babyfacedoldsoul's review against another edition
3.0
I first read this book when I was 17 and loved it from start to finish. I could really identify with Kyra and thought Lyga did an excellent job of portraying teenage women. I read the reviews of this book and found that many people did not agree with my original opinion. Intrigued and realistically with nothing better to do I decided to reread the book and see if my views had changed. And my had they ever.
I found Kyra to be very annoying this time through, and I was also shocked at how often Lyga chose to write about her boobs. I really don't remember thinking about mine that much at that or any age. I no longer found myself able to relate to Kyra, finding her to be very immature and dramatic and angsty. I find myself wondering if I was really like this at 17 then how come someone did not call me out for it.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is if you're a teenage girl of the goth persuasion and a huge Neil Gaimon fan, this is probably the book for you. It's a quick and easy read (I finished it in two days and found myself unable to put it down the whole time) but read it as a YA novel.
I found Kyra to be very annoying this time through, and I was also shocked at how often Lyga chose to write about her boobs. I really don't remember thinking about mine that much at that or any age. I no longer found myself able to relate to Kyra, finding her to be very immature and dramatic and angsty. I find myself wondering if I was really like this at 17 then how come someone did not call me out for it.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is if you're a teenage girl of the goth persuasion and a huge Neil Gaimon fan, this is probably the book for you. It's a quick and easy read (I finished it in two days and found myself unable to put it down the whole time) but read it as a YA novel.
missprint_'s review
2.0
Time is a funny thing in the hospital. Especially in the mental ward. You lose track of it easily. When Kyra, otherwise known as Goth Girl, is finally released from the Maryland Mental Health Unit after six long months, she is ready to pick up right where she left off.
She's ready to make up with Fanboy and continue helping him with his graphic novel. He might have been a jerk and it might have been his fault that she got committed again. But Fanboy might be the only person who really understands her just as she is, and that's worth something.
Except a lot can change in six months. Especially outside of the mental ward. When Kyra returns to Brookdale she expects everything to be the same. But nothing is.
Her goth friends Simone and Jecca don't seem quite so interesting. Roger isn't the standoffish father he once was. And Fanboy, well, he isn't Fanboy anymore.
Suddenly popular and self-assured, Fanboy has become someone Goth Girl doesn't recognize. Someone who doesn't even need her. Someone who forgot her.
All of Kyra's plans for a grudging reconciliation with Fanboy are soon replaced by frustration, and only one acceptable course of action--to destroy him and all of her other enemies in Goth Girl Rising (2009) by Barry Lyga.
Goth Girl is a complex character whose story was largely up in the air at the end of this book's prequel The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl. In addition to explaining what happened to Kyra between books, Lyga provides a window into Kyra's world by narrating Goth Girl Rising in her voice.
Unfortunately, the peripheral characters in this story are not as well-developed. Simone and Jecca especially are not as complex, appearing, by the end of the story, to be more like annoying nuisances than Kyra's best friends.The homoerotic subplot between Jecca and Kyra is also problematic not so much because it's in the book as because it is so scattered and does little to add to the plot or even the character development.
Fanboy and Goth Girl are both, in their own ways, comic book geeks. This book is rife with references to Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" series but instead of adding to the story these references feel more like a crutch device filling the pages of this story with explanations of different aspect of Gaiman's work.
Lyga does still manage to tackle some heavy themes effectively here. Kyra's narrative voice rings true as talks through her depression and suicidal thoughts. By the end of Goth Girl Rising readers will understand what Kyra has been through even if they can't quite grasp her rage.
Really, the main problem with this book is that there was not enough Fanboy. Having read about and loved that charming comic geek before, it was disappointing to find him in a relatively small part of Goth Girl Rising as seeing Goth Girl and Fanboy reunited was one of the best parts of this novel.
Possible Pairings: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, The Sandman Series by Neil Gaiman, How to Steal a Car by Pete Hautman, Liar by Justine Larbalestier, The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl by Barry Lyga, Boy Toy by Barry Lyga
You can find this review and more on my blog Miss Print
She's ready to make up with Fanboy and continue helping him with his graphic novel. He might have been a jerk and it might have been his fault that she got committed again. But Fanboy might be the only person who really understands her just as she is, and that's worth something.
Except a lot can change in six months. Especially outside of the mental ward. When Kyra returns to Brookdale she expects everything to be the same. But nothing is.
Her goth friends Simone and Jecca don't seem quite so interesting. Roger isn't the standoffish father he once was. And Fanboy, well, he isn't Fanboy anymore.
Suddenly popular and self-assured, Fanboy has become someone Goth Girl doesn't recognize. Someone who doesn't even need her. Someone who forgot her.
All of Kyra's plans for a grudging reconciliation with Fanboy are soon replaced by frustration, and only one acceptable course of action--to destroy him and all of her other enemies in Goth Girl Rising (2009) by Barry Lyga.
Goth Girl is a complex character whose story was largely up in the air at the end of this book's prequel The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl. In addition to explaining what happened to Kyra between books, Lyga provides a window into Kyra's world by narrating Goth Girl Rising in her voice.
Unfortunately, the peripheral characters in this story are not as well-developed. Simone and Jecca especially are not as complex, appearing, by the end of the story, to be more like annoying nuisances than Kyra's best friends.The homoerotic subplot between Jecca and Kyra is also problematic not so much because it's in the book as because it is so scattered and does little to add to the plot or even the character development.
Fanboy and Goth Girl are both, in their own ways, comic book geeks. This book is rife with references to Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" series but instead of adding to the story these references feel more like a crutch device filling the pages of this story with explanations of different aspect of Gaiman's work.
Lyga does still manage to tackle some heavy themes effectively here. Kyra's narrative voice rings true as talks through her depression and suicidal thoughts. By the end of Goth Girl Rising readers will understand what Kyra has been through even if they can't quite grasp her rage.
