Author: Gene Ambaum

Graphic Novel Review: Banned Book Club by Hyun Sook Kim and Ryan Estrada, illustrated by Hyung-Ju Ko

Banned Book Club by Hyun Sook Kim and Ryan Estrada, illustrated by Hyung-Ju Ko. Iron Circus Comics, 2020. 9781945820427. 192pp. This fictionalized memoir of Kim Hyun Sook’s life begins in 1983. It was the year she started college, and back then the US backed South Korea’s ruling military dictatorship. College campuses were the sites of protests that often turned violent. The government sometimes tried to silence students with violence and disappearances. Her first day at Anjeon University, Hyun Sook has to dodge Molotov cocktails, tear gas, and riot police to get through the main gate to her first class. She soon joins a masked folk dance club to stay out of politics, but even traditional dances are political. One of her new friends invites her to a book club, which sounds great. But she soon finds out the attendees read and discuss books that could get them arrested. At first Hyun Sook decides not to join. Bu her Shakespeare professor […]

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Nonfiction Review: Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger

Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger. Penguin Classics, 2008. 9780141442075. 347pp. including photographs and an index. “Arabian Sands describes the journeys I made in and around the Empty Quarter from 1945 to 1950, at which time much of that region had not yet been seen by a European.” (The Empty Quarter is a huge dessert in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula.) Thesiger’s detailed account is full of vivid descriptions and immense hardship, as well as respect for and camaraderie with his Bedu companions. I loved the hospitality displayed by most who met Thesiger, though he did face danger from a few who were displeased with having a Christian in their land. There’s also a sadness around the edges of the journey — the oil companies are moving in and making deals, and Thesiger can see that the Bedu’s way of life won’t last much longer. This is one of my friend Mac’s favorite books. When he read a passage […]

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Picture Book Reviews!

Butts Are Everywhere by by Jonathan Stutzman, pictures by Heather Fox. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2020. 9780525514510. 32pp. Tired of poop books getting so much attention? Need to help the butt obsessed child in your life build their vocabulary? This is the book for you. Adorable illustrations! Fox also illustrated the amazing Llama Destroys the World.     Scaredy Snacks by Terry Border. Philomel Books, 2020. 32pp. On cleaning day, Sprinkles and her friends go to welcome Dr. Nuttenstein to the neighborhood. After they watch him bring a “monstrous” cookie to life, they get a little freaked out. Border creates the characters and props mostly from common household items (including snacks, of course). They’re hilarious and sure to inspire art projects.   Julia’s House Moves On by Ben Hatke. First Second, 2020. 9781250191373. 40pp. So many lost creatures live at Julia’s house, but it’s time to move on. And Julia has plans, as she always does. Which is great because as […]

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Easy Reader Review: If You Love (activity) You Could Be…

          If You Love Cooking You Could Be… (Ready To Read Level 2) by Elizabeth Dennis, Illustrated by Natalie Kwee. Simon Spotlight, 2019. 9781534454545. 32pp. If You Love Dolphins You Could Be… (Ready To Read Level 2) by May Nakamura, Illustrated by Natalie Kwee. Simon Spotlight, 2019. 9781534444690. 32pp. If You Love Video Games You Could Be… (Ready To Read Level 2) by Thea Feldman, Illustrated by Natalie Kwee. Simon Spotlight, 2019. 9781534443990. 32pp. If You Love Fashion You Could Be…. (Ready To Read Level 2) by May Nakamura, Illustrated by Natalie Kwee. Simon Spotlight, 2019. 9781534448773. 32pp. Each of these easy readers goes into a bit of detail about three careers, and has a list of more cool jobs at the back. The stars of each are Kwee’s happy, simple drawings. Everyone is smiling, and it feels like every little thing she draws is, too. The book full of dolphin love is probably my favorite […]

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Graphic Novel Review: Beetle & the Hollowbones by Aliza Layne

Beetle & the Hollowbones by Aliza Layne. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2020. 9781534441538. 256pp. Beetle loves hanging out at the mall with her friend Blob Ghost, which is good because BG can’t leave the mall. Beetle’s grandma keeps trying to teach her goblin magic, but Beetle doesn’t think potions are real magic. Her friend Kat has just come back to town to apprentice with her aunt, Marla Hollowbone. Kat’s having the kind of success with magic that Beetle believes she can only dream of, but it’s Kat’s life that’s the nightmare — Kat’s aunt is a seriously nasty piece of work, and that nastiness goes wide when she tries to force Beetle’s Gran out of her job and to destroy the mall where BG lives. Beetle has to save BG by finding a way for him to escape the mall before he’s buried in the rubble, and to save her friend Kat from her aunt, too. This is a […]

