Review: Hidden by Loic Dauvillier

Title: Hidden

Author: Loic Dauvillier

Series: No

To Be Published: April 2014

Edition Read: Netgalley Electronic Copy

Level Recommended: Elementary to Middle School

Overall: I found hidden to be a really sweet and lovely read.

Summary: (Netgalley) In this gentle, poetic young graphic novel, Dounia, a grandmother, tells her granddaughter the story even her son has never heard: how, as a young Jewish girl in Paris, she was hidden away from the Nazis by a series of neighbors and friends who risked their lives to keep her alive when her parents had been taken to concentration camps. 

Hidden ends on a tender note, with Dounia and her mother rediscovering each other as World War II  ends . . . and a young girl in present-day France becoming closer to her grandmother, who can finally, after all those years, tell her story. With words by Loïc Dauvillier and art by Marc Lizano and Greg Salsedo, this picture book-style comic for young readers is a touching read.

Review: Hidden was a very sweet graphic novel, and I believe that is hard to do with such a heavy subject as the Holocaust. Dounia tells her granddaughter what life was like in France when the Nazi's began to enforce their rule on the Jewish people. Dounia tells her story in a very personable and kind way. When Dounia explains what it was like to go from being a happy student in her class to a student that is pushed to the back of the class and entirely ignored her granddaughter asks why anyone would be so cruel. Dounia kindly explains that the non-Jewish people in France where scared, and that this possibly fueled their anger. 

When Dounia tells her granddaughter how her parents were eventually pushed into reclusiveness, and eventually that her parents are taken away to a concentration camp by the police. Dounia becomes a hidden child during the Holocaust, and a kind neighbor and her husband take her in as their own. Dounia tells about all these events in her life without loosing the child-like point-of-view that she had. The author does an amazing job of continuing to gently tell the story without losing the child-like point-of-view. This method of story telling makes Hidden an engaging and relatable read for young children. 

The artwork appropriately lends a itself to visually telling about the horrible treatment of the Jewish people without the dialogue having to do all the heavy lifting. While Dounia talks about how graffiti begins to take over the once beautiful walls of the city readers can see the police bullying and hitting store shop owners. The artwork is simple with clean lines and gorgeous colors that capture the eye, but doesn't overcrowd the page. I believe young readers will be attracted to the simplicity of the artwork without being overwhelmed by words or pictures. Both the text and the artwork compliment each other beautifully.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel, and felt it really hit it's mark. I found the novel to be completely appropriate for younger readers, but also relatable to all age groups. I feel that it's an excellent accompaniment to any lesson dealing with learning about the Holocaust. The novel really helps the reader understand what it could have been like to live during the Holocaust. 

I encourage all readers with an interest in historical fiction to pick this up once it goes on sale. 

Review: Drama by Raina Telgemeier

 Title: Drama

Author: Raina Telgemeier

Series: One Shot

Published: 2012

Edition Read: Paperback

Level Recommended: Mid-Grade to Young Adult

Overall: Drama was a very sweet and charming story about young love, self-realization, and friendship. 

Summary: (Book) Callie loves theater. And while she would totally try out for her middle school's production of Moon Over Mississippi, she's a terrible singer. Instead she's the set designer for the stage crew, and this year she's determined to create a set worthy of Broadway on a middle-school budget. But how can she, when she doesn't know much about carpentry, ticket sales are down, and the crew members are having trouble working together? Not to mention the onstage AND offstage drama that occurs once the actors are chosen, and when two cute brothers enter the picture, things get even crazier! 

Review: If there is one complaint I really have about my local B & N it's that I have a hard time finding sweet gems like Drama among the manga and super herocomics. In all honestly, I believe that you have to know what you're looking for or be willing to order it before you find something that's just a bit different. 

Raina Telgemeier's first graphic novel, Smile, was published in 2010, but I had come across Raina's work when it was being published online through a web comics site. One that I stopped checking out quite some time ago, and seems to now be gone. (Or maybe I just can't remember what the site name was. Hum.)  Over the summer I ended up coming across Raina's newest publication, Drama, in my local B & N by accident. I recognized Raina's drawing style right away, and was thrilled to see she'd accomplished her goal of publishing her work.

