for that list. I also learned more about gods and goddesses than I ever thought I would, and I went through a mythology phase as a child, so...

That mythology phase must be a librarian thing ;) But this is some Advanced Level mythology. Some of these gods and goddesses were totally new to me.

The array of gods and goddesses from different cultures, as well as how they interact, is fascinating. UGH, there is so much I want to type in all caps here, but there is only so much flailing we can put on the official library blog.

Okay, sure, but. The characters. How can I not flail when there are such dimensional, human, fallible yet lovable characters? EVEN MIRROR FACE THE AWFUL. Even him. A little.

Daft Punk Is Playing At My Pantheon? I KNOW. I can’t even pick a favorite character to talk about. They are all so realistic while somehow still being otherworldly. I think we have to at least talk about Laura, our POV character.

Laura is right up there in my genuine favs. Not just because she’s the regular human fangirl view to this whole supernatural circus that we’re MEANT to identify with as readers completely new to this universe, but because she has a self-awareness and is just so totally herself.

We identify with Laura right away, but her growth through the series is why I love her so much. She starts out as a fangirl, blogging and tweeting about this Pantheon, but when she meets them, they’re much more human than she expected.

And she handles that, both the excitement of meeting her heroes and the disappointment of their not being quite the people she imagined, so very well. So much better than I would’ve at 18.

This comic is, in a word, intense.

Staff Review: Breaking Wild by Diane Les Becquets

I plucked Breaking Wild off the library shelf by chance, while selecting books for a wilderness display. I love stories set in wild places and this one garnered some nice reviews. It's a story of search, survival, and rescue. The book is fast-paced and the plot delivers rapidly mounting suspense. Both main protagonists are women, strong women more than capable on their own in the wild. The novel's backdrop allows author Diane Les Becquets to paint luscious portraits of Colorado's hinterlands, an area she knows well and clearly loves.

The novel is told from two points of view, Amy Raye's and Pru's. Amy Raye is a troubled individual. Happily married, ostensibly, she cannot stop herself from seeking out encounters with strange men on the side, the consequence of an unfortunate childhood event. Her actions torment her and threaten her marriage. To clear her head, she heads off alone with a compound bow to redeem her elk tag. She gets hurt and then lost in a craggy wilderness of ice and snow, coyotes and mountain lions. A massive search effort ensues.

Pru is an agent of the Bureau of Land Management, and she and her dog, Kona, are part of the search-and-rescue team. Pru, whose own past includes plenty of heartache and loss, finds herself unusually compelled by Amy Raye's disappearance. Her diligence and persistence in tracking the woman are unflagging, even after the official search is called off.

We move back and forth between two points of view, one woman's search and the other's efforts at survival, with both women's histories fleshed out as the gripping story moves forward.

I recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a good, suspenseful read and particularly for readers entranced by nature, in this case the gorgeous but harsh, high desert landscapes of southwestern Colorado.

~Ann, Adult Services

#ComicsWednesday: Primates: the fearless science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas by Jim Ottaviani & Maris Wicks

Jim Ottaviani has made a career of taking the lives and complex discoveries of scientists and mathematicians and translating them into accessible graphic novels (with the help of various talented artists). In Primates, Ottaviani worked with Maris Wicks to tell the story of three groundbreaking primatologists: Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas.

This book will appeal to anyone with an interest in natural science, women's history, or animals, whether or not you know the difference between a chimpanzee and an orangutan. Ottaviani and Wicks captured some of the difficult realities of scientific fieldwork in remote locations, while giving the highlights of our relatively recent understanding of primate behavior.

While this comic is kept in our children's collection, I'd recommend that parents read this book along with younger readers who might have questions about such difficult topics as sexism, gorilla poaching, and Dian Fossey's death. Though Wicks's engaging, cartoon-ish art helps to keep the tone from becoming too dark, this book is probably a better fit for tweens, teens, and interested adults.

