Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova

Author: Svetlana Chmakova
Original title: Awkward

Pages: 224
Edition Language: English
Series: Berrybrook Middle School #1
Format: Paperback
Genres: Middle Grade, Comics
Goodreads

Blurb:    
   On her first day at her new school, Penelope Torres trips into a quiet boy in the hall, Jaime Thompson, she's already broken the first rule, and the mean kids start calling her the "nerder girlfriend." How does she handle this crisis? By shoving poor Jaime and running away.  Falling back on rule two and surrounding herself with new friends in the art club, Peppi still can't help feeling ashamed about the way she treated Jaime.

My thoughts: 
    My final book for Middle Grade March 

    It was a cute and fast read with manga-like drawings. I could not give it more that 3 stars as I was not touched or driven by the story. Apart from cuteness, it does not bring much on the table. Though, Peppi's awkwardness and character growth are vivid and appealing.

    I liked the picture of Mr R and miss Tobin, they are great. The two ideal driven types of teachers, who can influence your life choices and help you to carry interest and love for the subject for years.

   
Altogether, I highly recommend the comics, I just was not for me, and I will not read the rest of the series.

 Rating:  

    3/5  

Black Orchid by Neil Gaiman

Author: Neil Gaiman
Original title: Black Orchid
Illustrator: Dave McKean
Pages: 176
Edition Language: Enslish
Series: none
Genres: Fantasy, Finction, Comics
Goodreads

Blurb: 
      After being viciously murdered, Susan Linden is reborn fully grown as the Black Orchid, a hybrid of plant and human, destined to avenge her own death. Now, as this demigoddess attempts to reconcile human memory and botanical origins, she must untangle the webs of deception and secrets that led to her death. Beginning in the cold streets of a heartless metropolis and ending in the Amazon rainforest, this book takes the reader on a journey through secrets, suffering and self-rediscovery.

My thoughts:   
        It's hard for me to review comic books and graphic novels because I am not much in this genre. I do try though.
        I didn't realize that Black Orchid was a DC superhero; I don't know many details about DC's superheroes, though I know Batman and Poison Ivy so it was doing fine with the plot and mystery figures.
        I do not read the blurbs of the books before reading, so the beginning was very weird and confusing for me. And actually this hooked me up. I was really intrigued, and could not make the sense of the story between present and multiple flashbacks. Surely, soon I realized soon that that was on purpose since it's exactly how the Black Orchid felt herself. After that, the story started to be a little predictable.
       Apart from superhero stuff and flower theme I was greatly impressed by the appearance of such topics as domestic violence and protection of Amazon forests and how it was incorporated seamlessly into a superhero story. How the story ended up was something completely different than I expected and I would say disappointing.
      However, the true gem of a book was the art anyway! The colors were vivid and convey the drama and effects very realistic. Altogether, this book is beautiful, and I guess I could read it even without Neil Gaiman's text.

Rating: 

    2/5