I can’t believe this is the 20th Weekly Round-up post! We got a lot of new graphic novels in at the library last week so I read mostly those and most of them were fantastic!! The first one that I want to talk about is called Archival Quality by Ivy Noelle Weir.
This graphic novel is about Celeste “Cel” Walden who was a librarian that was let go from her previous job after a mental breakdown. She is desperate to find a new job and Abayomi Abiola is searching for a new archivist at the Logan Museum. She quickly finds out that the new job is anything but what it seems. It comes with an apartment that is located inside the museum that Cel gets to live in for free and her job is overnight, after the museum closes and everyone goes home. Soon things start happening. She starts losing time, there are odd noises late at night, objects are moving around – and Cel is getting blamed. She also starts to have horribly realistic nightmares of a young woman. Cel must work with her boss, Holly Park, and Abayomi, the head curator, to find out what happened long ago in the Logan Museum.
This graphic novel is FANTASTIC. It deals with mental illness in a different way than other graphic novels that I’ve read before. It seemed more real and raw to me in that sense. I really loved the storyline and the mystery as well. As someone who works at a library, I really understood how Cel felt when she got let go from her job and said that the job was her whole life and that she didn’t want to do anything else (that would be me if I ever stopped working here!). She is a great character and most definitely has lots of flaws and they are not hidden from the reader in any way. She is portrayed as a complicated human being who is going through a lot of things in her life. I really loved Cel as a person; I just wanted to jump in the book and help her out so bad! If you are a fan of mysteries then this will be right up your alley!
The next graphic novel that I read last week was March Book Two by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin. This is the second book in the March trilogy and continues right where the first one leaves off. I absolutely loved the first book so I was pretty sure that this one would be no different and I was correct! Here is the description of Book Two from Goodreads: “After the success of the Nashville sit-in campaign, John Lewis is more committed than ever to changing the world through nonviolence – but as he and his fellow Freedom Riders board a bus into the vicious heart of the deep south, they will be tested like never before.
Faced with beatings, police brutality, imprisonment, arson, and even murder, the young activists of the movement struggle with internal conflicts as well. But their courage will attract the notice of powerful allies, from Martin Luther King, Jr. to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy… and once Lewis is elected chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, this 23-year-old will be thrust into the national spotlight, becoming one of the “Big Six” leaders of the civil rights movement and a central figure in the landmark 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.”
I really like this series of books but it is a little hard to read at times. There is more violence in this than there was in the first book so just keep that in mind if that is something that bothers you. I think I enjoyed this book more because we already knew who all the players were and could really jump right into the story. Even if you are not a history buff (I am not) then you will still enjoy this book immensely. I really liked learning about the Civil Rights movement and all of the people that were involved in it.
The next book that I really loved last week was Space Boy: Volume 2 by Stephen McCranie. Synopsis from Goodreads: “A sci-fi drama of a high school aged girl who belongs in a different time, a boy possessed by emptiness as deep as space, an alien artifact, mysterious murder, and a love that crosses light years.” This is the second volume in this series and I really love these books so much. The art style is not something that I’ve seen a whole lot int he many graphic novels that I’ve read. I’ve seen a few reviews mention that they are not a fan of the style but I personally love it. They look adorable! This book also picks off right where the first one leaves off, with Amy still trying to navigate her new school and her new friends. While going to school she comes across a boy named Oliver who is a mystery. He seems to look right through people and she just can’t figure out what’s going on with him. This is a really great series and I’m very excited to read the next volume (which was just published in March of this year!).
The last book that I really wanted to talk about that I finished is called Zita the Spacegirl (#1) by Ben Hatke. This is the first in a series about Zita and the friends that she makes in her adventures. This book is super cute but I would say more for younger kids than teens. Zita and her friend, Joseph, are playing in a field and find a tempting red button. Of course, they push the button. This opens a portal to space and sucks in Joseph! Zita goes after him to try and rescue him before the aliens do something horrible! Once she goes through the portal, she tries to find Joseph but instead finds aliens in every shape and size! Zita and her newfound alien friends go on a fantastic adventure to try and rescue Joseph. I won’t spoil the ending for you guys but it’s so good!
That is it for this week! What are you guys reading? I’m always looking for suggestions so leave a comment below! Or come say hi on Twitter!
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