December Wrap-Up (2017)

This last month of the year is filled with books and comics! I read quite a lot and had only a few disappointment, but it’s fine!
I also read a lot of comics at the end because I wanted to read what my sister got for Christmas before I had to leave! Those comics are the one from the picture Header!

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1) Allison, by Laurent Queyssi
Un petit roman young adult français très sympa, lecture rapide et prenante, émouvante parfois. Ma chronique est dispo!

2) Shadow Sun Seven (Starfire #2), by Spencer Ellsworth
eARC from netgalley
This sequel was amazing!! I’m so excited to read the third instalment! My review should be up in January.

3) The Stone Sky (The Broken Earth #3), by N.K. Jemisin
All the awards: 5/5. The Broken Earth trilogy is one of the best trilogies I’ve ever read.

4) An Enchantment of Ravens, by Margaret Rogerson
I had read a whole lot of review, seen a lot of discussion on twitter for this book so I started it with little to no expectations. It lead me to being pleasantly surprised and I could enjoy the book for what it was!

5) Want (Want #1), by Cindy Pon
Too romance-heavy for me, especially since I wasn’t expecting that at all. I like that the novel talks about pollution, corruption, and has a heist with cool asian teens but beyond that I was disappointed unfortunately. It’s more of a it’s not you it’s me issue here I guess!

6) Not Your Villain (Sidekick Squad #2), by C.B. Lee
Aww this book was high on my list for 2017 books, but I was a bit let down. While I love Bells and his friends and family, the beginning was both too slow and rushed: the first 30% are set before and during the first book. While it makes this sequel stand on its own, it made for a weak start. That book also suffers from the middle book syndrome in my opinion. I still liked it (BELLS💚) but I had been hoping for more? Still very excited for the third book with Emma!

7) The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night, by Jen Campbell
While this was a 3/5 book for me, this still was a magical twisted read that I had a nice time with.
Here’s my review!

8) California Dreamin’, by Pénélope Bagieu
Je ne savais pas en empruntant ce livre à la bibliothèque que l’histoire était basée sur la vie d’une vrai chanteuse. J’ai beaucoup aimé le style au crayon de papier un peu brouillon, les visages sont d’une grande force et j’admire la façon qu’a Pénélope Bagieu de dessiner les corps. Vraiment bien!

9) The Shadow Hero, by Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew 
Quand je l’ai emprunté à la bibliothèque je n’avais même pas reconnu que c’était un livre que j’avais déjà dans ma liste “want-to-read” sur goodreads! La couverture française est très différente de celle américaine mais je trouve qu’elle montre bien le design de tout les personnages présent et ça c’est top (dit-elle après avoir été déçue à de nombreuses reprises après que les dessins intérieurs soient si différents de la couverture.)
J’ai vraiment bien aimé, surtout la fin qui explique le pourquoi de cette réinvention du personnage.

10) Coverama : Alternate Worlds, by Marc Simonetti
Haaa que c’était beau! Voyage dans les couvertures et autres oeuvres de Marc Simonetti que l’on a tous vu et admiré sur les étagères des librairies. Je connaissais celles sur Westeros et Discworld, et j’ai fait pas mal de découvertes surtout côté Scifi.

11) Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge, by Paul Krueger 
Chinese-American post grad-college main character sruggling with grown-up life and discovering a secret magic bartender society who fight monsters at night!!
Here’s my review!

12) The Scrape of Tooth and Bone, by Ada Hoffmann
A lesbian autistic main character, who’s a mecanic and loves dinosaurs ❤ Short and fun and exactly what I’d been expecting, so: good!
(Read it here)

13) Jade City (The Green Bone Saga, #1), by Fonda Lee 
Gangster story, magical jade, family dynasty, national pride, awesome fights and careful machinations: That was an epic read!! I loved how the second half took a very different turn, I also got very attached to most of the characters, and while I liked others less they were still interesting!

14) Aquamarine, by Andreas Eschbach
(translated from german to french by Claire Duval)
J’ai du mal à savoir si j’ai aimé ou pas. A certains moments je trouvais vraiment cool, et à d’autre je levais assez souvent les yeux au ciel. Je ne m’attendais pas en réalité à ce que ce roman soit plutôt pour des adolescents, et je trouve qu’il entre dans la catégorie des romans ado qui semblent clairement être écrit par un adulte. Surtout, la première moitié fait monter le suspens sur une révélation que la quatrième de couverture laisse assez facilement deviner.

15) An Alphabet of Embers, edited by Rose Lemberg
I think my favourite story was “Transfers to Connecting Flights” by JY Yang, and I also loved Zen Cho’s story and Yoon Ha Lee’s! But overall I thought the stories were too abstract and it’s something I often struggle with. A good anthology that just wasn’t for me.

