New Moon: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 adapted & illustrated by Young Kim

This post contains an affiliate link.

Title: New Moon: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 adapted & illustrated by Young Kim

Notable: Book #3 in the Twilight Graphic Novels series (incomplete series)

Premise:

After a disastrous birthday part at the Cullen’s, Edward thinks that Bella will be safer without him.  After he leaves, Bella goes into a severe depression and is only drawn out of it by her own personal ray of sunshine, Jacob Black.  While Edward is away, Victoria seeks her revenge for James’ death and the werewolves are the ones who protect Bella from danger this time.

My thoughts:

I enjoyed seeing Jacob in this book.  I prefer his character over Edward’s because he’s much more down to earth and just a really likable guy.  It seems like he and Bella have more of a natural relationship, as opposed to the infatuation that’s overflowing between Edward and Bella.  Towards the end of the book Laurent shows up and the wolves come to the rescue, but Bella still doesn’t know who/what they are.  It leaves off with her having made it home and wondering if she and her dad will ever be safe.  That’s kind of a sucky place to stop, especially when you find out what I discovered today.

After doing some research, I discovered that this is an incomplete series.  Apparently the next book in the series was supposed to be released in July 2016 (or thereabouts), but it was scrapped.  So yeah, I won’t be finishing this series because I can’t!

I recommend New Moon: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 to Twilight fans as an interesting take on the story.

Rating: 3 1/2 Stars

Until next time…

Lori

January 5, 2018 by Categories: Graphic Novels - Juvenile & YATags: bella, book, comic, edward, forks, graphic novel, jacob, love, quileute, review, story, supernatural, vampire, washington, werewolf Leave a comment

Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 2 adapted & illustrated by Young Kim

This post contains an affiliate link.

Title: Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 2 adapted & illustrated by Young Kim

Notable: Book #2 in the Twilight Graphic Novels series (incomplete series)

Premise:

This book picks up in the middle of the original Twilight book.  It covers Edward and Bella’s growing relationship, Bella’s introduction to the Cullen family, and James and Victoria’s hunt to catch Bella.

My thoughts:

Honestly, I thought this book was even better than the first one.  Probably the best part is when Edward tells Bella about the history of his family.  The narrative takes on more of an actual story and not just the longing looks and professions of love that we constantly hear from Edward and Bella.  Bella also gets to meet the Cullen family and is mostly welcomed with open arms, except by Rosalie who’s still a little uptight about becoming a vampire.

It seemed like the part with Victoria, James and Laurent wasn’t quite so impressive as it was in the original novel and the movie.  James just seemed like a creepy dude and I didn’t get an adequate sense of how dangerous and terrifying he really was.  Victoria wasn’t much more than a bit player, and Laurent seemed like just another sweet guy.  Where was the danger and menace?  Okay, rant over.  Really, I did enjoy the book.

I recommend Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 2 to Twilight fans as an interesting alternative.

Rating: 3 1/2 Stars

Until next time…

Lori

January 4, 2018 by Categories: Graphic Novels - Juvenile & YATags: adult, bella, book, comic, cullen, edward, forks, graphic novel, jacob, love, quileute, review, story, supernatural, teen, vampire, washington, young adult Leave a comment

Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 adapted & illustrated by Young Kim

This post contains an affiliate link.

Title: Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 adapted & illustrated by Young Kim

Notable: Book #1 in the Twilight Graphic Novels series (incomplete series)

Premise:

Bella Swan moves from sunny Phoneix to overcast Forks, Washington when her mother remarries.  She doesn’t have high hopes for life in this new town until she meets hunky Edward Cullen.  The interest is mutual, but the closer Bella gets to Edward, the more she realizes that there’s more to him than meets the eye.

My thoughts:

I was a bit unsure about this rendition of Twilight when I checked it out from the library.  I’m a fan of the Twilight series, but I was concerned this would be boring, maybe because I already know the story so well.  I guess I had the attitude of, yeah I already know that story.  Not the best way to start a book–with an attitude.

The artistic style is different from most of the graphic novels I’ve read, but it’s not unfamiliar to me.  It’s actually very similar to the type of artwork my niece does–with a strong Asian influence.  Young Kim does amazing eyes–amazing!  At times the characters’ proportions were a little off, especially if they were posing at an odd angle, but it wasn’t too bad.  (Poor Edward, in one scene, looks like he has a hunched shoulder.  Tee-hee!)

Overall, I enjoyed seeing the story told from a fresh perspective.  Young had an idea of how the story should look and she utilized some interesting and inventive scene setup and angles throughout the book.  Text was really kept to a minimum, but what was included got to the meat of the story.  It seemed to flow well and make sense.  So, even though I went into the book with an attitude, I enjoyed it and am looking forward to the second volume.  This one leaves off right in the middle of the story.

I recommend Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 to Twilight fans.  It’s fun to see a new take on the story.

Rating: 3 1/2 Stars

Until next time…

Lori

January 3, 2018 by Categories: Graphic Novels - Juvenile & YATags: adult, bella, book, comic, cullen, edward, forks, graphic novel, high school, jacob, kids, love, quileute, review, romance, stephenie meyer, story, supernatural, teen, twilight, vampire, washington, young adult Leave a comment

National Geographic Guide to the World’s Supernatural Places: More Than 250 Spine-Chilling Destinations Around the Globe by Sarah Bartlett

This post contains an affiliate link.

My son brought home Supernatural Places from the library.  I put it up on the shelf because I didn’t want my younger kids finding it; some of the illustrations are rather spooky.  It looked quite compelling, so I perused it one evening once the kids had gone to bed.

Premise:

This is a non-fiction reference book, which gives you a short blurb on many different supernatural locations around the world.  It covers everything from haunted houses to ancient ruins, people groups to natural spaces.  One page is devoted to each location, and includes a photo and basic information.  The sections include: Haunted Places, Vampire Haunts, Witchcraft and the Dark Arts, Sacred Places, UFO Hot Spots, and Myths & Legends.

My thoughts:

I found this book utterly fascinating, and definitely spooky!  I’m not into horror, so this is about as macabre as I like to go.  Some of the entries are icky–such as the cannibalistic clan in Scotland during the 17th century.  Most of the entries are not gory, but be warned that there are a few.  The photos are wonderful–I love reference books with good photography!

This book is a great teaser for many interesting places and events throughout history.  It’s good as a jumping off point, if you want to do more research and a fuller study of some of these fascinating places.  It would also make a great coffee table book.

I would recommend this book for older teens to adults because of the mature subject matter.

Possible objections:

• occult themes
• sexual themes
• gory elements
• general scariness

Rating: 4 Stars

Until next time…

Lori

October 17, 2016December 13, 2016 by bookbuffoonery Categories: Non-Fiction - Adult, Reference - AdultTags: adult, book, guide, haunted, mystery, national geographic, non-fiction, reference, review, scary, supernatural, world Leave a comment