REVIEW: Down a Dark Hall (book) by Lois Duncan

Down a Dark Hall is YA horror. I checked my copy out from the library.

Review:

Kit is about to go to an exclusive boarding school, Blackwood School for Girls. Ordinarily, she would have been excited, but she'd found out that her friend Tracy hadn't been accepted and had been dreading going ever since.

The school, which used to be a private residence, is impressive-looking, but Kit can't help but think of the word "evil" when she sees it. There's just something about it. She's one of the first arrivals, so she hopes that it'll feel more welcoming once the other girls are there. It's a shock when she learns that there are only three other students besides her: Sandy, who Kit instantly bonds with, and Ruth and Lynda, who'd previously gone to school together. 

What makes the four of them so special that only they were accepted to this school? It's only the first of many questions Kit has about the school as more and more strange things happen.

REVIEW: Hit and Run (book) by R.L. Stine

Hit and Run is YA horror originally published in 1992. I checked my copy out from the library.

Review:

This stars a group of teens: Cassie (a girl who has a sorta kinda crush on Scott, although she hates the way his laugh sounds), Scott (an all-around kind of guy, more of a follower than a leader), Eddie (timid, poor, and often picked on), and Winks (a prankster).

The group decides to go practice driving - illegally, since none of them have their licenses, but they figure it should be fine since they've picked a fairly empty stretch of road. It goes mostly okay until Eddie is behind the wheel and Winks pulls a mean prank on him, making him think something is in the road. The experience is clearly upsetting for Eddie, and yet it's Eddie who, not too much later, suggests that they all go out and practice again. It seems he wants to prove that he wasn't too scared that one time, although he does make Winks promise to behave himself.

When Eddie takes his turn driving, however, he really does hit someone this time. They drag the man to the side of the road and try to pretend it never happened, but then everybody but Scott starts to getting calls and messages, apparently from the dead man. Has he come back to get revenge, or is there something else going on?

REVIEW: Sōseki Nasume's I Am a Cat: The Manga Edition (manga) retold and illustrated by Chiroru Kobato, translated by Zack Davisson

This is a manga adaptation of Sōseki Nasume's I Am a Cat, originally serialized between 1905 and 1906. I bought my copy new.

This review includes spoilers. 

Review:

The whole thing is told from the point-of-view of an unnamed cat, who was found as a kitten and taken in by a teacher named Kushami. The cat observes the various goings on of Kushami's household. There's Meitei, a friend of Kushami's who likes to make things up just to see if Kushami will believe him. There's Mizushima Kangetsu, a former pupil of Kushami's, who has supposedly caught the eye of Kaneda Tomiko, the stuck up daughter of a businessman. Tomiko's mother has a nose so large that Kushami has nicknamed her Lady Nose.

The situation between Kangetsu, Tomiko, and Tomiko's parents is a bit of a mess, with Tomiko's mother only willing to accept Kangetsu as Tomiko's husband if he gets his doctorate. Meanwhile, Kangetsu is cheerfully dragging his feet. There is much joking about Tomiko's mother's large nose (and efforts to convince Kangetsu not to marry Tomiko, since her nose may eventually grow to match), not that Kangetsu seems all that interested in Tomiko in the first place.

REVIEW: My Gently Raised Beast (manhwa, vol. 9) original story by Early Flower, adapted by Kim JunJun, art by Yeoseulki, translated by WEBTOON

My Gently Raised Beast is a fantasy romance manhwa series. I bought my copy of this volume new.

Review:

This is the final volume. Although it does continue things on from the previous volume and wrap up a few loose ends, it feels a lot like a "bonus stories" volume.

First, Briddy and Amon are on their child-free vacation when they meet Ronan Kingsford, a cheerful noble who absolutely cannot take a hint. Amon is instantly jealous. Then there's a chapter on Anish and Tillai, as they start to want to play away from their parents' watchful eyes a bit more (with Amon once again feeling somewhat jealous, this time of his own children).

Then it's time for a flashback to when the Emperor first met Briddy's mother, and the time they spent together before Trije (still worried that his brother might become the next Emperor instead of him) agreed to leave Briddy's mother behind and marry someone more suitable. Then we get a Lucy POV section, as she gradually warms up to Lart over the years and falls in love with him. Then we check in to see how Adellai is doing in exile.

The volume wraps up with a light party scene in which Amon once again tries his best to keep Briddy's attention on him.

