Chile, what is going on!?! The storytelling is a hot mess (Freya still out here winging how she thinks the prince would act. Why is no one telling her??? Julius still slips into creep mode here and there, a random whodunit, court politics,

the real prince can communicate with Freya, or is that her imagining what he’d tell her???

etc), but it’s still entertaining. There are some beautifully-drawn scenes in here, particularly when Freya and Alek spar. 

Now, the pacing is very fast, and things keep happening quickly. The mangaka could’ve spaced out

the Vassal’s betrayal a bit more.

 

Another thing, the way Freya slips into her confident, prince act can seem a bit jarring, but I like that she’s capable and smart. She’s still herself, so when things get overwhelming, she takes it hard. There are also real stakes in this story. Sometimes, people get got and there are no fairytale do-overs. 

Slowwww start but becomes charming once you get into it. Take Back the Block makes gentrification, community organizing, and activism digestible and simple for young kids. 

Also, love the cover! 

None of this was really impressing with the usual weak MC is smart and has a good heart

then, he gets an upgrade and starts bussing heads

, but I’ll read volume two since my library is set to get it. I have heard good things about this series, so who knows. 

I can’t tell you how much character fodder get blown to bits and bloodied in this. You just know who doesn’t have plot armor when they start doing something that’s obviously DUMB, then they act surprised Pikachu. But surprisingly the MC isn’t exempt from this either. 

On the plus side, everything’s fully colored and the characters’ expressions are great. 

Cons: 

-no thanks to cheating dad redemption though I do like the struggle of Evie’s relationship with him. She truly wants to hate him, but it’s still her dad, y’know.

Evie’s dad made a conscious decision to be tonguing down another woman while married. That’s on you, sir! At first, it’s like he gets no consequences for his actions. Breaks up his family home and moves onto another woman, and Evie has to see them giggling and gleeful all in her face. You’re not supposed to hold a grudge as it builds into resentment but UGHHHHH

 

-neutral: Fifi. Hmm, I feel like characters with strong accents show better in film than writing. Eez jest too minny Zee’s fo meeeee en she’s speech. 

-X and Evie were fine but not swoon-worthy to me. 

-none of her friends were memorable 

Pros:

+Loved the dancing and the cover 

+Danica and her revolving roulette of boyfriends 

+Evie’s struggle with cynicism 

+Poking fun at romance tropes 

+The magical realism 

+The complexities of relationships, and if “I love you” is really forever 

+The ending and the overall

Love again message

 

+The acknowledgements that gives the backstory 

Nicola Yoon is one of my favorite writers, but this one wasn’t for me. 

 Unfortunately, this one wasn’t for me. I loved the premise of the MC working at her family’s hotel and the island setting, but I didn’t care for any of the characters (well, Fish was all right) or the romantic relationship. Reyna and Aiden were dry and draining with all the back and forth. Aiden’s passive-aggressiveness/frosty act and Reyna’s stubbornness was wearing on me bigtime. Say something or shut up! However, I enjoyed Reyna’s family matters and the relationship with her mom was the best part(s) to me. 

I have never read Persuasion, so I can’t speak at how well this retelling works. 

now, irrational teenagers who can’t communicate is realistic, but it didn’t make for a fun reading experience

 

[rating from personal enjoyment not quality] 

I expected the dog to be a painter, hence the name, but this was something entirely different. The story’s very silly, and the way the city splits divisively in favor or against Pawcasso almost feels like a cheeky joke at most politics. Now, if you don’t like stories, where lying is the central theme and you’re just waiting for the inevitable, then this won’t be for you. But I thought this story was very charming, and it had such a cute art style.

Bottom line: If you don’t clear up misunderstandings, they snowball into huge lies!

Also, what was Jo's dad's job??? what are you doing where you're away half the year all the time? Military? working overseas?

 Although Rowley is adorably embarrassing (or: terribly corny, either one), he’s too good for Greg. While Greg is still a very prevalent part of ROWLEY’s story, he’s not as involved because there’s a larger cast of characters in Rowley’s fantasy world. Of course, Greg’s still hogging the spotlight at the end of each chapter. *shrug* 

There’s a lot of meta humor about fans and merchandise/adaptions for books and whatnot because Greg only sees dollar signs haha. Also, Rowley has been raised right by his parents, and he never lets you forget it. But it’s funny. At one point, to pander to paranormal romance fans, a vampire is introduced, which got some laughs out of me. I liked this book much more than the first Rowley one. 

Bottomline: It’s the same formula (no character development; just status quo) you would expect from Rowley & Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, but it still manages to be entertaining by playing fantasy tropes. 

The narrative felt messy always jumping to another topic or important life point. Maybe the transitions could have been more organized? I was waiting to see more about her older brother Ryan, but it never came. But I'd think it's very difficult to compile moments from your life into a cohesive narrative if nothing life-changing (according to the general audience) happened. 

Still, I liked the story, and the adorable illustrations. There's a mini story-inside-a-story that's also cute as well.

 A good way to describe Little Miss P is that it’s “wonderfully dumb.” Now, there’s an instance where a character goes on basically a starvation diet to get thinner, but she learns the skinny girl she’s idealizing doesn’t have it all together. But still, the majority of this book is charming.

 

idk, being constantly horny is not comparable to crippling pain from cramps. Not that it’s a competition tho