I was a little hesitant to read this due to the hype of it, but I am so happy that it lives up to its praise. This was equal parts humorous, modern fairytale romance, and informative (specifically regarding the overall politics aspect that can't be ignored. The only thing that somewhat bothered me (and this is a complete personal preference) was the exact timeframes after living through a terrible 2016-2020 presidency and a global pandemic (again, this is an irrational pet peeve I have for fictional stories). Otherwise, I had fun reading this and it's absolutely one of the better romances I've read in awhile.

This was the perfect amount of adventure and cute and very much something I would recommend for people who love magical girl-related media (ex. Sailor Moon). While I always want more story from my graphic novels, I think this did a fantastic job of showing us exactly who our cast of characters are and provides a complete and concise story. Also, the artwork by Wendy Xu is absolutely beautiful so if you're a person who is happy with media that is visually stunning then this is the book for you.  

Clive Davis’s story is absolutely incredible to learn about because we get to see all the legends he worked with throughout his longstanding career while also getting the history aspect of the music industry in easy to digest segments. He’s open and honest about his industry beginnings by fully admitting that he had no prior experience, but it’s also commendable that he stresses the important of having a willingness to adapt and accept change in the fast-paced world of music. I do like that he discusses the failures (Milli Vanilli and other various scandals) and the triumphs (helping other record labels thrive, his role with the ‘American Idol’ franchise) because it really shows that he's human despite his notoriety. 

Structure wise, while this is a length-y work, I do think it flows very well and showcases his passion for his industry. It’s nice that he sprinkled in some aspects of his personal life such as: 
1. Dealing (or failing to deal with) the grief of becoming an adult orphan
2. Close personal relationships (like with the great Whitney Houston)
3. Sharing his experience with figuring out his late-blooming bisexuality
My only “complaint” (which is purely based on the structure, flow, and length of the book itself) is that while I understand that Clive's relationship with Whitney Houston was very close, the chapter on just her (and even a few segments of the following chapters) kind of drags on a bit. In a way, it feels more like a mini biography dedicated to her as opposed a chapter in his story and compared to the chapters on the other artists he’s had powerful relationships with, it was a lot to delve into at one time. I actually would have loved for him to write his own book or even produce a sparkling documentary sharing stories about their relationship in detail.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and hoping that whoever does a future biopic on his life does his story justice. 

I can see why this might not be someone's vibe with the format of being a fucked up reality competition show, but as a regular consumer of trashy reality shows, I very much enjoyed this. I thought this gives the reader a fair amount of background to Shatterstar's general behavior and mannerisms and some rare bisexual representation. I wish we got to see a little more of the 'supporting characters' in regard to their relationship with Shatterstar, but otherwise, this was a fun collection and has lasting re-readability. 

This is a sparkling debut that is equal parts fun and anxiety inducing. The YA aspect of the book is VERY YA and might be a little off-putting for readers picking this up for the horror aspect, but I WILL say that Douglass's descriptive writing does an impeccable job with making you feel like you're in Jake's shoes as a teenage Medium that it's easy to read past the YA-ness of it. Hoping that Blumhouse gets their hands on this one for a future adaptation! 

This was all around a beautifully written and illustration book that discusses topics that are very prominent today. The only things I wanted more were 1 more volume and to maybe make Trish slightly older. Otherwise, this was near perfect and will absolutely be one of my graphic novel recommendations for years to come.

This was super cute but also had a lot of meaningful and thought-provoking ideas about love and life. I saw many different ages of myself in our main character Maggie, and this read like a movie so I hope this gets adapted. And I absolutely cannot wait for this author’s upcoming works!

This was a nice companion read after watching the latest Spider-Verse movie and I got to learn a little more about who Gwen Stacey/Spider-Gwen/Ghost Spider is as a character since my only experience with her so far has been in team-up settings (like the Spider-Verse series) and the Spider-Verse movies.

Not quite sure how to feel about the fact that this won an award because I thought it was just ok. It was very slow moving and I didn't really fall in love with any of the characters. There were a few interesting bait and switch moments that I didn't see coming or wasn't sure the story was leaning towards for sure, but overall I feel like this was grim for the sake of being grim. However, I do think this author does a great job with the atmospheric aspect of the story and with that I am more inclined to check out her other works.

I love that this was a passion project for the Dr. Shaw because it really comes across in the topics she discusses (including history, politics, media, religion, and personal experiences). I love that she is honest about the negatives (stereotypes, racism, etc.) to compliment the positivity that comes from accepting your Bi-ness because life is never 100% positive.

Absolutely love that Dr. Shaw narrates this because it feels like a TED Talk and a natural conversation between friends at the same time. A nice perk about listening to this in audiobook form is that there are different voices to certain quotes and interviews, which really brings everything to life and gives multiple perspectives and experiences.