February Reads by Saleena

 

Kwame Alexander is a powerful writer.  He knows the exact words to use, which is why, I think, he writes in verse so much....he doesn't need the extra words to make you see his vision.  In The Door of No Return, Alexander paints a picture of Kofi.  A boy from the village of Upper Kwanta who dreams of a girl; has visions of being the best at something so he can make his parents and village proud; at overpowering his cousin who bullies him.....variations of a life that have been seen time after time in many places.  He could have had those things, but instead something terrible happens and he ends up captured and on a boat, trapped with so many others...   What makes this story so compelling is that Alexander shows us Kofi, his sweetness, his bitterness, his love and sorrow and then shows us the moment everything changes.  This is a beautiful and sorrowful tale that leaves you hopeful for Kofi, even if you know that for others, it was the start of a new and horrible life.

I don't usually review graphic novels here but I decided to change it up because this was such a fun and sweet romantic story. 

I don't want to spoil anything so I'll just say that Hockey Girl is having a terrible time with her team captain and needs help with anger management.  She reaches out to Drama Boy when she sees him use his words to take down a bully, and he agrees to help her.   Hicks shows us teens who are determined to be themselves and to make their own choices but who are still tied up in all the ideas, expectations and choices made for them by friends and family.  I really enjoyed this very sweet story and if you want something fun, maybe you will too.

Beholder is not the book I thought it would be, however, it DID grab my attention as I needed to see where La Sala was taking me.

The story is that Athan can see things in mirrors, and he thinks it is a curse which is haunting him to this day.  Dom knows about the bad things his godfather is up to, and that Athan is in danger.....and after a terrible party where Dom saves Athan the two of them need to figure out what is happening and how to stop it.  

I do love the use of mirrors, both as conduits, as gateways and as a way to access visions of the the world.  The secondary character voice who pops up adds to the creep factor of this story but the story, while having violent moments, is more of a classic thriller/horror than a modern slasher....and part of that is the constant movements of the main characters as they wander NYC trying to figure everything out.  There are elements of science fiction but they feel more paranormal than science based and just add to the thrilling nature of the story.