Good Neighbors: Kind

The Good Neighbors: Kind Holly Black, art by Ted Naifeh

The faeries have taken over town. Rue's mother is in charge and keeping her (literally) underground. Amanda, the other folklore professor has created a human army to fight back. Rue has a plan to make it all stop, but at what outcome.

Someone I missed this one when it came out and it had been a looooooooooooooooooong time since I read Kith and it took me awhile to remember what was going on. I highly recommend that you read all three books together and wish they had been published as 1 book (maybe they will now that they're all out?)

It was a good and... interesting conclusion to the story. I was a little detached from the boy drama, but I think that's just because I had been away from the series for so long that I couldn't easily remember the relevant details, so that's all on me.

I like how Black's work returns us to the darker side of fairies (I mean, we never even remember that even Tinkerbell was originally not that nice. Pretty, yes, but also jealous and spiteful.) Naifeh knows how to draw a good glare.

Overall I really liked the series. I'm just having a hard time explaining why.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Zombies vs. Unicorns

Zombies vs. Unicorns edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier

Which is better, zombies or unicorns? Black (team unicorn) and Larbalestier (team zombie) have picked their teams of all-star YA authors and are battling it out.

At it's surface, it is a strong collection of short stories about zombies or unicorns. Stand-outs include Alaya Dawn Johnson's zombie entry "Love with Tear Us Apart" about what happens when zombies love humans, Carrie Ryan's "Bougainvillea" a zombie story set in the same world as Forest of Hands and Teeth, Margo Lanagan's deeply disturbing unicorn story "A Thousand Flowers", Scott Westerfeld's "Inoculata" about teens flirting with zombie-ism the same way today's teens flirt with pot, Meg Cabot's hysterical "Princess Prettypants" about a girl who's pretty pissed off she's getting a farting unicorn instead of a car for her birthday, and Libba Bray's "Prom Night" about teenagers trying to hold it together when the adults all turned to zombies.

Despite the fact that the I have more favorite zombie stories than unicorn ones, I'm firmly TEAM UNICORN. I wasn't before I read it. Before I read it, I thought "seriously? Zombies versus Unicorns? What kind of contest is that? Zombies! Duh!" but these stories made me see unicorns in an entirely different light. Even when their farts smell like flowers and sound like windchimes and they have stupid names like Princess Prettypants, unicorns kick a lot of ass. There's also a much greater variety in types of unicorns. Zombies are... zombies. They get boring after awhile. With the exception of "Love Will Tear us Apart" we didn't meet that many zombies in the zombie stories. We met people dealing with zombies, living a life of fear in a zombie-filled world. The zombies don't have the same personality and skills that the unicorns do.

TEAM UNICORN.

And, even though this book is mostly great stories, but favorite parts were the between the stories, when Black and Larbalestier debate the unicorn/zombie question in the story introductions. Hilarious.


ARC Provided by... publisher, at ALA

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Faeries stave off the cabin fever?

Another snow day. More snow expected today and tomorrow. You know it's bad when...

Your Chinese teacher calls for your weekly lesson and asks what's going on and you tell her that you got all the snow in the world this weekend and are getting more tonight and you haven't been to work since Thursday because of it. And she says "Oh yes, I know, I saw that on the news." WHEN YOUR CHINESE TEACHER LIVES IN SHANGHAI! Apparently, my weather woes are international news now. Aiyo!

The Good Neighbors: Kith Holly Black, illus. Ted Naifeh

In this sequel to Kin, (which I reviewed in March) the fairies are getting closer to taking over Rue's town. Rue's still searching for her mother, and her friends are being seriously weird as the fae start to encroach in many different ways on her life.

I really liked this one, much better than the first. And I think I just put my finger on what's a little weird about this series. It doesn't read like a usual one-shot graphic novel even though it's published like one. (Ok, yes, I know it's a series) but I want to compare it to works like the The Plain Janes, or Rapunzel's Revenge (which both have sequels). But, instead, it reads more like Death Note or Fables-- something that's very long-range and almost needs to be considered as a whole instead of individual volumes. Does that make sense? Either way, it requires a brain shift for me when reading, which is something I'll be sure to keep in mind in when the next volume comes out.

In general, I really like Black's work in folklore and how she brings traditional beliefs and lore into a modern setting. I think she's a master at this. She doesn't mess with her supernatural realms, and I really appreciate that. You can tell she's a serious student of this. Also, I'm still blown away by the talk she gave at the National Book Festival in 2007 and her views on urban legends as modern folklore. Good, thought provoking stuff.

Book Provided by... my local library

Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale Holly Black

Kaye's always been a weird girl, but when she moves back to New Jersey and reunites with her childhood friends, she realizes that maybe it's not her fault. Kaye really is a pixie--a changeling baby left behind. A changeling who is now all grown up.

The Faerie Unseelie and Seelie courts have a fragile peace and it's time for the seventh year tithe to ensure the loyalty of the independent fay. If Kaye is offered as the tithe, she can save reveal herself to be a pixie, the tithe will be rejected and Kaye's friends will be free.

But even if you're a pixie, if you're unfamiliar with the ways of faerie, it's a dangerous game.

Holly Black writes a wonderful, modern retelling of "Tam Lin" and showcases her vast knowledge of faerie legend of lore while weaving a tale entirely her own and impossible to put down. Not only do I know want to pick up Valiant and Ironside, but I also want to go reread Pamela Dean's Tam Lin.

So, I read this book two years ago. Luckily, when I went back to my reading notes, I saw that I had actually written out an entire review! Yay! But, back for Weekly Geeks #12, Suey from It's All About Books asked:

Did you think Tithe by Holly Black was dark? Would you recommend it to the YA crowd it's intended for?

