Completely Full Bookshelf

I'm back!!!  I really wish I hadn't dropped off the face of the earth quite aggressively for two months, but alas, here we are. In that time, I've: Been so busy that it's really a wonder how I function at all (yet I do!) Been addicted to various  amazing  albums of music ( Midnights by Taylor Swift,  Inner World Peace  by Frankie Cosmos, and Swimming Lessons  by Genevieve Stokes) Done my usual therapy routine (hooray for achingly slow self-improvement!) Played several shockingly gorgeous mobile games I've played before ( Monument Valley , Monument Valley 2 , and Assemble with Care ) and one I haven't ( Florence ) Listened to three tracks from the  Monument Valley 2  soundtrack on loop ("Interwoven Stories," "Child," and "Power of Two") Laughed really hard on some video calls with friends Pondered my future intermittently and with great trepidation (my trepidation is greater than your trepidation, so take that ) Felt like a weird cr...

I'm back (again)! I hope to have some blog posts in the next few weeks about both graphic novels and regular prose novels. Today, I have a review of a (sort-of) graphic novel: Diary by Svetlana Chmakova.           If this book looks familiar, that's because it is the fourth book in the Berrybrook Middle School series (the first three books of which are regular graphic novels Awkward , Brave , and Crush , with reviews linked). Diary is a bit more unconventional: it features a number of activities (such as, shockingly enough, diary pages) and three short stories. (Interestingly, the copy I have has a sticker on the front mentioning the three short stories, but none of the cover images have that same sticker.) Before I talk about the short stories, I do want to mention some of the book's other features: Several activity pages (a self-profile at the beginning and pages after the first and third short stories) An 18-month undated calen...

I'm back for the new year! I've had an incredibly hectic two months, so I've barely had time to sit down and read much less write a review. However, now that it's winter break, I finally have a review! This week, I am recommending Crush  by Svetlana Chmakova. You may remember that, back in July, I read the first two graphic novels in this series, Awkward  and Brave , and wholeheartedly recommended them. I just finished reading Crush  over the course of one day, and I think it may be even better than the first two! Crush  follows Jorge, a side character from Brave . Jorge happens to be quite large for a middle-schooler, and he uses his size as a superpower, scaring bullies out of hurting their targets. Despite being somewhat terrifying, Jorge has two good friends from the athletic club at his school, Garrett and Olivia (or Liv). Most years, his life would be perfectly pleasant, but this year is odd. Jorge develops his first crush on a girl named Jazmine, and he...

I don't think I've ever reviewed the sequel to a book the week after I reviewed the first book, but I enjoyed Awkward  by Svetlana Chmakova so much (see my review here ) that I had to recommend its sequel, Brave , this very week! The main character of Brave  (a graphic novel, like Awkward ) is Jensen Graham, who was a minor character (mainly serving comic relief) in Awkward . Jensen sees each school day as a series of obstacles that he has to overcome before getting to attend art club (the same art club that played a major role in the previous book). These obstacles include math class, taught by a teacher who is mostly unsympathetic to Jensen's struggles in the subject, and constant bullying, usually due to Jensen's weight or obsession with preparing for the apocalypse (be it due to zombies or, as he was worried about in Awkward , sunspots). Art club starts to become unpleasant as well, as some of his fellow club members start to exclude and make fun of him at ev...

For MMGM, I am recommending Awkward  by Svetlana Chmakova. The protagonist of Awkward  (a graphic novel) is Penelope Torres (also known as Peppi). Her life at middle school is okay, with her having friends and being part of her school's art club (which constantly fights with the science club). However, on her first day at school, when she dropped all of her things and a shy kid from the science club named Jaime tried to help her, kids in the hall made fun of her, prompting her to shove Jaime away and run off. Her constant guilt at doing so makes her feel miserable and try to avoid Jaime at all costs, but when he becomes her science tutor, Penelope and Jaime start to become friends. As the art club and science club are pitted against each other in a competition, Penelope has to balance working with fellow club member Maribella to print the club's comics in the school newspaper, keeping her still-amiable friendship with Jaime hidden from the other club members, and worryi...