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50books_pocShaun Tan, The Arrival
I'm not much of a visual art person, so the fact that The Arrival is all picture and no words means it's not quite my kind of book, but there were things I really liked. First of all, I loved all the little creatures. They're totally awesome. Secondly, I like the way that every time he meets someone, it takes us into their stories. It was a neat bit of interweaving of stories. Thirdly, there's a panel I absolutely love, where he opens his suitcase and his family is sitting at a table inside it.
Cynthia Leitich Smith, Rain Is Not My Indian Name
I was a little iffy about reading this book because I thought Tantalize was a little weak, and ended just as I was really getting into it. I thought Rain Is Not My Indian Name is actually much better written. It's a fairly standard YA novel where the girl's mother died years ago and her best friend recently, she's withdrawn into herself, and then the connections she has with other people draw her back into the world, and I found it totally emotionally satisfying. It even made me cry at the end, which is what that kind of book should do.
I not only liked Rain, I also liked the way all of the other characters are also real people with their own lives that we catch glimpses of. My favorite is probably Grampa, who spends the majority of the novel on vacation in Vegas and sends notes and emails back.
The reason I picked up this book even though I thought Tantalize had problems is that one of the reviews I read here mentioned that Rain is a fangirl, and that's not something you see in very many books. For anyone else to whom this might be an enticement: it's not a major plot point, and, in fact, only gets two mentions. It's not quite a throw-away, only because she talks about fandom being something Fynn (her brother) introduced her to.
I'm not much of a visual art person, so the fact that The Arrival is all picture and no words means it's not quite my kind of book, but there were things I really liked. First of all, I loved all the little creatures. They're totally awesome. Secondly, I like the way that every time he meets someone, it takes us into their stories. It was a neat bit of interweaving of stories. Thirdly, there's a panel I absolutely love, where he opens his suitcase and his family is sitting at a table inside it.
Cynthia Leitich Smith, Rain Is Not My Indian Name
I was a little iffy about reading this book because I thought Tantalize was a little weak, and ended just as I was really getting into it. I thought Rain Is Not My Indian Name is actually much better written. It's a fairly standard YA novel where the girl's mother died years ago and her best friend recently, she's withdrawn into herself, and then the connections she has with other people draw her back into the world, and I found it totally emotionally satisfying. It even made me cry at the end, which is what that kind of book should do.
I not only liked Rain, I also liked the way all of the other characters are also real people with their own lives that we catch glimpses of. My favorite is probably Grampa, who spends the majority of the novel on vacation in Vegas and sends notes and emails back.
The reason I picked up this book even though I thought Tantalize had problems is that one of the reviews I read here mentioned that Rain is a fangirl, and that's not something you see in very many books. For anyone else to whom this might be an enticement: it's not a major plot point, and, in fact, only gets two mentions. It's not quite a throw-away, only because she talks about fandom being something Fynn (her brother) introduced her to.
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Date: 2009-07-22 12:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-22 12:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-22 08:34 pm (UTC)