Wendy MacNaughton

Note to self: do not read books about cats during your lunch hour at work, or you may get teary-eyed at a non-optimal time. That said, I loved this. The illustrations are so lovely, and the story is told with a surprisingly deft and light-hearted hand for something that is really quite dark at times. This is, after all, not just about a cat that leaves and then comes back. It's about love and loss and the inevitable ways things change over time. It's ultimately hopeful and warm and charming and I wanted to read it again as soon as I put it down. I also wanted to hug my cat. Many times. All the way through.… (mer)

I'm interested in the concept of hospice and the topic of death, but I just did not connect to the material in this book.

Perhaps because I read it too fast, since it is exceedingly short and brief. Perhaps because I was reading it off a list of best graphic novels of 2023 (see below), but it is hard for me to consider it a graphic novel since it is really a series of still life studies and portraits where the words printed on the page don't necessarily have a direct connection to the image. And the words are really matter-of-fact instructions, sort of pithy, sort of just there.

It's not bad, and it's kind of interesting, but it's too brief and shallow for me.

(Best of 2023 Project: I'm reading all the graphic novels that made it onto NPR's Books We Love 2023: Favorite Comics and Graphic Novels list.)… (mer)

"We each survive in our own way."

Well let me just start by saying that I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would. I think sometimes I forgot the magic of a YA novel. I think that this series, at least from this book, is going to be phenomenal. I mean it has everything you want in a good fantasy series already and it's just getting started. I immediately fell in love with Celaena. She is tough and fierce, but also she loves pretty things and chocolate. So like what's not to love about her. I think Maas has created an amazing foundation for the story and made the reading both easy and fun. It is one of those books that you find hard to put down just because so much happens.

I can't wait to see what comes next in this series. I mean Celaena is clearly hiding some things about herself and I can't wait to uncover what they are. I have to admit I've spent a vast amount of the book wondering if I should be Team Dorian or Team Chaol, a rather frustrating place to be when it doesn't feel like we are ever going to get any answers. Like all good first books in a series we get a lot of tiny pieces of the bigger picture and I'm eager to see how they play out. I really think this series so far has a marvelous cast of characters and I look forward to seeing how things play out for each of them, but especially Celaena. I cannot wait to get to the all the action in this one.… (mer)