I thought I needed to read Solitaire before reading this one, but apparently this takes place before it! Set during Christmas, we see what's happening with the Spring family in their first Christmas after Charlie's hospitalization for his eating disorder. 

What I liked about this is we get a little more in-depth with the characters, more than we might from graphic novel form. The way Oseman deals with mental illness has grown a lot from her first novel. We see Charlie struggling with the fact that he feels like his family views him as some kind of novelty. Nick is definitely his safe space, but we also see the way that it affects Tori, too.

This is a great little novella and it was the perfect read for Christmas Eve!

This isn't...bad, per se. Apparently it's been edited from the original because the original had some problematic content related to mental health. Which perhaps reflects the time it was written. But I digress!

I believe this was Alice Oseman's first book, and you can see how much her writing has grown since then if you read some of her later stuff. This did help me connect some of the dots from [book:Radio Silence|25322449] and I did enjoy getting to see Tori's side of the story. We get more of a sense of her as a character, and we get some of Nick and Charlie's story after [book:Heartstopper: Volume One|40495957]. 

A lot of the writing feels like a first book, which isn't a bad thing necessarily. It's called a modern day Catcher in the Rye and I can see why. It has a bit of that feel to it. Seeing Oseman at her roots is great and I am glad I read it. And now I can't wait for the next volume of Heartstopper!

We get the backstory on Tohru's parents in this one, and it's so sad! Yes, there is quite an age difference between her mom and dad, but it still works for the most part. There are just tragic backstories all around in this series.

The Cinderella-ish play was also a lot of fun! Helped to balance out some of the darker stuff in this volume. And there was a lot of darker stuff in this volume. You definitely need some of that fun stuff to balance out all the trauma that's happened to these characters.

To no one's surprise, Spider-Man: No Way Home has inspired me to get back into reading Spider-Man comics. I've been trying to work my way through from the beginning for a few years now, on and off. Will 2022 be a year I finally get through a decent amount of them? Time will tell!

This volume was pretty okay, even if it had some strange villains (Mindworm, anyone?). We do get the original storyline of Harry Osborn becoming the Green Goblin, which is definitely a classic Spider-Man story. That was definitely a stand out issue in this collection. Also if you've never read any original comics from this era, I recommend it because they're just fun. So drastically different from current comics, but just as important.

This was...fine. Not really developed enough in pretty much every aspect, in my opinion. The world building was confusing and none of the characters are really that fleshed out. It makes the plotline difficult to follow and just makes it difficult to get into the book overall. 

The art is good, though! That part is done well. Some of the writing definitely left something to be desired, though. If it's supposed to be a series, maybe it will get better?

I'm reading these more quickly, so the volumes are starting to sort of blend together for me. But with each volume, we get more and more of the Sohma family story, especially relating to Akito. And it's <i>dark</i>. I mean, I knew that going into it, that it was going to get darker as I read on but man. There's so much trauma, there.

I do enjoy the fact that characters we get glimpses of get more fleshed out as we go on. It helps me keep the characters straight, and is also an effective tactic for building this world and this family. Fully prepared for the rest of the series to continue to get darker and darker.

Also, I could do without the student council scenes. For me, they don't add much to the story and I tend to skim through them. Stick to the family stories, please and thank you!

 Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Publishing for an advanced copy of this to review! It has all the elements that I love in my stories. Romance, superpowers, great friendships. Usually, this is a winning combination. However, parts of this book fell a little flat for me.

After a bit of a slow start, the book does start to pick up pace wise about halfway through. There are some great action sequences included, and I will admit that Dylan and Jordan have some good chemistry. It is a bit on the instant love side, which isn't my favorite trope. But given Jordan's life situation, it does make sense.

Overall, the plot feels a bit all over the place. The pacing for most of the book feels off, stretching out scenes that don't need to be and skipping some important information. Some of the world building could have been done a bit better. I think this is partly becuase there is focus on details throughout that weren't important to the structure of the world. I'm left with so many questions and not a lot of answers.

At times, it does seem like Dylan and Jordan are moving a bit quickly in their relationship. However, it does make sense in the context of the overall story. They are teenagers, after all. Some teenagers like to move quickly. Most of the characters in the book also felt a little underdeveloped, especially the side characters. They felt one dimensional and I just wanted more from them.

All in all, while I loved the idea behind the story, the writing didn't quite live up to my expectations. But, if you're looking for a gay superhero romance, you'll definitely find it in this book! If you like things like The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune, you will still enjoy this story. 
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Mixed feelings about this one! I liked the story, but some of the writing wasn't quite where I wanted it to be. Stay tuned for a full review to come soon!

A cute little series of shorts that cat lovers will definitely enjoy! The supernatural elements behind the cat and the mansion are a little bit unclear, making it a little difficult to follow along there. But for a quick graphic novel read, I would say this is a lot ot fun! 

It reminded me a bit of Fangs by Sarah Andersen, with adding a bit of humor to the supernatural. There isn't a lot of an over-arching story to connect all the short comics, so I can see how this might work better as a web comic than an overall graphic novel. It's still a lot of fun, though!

I feel like we're really getting to the more nitty gritty drama aspect of this manga in this volume, as we get to see more of Akito. And we don't like what we see! Granted, I knew that was where this was going when I started it, but we're definitely starting to see it unfold on the page in this volume.

Also, all the Kyo character development! And Yuki! There's such a dark past there, and I have a feeling it's just going to keep going from there. Despite everything, it's so heartwarming that Tohru is trying to stay positive through it all. Her determination to help try to break the curse? It's adorable. But will also probably lead to heartbreak.

A memoir about Johnson's childhood, and more specifically, an homage to their Nanny. Right from the beginning, you can feel how much emotion and love was poured into this book. This book has a different feel than <i>All Boys Aren't Blue</i>, but it's a feel that works for this particular story. 

I really enjoy Johnson's writing style, as they do a great job weaving these cherished memories in a way that other readers can releate to them. But Johnson also connects these to the realities of growing up Black in America, mostly the reality that Black boys have to grow up faster than most. Throughout the book, you can see how fiercely their Nanny fought to protect them, to allow them to grow up in a home where they could feel loved and cared for. 

The inclusion of the letters from Johnson's other family members also adds a nice touch to the book. Even though I don't read much nonfiction, I will continue to read what Johnson puts out because it's just so well done.