September Wrap-Up (2017)

Back to college month! I managed to read much more than I thought I’d have time to, so I’m really glad! I also started making pinterest boards for the books I’m reading sometimes and I’ll link them in here and reviews *when I write them* 😀
While I read a lot, I also DNFd more than usual, because with school and required reading back, I didn’t want my free time to be spent forcing myself to finish a book I wasn’t enjoying.
I really reviewed a lot of comics and graphic novels this month 😮 Since they are quick read, that expains that big wrap-up in parts! ALSO here is the separate wrap-up post I made for the comics single issues I read!

I’m a bit sad that I read so many books from the library pretty quickly because it means I cannot take a picture of all the physical books I read since I don’t have them anymore, so no photo banner of a big stack of books for this wrap-up post… Still, thankful for my library to have so many books I can borrow from! ❤

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1) Knit One, Girl Two, by Shira Glassman
A very sweet, cute and geeky novella!! A f/f romance between two jewish young women, both artist (one knitter and one painter) who met for work and quickly found they have a lot in common.

2) La Différence invisible, by Julie Dachez (Scénario) and Mademoiselle Caroline (Adaptation du Scénario, Dessin)
Ça faisait longtemps que je voulais lire cette bande dessinée et je l’ai enfin trouvé à la bibliothèque! A mettre entre toutes les mains pour que plus de gens comprennent ce qu’est l’autisme (et plus précisément ici asperger), grosse recommandation.
J’ai failli lui mettre 5/5 sur goodreads, mais j’ai quand même mit 4/5 car il y avait quelques petites choses maladroite à la fin dans les notes plus documentation, des choses que j’ai appris via twitter et les personnes autistes que je suis.
Je n’ai pas écris de chronique, mais j’en parle légèrement en anglais à la fin de cette chronique là!

3) Beauty Queens, by Libba Bray
When the news broke on twitter that some men wanted to remake a Lord of the Flies movie with women and everyone talked about how bad an idea this was, I thought that it was finally time to read this novel! When a plane full of beauty pageant contestants crash on a (not so desert) island, things does not evolve as one would think. This book addressed a lot of themes, like feminism, racism, disability, and so on! It had a very dark twisted sense of humor, ridiculous at time, very satiric and I enjoyed it a lot.
BUT I would also recommend Taryn’s review that made me realise some things and made me lower my 5/5 rating because I had not spotted some issues.

4) Olympe de Gouges, by Catel and José-Louis Bocquet
Très intéressant roman graphique sur cette femme remarquable.

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5) No More Heroes, by Michelle Kan
That was a nice short read, with young adults in college deciding to become vigilentes after they develop abilities. The powers were really cool, the characters interesting to follow. I would have liked a bit more regarding their daily life, maybe an explanation for these abilities. I gave it 3/5 because while I had a good time, I felt it could have been better.

6) Chemin perdu, by Amélie Fléchais and Jonathan Garnier
Superbe!
Ma chronique est ici!

7) Descender, Vol. 1: Etoiles de métal, by Jeff Lemire, Dustin Nguyen
8) Descender, Vol. 2: Lune Mécanique, by Jeff Lemire, Dustin Nguyen 
Just sublime. J’adore les illustrations, les couleurs, l’ambiance… Une histoire centrée sur un petit robot, un vaste univers et les humains qu’il va rencontrer. J’ai adoré la direction que prend le t2 avec une figure du passé de Tim-21! J’espère que le Vol.3 arrivera bientôt à la bibliothèque.

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9) Joséphine Baker, by José-Louis Bocquet, Catel Muller
J’avais envie d’en apprendre plus sur Joséphine Baker après avoir lu la partie sur elle dans Culottées! Vraiment très intéressant, une femme toujours positive qui prend sa vie en main et en profite à 100%.

10) The Heroic Legend of Arslan, Vol. 2, by Hiromu Arakawa, Yoshiki Tanaka
11) The Heroic Legend of Arslan, Vol. 3, by Hiromu Arakawa, Yoshiki Tanaka
J’avais déjà connaissance de ce qui se passait dans ces deux tomes car j’ai vu une partie de l’anime, mais lorsque je les ai vu à la bibliothèque je n’ai pas pu m’empêcher de les emprunter pour retrouver ces personnages! Pas parfait mais j’ai un petit faible pour les mangas dans un monde type fantasy!

