anitaconchita's reviews
115 reviews
Runaways Deluxe, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan
4.0
Loved it. Smart, fun, and multi-faceted teenage characters. Even the bad guys weren't as simple as initially led to believe.
Love Like Hate by Linh Dinh
3.0
Dinh's first novel has much of the hallmarks that have made his short stories and poems notable: hilarious (sometimes grotesque) observations, unforgiving human depictions, and beautiful (if disturbing) descriptions. The book is problematic in many senses (especially in its portrayal of Vietnamese women), but offers a refreshing depiction of Vietnamese and Vietnamese Americans during and after the VN War. He's very in tune with the Vietnamese-Viet Kieu dynamic in Vietnam and critiques it harshly to great dark comedy effect. Highly recommended, but approach with caution.
Vietnam: Rising Dragon by Bill Hayton
4.0
Very readable, journalistic tone, well-cited, diverse sources. I wish it had more history and more helpful sub-sections, but then again it's not an academic text.
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
4.0
Probably not at strong narrative-wise as the first one, but still a pretty strong novel, though it definitely wouldn't be as strong as a stand alone novel. Again, I love how Katniss is depicted as a strong, complex character who is very flawed. I can't help but compare her to Bella Swan, who makes me want to poke my eyes out so I don't have to hear her swooning about Edward. The plot didn't go where I thought it would (many thanks to my friends who stayed spoiler-free), which is an accomplishment in its own right. I love Peeta, though he's almost too good (kinda like Prim). Overall, i enjoyed it immensely.
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
4.0
Strong ending to the series, though in terms of narrative I agree with others who feel the ending is abrupt. Collins did a good job of keeping the adrenaline running throughout, but it felt like she couldn't find a good transition from some scenes which ended with Katniss blacking-out and then coming-to when things are all better. I was slightly surprised by how gruesome some of it was, though it didn't really deter from the story being told. And ultimately, I liked the way in ended. Katniss ended up with exactly the person I hoped she would.
Citizen 13660 by Miné Okubo
4.0
Very touching and sad documentary style graphic novel about Japanese internment. Informative and also rather subversive in some of its visual storytelling. Great text to teach WWII Japanese-American history with.