Sarah KuhnRecensioner
Författare till Heroine Complex
Recensioner
I Love You So Mochi av Sarah Kuhn
Like other retellings from DC’s YA original graphic novel line, Shadow of the Batgirl honors what preceded it while offering a story free to explore core characters and introduce them to new readers. Kuhn, an accomplished storyteller, brings more to Cassandra Cain’s narrative to honor the character’s Asian-American heritage. Artist Goux and colorist Cris Peter bring Kuhn’s story to vibrant life with dynamic character and location designs. In particular, they take full advantage of the library setting’s scale for splash pages depicting action. Finally, Janice Chiang and Saida Temofonte’s letters neatly punctuate the dialogue and captions.
This was such a fun take on cinderella story. Prob my favorite since I read geekerella. I also really loved how this book tackled the complicated topic about being asian american. It really was harsh look at the experience. I also really loved the romance that developed. I also really enjoyed the hollywood connection and it reminded me a bit of this is what happy look like. I also really loved the "fairyrale element that were built in to this story such a fun read, def a new favorite.
I really loved this read and its take on cassandra cain an batgirl. I also really loved the art style that was created for this graphic novel. I also loved how this graphic novel focused on found family, assisan life. I also like exploring the the batgirl myth. That standout to me was the found fnaimy element and I will def check out more volumes of this series in the future. I really liked her as a character.
This was such a fun take on cinderella story. Prob my favorite since I read geekerella. I also really loved how this book tackled the complicated topic about being asian american. It really was harsh look at the experience. I also really loved the romance that developed. I also really enjoyed the hollywood connection and it reminded me a bit of this is what happy look like. I also really loved the "fairyrale element that were built in to this story such a fun read, def a new favorite.
I really loved this read and its take on cassandra cain an batgirl. I also really loved the art style that was created for this graphic novel. I also loved how this graphic novel focused on found family, assisan life. I also like exploring the the batgirl myth. That standout to me was the found fnaimy element and I will def check out more volumes of this series in the future. I really liked her as a character.
Lois is ambitious and can’t wait to become a journalist. The villain at Lane’s job was cartoonishly evil though I can’t say that’s not unrealistic for real life executives, sometimes; but only the worst of the worst would say or do these things so blatantly. It’s usually more subtle. The producer or whoever Dante was way accurate tho. Hollywood in a nutshell.
Also, I really like this line: “My mother and I never say ‘I love you.’ Because for what’s between us… that never feels like an enough.”
I especially enjoyed how realistic the college aspect of this book felt. The new characters (almost all college students) were believable and distinct, and I wanted to be their friends. I also appreciated how honest Evie's emotions were in this book. While I haven't felt the exact things she did, I did experience similar feelings when I was in college and I didn't always let myself process them in a healthy fashion. I think I've grown and healed since then, so it was refreshing to see Evie grow and heal as well.
-- 3.5 stars --
Eighteen years old and fresh out of high school, Lois Lane is about to have the summer of her life; her LIFE PLAN says as much, after all. After turning down a much-coveted internship at THE DAILY PLANET, Lois is instead moving to National City, where she'll be mentored by none other than Cat Grant, founder of CatCo. (The promise of doing actual journalism instead of fetching coffee orders is what sealed the deal.) Next up: journalism school and ALL the Pulitzers.
But things take a dive as soon as she sets foot in her new apartment - which her mom neglected to mention she'd be sharing with none other than Miki Mihara, her ex-best friend who she hasn't spoken to in four years. And on her first day at CatCo, she interrupts a gross scene: Cat Grant, being fired from her own media company, now that it's been acquired by Comet News Group Media Corporation, Inc. Lois quickly nicknames the new guy Triple B: Big Bad Boss. Instead of writing special interest pieces on local clog cobblers, Lois is demoted to an errand girl.
When all of the young writers on staff are unceremoniously fired, Lois gets an unexpected opportunity to impress Triple B. But her research into the "youth scene" in National City reveals a scandal: Miki's own mentor, Dante Alexander, assistant director at the theater company the Cleave, is stealing his protege's ideas and passing them off as his own, in secret, underground shows. This includes Miki's own one-woman show, "I am not your Orientalist Construct," about the racism and misogyny she encounters ... as an Asian woman. (It kind of goes without saying, but Dante is a white man.)
Lois brings her scathing exposé to her boss at CatCo, who rejects it outright (he's friends with Dante and a donor to the Cleave, as it turns out). So, with a little encouragement from Miki, they launch their own clandestine news site, Novice Nooz. But can two eighteen-year-old Asian women take on the patriarchy ... and win?
I really like the iteration of Lois Lane as an Asian woman. Growing up, Lois and Miki both had different ways of coping with being two of the few of the nonwhite faces in Macville, their "podunk" town. Lois tried to blend in and not make a scene - unless she was being recognized for her academic excellence, of course. Her LIFE PLAN very much revolves around being the best - at everything! - to show up at the racists in Macville. Meanwhile, Miki was loud and exuberant and kind of extra. This conflict around the supposed protective powers of the "model minority" cloak is one part of the wedge that drove them apart in eighth grade - so it's fitting that the issue is explored (and resolved, as much as it can be) here.