12) Angel of the Blockade, by Alex Wells
This was so good! About a blind black pilot trying her best to stay alive in the universe, doing smuggling jobs after smuggling jobs in time of war, until one doesn’t turn out the way it should have.
I’m more eager than ever to read Alex Wells’s novel now.
Available here

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13) Rolling in the Deep (Rolling in the Deep 0.5), by Mira Grant
I was so excited to read this novella! Even more knowing a full novel is coming this fall! It really delivered regarding the documentary aspect, evil mermaids and slaughtered cast of characters. No suspense here since we all know how this ends from the start, but still a very cool read!
Here’s a pinterest board I made for it since I was so hyped about it

14) Quiet Girl in a Noisy World: An Introvert’s Story, by Debbie Tung
eARC from Netgalley
Great book for introvert people to feel less alone ❤
Here is my review.

15) Royal Assassin (Farseer Trilogy #2), by Robin Hobb
THIS BOOK. I can’t say if it was better than the first book, but it sure helped that one of my favourite character of ever appear in this one ❤
Here’s a pinterest board I made while reading!

16) Words Like Coins (Realms of the Elderlings #1.5), by Robin Hobb, Tom Kidd (Illustrator)
Short story in the world of the Realm of the Elderlings, with no link to the general story but just set there. I liked that it made us discover a magical creature, that we can glimpse a world bigger than just the one big storyline the novels made us follow. Not amazing but still enjoyed reading a bit more from Robin Hobb.

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17) The Legend of Korra: Turf Wars Part One (Turf Wars #1), by Michael Dante DiMartino, Irene Koh
SO GOOD! The art is GORGEOUS, I read this quite slowly because I needed to gaze at each page! It was so great to find all the characters again. Perfect for fans of the show who wanted more. Will definitely read the next parts.

18) Everything All at Once, by Katrina Leno
This book held me captive and wouldn’t let go, I read it in one setting and rated it 5/5 on goodreads. Definitely a new favourite, that I will have a hard time finding the right words to recommend. It is about grief, anxiety, asking for help, books, family, friendship… It is about a lot of things and I really felt like this was a book made for me.
Here is my review, and here’s another pinterest board I made for this book!

19) The Only Harmless Great Thing, by Brooke Bolander
eARC from the publisher.
Well that was a complex read. While super short, in my case this is not something I could easily read in one setting. It is a hard, harsh, cruel and sad story, emotionally taxing. But it also is fascinating and powerful. The way different timelines are jumbled together with no real indication as of their date, but still understandable, and the way humans and elephants point of views are mixed up make this a complex read that does not take the reader by the hand, but let them get swept up by their morbid curiosity.
Not a story for the faint of heart.

20) Winterglass, by Benjanun Sriduangkaew
eARC from the publisher
I don’t have any strong feeling about this novella. I liked the setting and there were some great ideas, with diverse characters: all persons of color, almost all queer, almost no men. Despite the great elements, I wasn’t swept away by the writing style.

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21) Super Sons, Volume 1: When I Grow Up, by Peter J. Tomasi, Jorge Jimenez
eARC from netgalley
Jon and Damian are really great to follow, a lovely duo, super cute and ready to yell at each other but also support one another whenever needs to! The storyline in itself is not spectacular, but is interesting and okay starting age 9 in my opinion. I also really love the art style, the boys really look like young teen boys and some scenes were amazing.
Here’s my review.

22) The Night Masquerade (Binti #3), by Nnedi Okorafor 
eARC from the publisher
Finally! The conclusion to this wonderful novella series. I have to say this wasn’t an easy read. While I was overjoyed to have a chance to read this early, it isn’t a light read in any way. War, death, trauma… While I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first two, I really loved the ending a lot.

23) The Lost & Found, by Katrina Leno
I liked this novel a lot, but I’m still trying to organise my thoughts and will post a review when I’m done! There were some apects that didn’t sit well with me, like the way the mental illness of the mother was talked about.

24) Gretchen (Zombillenium #1), by Arthur de Pins
Sympathique bande dessinée! Ça faisait longtemps que je voulais lire cette série et la news de l’adaptation en film arrivant bientôt m’a rappelé de l’emprunter à la bibliothèque. Le cadre bien français est drôle, les monstres et la touche de magie sont à mon goût: je lirais la suite lorsqu’elle sera disponible à la bibliothèque.

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25) Viral Airwaves (Viral Airwaves #1), by Claudie Arseneault
I liked reading this novel. Not a new favourite but not a disappointment either.
It was a bit confusing at first to understand the setting but the description talking about a dystopian solarpunk novel actually fits well. Not a fan of the ennemy-to-lover trope but it was still engaging and I ended up rooting for them. The three main characters were nice to follow, but I would have liked for one of them to be a woman maybe: Treysh and Maniel are my favourites so I’m a bit sad they weren’t on the spotlight more.
A very sad story on occasions, but still an hopeful one, with a great cast of LGBTA+ characters.
trigger warnings are available on the author’s website.