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Graphic Novel Review: The Book Tour by Andi Watson

The Book Tour by Andi Watson. Top Shelf, 2020. 9781603094795. 270pp. British author G.H. Fretwell is on a tour to promote his new novel, Without K, and nothing is going right. Someone has stolen his suitcase, and no one is buying any of his books. After a night alone in his hotel room he’s questioned by two policemen about a missing bookstore clerk because he was the last person to see her. He find himself the center of a criminal investigation as his “book signings” get stranger and his accommodations seedier. What is the mystery’s relationship to the book Fretwell wrote? Why does everyone think he’s guilty? And why hasn’t a review of his book appeared in the newspaper? It is, as you may have suspected, very Kafkaesque. Watson is one of my favorite artists, and the way he uses a 12-panel grid for layout in this book is masterful. It’s clear he had as much fun drawing the bookshops […]

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Graphic Novel Review: Undiscovered Country Volume 1: Destiny.

Undiscovered Country Volume 1: Destiny written by Scott Snyder and Charles Soule, layouts by Guiseppe Camuncoli, finishes by Daniele Orlandini and Leonardo Marcello Grassi, colored by Matt Wilson, lettered by Crank! Image, 2020. 9781534315990. Includes Undiscovered Country #1 – #6. Publisher’s Rating: M / Mature. Thirty years ago the United States walled itself off from the rest world. No one knows what’s happened within its borders. Outside the US, the world is a war-torn wreck in the midst of a global pandemic, and it has about six months left. But a message has come through from the US — there’s a cure for the sky virus, and they’re willing to negotiate its release. And they may even consider reopening the borders. On the team headed into the US are an epidemiologist, a wanted mercenary, a journalist, and a few diplomats. Each has their own agenda. And what they find, shortly after a very rough landing, is not at all what […]

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Graphic Novel Review: Days by Simon Moreton

Days by Simon Moreton. Avery Hill, 2014. 9871910395004. 148pp. The minimalistic art in Days includes stories from Moreton’s autobiographical SMOO and anthology work. Style-wise it looks to have been drawn with pencils and most of the book falls somewhere between the work of John Porcellino (King-Cat, Thoreau at Walden) and Oliver East (Trains Are…Mint). The first story in the book astounded me — it’s about the town of Marlow, where Moreton moved when he was 11. Quick scribbles seem to capture the town mostly by noting its shadows. It ends with a meditation on aging and a drawing of an older guy in a pool that’s probably my favorite image in the book, though there’s a lot more to love: simple (but more detailed) drawings of houses, the birds of Falmouth, and simple drawings of people that capture so much of their character. I’m going to read every book and minicomic by Moreton that I can find. No idea how […]

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Book Review: When We Were Magic by Sarah Gailey

When We Were Magic by Sarah Gailey. Simon Pulse, 2020. 9781534432871. 342pp plus acknowledgements. Here’s what you need to know to decide whether or not to try this book: in the opening pages, post-prom, Alexis just tried to lose her virginity to Josh in his bedroom. Things didn’t go as planned. His dick exploded when she was putting the condom on him, and Josh is dead. Josh was sweet and kind, but Alexis’ magic got out of control somehow. Now her five friends, who are also magic, are going to help her dispose of the body. Alexis is going to have to deal with who she is, what she did, and the cop who’s interviewing everyone in school. This is a YA novel about friendship and learning who you are (with a dash of romance). Gailey also wrote River of Teeth along with other stories featuring hippos in the 19th century U.S., and Magic for Liars, in which a mundane […]

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Graphic Novel Review: Cook Korean! + All American Girl by Robin Ha

Cook Korean! A Comic Book With Recipes by Robin Ha. Ten Speed Press, 2016. 175pp including an index. 9781607748878. 176pp. The hanbok wearing Dengki teaches us how to cook (because Ha is busy drawing comics). There’s a guide to Korean ingredients and meals, including different kinds of rice and rice by-products — you’ll probably love nurungji — before Dengki shows us how to make rice perfectly, even in a nonstick pot on the stove. The chapter on kimchi includes easy and advanced recipes, not all of which are spicy and/or fishy. (I’m going to make the “square-cut kimchi gazpacho” (nabak kimchi) soon — it fits with my new heart healthy diet._ The section on vegetable side dishes includes one I love, acorn jelly, which is tasty but nearly impossible to describe. (Ha illustrates a mishap when making it, when she accidentally makes acorn rocks.) If veggies aren’t your thing there’s a huge section on making different kinds of Korean barbecue, […]

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