Seriously, Raina's art work, along with the beautiful bright color palette makes this book a lovely work of art. Her drawing style is refreshingly different from the manga style that has kind of taken over graphic novels, but it's also distinct enough that, after several years, I was able to recognize it immediately as work from an artist I am impressed with. I found Raina's pacing of her panels and cleanness of her artwork adds to the readability of her overall story. Too many times I've looked at a graphic novel and found the artwork distracting. This is not true at all for Raina's work.

Drama as a story starts off with main character, Callie, confessing to her crush, Greg, that she was very much interested in a relationship with him. She finds out very soon that Greg just doesn't feel the same way. Callie is, understandably, crushed by the rejection, but soon finds herself immersed in working behind the scenes of her middle school's production of Moon Over Mississippi in special effects. She soon meets twin brothers Jesse and Justin and convinces both of them to become involved with the school's production as well. Callie just doesn't realize how much these twins, coupled with the already growing drama of the production itself, will force her to look at herself and how she feels about romance. 

I found almost everything about Raina's story delightful and sweet. It touches on some complex issues where relationships are involved without losing the charming nature of the storytelling. Callie's awkwardness towards relationships is mirrored in almost all the other characters is really how I remember middle school being. You're more independent, but you're still treading some unsteady waters. Your friends and your life is suddenly becoming complicated when you throw in romance, but at the same time you're finding what moves you. For Callie, it's her love of Broadway style shows, and most notably how they are done. I find Raina's Drama to be a great addition to any library. Now, if only I could get my hands on Smile. 

Book Review: The Shifter by Janice Hardy

Title: The Shifter

Series: The Healing Wars, Book 1

Author: Janice Hardy

Published: 2010

Edition Read: Nook e-book

Pages: 211 e-book edition.

Grade Level Recommended: Mid-Grade

Overall: I actually didn't realize this novel was mid-grade until I checked out the author's website for a summary. A good, engaging introduction to a world of healers and those using healing as a weapon.

Summary (From author site) : Nya is an orphan struggling for survival in a city crippled by war. She is also a Taker—with her touch, she can heal injuries, pulling pain from another person into her own body. But unlike her sister, Tali, and the other Takers who become Healers' League apprentices, Nya's skill is flawed: She can't push that pain into pynvium, the enchanted metal used to store it. All she can do is shift it into another person, a dangerous skill that she must keep hidden from forces occupying her city. If discovered, she'd be used as a human weapon against her own people.

Rumors of another war make Nya's life harder, forcing her to take desperate risks just to find work and food. She pushes her luck too far and exposes her secret to a pain merchant eager to use her shifting ability for his own sinister purposes. At first Nya refuses, but when Tali and other League Healers mysteriously disappear, she's faced with some difficult choices. As her father used to say, principles are a bargain at any price; but how many will Nya have to sell to get Tali back alive?

My Thoughts: First of all, I didn't know that this was a mid-grade novel when I started it. That would be a compliment towards Janice's ability to write a novel that appealed to someone who doesn't normally read mid-grade level novels. I could go on and on about all this, but really it's just something that surprised me when I went to the authors website to get the summary.

Moving on...

Nya lost almost her entire family in a war that left her with nothing. When her sister goes missing Nya finds herself learning more about her abilty to heal injuries. Unlike Tali, Nya does not have the ability to push that pain into an enchanted metal, pynvium, when she is done. Nya is only able to push that pain into another person. Nya finds herself scrambling everyday to get enough work to eat and pay her rent. Nya is determined to get Tali back, and learn what happened to her. The further that Nya goes to look for her sister, the more blurred the lines of healing and hurting become. Nya never wanted to face these issues of her healing abilities, but does with the singular thought that she will find her sister.

This simple premise is what makes The Shifter a really good novel. Hardy takes the issue and makes her main character face it almost every step of the way. Nya has to make decisions, and, right or wrong, she must live with them. The more that Nya must make, and live with, these decisions the more blurred the lines become. By the end of the book I found myself disagreeing and thinking of her decisions more then I think Nya allowed herself to. There are two more books to the trilogy, Blue Fire and Darkfall, both of which are already available.

