Tag Archive for: Illustrated

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Anne Of Green Gables

Anne Of Green GablesTitle: Anne of Green Gables
Author: L.M. Montgomery
Series: Anne of Green Gables #1
Genre: Classic, Middle Grade
Format: Hard Cover
Pages: 371
Reason Read: Buddy Read
Rating:

My Thoughts

I was really worried I wouldn’t like ANNE OF GREEN GABLES because classics and I don’t always get along, but I needn’t have worried because I adored Anne and her spunk.

I can see why this coming-of-age story is a classic. It’s endearing with its quaint setting and memorable characters. As I said, I love Anne. She reminded me of myself, other than her being ever the optimist. (I’m definitely not an optimist.) Like her, I love to name plants and inanimate objects, anthropomorphizing them. I’m extremely talkative and competitive. I love fiercely and tend to hold grudges even though I try not to. I related to her quite a lot.

I also loved the secondary characters, some more than others. Matthew was my favorite. He was such a kind soul, always looking out for Anne. I wish we had gotten to know Gilbert more. If only Anne had forgiven him before the last couple of pages of the novel. So much wasted time. And, even though I was often frustrated with Marilla’s no-nonsense ways, I liked her because I knew she loved Anne. I look forward to reading the rest of the series at some point in the future.

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Japanese Children’s Favorite Stories

Japanese Children’s Favorite StoriesTitle: Japanese Children's Favorite Stories
Author: Florence Sakade
Genre: Short Stories, Children's
Format: Hard Cover
Pages: 120
Reason Read: Play Book Tag
Rating:

My Thoughts

My parents gave me JAPANESE CHILDREN’S FAVORITE STORIES as a Christmas present when I was 10 years old. I read a few of the stories before now, but not all of them. I really wish I had read more of these as a child. The ones I had read were familiar and very fun to revisit. The ones I hadn’t read were also fun, but the lack of nostalgia had me nitpicking the writing style. While the stories are great, the writing was something to be desired, probably because of the “lost in translation” factor.

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Diary Of A Wimpy Kid

Diary Of A Wimpy KidTitle: Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Author: Jeff Kinney
Series: Diary of a Wimpy Kid #1
Genre: Contemporary, Middle Grade
Format: Hard Cover
Pages: 217
Reason Read: Play Book Tag
Rating:

I’m not a huge fan of graphic novels so DIARY OF A WIMPY KID was kind of perfect for me. It’s basically a middle grade novel with lots of pictures in it and I really liked that aspect of it. I also enjoyed the story. It was a lot of fun. I laughed out loud a few times. I did find the very grownup part of me groaning while reading the second half. It was fun but it was annoying too.

The Walking Dead, Volumes 1-5

Title: The Walking Dead, Volumes 1-5
Author: Robert Kirkman
Series: Walking Dead #1-5
Genre: Horror
Format: Paperback
Pages: 688
Reason Read: Just Because
Rating:

My Thoughts

Since I love The Walking Dead TV show so much, I decided to give the graphic novels a try even though I haven’t really enjoyed the other graphic novels I’ve read. Surprisingly, it was a lot of fun to read volume 1. It was just like watching the show with a few differences in the story.

I’m surprised at how quickly the group found the prison. That didn’t happen until Season 3 of the TV show and volume 2 only goes up to issue 12. They didn’t stay at Hershel’s farm very long in the novel and it felt interminable on the TV show. It also didn’t quite go down like it did on the show, which I was expecting, but now it’s got me really curious how certain things are going to happen. I really like that even though I know the story, I’m still being kept on my toes.

Volume 3 was the most different from the TV show. There are characters that I didn’t know existed. And, many of the same characters are different from their TV show counterparts. It’s interesting to see the differences. I’m still enjoying reading these and I look forward to the next volume. However, I’ve decided that I do like TV show Maggie and Glenn better than graphic novel Maggie and Glenn. Maybe, they’ll grow on me.

So much happened in volume 4 and so much of it was different from the TV show. It was so weird to see things that happened in the TV show happen to different characters. Even though the graphic novels came first, I like the characterization of the TV show better. It’s probably because I’m used to them. I also love the actors because they bring so much emotion to the story. I don’t really like graphic novel Carol or Michonne, but I love TV show Carol and Michonne. Graphic novel Maggie and Glenn are growing on me, so that’s something.

I was so looking forward to continuing with this series, but volume 5 did me in. It was too graphic, too vivid, and too disturbing. I knew going into the graphic novels that they would be violent and graphic, but there are some things I just don’t need to see in detail, like a someone being brutally raped and beaten over and over again. That imagery won’t be leaving my mind any time soon. It was so graphic and lasted several pages. I’m done.

I rated the first four volumes 3 stars and the fifth volume 1 star. The average rating is 2.6 stars so that’s why I’ve posted it as 2.5 stars.

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One Dead Spy

One Dead SpyTitle: One Dead Spy
Author: Nathan Hale
Series: Hazardous Tales #1
Genre: Informative, Middle Grade, Non-Fiction
Format: Kindle
Pages: 127
Reason Read: Book Club
Rating:

My Thoughts

I didn’t really realize what ONE DEAD SPY was about until after I started to read it. It’s basically American History in graphic novel form peppered with jokes to make the history more fun. Personally, I thought the jokes were stupid and juvenile. I also hated the execution of the story, but it’s middle grade so I think young kids would enjoy them and learn something from them in the process. In that sense, I thought the story was successful. However, while I enjoyed the history, learning, and even the pictures, I would’ve rather read something like this in a historical fiction novel or watch a TV show / movie about it.