I’m torn. 4 stars? Or 5?

This book was wild and brilliant and fun. It was told in letters, and I was in a state of constant awe through most of the book. I only wished that Ella had been a bit more of an active character (especially given the blurb and the title—it kind of set expectations). While I love the theme of her just being another person, and how that makes her relatable, I still felt she could have been more active.

But this was fun. Like, really fun. It was pretty short too, so it’s definitely worth curling up with if you have a weekend! It makes you appreciate the little things in life—like z’s and q’s and j’s—and remember to not be so lofty when “interpreting” things no one can really know for certain. (Did I mention the religious critique in this? It was quite brilliant.)

Okay yeah, this is getting 5 stars.

I read this while procrastinating homework, and it was so so good! I meant to read a chapter at a time to bribe myself, but I could not put it down. From the first panel, I was hooked into the action of the story. The art was so well done (and reminiscent of anime, too!) and conveyed so much emotion so clearly. It was also just plain entertaining.

Not to mention the characters! Penelope was so relatable. If I'd pushed someone who tried to help me, I'd be 1) terrified they hated me, and 2) terrified to apologize. But everything worked out, and they were so cute and made such a great team. And just ... Jamie! He was a very quiet little dude, but had such a heart of gold. (Also ... his hair was just. so. beautiful. The CURLS.)

The voice was upbeat, the action was riveting, the art was impeccable, and all the characters were detailed and unique. (There was a lot of diversity amongst them as well, which was so nice to see.) 10/10 recommend this book. It's fast, it's fun, and it has a tender, heartfelt message that everyone could use reminding of every once in a while.

Ack, that ending! I need to go get the next one, but alas. The library is already closed.

This graphic novel was spooky and scary and /weird/. I wasn't a huge fan of the character art style, but it grew on me as I read, and the spill zone was stunning. Definitely going to be picking up the next one!

I don't even know where to start with this book. It was weird. Good--really, really good--but /weird/. I was left feeling like I might just curl up and cry for a while. I read it for a class, but am not sure I would have finished it if I hadn't been on a tight reading schedule for it. I'm glad I did, though. It's not my usual read, but it made me remember why I love being an English major, that's for certain! There's so much to unpack in this book, and it really makes you think. I really liked Kath, the narrator. She had a deep understanding of those around her, which I appreciated. Ruth drove me crazy. I wanted to just wrap Tommy up in a warm hug. And the messages at the core of this novel will have me thinking for quite a while.

Coming from reading Mary Oliver, I will admit I was a tough crowd for the first half of this collection. But about halfway through I realized that I'd breezed through nearly a hundred pages in just one sitting, and I think that says more than any other sort of praise could. Walker's poetry is really easy to read and very thought provoking and contemplative. I thought she was a little line-break-happy at times, but for the most part her form was well done and added to the general message of the poetry. I almost added an entire star just for "Democratic Womanism" and "Democratic Motherism." These were breathtaking pieces, and if for no other reason made this entire collection worth reading. They took my breath away, and left me with several topics I'd like to research (the colonialization of Hawaii and ban of their native language really got me, as it was new info to me). I wish there had been some more political and environmental pieces in this collection, because the few that were here were breathtaking.

This was cute and fluffy, and took me about 20 minutes to read. I haven't read the book it was parodied off of, so I think it would add a layer of complexity and appreciation to the collection. I do think Oates (and Kyra!) accomplished what they set out to do with this collection, but I think it would have been interesting to weave a bit more complexity into the poems, especially given Oates' critiques of the original book.
As another reviewer said, this was fast and fun and now I will never think about any of these poems again.