Really, the main problem with this book is that there was not enough Fanboy. Having read about and loved that charming comic geek before, it was disappointing to find him in a relatively small part of Goth Girl Rising as seeing Goth Girl and Fanboy reunited was one of the best parts of this novel.
Possible Pairings: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, The Sandman Series by Neil Gaiman, How to Steal a Car by Pete Hautman, Liar by Justine Larbalestier, The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl by Barry Lyga, Boy Toy by Barry Lyga
You can find this review and more on my blog Miss Print
librariann's review
4.0
It's six months after the end of The Astonishing Adventure of Fanboy and Goth Girl. Kyra has spent those six months in a psych ward, dubbed DCHH by the nurses because Daddy Couldn't Handle Her. During those six months, Fanboy was incommunicado. Why did he stop caring? To Kyra, it doesn't matter. All that matters is getting her revenge.
I love Barry Lyga's books. I love the voices of his characters. This one is no different. 4.5 stars, I think.
An important question to ask regarding sequels:
Do I have to read The Astonishing Adventure of Fanboy and Goth Girl first?
Probably.
Probably?
On one hand, I read the first book so long ago that it's almost as if I hadn't read it at all. On the other, as I read Goth Girl Rising, I started to remember bits and pieces from FB & GG that were pretty helpful re: Kyra's character. Bottom line: it's a good enough story to pick up even if you haven't read the first, but you'll probably want to pick up the other one after you've finished. I know I want to read it again..
I love Barry Lyga's books. I love the voices of his characters. This one is no different. 4.5 stars, I think.
An important question to ask regarding sequels:
Do I have to read The Astonishing Adventure of Fanboy and Goth Girl first?
Probably.
Probably?
On one hand, I read the first book so long ago that it's almost as if I hadn't read it at all. On the other, as I read Goth Girl Rising, I started to remember bits and pieces from FB & GG that were pretty helpful re: Kyra's character. Bottom line: it's a good enough story to pick up even if you haven't read the first, but you'll probably want to pick up the other one after you've finished. I know I want to read it again..
a_story_in_punk's review
4.0
Hhhh I just really enjoyed Kyra’s character development through the book.
aly36's review
3.0
I was not as impressed with this book as I was the " I Hunt Killers" series. I loved the "I hunt Killers" series by this same author so I wanted to check out more of his work but this book was not as good. It did have a good ending that I was nit sure I expected so I gave it 3 stars.
jwill583's review against another edition
5.0
i love this book. not just a part but every thing about it.
sumayyah_t's review against another edition
4.0
If half stars was an option, I would give this book 3.5.
I liked the book, but I felt as though the end was a bit too quick and nicely wrapped. Also, certain characters were simply dressing and had no depth or real purpose. Overall, it is a decent read, and a good follow up to the earlier "The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl."
I liked the book, but I felt as though the end was a bit too quick and nicely wrapped. Also, certain characters were simply dressing and had no depth or real purpose. Overall, it is a decent read, and a good follow up to the earlier "The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl."
elvenavari's review against another edition
4.0
While I will agree that this was different from the first book I have to state that there is a reason for that. "Fanboy" was from a boy's POV, "Goth Girl" is from a girl's point of view. There are going to be differences.
Lyga got right into the core of who Kyra is and what made her the way she is. The interweaving of his characters, including Josh from "Boy Toy", was magnificently done.
I greatly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who has read "The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl".
Lyga got right into the core of who Kyra is and what made her the way she is. The interweaving of his characters, including Josh from "Boy Toy", was magnificently done.
I greatly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who has read "The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl".
ubalstecha's review against another edition
4.0
At the end Barry Lyga's first novel the Astonishing Adventures of Fan Boy and Goth Girl, Kyra (Goth Girl) was being shipped of to a mental hospital after her father found out about the bullet she had stolen from Donald (Fanboy). Goth Girl Rising opens with Kyra returning from her institutionalization very angry. She feels that Fanboy has abandoned her and she is out to get revenge.
As she works out how exactly to exact her revenge, we see Goth Girl's relationship with her father, whom she calls Roger. The two are struggling to deal with the death from lung cancer of her mother several years before. Roger, the smoker, has with drawn and gone numb, while Goth Girl has taken to lashing out.
We also get to meet Goth Girl's other friends in this book. There is Simone, the girl who sleeps with boys to make herself feel loved and is constantly urging Goth Girl to lose her virginity. Goth Girl's other friend Jecca proves to be more of conundrum. She and Goth Girl exchange kisses, yet Jecca purports to be in love with a boy.
This is the first time that Lyga has written a novel from the female point of view. For the most part he succeeds, capturing Goth Girl's anger at her mother's death and father's distancing himself quite well. Her thoughts on the supposed power in a female body are also quite true to form.
This is a good outing and worth picking up. Teens and up due to language and situations.
As she works out how exactly to exact her revenge, we see Goth Girl's relationship with her father, whom she calls Roger. The two are struggling to deal with the death from lung cancer of her mother several years before. Roger, the smoker, has with drawn and gone numb, while Goth Girl has taken to lashing out.
We also get to meet Goth Girl's other friends in this book. There is Simone, the girl who sleeps with boys to make herself feel loved and is constantly urging Goth Girl to lose her virginity. Goth Girl's other friend Jecca proves to be more of conundrum. She and Goth Girl exchange kisses, yet Jecca purports to be in love with a boy.
This is the first time that Lyga has written a novel from the female point of view. For the most part he succeeds, capturing Goth Girl's anger at her mother's death and father's distancing himself quite well. Her thoughts on the supposed power in a female body are also quite true to form.
This is a good outing and worth picking up. Teens and up due to language and situations.