Primates serves as an excellent introduction to the lives and works of three incredible, inspiring female scientists that readers of all ages are likely to enjoy. You'll probably find yourself looking through the provided bibliography in order to learn even more!

~Sarah, Adult Services

#ComicsWednesday: Princeless Vol. 1 Save Yourself by Jeremy Whitley & M. Goodwin

A princess, locked in a tower, guarded by a dragon, waiting for a prince to save her so she can marry him and they can live Happily Ever After. It's a familiar story, which is why it is such a delight when Princeless by Jeremy Whitley and M. Goodwin turns the trope on its head.

Princess Adrienne is sick of waiting for a knight to come rescue her. In fact, she never wanted to be rescued in the first place. In an attempt to get their daughters married off, her father has locked up Adrienne and all of her sisters in different prisons around the land. Guarded by fearsome beasts and tricky riddles, this will make sure that they are only rescued by someone strong enough to rule.

After berating a knight who attempts to rescue her, Adrienne finds a sword hidden in her tower. She decides to make an escape, and flies off on Sparky, the dragon who guarded her tower. Adrienne sets off to rescue her sisters on her own.

Adrienne has a few misadventures before she gets to her sisters, and she picks up help along the way. When she needs armor, she runs into Bedelia Smith, a half-dwarf blacksmith. (Their
hilarious discussion about the practicality of armor for women has been distributed in geek circles for a few years now.) Once Adrienne's father finds out she is missing, and that the "knight" responsible probably killed her, he sends the most vicious bounty hunters in the kingdom after her.

Princeless is a great all-ages comic. It's perfect for parents and kids to read together. Adrienne and Bedelia are funny, and are great role models for young kids. It explores gender roles in a fun and accessible way that is sure to spark conversations about why there are "girl things" and "boy things." Most of all, you will cheer for Adrienne as she makes her way to each sister and finds out that nothing is as clear as it seems.

- Libby, Youth Services

Staff Review: Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

If you were a child in the 80's or 90's, you are probably familiar with the Jim Henson movie Labyrinth starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly. You might have gone through an obsessive phase and written fanfiction about the movie, and it is possible you still have the movie memorized. I am definitely not speaking from experience or anything. Nope, not me.

So, ANYWAY, when I saw the following quote about Wintersong from the author, S. Jae-Jones, I knew I had to read it.

"In November 2013, I decided to write 50 Shades of Labyrinth for NaNoWriMo. The rest is history."*

Wintersong is a pretty obvious play on the themes behind the movie Labyrinth, but it draws inspiration from many other cultural touchstones. The Phantom of the Opera, the works of Mozart, Rossetti's Goblin Market, even the classic fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast.

If the "50 Shades" description is a turn-off for you, fear not. This book is firmly in the Young Adult category, and while there are some sexy-ish scenes, there's nothing above PG-13. It's definitely not erotica. It's also set in Bavaria in the 19th century, so there's a more repressed emotion and longing than anything else.

Liesl has always been the one to look after of her sister Käthe and brother Josef. Her father is a drunk and her mother works too hard, but Liesl puts her family first. Though she believed in der Erlkönig (the Goblin King) as a young child, she has outgrown the old superstitions. When Käthe is taken by the Goblin King, he makes a wager with Liesl. It's up to her to find Käthe in the Goblin Kingdom and get her back to safety. The question is, will Liesl be able to do it? And what will happen if she loses the game?

I got lost in this book. The characters are rich, and there is enough suspense to keep you turning the pages. S. Jae-Jones has a way with words, and the world she creates is one that you want to live in. Macmillan have already announced a companion novel due out next year. Is it 2018 yet?

- Libby, Youth Services

If you like Wintersong, try these:

Beauty: a retelling of the story of Beauty & the Beast by Robin McKinley
As Old As Time by Liz Braswell
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman



* No, really, she said that.

Look at this man and tell me you didn't have a crush on him when you were 13.
You didn't?
I don't believe you.