Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, A Graphic Novel (in original text)

The classic tale of Doctor Frankenstein and his abhorred creation rebirthed in graphic detail.


Doctor Frankenstein, or more familiarly Victor, is obsessed with the thought of ridding the human body ( and race for that matter) of any type of disease. His studies take him to Ingolstadt, where he is able to finally put his sharp mind to task and bring forth his dream of an undying human race. But, tragically, his bright dream turns into the darkest of nightmares when his studies turn him to sparking life into a monstrous patchwork of long dead body parts. Then, in his darkest hour, the Frankenstein monster is born...or reborn... or revived depending on your view.


This monstrosity. NO! This abomination wants only to be accepted and treasured as a creation, much as the human raced is treasured by it's one Creator. However, when this wicked spirit finds that no matter where it turns it will always be turned away...things could get nasty. And, in truth, they do. Watch your back Doctor Victor Frankenstein. Your monster has turned it's yellow eyes on you.


I've read both, the original and the graphic novel version, and I must say that this really enhances my understanding of what was being said in th book. I loved this Graphic version of Mary Shelley's classic. I have not read the Quick Text verison, so I can't say much for it, but I think this will really make a high school class really get into what is being said. Some of the language and phrasing is a bit out dated (at least by some standards) and they think that kids reading a Shelley novel is ridiculous, but this book really bridges the gap. Not to mention that reading a graphic novel is introducing a student to a different mode of expression and creation.


The colors are dark and menacing for the most part, but at times there are bright and exciting pictures. The frames really bring the characters to life without distracting too much from what is being said.


My opinion...Though it lacks all the words of Shelley's novel, it proves to be a very, very close second.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

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The Book Thief is about a little girl, Liesel Meminger, and her life through World War II and the Holocaust. Liesel, as far as we know, is not a Jew, but her family is accused of having Communist ties. Her mother took measures into her own and ran with Liesel and Liesel's little brother. Liesel's little brother contracted an illness and died on the way to Molching, a town not far from Munich. There, in Molching, Liesel is given over to a new family and left.


The little girl, now haunted with nightmares of her brother, is shoved into school where she struggled because she cannot read. She had to cope with a new family, new friends, and new enemies. What she didn't know, since she was only a little girl, was that her list of enemies was going to grow from a few schoolyard bullies to Adolf Hitler and his armies.


She also didn't know the kind of trouble she was going to attract. She becomes a book thief, a Jew harborer, a "Jew Lover", and so much more. Liesel was the epitome of Adolf's nightmare (a free thinking, individual, unstoppable person). But will Liesel escape the ravages of war, or will Death (the narrator of her story) finally catch up to her?


I, personally, am not a fan of this book. The author, Markus Zusak, gave too much away for me to really enjoy it. I like books that keep me in suspense. This book didn't. It told you everything significant that was going to happen before you ever discovered it on your own.


Now, there were good points to this book. The writing style, besides his lack of suspense, was very interesting. He really took a child-like manner in describing the weather and the events that happened. It made the world seem both magical and frightening at the same time. Zusak also created some amazing ideas about Death. Some of them are far-fetched, but at least he tried something new.


The characters are okay. None of them really stood out to me. I had some problems remembering that Liesel was a young girl. I kept thinking she was in her upper teens, which she most definitely is not. You learned too much about each character to really need to get to know them. You have no desire to want to see them more if you already know everything about them.




My rating is:

For more of my thoughts, check out my Reading Log

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

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"The first ten lies they tell you in high school

1. We are here to help you.

2.You will have enough time to get to your class before the bell rings.

3. The dress code will be enforced.

4. No smoking is allowed on school grounds.

5. Our football team will win the championship this year.

6. We expect more of you here.

7. Guidance counselors are always available to listen.

8. Your schedule was created with your needs in mind.

9. Your locker combination is private.

10. These will be the years you look back on fondly. (Speak, pgs. 5-6)"

Mel's first day of high school is terrible. On her way to school, none of her old friends talk to her. All of the other students eye her like she is a freak. She wants to explain it to them all, but something stops her. She can't speak about it. Everytime she tries, her throat closes up and she chokes on her words.

After school she goes home, eats pizza, and runs upstairs to hide from her parents. They don't want to hear from her. They don't even want to see her. Things aren't looking good for her first year of high school.

Things get worse when IT keeps popping up in her life. He talks to her, tries to get her attention. Why is she being punished? Will she ever be able to tell her secret? Will she ever get her old life back?

Anderson created an awesome character that deals with extremely hard topics. One of the major themes is identity and finding your place in the world. It also deals with growth and communication. Laurie Halse Anderson pulled the most difficult struggles a teen faces and then explores them with sarcasm, wit and sincerity.

For more of my thoughts check out my Reading Log.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

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The Monkey King is just that, a monkey that is a king of monkeys. However, this monkey knows different forms of kung fu and considers himself to be a deity. One night, he smells food from a heavenly dinner party and decides that he wants to attend, even without an invitation. Once he arrives in heaven and tries to enter the party, the other gods mock him. They call him a simple monkey and say that he will never be anything more than that. The Monkey King's reaction? He pummels them all and sets out to prove himself as a deity equal of all of those in heaven.