16) Batgirl, Volume 1: Beyond Burnside
I don’t really know what to think of this one. I love Barbara and Batgirl comics are ones I love to read but I didn’t love this one as much as I hoped I would. Still excited to read what will happen next!

17) Batgirl and the Birds of Prey, Volume 1: Who Is Oracle?
Same as what I said just before, I was hoping to love this but I just liked it a bit. No strong feeling.

18) Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat!, Volume 3: Careless Whisker
This is so nice, fun and cute! I love how inclusive it is, I love the group of friend, I love everything. So so sad that the title was cancelled 😥

19) All-New Wolverine, Volume 2: Civil War II
FAVE. I had already read the single issues but it is part of all these comics my sister got for Christmas and I had to reread it! Laura is the best, the whole cast of character is awesome. This volume was both super fun, moving and action-packed.

20) Mighty Thor Vol. 2, Lords of Midgard
I loved most of this volume but I was not impressed by the art used for the story told by Loki. A good volume overall which make me very excited for the rest but I still feel like Thor doesn’t have enough of a place in her own series here. She often feels like a secondary character in her own story and I don’t know how to feel about that? She should be front and center.

21) Spider-Gwen, Vol. 3: Long-Distance
This was so light in content, I was quite disappointed. One issue even had a very UGLY art, it almost felt like an insult to the characters. The best part of this volume was the All-New Wolverine Annual #1 !

22) The Answer, by Rebecca Sugar, Tiffany Ford, Elle Michalka
I’m a big fan of Steven Universe and so is my sister! This short illustrated book was lovely and made me smile the whole time I was reading it.

23) The Invisible Child and The Fir Tree (Mumintrollen), by Tove Jansson
This was so nice, so cute, so adorable!! Tove Jansson and the Moomins are not that well known in France and I don’t understand why?? This is so great, definitely not the last thing I’ll read from her!

24) Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Vol. 2: Cosmic Cooties
So awesome! I love this series!! I can’t wait to read what’ll happen next too! Lunella is the cutest Inhuman. I loved the guest star in this 😉

25) The Tea Dragon Society, by Katie O’Neill
This was a reread! Just a adorable and cute the second time around ❤ (My review)

26) Juniper Leaves: The Otherworldly Tale of a Lonesome Magical Girl, by Jaz Joyner
This was a very nice story with an introverted black teen girl. I bought a copy after reading this article!
It won’t be a new favourite unfortunately because it lacked a certain something for it to really struck a cord with me. The way it was written sometimes made it feel less epic than it could have been. But it still has a lot of awesome things in it!

27) These Deathless Bones, by Cassandra Khaw
I was browsing my ereader and suddenly remembered I wanted to read this short story a while back!
It was really great, from the point of view of the (perceived as) evil stepmother of a prince.
content warning: animal cruelty, death
(Read it here)

28) This World is Full of Monsters, by Jeff VanderMeer 
Same for this one! Though I didn’t like it as much as These Deathless Bones but it was a very weird story, around 30 pages, about a man’s journey throughout a weird alien invasion, and mostly after it’s been done. There isn’t really any action but it’s more of  a journey on an idea? Weird is definitely the word for it.
(Read it here)

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Did not finish – Abandonné : 

La fille aux cheveux rouges (Le projet Starpoint #1), by Marie-Lorna Vaconsin
Avouons le, c’était surtout le très beau design de couverture qui m’a attiré ici. Je n’ai pas trop aimé la première partie qui expose la petite vie normale de Pythagore, tout en distillant de *gros* indices sur les choses à venir. Lecture rapide, j’étais pourtant curieuse de découvrir ce qui se tramait. Mais c’est vite tombé dans les amourettes et le style d’écriture très plat sans rien de spécial ne m’a en rien donné envie de continuer. Le monde alternatif aurait put être très intéressant mais les choses nous sont présentés comme un exposé et je n’ai pas ressenti l’émerveillement escompté.

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What I posted this month:

Book review: The Fifth Season
Chronique de livre: Allison
Book review: Beneath the Sugar Sky
Chronique de livre: La Cinquième Saison
Book review: The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night
Book review: Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge
Christmas presents (2017)

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Currently reading:

Both in French!
Deux lectures en français!
J’ai emprunté Les Seigneurs de Bohen à la bibliothèque et pour l’instant j’aime beaucoup!
Pour ce qui est de Sorceleur, c’est une lecture avec mon copain mais comme on a peu de temps pour lire ensemble, je ne sais pas quand est-ce qu’on le finira! J’avais déjà lu ce tome au lycée il y a plus de 5ans, mais c’est plus sympa de me replonger dedans après avoir vu des images du jeu et surtout la superbe musique!

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Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to every one of you ❤