Customer Reviews

Re-Gifters (Minx Books)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dixie has two passions in life: hapkido (ancient Korean martial art) and Adam (her hapkido classmate). But the two don't mix. Dixie has lost her ki, the spiritual energy that makes her strong. She isn't able to focus when Adam is around. And the national hapkido championships are here. Will Dixie be able to find her ki in time for the championships? Will she win Adam's affections? Or will a re-gifted item show her the true path? For those of you who aren't familiar with the term (or who are too young to remember Seinfeld), re-gifting is when a person uses a gift you have given them and gives it to someone else. The story is great and really comes full-circle. The character of Dixie grows and matures. I also love the supporting character of Dillinger, who grows and changes himself. After reading this book, you learn that outward appearances sometimes hides the true person within. The graphic novel format works really well for this story too.

This is the second Graphic Novel in the now defunct MINX line that I have read, the first being The PLAIN Janes by Castellucci and Rugg. Both are about strong female characters - young women who can be role models or examples for the young women in our lives. This one is about a young Korean girl growing up in LA. She has spent years studying hapikido. But she is also a young girl in love. And love sometimes makes us do crazy things. This is a story about tradition, it is a story about honour and it is a story about life. Dixie, Jen Dik Seong, is told by her instructor: "If you do not find that harmonious balance you cannot fight well or live well". Read to find out if she can learn to discover that balance. Wonderfully drawn and written, this is a great story. It is a pity DC Comics cancelled this line. These are books I plan on hanging onto for my daughter for when she is older.

This is the first Minx book I found, and it's the one that made me seek out more. Re-Gifters offers engaging, complex and quirky characters, a lot of subtle emotional content, a view into the Korean/Korean-American worldview, excellent drawings, and a twisty plotline that keeps you turning those pages. Viva Mike Carey & co! Many Minx books later, I still think it's the best one.

A little cute, as far as graphics go, for my taste. However, I really liked the "spiky" main character and enjoyed the story. My Faith in Frankie is still my favorite Mike Carey in graphic form...but this comes in second.

I'm a fan of Mike Carey, so when I saw this book at the library I grabbed it immediately. I think I realized pretty quick that this was not the more mature audience themed comic I was used to, but one more aimed at teenagers. That didn't stop me from enjoying it though, it still had a lot of character, good art, and a great pace. It never went too slow or too fast. I've read tales with more cross-generation appeal, such as Zot!, but this is a fun read in it's own right, even if it is a bit predictable.

Dixie is Korean and a black belt in hapkido. She has a super crush on Adam, which keeps throwing her off her game. She runs into walls because she's too busy thinking about him. She blows her entrance fee on a gift for Adam's birthday, and then he asks her about another girl. Dixie figures life can't get any worse. Then through a mishap of events, she ends up training with a thug named Dillinger. If Dixie can get her head straight and win the championship, maybe the rest of her life will straighten out too.

This was a fun story and the title is perfect. It was interesting to see the gifts journey as it is re-gifted over and over. It was interesting having the martial arts in the forefront of the story. It introduced me to a whole different world that I have never experienced. There is a little bit of prejudice in Dixie's world, but it's mostly just ignorant street-thugs. Dixie could take them. It was great seeing how Dixie transformed throughout this novel and eventually got in a rhythm of her own. This was a girl empowering story and you should make sure and pick it up.

First Line:
"When you are ready----begin."

Favorite Lines:
"It's okay, I guess. If you like guys with big weapons."

I liked this book a lot. It's kind of geared towards a younger audience. But as a 38 year old I enjoyed it's simplicity.

This is the second in the series I've bought for my granddaughter. She really enjoyed it.

A savvy bookseller I know said a friend of his wrote a review in the NY Times saying
that graphic novels are fiction dumbed down(Here I go with another one of my counter reviews):
Re-Gifters is fantastic! Especially for someone like me, 46 y.o., who wants to get a clue
about what teenagers think about today. Don't miss this Minx series! Also, if this
NY Times reviewer has never read Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis and/or
Persepolis II(plus any number of other graphic novels today), she's got another thing coming
re: the intelligence of certain graphic novels.