Saturday Smalls — June 8th, 2019

June 8, 2019

This week’s mini review round-up includes the following:

  1. YA mystery graphic novel
  2. adult horror graphic novel
  3. adult fantasy graphic novel
  4. adult horror graphic novel


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Dead Weight by Terry Blas

TITLE: Dead Weight: Murder at Camp Bloom
AUTHOR: Terry Blas
GENRE: Mystery
AGE RANGE: YA

SYNOPSIS:
Deep in the Oregon wilderness sits Camp Bloom, a weight-loss camp where “overweight” teens can “get in shape.” Jesse would rather be anywhere else, but her parents are forcing her to go. Noah isn’t sure if he wants to be there, but it’s too late to turn back. Tony is heartbroken at the thought of giving up his phone and internet. And Kate…well, she likes the hikes, at least. As far as these four teens are concerned, it’s just another boring summer. Until one night, when Jesse and Noah witness a beloved counselor’s murder. The body’s gone by the next morning, but a blurry photo leads to one clue—the murderer is one of the camp’s staff members!

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All the stars! Dead Weight was so much fun and I enjoyed it tremendously. The art is beautiful and brightly colored, with a varied cast of characters that fit so many different representations. Of course, the book takes place at a weight loss camp, so many of our characters are plus-sized, but it’s never depicted in a body-shaming manner in the slightest. There’s also a ton of queer and POC rep, and everything’s done so casually; despite having all of these different characters’ personalities, identities, and appearances, the real focus is on the murder mystery and the friendships the kids form as they hunt down the killer.

5stars

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Crossed, Vol. 1 by Garth Ennis

TITLE: Crossed, Vol. 1
AUTHOR: Garth Ennis
GENRE: Horror
AGE RANGE: Adult

SYNOPSIS:
The world’s been overrun by sadistic homicidal maniacs. A small band of survivors crosses what’s left of America, in constant danger and trying to hold onto what little humanity they can.

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I… whew. I don’t even know what to make of what I just read. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a graphic novel with so much gore, violence, rape, and dismemberment in my life, and Garth Ennis really doesn’t hold back on those character deaths and shocking moments. If you enjoy extreme horror and gore, definitely pick up a copy of Crossed, but if you’re squeamish at all, give it a pass.

Content warnings for murder, gratuitous violence, torture, rape, ableist and homophobic slurs, child death

threehalfstar

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American Gods, Volume 1 by Neil Gaiman

TITLE: American Gods, Vol. 1
AUTHOR: Neil Gaiman
GENRE: Fantasy
AGE RANGE: Adult

SYNOPSIS:
Shadow Moon gets out of jail only to discover his wife is dead. Defeated, broke, and uncertain where to go from here, he meets the mysterious Mr. Wednesday, who employs him to serve as his bodyguard–thrusting Shadow into a deadly world where ghosts of the past come back from the dead, and a god war is imminent.

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DNF @ 40%

There’s a lot going on here, but I’m bored. I’ve now tried reading the original novel and this graphic format, and I think the story just doesn’t do anything for me. ?‍♀️

0starsdnf

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Clean Room, Vol. 1 by Gail Simone

TITLE: Clean Room, Vol. 1
AUTHOR: Gail Simone
GENRE: Horror
AGE RANGE: Adult

SYNOPSIS:
Journalist Chloe Pierce had no idea that her fiancée, Philip’s, decision to pick up a book by enigmatic and compelling self-help guru, Astrid Mueller, would change her life forever: by ending his! Three months after reading Mueller’s book, Philip had blown his brains out all over Chloe’s new kitchen and something in that book made him do it. Now, Chloe will stop at nothing as she attempts to infiltrate Mueller’s clandestine organization to find the truth behind Philip’s suicide and a “Clean Room” that she’s heard whispers of–a place where your deepest fears are exposed and your worst moments revealed.

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I liked the concept a lot — I mean, I really dug the idea of it — but the execution was missing something. I think it was mainly the dialogue that never seemed to do a good job of holding my attention, no matter how interesting the goings-on were.

3stars

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More about Destiny @ Howling Libraries

Just a horror aficionado/geek girl trying to juggle motherhood, reading, blogging, gaming, and everyday life.

6 Comments
    1. Yup yup yup, American Gods is nooooooooooooooooooot good! I read the book when the show first came out and wow, it’s awful!

      1. Bleeeeeh! I won’t be bothering with trying the full book again since I didn’t like the graphic novel AT ALL. I just don’t even think it’s a plot that interests me, sadly :/

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