Jin was born in the United States to Asian parents, but he still faces the difficulty of stereotypes and the sting of racial discrimination. It is clear that the color of his skin and the slant of his eyes is enough to separate him from the rest of the class. When Jin meets another boy named Wei-Chen Sun, he struggles to "fix" the other boy's broken English so that he will not be embarrassed. And, as you see him grow up, Jin struggles with his heritage limiting not only his friends, but also the girls that he is interested in.


Danny is a normal teen with a terrifying secret: his cousin Chin-kee. Danny is embarrassed by his cousin's broken English and odd mannerisms. Danny has to take Chin-kee to school with him and it is devastating. Danny says it messes with his life and claims that he has to switch schools after every visit his cousin makes. This time Danny refuses to let his cousin mess up his life. But how will he stop his strange cousin?


These three tales are woven together to create a strange and unique tale. It's full of hilarious inuendos and hidden meanings and the art is amazing. Yang uses this story to explore the problems of racism and stereotypes. His characters express his feelings and thoughts about growing up. His book begs the question of: what would you do to fit in?

For more of my thoughts check out my Reading Log

The Scarlet Letter (Graphic Novel) by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Hester Prynne, after being found out of adultry, must wear the scarlet letter "A" upon her chest. She must suffer the insults and attacks of her Puritan neighbors. The judges plead with her to name the man that she committed adultry with, but she refuses them. There is nothing left for her except to take care of her baby girl, Pearl, and to hide the identity of her lover (even from her husband).


I know that there is much more to this story than what this thin graphic novel version is telling us. I am really wanting to read the whole thing now.


There are a few things that I didn't understand. Did her she marry her husband because it was arranged? Or was she, at one time, in love with him? I think that is a critical piece of information that was left out! Were there any other stipulations placed on her by the judges? Or was wearing the A punishment enough? And why did she embroider her letter in that way? It really didn't answer these questions.


It did deal with some interesting issues and this book might spark some religious questions. I think I would really like the full version and, at my earliest convenience, I plan to buy it.


I can't rate this higher because it left so much unsaid, but I can't give it lower because it did a great job getting some of the major themes across. So, I will give it a temporary three, until I can better judge it.

By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead by Julie Anne Peters

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Daelyn has been ridiculed and mocked her entire life. She's been made fun of for her weight, for her looks and she's nearly been raped. She tried to kill herself, but she had timed it wrong; her parents had found her and managed to get her to a hospital. Now, she wears a neckbrace and can no longer speak. She suffers in silence.


However, she hasn't given up her plans to kill herself. The story picks up with Daelyn as she is planning her next attempt at killing herself. She realizes that now she has to plan more carefully, she has to make things just right. She also realizes that she would have left a large mess for her parents to clean up. So, this time, she is going to do it right. She gets on a website that sets up a twenty-three day program for her. All she has to do is wait twenty three days and she can kill herself. She's suffered for 15 years; what's another few days?


What she doesn't plan on is Santana. He is a boy that tries to talk to her after school. She refuses to acknowledge his existence, but he cannot be dissuaded. Nor does she consider Emily. Emily is a "fat" girl at school that tries to open up to her. Daelyn is going crazy! She has finally found a way to kill herself, and everyone decides to start paying attention to her.


When the final day comes will she be prepared to die or will she second guess herself.


This novel deals with the touchy subject of bullycide or suicide because someone has bullied you to the point where you break. In class, this book brought up amazing conversations and opinions. This book does have some very dangerous material and must be presented in the right ways.

For more of my thoughts check out my Reading Log

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Clary Fray walked into a backroom of a club to find a boy with blue hair tied up to a post surrounded by three shadowhunters. The shadowhunters, better known as the half-humans half-angels or Nephilim, claim the boy is a demon, but Clary knows that demons aren't real. So, when the boy breaks loose of his bindings, attacks one of the Nephilim with taloned hands, ends up with a knife in his heart, and then disappears as if he had never existed, Clary finds herself doubting everything she ever knew about the world; especially when no one else can see the shadowhunters.


The next day, Clary ends up in an argument with her mom. She storms out of the house with her best friend Simon and go to a poetry reading. There, she sees Jace, one of the Nephilim from the night before. Apparently, he had been following her because she intrigued him. Then, Clary recieves a disturbing call from her mom. She races home to find the house trashed and empty, or almost empty. She comes face to face with a demon. She manages to kill the little beast, but not before getting poisoned by it. Jace, who followed her again, saves her by taking her to the Institute.


Clary, then, begins the hunt for her mother. Along the way, she learns amazing secrets about herself and about her mom.


Clare did a fantastic job on this novel. It left me wanting to go directly out and get the next part in the series. Once more she goes along the theme of finding one's self and learning to be comfortable with who you are. The cast is set up amazingly. Each character, in their own way, makes the scenes they are in. Jace, Simon, Alec and Isabelle help create complex social issues that Clary has to go through.


However, once more, Clary seems to be underdeveloped. At times you like, at other times she's your worst enemy. You can never tell exactly how you feel. Maybe, as the series goes on, you can learn to like her.