Book Review: Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return (graphic novel) by Denton J. Tipton

This illustrated story tells of the next villain to plague the colorful lands of Oz: The Jester. He’s the long-lost brother of the Wicked Witch of the West (WWotW), and he seeks to rule over the entire land of Oz by controlling the troupe of flying monkeys and threatening the villages across the land. Once the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and (no-longer-cowardly) Lion hear of his evil plan and witness the havoc he’s already wreaked, they devise a plan to bring the only thing that could save Oz: Dorothy Gale. They traipse across Oz, encountering new fantastical beings and lands, all while magically surviving attacks and setbacks. It ends with a cliffhanger, a mystery of what will happen to Oz and Dorothy–destined to be revealed in the upcoming animated film.

I think the colorful and minimalist illustrations meld well with the stories of Oz, and capture a small sense of how the mystical world would be, just as the movies and books have. It reminds me of Lisa Frank and the colorful, over-the-top girly-ness of it all. While the dark and evil colors of the Jester’s scenes do wonderfully juxtapose the bright and cheeriness of Oz, the Jester’s stupidity is slightly off. Since he is the brother of the WWotW, it seems like he would be just as evil (which he is). Yet, on the other hand, he is no where quite as bright. He has a method worked out for his evil plan, but fumbles and makes things almost comical. This is probably a good idea for a children’s book–lends to the lightheartedness of it and doesn’t seriously scare the living daylights out of a child. Reminds me of an extremely PG version of the Joker from Batman comics. A neat version of the L. Frank Baum stories; I’m definitely looking forward to the upcoming sequel to the story, Legends of Oz.

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Book Review: Graceling by Kristin Cashore

In this fantasy land with seven kingdoms, ruled by seven kings, there are a small population of people that have special abilities or strengths, or Graces. Each person’s Grace is different, and some are very powerful and very “useful” to those in power. The protagonist, Katsa (in my head I kept confusing her with Katniss…not the same, not the same), believes her Grace to be killing. She is very skilled at killing, injuring, maiming, punishing, etc., etc., etc. Her mother and father have died, leaving her to her uncle, the king’s, command. Her uncle King Randa of the Middluns, is very petty and cautious of others who challenge his power, and frequently sends Katsa to do his bidding (or threatening) across the land. Katsa secretly rebels against his wishes, and creates the Council to do good deeds and protect those not deemed worthy by higher rulers. Through the Council’s work, she encounters a Prince of Leinid, nicknamed Po, who’s Grace seems to finally be a rival to her own. She constantly adapts and discovers her true self, all the while falling into a complicated plot with kidnapping, torture, extreme adventure, and most surprisingly (to Katsa), love.

I reaaaaaallly enjoyed this book. As I mentioned with The Hero and the Crown, fantasy books with strong female characters who develop into even stronger heroines are my favorite. I like the idea of a young girl who can perservere without the guidance or protection of another male or female. While the protagonist, such as Katsa, changes and evolves to become a better person through Po’s help and others’ (Raffin, Bitterblue, Oll, etc.), she doesn’t change who she is without it being her choice. I liked the fast-paced action, the mystery, and the strong honor that Katsa exuded. Her choices were difficult at times due to her conflict of interest or concern for another person, but she never strayed from her ideals of right and wrong. I liked her motherly behavior toward Bitterblue, which contrasted to her strong and independent character traits, made Katsa even more endearing. I was urgently awaiting the conclusion of this book and couldn’t wait to see what would befall all the characters, good and bad. The ending was not disappointing, and I liked the concise  wrap-up, which still left some opening for subsequent titles. I really want to keep reading this series!

Book Review: Strangelets by Michelle Gagnon

Different teens from around the world: L.A., Galway, Ireland, Tokyo, Israel, Appalachian Mountains, and Africa all land in a mysterious infirmary during tense moments precluding death. These three girls and three young men have only their imminent death in common and can’t understand what has trapped them together. The situation quickly escalates as they escape and discover they are not where (or when) they had been before. Their strange journey has transported them to a facility on Long Island, where layers of dust cover everything and there are no people in sight. As they try to survive and discover their true whereabouts, strange creatures begin to hunt them. A mystery and action/adventure, this will keep you on the edge of your seat as you try to discover what will become of  Declan, Sophie, Anat, Toshi, Zain, and Nico.

This was an over-the-top, crazy scientific thriller. I was extremely intrigued as I began this book, but seemed to become more and more confused as the story progressed. I liked how this wasn’t a straightforward, oh-I-can-guess-what-is-going-to-happen books; I plowed through this book very quickly just to discover what happened and why there were dinosaur-like creatures stalking around. I liked the slight hints of what happened (Tosh’s weird behavior, Nico’s confusion and awareness of the facility, the old woman’s house), but that it took right up to almost the end to discover where it originated. It combined so many elements of danger, intrigue, romance, angst, fear, as well as the different lives one might encounter if  you lived in different countries or times. The ending was the one thing that was slightly disappointing. Yes, it did end sort of like a fairytale ending (at least for some), but it was too quick, too concise, and didn’t really explain what happened to the “others”. Wish there was some hint, a clue, about where or what happened with the rest of civilization and the creatures/aliens. An interesting concept, one that I have not seen before, and a good quick read.