(read as single issues)

<3 PATSY <3

I'm so sad to see this series end but so glad it got to end on its own (MALL MAKEOVER) terms <3

I'm definitely happy as new Marvel comics can move further out from Civil War II and get back to like, other things. (Although I do appreciate seeing Jen's ongoing journey with PTSD and trauma recovery! But I'm also glad for a return to the She-Hulk blend of sass/shenanigans [feat Hellcat] and legal expertise.) Plus I LOVE that the arc revolved around a queer couple who have a baking YouTube channel.

This is strongly in my wheelhouse of elaborately dumb tropey fantasy stuff I personally enjoy, like The Selection times Beauty and the Beast plus fairies. I skimmed over some of the worldbuilding stuff (and honestly I suspect it would not survive a close reading) but if you're just looking for some melodramatic horny fairies....here they are.

god these fairies are SO HORNY

this book could get a full blackout bingo card on any kind of hurt/comfort trope bingo and honestly I'm here for it, like, oh no we were caught in the freezing rain and there's only one bed left at the inn? ohhh nooo

the plot is like, a lot, but I don't care, it's just obstacles getting in the way of very enjoyable tropes

Spoiler

it makes no sense that only the man knows the mating bond is in place but also whatever who cares it's fuckin magic

As I read more Nora Roberts books I can see the similar structure lurking between each pair of destined-for-each-other lovers but they're still supes fun and sweet and hardly at all garbagey.



http://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers/episode-93-angels-fall/

This is a fun, kind adventure story, perfect for tweens looking for a realistic story. Also great for classes wanting a book to discuss bullying in a non-heavy-handed way.

(read as single issues)

I love Rainbow Rowell, I love the Runaways, I love telepathic cats, soo



I do feel like this volume had a lot of heavy lifting to do in order to get everybody reassembled, so like...I enjoyed this a lot on its own merits but I'm more excited about what can come next!

I'm on record as not loooving the first vol of Totally Awesome Hulk, and also of not even liking Civil War II,so I probably wouldn't have picked this up except when it came into the library I was like "is the cover of this book extremely focused on Bruce Banner eating soup?" and I flipped through it and I was like "wow a lot of this book is actually about Bruce Banner eating soup" and that is sincerely the comics content I'm looking for.

Anyway I actually liked this a lot and I thought Amadeus seemed way less bro-y here than he did in Vol 1 [my main turnoff of that vol], and more like...a #relatable #teen dealing with newfound abilities and just trying to be the best Hulk he can be :') Also making homemade soup for poor de-Hulked Bruce Banner, so important and sweet. What a souper hero.

sorry

bye

There's a lot to like here--it's great to see a YA protagonist who graduates HS early and starts college (and the specific MIT details are a lot of fun), and to see specifically an Asian-American (specifically Taiwanese-American) girl talking about body image in a fat-positive-ish way (tho her mom is very fatphobic) is cool.

That said some of the character details seemed....half-hearted? Like a central conflict is that Mei's parents want her to be a doctor but she hates science and is germphobic. But her germphobia seems very...conditionally active. It does seem appropriate that she comes across as overall very immature since she is a young college first-year, but for an adult reader it was hard to get through. Her voice--and her mom's nagging voicemails--will probably be funnier/more relatable for some younger readers, who of course are the intended audience here anyway.

Although it's great that this is an #ownvoices book it still feels a little like this specific "tiger mom" culture clash has been done a lot. Still, for some readers I'm sure this will ring true, and it's great to have this to offer to teen readers.

Spoiler

Also ok, so her parents disowned her brother because he was dating a girl who was maybe infertile, and I get that they're nosy and there's a lot of gossip but also HOW DID THAT EVEN COME UP? It seemed like the parents heard about it on like their first date--since Mei never met Esther--and instantly disowned him, and then she wasn't even actually infertile but just had some kind of lady health problem?? Just seemed like maybe that whole situation needed a tiny more setup,
especially given how much it loomed over the rest of the narrative?

This is a beautiful GN that I felt like could have used a fewww more pages to flesh out the details of the story. I thought the plotline of Priyanka being jealous of her aunt & uncle's new baby was the most emotionally moving, even though it seems like it should have been the reveal of why her mother left India and what it was like for Priyanka to reconnect with her other aunt in India? But that section seemed more rushed.

Still--beautiful art and cultural specificity that will resonate better for some readers.