What I didn't like:

Overall I really enjoyed The Shifter. The writing was well done, but had it's own things I'd like to change. Really, just nit-picky things like:

1) Cheesy moments.

Danello closed his eyes for a moment. "This is crazy."

I grinned at Aylin, and she grinned back. We both crossed our arms at the same time. "We know." (pg. 204)

Honestly, that whole little moment there? Made me think, 'OMG, so cheesy." I felt like that moment just detracted from the book. Other cheesy moments occurred, but not enough to make me not like the book. It was seldom, but still would make me roll my eyes a bit.

2) Odd descriptions.

"On the front table at Zertanik's. I figured he owed you."

I grinned wide as the lake at sunset. "This will buy a lot of dinners." (pg. 205)

Wide as the lake at sunset? The lake is wide no matter what time of day. I don't have many examples of this right off the top of my head. I had just found the highlight and note-taking function of my Nook, and realized I could take advantage of it for my review. Otherwise I'm sure I'd have quite a few more odd descriptions like that. They aren't bad, but they are distracting and detracts from the novel.

Recommended for:

I plan on picking up and reading the next book in the series, and I would definitely recommend this book to fantasy readers. Seeing as it's mid-grade I'd probably give it to them as an introduction into fantasy. The world isn't so fantastic that a reader would have a hard time getting into it, but it's still not a modern day world either. I still think that high schoolers would find this book interesting, too. I think even the hardcore fantasy readers would like this.

In a Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth

In a Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth
Reading Level: Middle Grade
Received ARC from Around the World Tours (Tour Page)
(Author Page) (Book Page)

When a small mistake costs sixteen-year-old Eagan her life during a figure-skating competition, she leaves many things unreconciled, including her troubled relationship with her mother. From her vantage point in the afterlife, Eagan reflects back on her memories, and what she could have done differently, through her still-beating heart.

When fourteen-year-old Amelia learns she will be getting a heart transplant, her fear and guilt battle with her joy at this new chance at life. And afterwards when she starts to feel different—dreaming about figure skating, craving grape candy—her need to learn about her donor leads her to discover and explore Eagan’s life, meeting her grieving loved ones and trying to bring the closure they all need to move on.

Told in alternating viewpoints, In a Heartbeat tells the emotional and compelling story of two girls sharing one heart. -From Amazon

Eagan accidentally dies in a very unusual way while figure skating. After her death Eagan is stuck between the afterlife and the life she can't seem to leave behind. Her tale is of her past, the unsaid words, the people she loved that she'd left behind, and the events in her life that shaped her. Unable to let go of her life and the people she left behind Eagan spends most of the book trying to find her way back to those memories and people she left behind.

Amelia is dying of heart failure. She is torn between wanting to live, and knowing that living means the death of someone else. Once she does get the heart transplant she desperate needs Amelia finds herself acting and being different. Where she was once shy and introverted she is now sarcastic and out going. The changes in herself causes Amelia to want to learn about her new heart, and the person that owned it before.  Amelia's story follows her need to find the donor's family and bring some sense of closure, and to learn more about her.

Wow, I wanted to literally shake Amelia. I was so infuriated with her extreme passive-aggressive attitude at the beginning of the book. She gets the call for a new heart and while her mother is running around trying to get her to the hospital for the surgery Amelia is sitting around in her bedroom picking her toes, looking at horse pictures, and playing cards with her brother. I know that the author was trying to show that Amelia is guilt-ridden from the fact that her donor has to die to give her a heart, but I was ready to just slap her. Hurry up! Do you really want to die? I kept thinking. Move it!

"I'm so happy for you, Amelia. Mom has been praying nonstop."

I wanted to get caught up in her happiness. Rachel made it sound like I'd won the lottery. The lottery of recylced hearts, and I was a lucky winner.

"I'm not ready," I confessed. "I'm not ready for this operation. I don't want to go, Rachel." I knew I sounded like a coward and a crybaby.

