howlinglibraries's Reviews (1.85k)

 Me, after volume 3: this manga series cannot POSSIBLY get even CUTER than it already is

Bond: hold my bowtie 

 

There are few things I love more in the literary world than retellings and stories inspired by fairytales: specifically the dark, old versions of those fairytales, where the curses leave their victims forever changed, where true love is often paralleled by great sacrifice, where the good guy doesn't always win. All of that is exactly what inspired this poetry collection, and Stephanie Parent did an incredible job bringing back all of those melancholy, dimly lit waves of nostalgia through these poems. Not only do these poems offer a new perspective on those old stories, but they also weave in themes of feminism, being uncomfortable in one's own skin, and that slow, arduous journey to self-acceptance that so many of us have experienced.

I related immensely to one particular narrative about a young girl who is discontented by the real world and wishes she could be that heroine saving herself from the wicked witch's curse, escaping the brambles and thorns and crumbling castles. I also couldn't help relating to a separate but connected theme: a young woman who feels less than special, and finds herself idealizing the clawed grasp of a beast, if only to be his obsession. I was certainly both of these girls at some time or other, and reading these poems was a gentle but bittersweet reminder of where I've been and how far I've come.

In case you didn't notice, this collection meant a great deal to me and I enjoyed it immensely. I recommend it highly for anyone who enjoys fantastical poetry and fairytales, and I can't wait to read more from Stephanie in the future!

Thank you to the author for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own. 

 I'm finally continuing this series, and I had somehow forgotten just how CUTE it is. Anya alone is probably the singular most adorable character I've ever seen in any manga, but the whole family is just wholesome and precious in their own bizarre, violent way. I love how concerned Twilight and Yor are with Anya's happiness and well-being; despite it being a fake family, it's so evident that they've both got tender hearts of gold when it comes to their "daughter". Anya is absolutely hilarious (her little "heh"s and sinister grins at school had me giggling the whole time), and the whole plot is so ridiculous and over-the-top in the BEST way.
 

 I don't usually add my son's books to my reading log while reading them to him, but this was so nostalgic and fun that I had to. I didn't realize until a few days ago that the Alvin Schwartz scary story collections are being re-made in the "I Can Read" books for today's kids, and that's super exciting to me because there isn't nearly enough children's horror in the book world these days and it would be nice to see these take off and inspire more modern authors to write more horror for kids! In the meantime, my son (who is 6) really liked these and I had fun re-visiting such familiar stories I grew up on. ♥
 

 I love these little beings too much and reading Strange Planet comics always gives me such a delightful little boost of serotonin. ♥ I've been following the comics on social media for years, so I had read most of these already, but it had been a long time, and it added in a dose of nostalgia for the little references my family and I used to make to some of these ("tiny trash!").
 

 Again, these beings are too cute and wholesome and I never get tired of Strange Planet comics. Pyle is so good at taking even the most mundane human activities and making them seem magical and lovely through the beings' perspectives — and at the same time, he also excels at taking totally normal, everyday habits and pointing out how inherently ridiculous they might seem.
 

 

This was such a fun, odd little story full of Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 references and a spurned lover's revenge. It wasn't my top favorite story of all time from SGJ, but I definitely enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who likes this fantastic author as much as I do!

✨ Representation: Jenna is multiracial (Native American, Mexican, and white) 

 I wish I had liked this book, especially because I love the home invasion trope and have been looking for a book lately with that theme that would hit the spot for me... but this wasn't it. While the gore and violence were fairly intense at times, I never felt like the events playing out were "high stakes" enough because I couldn't bring myself to be bothered by anything bad happening to any of the characters (especially Jerry, the father and main character).

While some of the problems I had with Strangers revolved around the writing and the unlikable characters, the major issue I had was with each family member's big "secret" that the Killer was essentially punishing them for. The dad's secret was played out way too long for a very predictable reveal, the son's secret was not that big of a deal comparatively, and the daughter's secret was steeped in so much misogyny it made me cringe. I won't spoil it, but Jerry's reaction to his daughter's secret was honestly repulsive (even to the point of him thinking about how he doesn't love his daughter anymore due to a COMPLETELY HARMLESS secret) and made me hate his character so much. #Justice4Sheri please.

Oh, and the mom's secret and how she reacts to basically everything in that scene? Genuinely the most unrealistic, ridiculous thing I've read in a long time. I'm sorry, but I honestly don't think 99.9% of mothers would make the mistakes that she makes in that moment (IYKYK) and I wasn't able to suspend disbelief at all during any of it.

I hate to sound so negative because I've been wanting to read this author's work for a while, he seems like such a nice guy and SO many of his books' plots sound awesome, but this was just an all-around terrible reading experience. That said, Goodreads says Strangers was one of Collings' first books, so I'm absolutely going to give a newer release of his a chance in hopes that I'll enjoy his more recent work better. As far as this book goes, I sadly cannot recommend it.