REVIEW: My Gently Raised Beast (manhwa, vol. 8) original story by Early Flower, adapted by Kim JunJun, art by Yeoseulki, translated by WEBTOON

My Gently Raised Beast is a fantasy romance manhwa series. I bought my copy of this volume new.

Review:

Now it's time for the final conflict against Barahan, complete with sacrifices and sadness.

Even though I knew that things would probably be resolved in a positive way, this was definitely a more emotional volume, with both Briddy and Amon making sacrifices that they weren't necessarily guaranteed to recover from.

I was a little confused about the boy, Louis. Were we supposed to know him? Was he in some way related to Joseph?

And why would anyone in their right mind ask a human to babysit some divine beasts when there are literally adult divine beasts who could have been asked to take on the task instead? I get that it gave the author a chance to inject some humor into the volume, but it really didn't make sense to me.

One more volume left. Although things feel pretty wrapped up already, it'll be nice to get a little more closure with all the characters. 

REVIEW: My Gently Raised Beast (manhwa, vol. 7) original story by Early Flower, adapted by Kim JunJun, art by Yeoseulki, translated by WEBTOON

My Gently Raised Beast is a fantasy romance manhwa series. I bought my copy of this volume new.

Review:

Briddy realizes that Adellai has found the descendant of Barahan and must be stopped, but Lart convinces her to let him try to appeal to her first. Unfortunately for him, Adellai is pretty deeply messed up by this point, and Joseph is beginning to be more directly influenced by Barahan (yes, the literal god).

We've now started the big confrontation that this series has been building up to for a while, and a metric crap-ton of things happen at once. Amon basically has to be everywhere, while simultaneously bleeding all over the place.

How did Briddy get that sword?? It basically appeared out of thin air, so, magic, I guess?

This volume was a lot messier than I expected it to be. Between Adellai, Barahan, and Philip, the villains were just piling up.

REVIEW: My Gently Raised Beast (manhwa, vol. 6) original story by Early Flower, adapted by Kim JunJun, art by Yeoseulki, translated by WEBTOON

My Gently Raised Beast is a fantasy romance manhwa series. I bought my copy of this volume new.

Review:

There's a party to celebrate peace with the divine beasts, so Amon learns etiquette and dancing. It'll be a masquerade party, supposedly so that humans and divine beasts can mingle with less awkwardness - I assume the divine beasts, at least will know exactly who's human and who isn't, so I guess this is probably more for the human attendees than anything.

In addition to the party, we get more of Briddy's visions about Rafiyan (the goddess who was supposedly killed by a black divine beast, but who actually wasn't) and Barahan (the god who was jealous of Rafiyan's powers).

REVIEW: We Are Definitely Human (book) by X. Fang

We Are Definitely Human is a children's picture book. I bought my copy new.

Review:

Mr. Li is woken up one night by the sound of a crash near his house. When he goes outside to investigate, he finds three blue beings who claim they are Europeans whose car broke down. Mr. Li, being a kind human, gives the strangers a place to stay for the night until the stores open in the morning and they can get supplies to fix their car.

Ok, this was delightful. The cover and title indicated that this would probably be a funny book, and it definitely was. There were some great moments as the "Europeans" did their best to fit in.

This was also a really sweet book on the whole, with an example of a small, rural town that is kind and welcoming towards some strangers in need. Even if these strangers are a little stranger than usual.

The last page was perfect and had me laughing. I don't have a child to read this to, but I suspect kids would enjoy this. This adult certainly did. 

REVIEW: Cozy Days: The Art of Iraville (nonfiction book) by Ira Sluyterman van Langeweyde

Cozy Days: The Art of Iraville is an art book. I bought my copy new.

Review:

I'm not sure I'd ever seen this artist's work prior to getting this art book. What led to me picking it up was the lovely landscape on the cover. Those are the kinds of colors I tend to gravitate towards when I'm picking out yarn, too.

This book includes several galleries of Iraville's artwork (organized into five sections: people, landscapes, animals, buildings, and plants) with chapters on her workspace, tips, painting process, and the steps for how she makes her own watercolors and watercolor sketchbooks in between. There's also some peeks into her sketchbooks, and information about how she creates homemade paper stretchers.

REVIEW: Super Mario Manga Mania (manga) story and art by Yukio Sawada, translated by Caleb Cook

Super Mario Manga Mania is a tie-in manga based on various Mario games. I bought my copy new.