The friendship between Lois and Miki is messy and complicated - but ultimately beautiful and supportive. The end point is an excellent model for young women to aspire to. Ditto: Miki's relationships with her theater posse, Remy, Calla, Bitz; and Lois's budding friendship with tech intern Jasmin. I love how these young people hold each other up and champion one another. (Feeling very much like reading Lane Moore's YOU WILL FIND YOUR PEOPLE atm.) I also really enjoyed the scenes between Lois and her mom ("Breathe.")
The caper that kicks off Lois's investigative career feels relatively low-stakes (at least by supe standards; I'm sure Miki would disagree, and I can't really argue), but somewhat realistic for a recent HS grad. It's entertaining enough (reader, I gasped at Dante's pop up show), even if the huge twist I half-expected never came.
Other comments:
> Vader feels scary. Kudos to the voice actor and the writing for those scenes.
> The voice actress for Leia doesn't not sound like Leia, at all.
> Yes we get it, Triple-0. You like to murder.
3.5 Stars
Well that was an enjoyable story about family secrets and falling in love.
It was also a good exploration of Rika's experience being biracial. I thought the anger management plot line was done pretty well. It was interesting to read a YA story that also looks at what is considered shameful behaviour in some communities. An engaging read with some great dialogue.
3.5 Stars
Well that was an enjoyable story about family secrets and falling in love.
It was also a good exploration of Rika's experience being biracial. I thought the anger management plot line was done pretty well. It was interesting to read a YA story that also looks at what is considered shameful behaviour in some communities. An engaging read with some great dialogue.
Other comments:
> Vader feels scary. Kudos to the voice actor and the writing for those scenes.
> The voice actress for Leia doesn't not sound like Leia, at all.
> Yes we get it, Triple-0. You like to murder.
Things I loved: relationships between women that aren't solely based around duuuudes; Aveda's superhero-ness is actually a product of training and her power plays virtually no part of it; Evie's and Aveda's character growth; that the main ladies are Asian American and they aren't simply kung-fu masters or geishas but have experiences that seem authentic and multi-layered.
What I didn't love: the lack of tension and the slapstick tone. There isn't ever a real sense of urgency (as there should be, if there are demon portals in your city). And a lot of the humor just didn't jibe with me. I think it would work for fans of Shelly Laurenston or Jill Myles. Ultimately, while it was fun, I didn't feel totally engaged.
I'll try the next book in the series though, as I did like [b: One Con Glory|10120747|One Con Glory|Sarah Kuhn|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347404871s/10120747.jpg|7502182]. And also, even though I've yet to encounter a Puerto Rican/Black/Japanese lady in a book, I fucking loved reading about people who sound like me and my own group of mixed-ass friends.
Most of the superpowers people got after the demons came were relatively weak. Aveda, for example, got telekinesis, but she can only just barely move things. Evie's power, on the other hand, is much more dramatic and terrifying: she can light things on fire.
When Aveda injures herself, she convinces a reluctant Evie to pose as her for an event, during which Evie accidentally reveals her superpower. Now Evie's stuck pretending to be Aveda for a while longer, even though she'd much rather fade into the background and let Aveda have the spotlight.
Since there seems to be some confusion over on both the Goodreads and LibraryThing pages for this book: this is not a YA novel. Teens might very well enjoy it and that's fine, but as far as I can tell this was neither written as a YA novel nor marketed as one. Evie and Aveda are both adults (except during the short flashbacks to when they first met and became friends), and Evie ends up in a sexual relationship with one of the book's other characters. It's misleading to call this YA.
Okay, now that I've gotten that out of the way: overall I thought this was decent. Initially, I really liked Evie's "voice" (this was written in the first person), although I gradually became more and more frustrated with some of the messy emotional aspects, particularly with respect to her friendship with Aveda. Who, honestly, came across as a terrible friend during a good chunk of the book, despite the author's efforts to convince readers otherwise with a flashback to the time they first met and Annie (Aveda) wholeheartedly defended Evie against anyone who made her feel bad or embarrassed. If I remember right, they were the only two Asian girls at their school, and Annie's more forceful personality paired up well Evie, who preferred to be more in the background even back then.
When Evie got her superpower, she had to be more tightly emotionally controlled in order to keep her fire ability from slipping out. Which lead to something she privately called her Dead-Inside-O-Tron, aka her lack of sexual desire. Evie wasn't written as asexual, and I felt like that wording emphasized that the way she was dealing with her superpower wasn't comfortable or natural for her, but I can understand why this might put some readers off.
Although there was definitely an overarching story involving demons, a large part of this book was focused on the characters' relationships and emotions. Evie and Aveda had to deal with the toxic aspects of their friendship if they wanted to salvage the things that originally made their friendship so strong. Evie and Bea had their own baggage to deal with, and great gobs of things that they needed to talk about. I was glad the book dealt with these things eventually, but there were plenty of moments that were hard to take up to that point.
Evie's romance with Nate was okay. I'm not really a fan of pairings between characters who constantly argue with each other, and that was basically their relationship up to the point Evie realized she was attracted to him.
I plan to try the next book at some point. It looks like that one might focus more on Aveda (it seems like this was originally planned to be a trilogy, one book for each prominent female character, but then it continued on?).
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
The relationship between Evie and Nate needed a lot more work for me to believe they have anything beyond the bedroom scenes. As it is, the book could have been written without any bedroom scenes and nothing would have been lost in what plot there is, since they neither advance or otherwise enhance what is in the story already.
Glad I borrowed this one from the library since it's not worth the $8 the publisher wants for it. :|
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