Customer Reviews

Clubbing (Minx Books)

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Clubbing is so hip and modern--and British--that it comes with a lexicon to help you decipher its main character's way of speaking. Surprisingly, that's not pretentious or condescending. It's actually helpful and even a little fun, so much so that you'd hardly know what the book has in store for you down the road.

Clubbing (the title has multiple layers, referencing its lead's club-kid/goth status as well as golf, country clubs, and the secret club that some characters in the story belong to) is set in the countryside of merry old England. Charlotte Brook is a teenager in London who gets caught using a fake ID while out with her friends. Brought home by the cops, she's soon exiled to her grandma and grandpa's country estate in the middle of nowhere. She thinks the experience will be easy enough to suffer through--she'll bake a few cakes with her grandma, spend a little time resting and being bored, and then be right back in action. Unfortunately for her, her grandparents have some different ideas. They put her to work--hard work too--and expect her to pull her own weight. Sweetly and innocently, her grandma also pushes Charlotte to see more of the groundskeeper's son.

All of this seems like the setting of a sweet romantic comedy, but that's not exactly the case. Here's where the book changes course, only with a few slight warnings ahead of time. That Clubbing doesn't play its hand too soon is part of its wicked charm; it has a sly sense of humor running throughout and it doesn't mind teasing its readers with a slowly unfolding and widening plot.

When one of the country club employees is found murdered (with ritual markings on her body suggesting a frightening connection to the occult). Charlotte begins looking into the circumstances that led up to the death, trying to determine the who and why behind it, and, in true mystery-thriller fashion, getting dangerously close to the monstrous truth. Charlotte is an extremely likable narrator, one who guides us through not only her own bizarre world (she shows up in the countryside in $300 Bette-noir stiletto heels) but that of her grandparents with aplomb. She even manages to finagle both worlds with a lot of style. It turns out that the goth stylings Charlotte aspires to has something in common with darker themes--except some people are really into the things that Charlotte only pretends to do.

Clubbing utilizes some of the visual tricks of manga, but it's not completely in that vein. The artistic details are more nuanced and smooth. In that sense, it's a nice marriage of art styles just as much as it's a smooth blending of different storytelling genres. Old superstitions and legends mixed with a decidedly modern protagonist make for a clever combo, and it's filled with enough innocent yet still subversive fun to make it worth the trip.

-- John Hogan

Lottie got in some trouble with the coppers and her parents shipped her off to her grandparents for the summer. There she has to adjust from being in the city, to the great open country. It's not as boring as she thought though. When a mysterious murder happens, Lottie knows that she can solve it. She may lose some sleep, but with some help she might be able to uncover the strange happenings at the golf course.

This was certainly an interesting read. Not what I was expecting at all. The ending was a bit over-the-top outrageous! Lottie was not a like-able character at all. I found myself wanting to cuff her over the head on more than one occasion. She was very into herself and her "goth-ness". Howard seemed like a swell guy though. I really hope that someday Andi Watson might come out with a sequel to this. There is a bit of an opening for another story at the end of Clubbing. It was an entertaining read and I recommend it to girls who love graphic novels.

First Lines:
"The girl there, gabbing on the Razr, the one who looks like a silent movie star wearing dissolution lip gloss? That's me."

Favorite Line:
"It's all very odd, very Clockwork Orange."

Read more: [...]

Pretentious, rich teenager Lottie is banished to the countryside after some wild underage antics in London. Lottie is a snotty character with no redeeming qualities and a ridiculous wardrobe. There is no character arc, just Lottie acting spoiled and/or superior. The only thing this graphic novel has going for it is the art and that is only mediocre. I realize the Minx imprint is geared towards teenagers but Clubbing is just boring.

Charlotte Brook is in big trouble because she got caught trying to use fake ID to get into a club. Her parents have exiled her to her grandparents, a golf course in the countryside. She was sent to the country to keep her out of trouble, and to punish her. Soon this Goth girl shopaholic is trying to solve a murder.

The MINX line of comics was supposed to feature strong female characters, to be a premier series of comics for girls and young women. They achieved that as the 5 I have read so far have all been excellent books that I would be proud if my daughter would read when she was older. This is a story of a strong female character, yes she gets in trouble. But basically she is a good girl. These are excellent books. Well written and illustrated. What is best about this series is that almost all the books present a different culture, or ethnicity, yet together they present strong examples of good character, and strong females trying to find their way in the world. As well, they are entertaining enough that almost anyone can read them and learn from the stories.

Underdressed and overloaded with makeup, a young British girl named Lottie (shortened for "Charlotte" or something) tries to sneak into an adult nightclub with her equally scantily clad girlfriends and gets disowned by her disgruntled parents as a result. (That's a bit of overkill, IMHO. Then again, who wants to raise someone who looks like a vampire porn star?)

Lottie is dumped into the care of her weird grandparents who make her suffer and work like a dog out in the gray, rain-soaked country inhabited only by dorky old geezers who do nothing but sip tea, hold fancy cake contests, and play golf (at least there's a young gardener out there to keep her interested as well as a group of stuck-up Gothic kids who treat her like she's from Mars.)

Then crazy things began to happen, beginning with a dead old woman rotting away in the marshes. Now the bored, pouting waif gets to play butt-kicking Nancy Drew in a plot that suddenly seems like a fantasy action adventure to save her adorable little "Prince Charming" from an unspeakable fate.

At least our raccoon-eyed heroine has a happy ending as she leaves orphaned and homeless from England forever.

I was happy to recive my book in a timely manner, and it was in perfect condition. :]