26) L’homme montagne, by Amélie Fléchais and Séverine Gauthier
Petite lecture mignonne pour continuer ma découverte du travail d’Amélie Fléchais!
Toujours des dessins et des couleurs douces, un régal qui m’a permis de me poser et me calmer au milieu de la foule étouffante du samedi à la bibliothèque. On suit un petit garçon montagne dont le grand père montagne est sur le point de faire son dernier voyage, seul. L’aïeul l’envoie dans une espèce de quête initiatique où il apprendra l’importance du partage, de l’entraide, etc. C’est mignon, triste, joli… Une histoire pleine de tendresse sur le deuil aussi.
Une belle lecture, même si elle n’est pas ma favorite des albums sur lesquels Amélie Fléchais a travaillé. J’ai surtout hâte que “Bergères Guerrières” arrive à la bibliothèque maintenant!

27) Starlings, by Jo Walton
eARC from netgalley
The first story took me a while to get into, but then the others were better. I was made a bit uncomfortable by what the author talked sometimes in the afterwords. A 3/5 short fiction collection, will post my review by the end of the month!

28) Le Fantôme d’Anya, by Vera Brosgol, translated to french by Sandra Nydegger and Nicolas Grivel
Je suis légèrement divisée parce que la traduction française (oui, encore…) n’était pas top top… Mais l’histoire en elle même était vraiment géniale!
Je grinçais un peu des dents au début à cause de la façon dont Anya détestait cette autre fille “parfaite” ou haussait les épaules face au harcèlement d’un camarde de classe de la même origine russe qu’elle, mais elle grandit beaucoup au fil de l’histoire et fait preuve de beaucoup de compassion au final.
L’histoire de fantôme m’a beaucoup plus, bien qu’elle ne soit pas la plus originale que j’ai pu lire.

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Some of my required readings for college:

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Did not finish:

Les Papillons géomètres, by Christine Luce
L’objet livre en lui même est sublime, j’avais envie de le prendre en photo sous toutes les coutures, même l’intérieur est très beau. MAIS. Mais le style d’écriture est lourd, si lourd! Des tournures de phrases alambiquées et un vocabulaire compliqué à l’excès: comme si l’auteure avait cherché des synonymes à chaque fois pour faire le moins simple possible, au point d’en être presque incompréhensible et risible. Déçue.

Chien Du Heaume (Chien du Haume #1), by Justine Niogret
J’ai commencé ce livre assez enthousiaste car, après avoir été déçue par le livre ci dessus, celui-ci commençait sur les chapeaux de roues. Très violent: ce n’est pas mon style préféré mais le fait que le personnage principal soit une femme dure et sans peur, maniant la hache et en quête d’identité m’a intriguée et j’ai continué. L’histoire devient très vite répétitive et les insultes sexistes (même de la part de Chien envers les autres femmes…) m’ont très vite fait déchanté et j’ai finalement perdu l’envie de finir cette histoire. Dommage car le début m’avait impressionné.

Les Aventures de Charlotte (Charlotte Holmes, #1), by Brittany Cavallaro
I stopped reading this because of the french translation.
J’explique plus en détail sur goodreads pourquoi je n’ai pas accroché du tout à la traduction.

27 Hours (The Nightside Saga #1), by Tristina Wright
eARC from netgalley
I was super hyped for this book because I saw only good things for months. Then a few days after I finally was able to request it on netgalley I saw the first review addressing some issues, and then saw other tweets from someone who had some concerns about the ace rep. So I went into this with my hopes lowered. And I ended up being really uncomfortable because, despite some very nice characters, I couldn’t 100% root for them, and I stopped reading at 25%.
This review is a very good one that I recommend reading.
My review will be up on the blog very shortly.

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What I posted this month:

August Wrap-Up (2017)
Book review: The Ruin of Angels
Book review: Sea of Rust
Book review: The Tea Dragon Society
Book review: Nyxia
Book review: The Little Red Wolf
Chronique de livre: Le Petit Loup Rouge
Chronique de livre: Chemin perdu
Book review: Quiet Girl in a Noisy World
Book review: Everything All at Once
Book review: Super Sons Volume 1

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Currently reading:

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I wasn’t expecting to read and post that much this month!! I’m very suprised to be honest haha. I don’t think October will have such a long Wrap-Up post!