Review:

This features a selection of stories from the long-running Super Mario-kun manga. They each tie in with various Mario games, including Paper Mario, Super Mario Sunshine, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Super Paper Mario, Super Mario Galaxy, and New Super Mario Bros. Wii. So...basically a whole manga's worth of stories based on games I've never played.

That said, there were footnotes that explained the basic stories of the games, so I wasn't totally lost, although I might possibly have appreciated the volume more if I'd actually played any of the games referenced.

REVIEW: Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia: The Official Guide to the First 30 Years, 1985-2015 (nonfiction book) translated by William Flanagan and Zack Davisson

Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia is nonfiction. I bought my copy new.

Review:

This book covers 17 Super Mario games in depth, each section including the game's basic story, features, playable characters, allies, enemies, an overview of all worlds and courses, info on items and obstacles, and a list of some memorable moments and some helpful gameplay tips and techniques. The end of the book includes a lengthy timeline of all games from 1984-2015 with some sort of connection to Mario (even if it's just via Donkey Kong, or a brief cameo in the artwork somewhere). There are also full-page columns throughout on topics like spin-off games, remakes, anniversary events, and more.

REVIEW: My Gently Raised Beast (manhwa, vol. 5) original story by Early Flower, adapted by Kim JunJun, art by Yeoseulki, translated by WEBTOON

My Gently Raised Beast is a fantasy romance manhwa series. I bought my copy of this volume new.

Review:

Adellai's attempt to have Briddy killed may have painted her into a corner. She wasn't successful, the Dehill siblings are found out and confess, and they could soon provide proof of Adellai's involvement. She does her best to clean up her mess, but things still aren't going well for her, and now the people around her (Philip, Joseph, etc.) could all potentially lead to her downfall. Meanwhile, Joseph has finally started demonstrating some freaky powers.

REVIEW: My Gently Raised Beast (manhwa, vol. 4) original story by Early Flower, adapted by Teava, art by Yeoseulki, translated by WEBTOON

My Gently Raised Beast is a fantasy romance manhwa series. I bought my copy of this volume new.

Review:

Amon goes to the Emperor and essentially arranges to be engaged to Briddy, not that she knows (he doesn't want her to be forced into it, which...okay...but it'd be nice for her to be part of the convo). Lart, who is now completely all in on Lucy, figures that this will help make things more peaceful when he's the Emperor. Meanwhile, Adellai is becoming more and more unhinged. She finds Joseph, a descendant of Barahan, and, with Philip's help (which I'm much more suspicious about than she is), arranges to magically control him. Then she makes an attempt on Briddy's life while Briddy is on a trip away from Amon's protection.

REVIEW: My Gently Raised Beast (manhwa, vol. 3) original story by Early Flower, adapted by Teava, art by Yeoseulki, translated by WEBTOON

My Gently Raised Beast is a fantasy romance manhwa series. I bought my copy of this volume new.

Review:

Briddy still thinks Amon has a crush on Lucy, but she feels better about pursuing him now, after learning that Lucy prefers Lart. Meanwhile, Adellai is making her own moves in the background, with the goal of eventually taking the throne herself, with the Emperor's blessing. What Adellai doesn't realize is that the Emperor is simultaneously pursuing a more peaceful path forward with the divine beasts, hoping that Briddy being on friendly terms with Amon is the key there. Meanwhile, Philip is back and nosing around Briddy.

REVIEW: The A.I. Who Loved Me (book) by Alyssa Cole

The A.I. Who Loved Me is sci-fi romance. I bought my copy new.

Review:

Trinity Jordan is a data analyst for the Hive (a massive futuristic employer that also seems to have a company town kind of situation going on), on leave while she recovers from a traumatic incident that left her with a knee injury, a spotty memory, and occasional panic attacks. She keeps busy by acting as a HiveDrive conductor (a person who remotely drives seemingly driverless cars) and spending time with her two best friends, Ru and Yana. She has zero interest in getting into a relationship with anyone...or so she thinks, right up until she meets her neighbor Dr. Zhang's nephew, Li Wei, who's visiting while he recovers from a traumatic incident of his own.

Li Wei is hot, frequently shirtless, and has issues with social interaction. There's also something about him that Trinity finds oddly reassuring. When Dr. Zhang has a medical emergency, Trinity takes it upon herself to check up on Li Wei...who is not, actually, a flesh-and-blood human but rather a highly advanced AI.