"Don't cry," she said, and she hugged me again, because now I really was crying. I didn't want to cry. I wanted to be happy like her, to be excited, the good kind of excitement that comes when wonderful things are happening, like when you win a new car. Not the excitement of winning a new heart. (pg. 26)

Eagan on the other hand---seriously how do you even say this girls name---I could totally relate to. Unsure of her life, fighting with her mother, dealing with the strange concept of knowing what you want. I got her immediately. I don't know what this says about me, but Eagan was me when I was in high school. Sans the parents with a troubled marriage. When she dies she realizes that there were so many things left unsaid, most especially towards her mother. Eagan cannot leave to the great beyond until she is able to find peace in the life she left behind. This character I didn't want shake, and I think we can all understand this feeling of unfinished business. If you died today what would you leave behind? Eagan is left in limbo, and it isn't until she finds another girl that she starts to understand that she needs to move on.

She's looking straight at me. A girl. She stands out because she's not pasty gray like everything around her. Like me. She's wearing a frilly dress the same shade as the marigold bushes in Mom's garden. Her black curly hair is glittery. It reminds me of the stuff we put on our hair before competitions.

"Can you see me?" I ask.

She nods and waves like she wants to come over but needs to be invited.

Finally. Someone to talk to. My heart feels lighter. Maybe she can help me find my way back to my life.

"Hey," I say.

She doesn't need more of an invitation. She's next to me in a flash.

"I'm Eagan. What's your name?" (pg. 90)

This book had an interesting concept both in Eagan needing to find peace after her death, and in the changes that occur in Amelia once she acquires a new heart. Unfortunately, while other readers of this book on the tour had mentioned how powerful and heartbreaking it was I felt it was simply good. Interesting premise, characters that evoked a reaction with me (good or bad), but it also felt like it could have been two books. I believe simply focusing on Amelia and her story then writing a companion book for Eagan could have given Ellsworth the ability to really spotlight and flesh out these two girls. In this case the dual narrative just didn't work for me. I had a hard time separating the fantasy elements from what I think Ellsworth was really wanting to focus on, the concept of cellular memory.

Despite how I feel about this book it has received a lot of great reviews. As always I encourage you to look at the tour page, and read all the other lovely opinions there.

My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours

My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours by Kristina Springer

(Author) (Amazon)

This ARC was received as a part of Around the World Tours.
My Fake Boyfriend will be out August 1, 2010!

Seventh grade was supposed to be fun, but Tori is having major drama with her BFF, Sienna. Sienna changed a lot over the summer—on the first day of school she’s tan, confident, and full of stories about her new dreamy boyfriend. Tori knows that she’s totally making this guy up. So Tori invents her own fake boyfriend, who is better than Sienna’s in every way. Things are going great—unless you count the whole lying-to-your-best-friend thing—until everyone insists Tori and Sienna bring their boyfriends to the back-to-school dance.

Would you look at that! My first Middle Grade fiction, AND it's funny! The story begins with Tori getting ready for her first day of school. For the the very first time since kinder Tori is getting ready alone. In fact for months Tori hasn't heard from or received an email from her best friend Sienna, because Sea was away on a family vacation. The start of the school year just isn't the same without Sienna, and Tori feels a bit lost. Until she realizes that the reason she hasn't heard from Sienna is because she has a new tan and a new boyfriend. A boyfriend Sienna is pretty sure is fake!

What is a girl to do? Make up her own fake boyfriend who is better in every way then her best friends fake boyfriend.

Oh, middle school (and high school for that matter!) how interesting fights and competitions can become between the best of friends. I remember quite vividly the big blow-outs that I had with my own friends. My father called it a Love/Hate relationship, and as an older reader this book really reminded me about that time in my life. For younger readers this book may come at a time where fights have a occurred and it seems like they will never be friends again. Or they will have not yet experienced what a big fight between friends can be. Either way this book can really resonate with tween girls feeling their way through tween social dynamics while making you laugh at all the ways Tori and Sienna find to one-up each others fake boyfriends. When Sienna and Tori are asked to bring their boyfriends to the school dance both girls have to scramble to cover up their lies.

This was a funny, quick read definitely suitable for pre-teens who love to laugh. Or, you know, adults.