Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Nazi cats and Jewish mice combine to make a heartbreaking and gut wrenching recounting of one family’s experience and survival of the Holocaust
Art Spiegelman intersperses his father's gripping survivor story with their present day uneasy, bickering relationship and through the text and illustrations he shows both the short and long term affects of the atrocities of the Holocaust.
Each scene opens at the elder Spiegelman's home in, N.Y. Art, who was born after the war, is visiting his father, Vladek, to record his experiences in Nazi-occupied Poland. The Nazis, portrayed as cats, gradually introduce increasingly repressive measures, until the Jews, drawn as mice, are systematically hunted and herded toward the Final Solution.
Spiegelman recounts all this without becoming judgmental. The characters have their flaws; in fact you soon forget that they are depicted as animals. Their relationships are intricate – Vladek understands why his Polish protectors sometimes demanded payment and why older people were sometimes given up to the Nazis.
Spiegelman relates the effects of those events on the survivors' later years and upon the lives of the following generation. This book is not only a recounting of a wretched time in history, it is a character study of how people survive personal hardships.

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Boys, Girls and Other Hazardous Materials by Rosalind Wiseman


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Great title! A story of high school angst: fitting in, betrayal, romance, friendships. All the usual but told in a funny, light and believeable prose. Charlie moves to a new high school to start afresh after a horrible middle school experience. However, her past is not cooperating and finds ways of cropping up. She learned her lessons about friendships (not the best) and betrayal (not a good experience) but can she make the right decisions now?

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Saint Iggy by K.L. Going


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Poor misunderstood Iggy Corso, life has dealt him a tough hand and now he is on the brink of expulsion from school. Iggy knows he is not a bad kid and he wants to make a contribution to the world. But how do you reverse a life that is spiraling out of control. He needs a plan.
Follow Iggy and his plan through public housing, a never-ending drug party, the lap of luxury and a chapel, on his quest to make something of his life.
This is a quick and satisfying read; Iggy is one of those memorable characters. Told in widely spaced paragraphs with authentic details, the book explores serious issues of poverty, dis-interested parents, drug abuse, and how people treat and mistreat people without being preachy. The image of Iggy will stay with you for a long time after you have finished reading the pages.

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Paper Towns by John Green


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Totally a winner. Practical meets unpredictable as Quentin and Margo renew their friendship. Margo drags Q out of his comfort zone as they go on an overnight adventure. The next morning Margo is gone! Is she dead or alive? Quentin follow her clues to find her.
you will be kept on the edge of your seat and you join the mystery. Find Margo and find the reasons for her disappearance.

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Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451: The Authorized Adaptation by Tim Hamilton


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This classic was made for the graphic novel format! The story is set in a future where firemen start fires; they start fires to burn books. The government looks on books as evil; books carry too much knowledge which is dangerous to the government. When books are found, they are burned; often the owners disappear too. Guy Montag is a fireman who begins to question his job and the government’s desire for conformity. The book follows Guy’s search for answers to his government’s censorship and fear of books, ideas, and differences. Although an abbreviated retelling, Bradbury authorized it and writes the introduction, it misses nothing. A wonderful eye-catching pictorial work which will encourage you to read the original novel.

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After 9/11: America's War on Terror by Sid Jacobson


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This graphic novel explains the post- 9/11 world. The novel shows all the critical events, major characters, the contexts and consequences of the “war on terror.” Reading and seeing the graphic depiction of this complex information makes for easier understanding than simple prose. The major characters are so well drawn and make recognition in print and visual media a snap. This book definitely eases the understanding of the chronology and interconnectedness of the events while keeping the reader interested with compelling art. For those interested in history and the history students who just want a recap on what happened when and by whom, this is a great resource.

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Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a very entertaining book. You don't have to be into vampires to enjoy the wit, suspense, romance and good fun. The narrative is quick to keep you interested with plenty of twists and turns in the plot. I truly had no idea who the culprit was until the very end.

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