Eh... darkish? I mean it's not light and fluffy, but I'm not sure I'd jump straight to dark. If you said it was dark, I wouldn't argue with you, but I don't think that's an adjective I'd use. (How was that for having an opinion? Sorry.) I would definitely recommend it to the YA crowd! It's a great YA book, especially for the middle/older sides of YA. While I wouldn't have an issue with younger YAs (12-14ish) reading it (I would have *loved* it when I was that age) I also wouldn't put it on list of recommended reading for that age group.

When Weekly Geeks repeated that topic a year later, I still hadn't reviewed it, so I got more questions.

Trisha from eclectic/eccentric asks:

Tithe is touted as a modern day fairy tale. Do you think this is an apt description? Why or why not?

Yes. Not happily ever after Grimm type fairy tales, but a modern story about faeries, yes. I loved the idea of what it would like to discover you were a changeling baby and how that would affect your life when you still had to deal with crap like high school. The faerie court politics are classic and seen in more stories that cover the faerie court, but in this one, it sometimes spills over into the local diner...

Darren from Bart's Bookshelf asks:

What did you think of the fey lore developed in Tithe?

I liked it, because it was firmly grounded in the lore that already exists. Black didn't make up her own worlds and traditions, she grounded her story in the current lore, which I really respect, because she still made the story completely her own. Also, I sometimes get frustrated when authors take a folklore that we already have in our cannon and mess with it for their own means.

Eva from A Striped Armchair asks:

Some readers I know think Tithe was too dark...what do you think?

Well, I answered this one above. Darkish... definitely not too dark!

Book Provided By... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Graphic Novel Tuesday

Well, here we are, continuing our week of Graphic Novel reviews! Here I have 3 reviews of totally unrelated books. Enjoy!

Garage Band Gipi

Giuliano’s father has loaned them a garage to practice in, as long as the guys stay out of trouble. Alberto, the bassist spends his time worrying about his father. Alex, the drummer is obsessed with Hitler and his aunt scorns Giuliano’s family’s wealth. Stefano, the singer, is the trouble maker, but his father has him in contact with a record label. They have the garage, they have the contacts, they just need to cut their demo tape when their amp blows. When they steal a new one, their troubles really begin.

Painted in a muted watercolor palate with frenetic black line work, Gipi’s artwork captures the bleakness of their lives along with the energy of their music. There are several full page desolate landscapes composed mostly of brown sky to show what these young men are trying to escape. The back pages contain several preliminary sketches and character studies.

Skim Mariko Tamaki, drawing by Jillian Tamaki

After reading Emiko Superstar, I was really excited to read this.

The book explores depression, love, friendship, and finding yourself (or not) in a small tale about a high school that overreacts when the popular girl is dumped by her boyfriend who then commits suicide. The details of the plot are really not important, because it's the characters, the dialogue, and the art that really make this book pack a punch.

Black and white drawings (pen?) that appear to be hand drawn without computer help are evocative of the early 90s era of the story. I especially liked the full-page panels and the ones without borders. Excellent use of negative space.

Kin (The Good Neighbors, Book 1) Holly Black, art by Ted Naifeh

Rue's mother has been missing for three weeks and her father has just been arrested for murdering one of his students. Meanwhile, Rue is pretty sure she's going crazy because she keeps seeing weird things, like... faeries. Faeries that claim to be her mother's family.

I really wanted to like this, but I feel like the entire volume was just setting up the story that's going to happen in the later volumes. It was a little disappointing, but I have great faith in Holly Black, and there are a lot of interesting story lines to play with and I'm really hoping that it goes somewhere, because I think the later volumes could be really cool.

Also, I thought it was going to be in color. I don't know why I thought this, but I did. It's not.

Later this week: Fables, Jack of Fables, Sandman, and Rapunzel's Revenge! Stay tuned!

Countdown to Vacation

I'm going on vacation on Friday. To China. I can't wait. My productivity has plummeted. And there won't be any updating next week, because China blocks Blogger. Plus, that whole vacation thing.

Also, school started this week.

First things first (except this isn't first. Ah Well.) The Biblio File store has been updated with my top picks/current favorites for September, so check it out.

Um... next things next? Some book reviews, because that's what we do here.

Anyway, I finally got around to reading The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black.

5 books make up one overarching story-arc. But really, each book is like a mini-episode. There's not much in ways of subplot or character development. Overall, they're fun. They're short enough that even thought I really wasn't drawn in at all to the story, I still wanted to finish them all.

The Field Guide

The Grace parents have just gotten divorced and the former Mrs. Grace moves her 3 kids (Jared, his twin brother Simon, and their older sister Mallory) into crazy Great-Aunt Lucinda's falling down wreck of a house. Jared discovers a secret library, a book about fairies, and the fact that faeries and their ilk are real. In the process, he gets in a lot of trouble with his mother, who likes to think the worst of him.

The Seeing Stone

In which Simon is kidnapped by goblins. Mallory and Jared explore the woods behind the house and find out what being killed and eaten by a bear is really about. An enemy is made. As is a friend (or two). And now they can see goblins and things.

Lucinda's Secret

In which they visit some elves, find out the truth about Uncle Arthur, and decide that maybe it's time to pay Aunt Lucinda a visit. Because maybe she isn't crazy after all.

The Ironwood Tree

In which Jared gets expelled, we meet some dwarves, there is a bloody massacre, and Mallory is forced to do her very best impression of Snow White. Also, some of the most daring escapes to date.

The Wrath of Mulgarath

In which there are dragons. And the end.