Maggie McKay is a bit lost at the moment. See she's entering high school for the first time. Which would be bad enough, but Maggie has never been in a traditional school before. She's only been home schooled with her older brothers by their mother...who by the way has left the family for pastures unknown. So now Maggie's facing the real world for the first time, without her mom there for support, and to top it off her brothers seem to be busy with their own lives and forgetting about her! And oh yeah, there's a silent ghost that follows her around. So Maggie has to face the real world for the first time, attempt to grow up a bit and find her own place in the world and in her family. Along the way perhaps she'll make a new friend (one who isn't an older brother) and solve the mystery of the quiet ghost who has followed Maggie her entire life.

I've been following the webcomic release of this book for some time now and I've really enjoyed it so far, in part because the author's commentary provides such great insight. And...in some ways I really wish the book had the commentary because it describes so much of what the author is really thinking and it's just nice to be able to read that part of the creative process. Alas the book does not have this, but I'm still excited to have this review copy. Faith accurately captures that feeling of confusion, of hopelessness when entering high school and does a fantastic job of making the characters feel real. You can easily identify them as someone that you may have come across in your own school and identify with that sense of confusion, of loss, of discovering who you are. It's a good coming of age story and it's nice to see how Maggie grows and changes during the pages of the book as she finds her place in the world at large. And in her family. And I love the other characters in the story, especially Lucy. She's so energetic, so confident in who she is and what she is that I love seeing her on the pages of the story. What really stands out to me though is the fact that Maggie and Lucy are both strong female characters. They're completely grounded in reality so they have their faults, but they don't ever fall into that "woe is me, I'm a girl and can't do anything mode."

I really like the artwork in the book. Faith has a way of capturing the characters perfectly. They have a lot of depth to their expressions so that even without the words of the story you can tell what's going on. I get lost looking at the expressions sometimes while reading, because it is just so pitch perfect. Faith also has a way of capturing the feelings and movements of being in high school. That sense of being crowded and all alone at the same time. And that sense of relief at finding someplace to be yourself. And I love the maps that Maggie draws to find her way around the school and identifying the places not to go, like the makeout corner.

It almost feels like maybe this is part of a series as there are a couple of questions left unanswered, such as where is Maggie's mom and what's the story with the ghosts? Even if there are no sequels this is a good coming of age tell with strong female characters and I give the book 4 out of 5 stars.

A review copy of this book was provided by Gina at FirstSecond

O'Reilly Publishing provided me access to an electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

The command line can be one of the most intimidating aspects of learning Linux, I know it was for me. And while the command line gives you an awesome amount of power with using Linux, it also makes it entirely to easy to destroy and delete entire directories without trying. It's like what Uncle Ben said in Spider Man "with great power comes great responsibility." Learning the command line is one of those things that takes a good guide and clear instructions (and warnings on what not to do), and while I had friends who helped me walk through the process, it still seemed intimidating. And after reading this book, I wish I had it when I started out. William makes the command line less intimidating, provides clear instructions, and lets you know the pitfalls to watch out for.

The book is broken down into four major sections:
Learning the shell
Configuration and the environment
Common tasks and essential tools
Writing Shell Scripts

with easy to navigate chapters. Some of the chapters include: file navigation, Vi and Vim, environment configuration, command chaining, pattern matching with regular expressions, and more.

Where this book excels is that it is written with the novice in mind and presents the information clearly, with easy to read instructions, and plenty of examples so that you can see what its supposed to look like. The best part of the examples, William truly presents them as what the reader will see when they first start out vs. using his own personalized environment (which some instructors have a tendency of doing.) This means that the reader will instantly know where they are in the process. Even more importantly he tries to eschew the technical jargon that can overwhelm a novice. While at times he might go overboard with wordage in explaining things, it is still sure to help the novice answer many questions they might have while learning the command line.

While the chapters may not cover a topic in depth, such as the one on Vi and Vim, they provide the reader with enough information to be comfortable with what they're learning. The section that I found most helpful, was the last section dealing with writing shell scripts. William gives a solid foundation to learning this helpful tool, provides plenty of examples, and makes it seem easy to set up. Even better, he gives a brief lesson on Regular Expressions, which will help with writing the scripts.

Even though this book is written for the novice user, I still found it a good refresher on what commands do what. I would highly recommend this book for users just starting out in Linux and for those that need a refresher on how to navigate the command line. I give the book 5 out of 5 stars.

Ratfist is your basic average guy. I mean he's got a girlfriend he's about to propose to, a steady job,a pet rat, and of course he's a hero of the city. Well mostly. But he's about to give the hero biz up after one last case, so that he can marry his girlfriend. But this last case has nothing normal about it. He discovers the Space Tiki who can take the souls out of one creature and give them to another. Which is how Ratfist comes to really look like a rat, with a tail and everything. He travels 4 years into the future, again courtesy of the Space Tiki, and discover that the world has drastically changed. And in order to make things right he may have to give himself up entirely.

Doug TenNapel has this habit of creating characters that seem mostly normal, but with flaws (you know the type the ones that you could meet in real life) and by the end of the book they've learned some type of lesson. And I love it. Even though the characters can go a bit overboard, I mean this one is a guy dressed in a rat suit, he's easy to relate to. You can understand why he does what he does, even if you don't agree with his methods. Even the battles between the heroes and the villains are more battles of gray than black and white. The story has a nice easy to pace to get into and I love the special visit from Earthworm Jim (one of Doug's other creations) and even that Doug himself appears in the book.

I love Doug's style and this book is no exception. He has a blocky, line style that really reminds me of some of the old German Expressionist woodcuts that just creative this evocative feeling of movement within the work. Normally Doug's art is black and white, but this one has the added bonus of having color, just to help make the characters stand out even more. One of my favorite scenes is where Ratfist jumps from the rooftop down into the building below, and while the composition is simple--Ratifsit and no background but vertical lines--the colors make it really stand out and come alive.

If you're a fan of Doug already this is a must have book. If you aren't a fan of Doug...why not? Go ahead and pick this one up and give it a read for a rousing good tale. 5 out of 5 stars.

ARC provided by NetGalley

This particular book starts off its tale by telling us what it's like when we die--how we meet Hermes who guides us, the need for a coin to pass down the river, the river Lethe where we forget everything, and the waiting...the endless waiting. But the main focus of the book is to tell us about the abduction of Persephone, also known as Kore, by the Lord of the Dead, Hades. And the tale of her mother, Demeter, searching for Kore in the world above and the damages it causes on the Earth as long as they are separated.

And what a tale it is. I've always been fascinated by Greek and Romany mythology and I love how O'Connor puts this book together. It's an easy read, but gives so much information to it and is so much better than the boring old books I remember reading about Greek myths. O'Connor makes the world come to life and gives personality to the gods that we meet so that we can understand why they did what they did. In every other tale Hades comes off as a villain, but here we see he really isn't. He's just lonely. This is an excellent book to introduce Greek mythology and now I really want to read the other books in the series as well.

One of my favorite parts of the book is actually at the end, the little feature at the back that talks about the different characters, who they are, and other details to help you learn more about the Greek world. Even better, from a librarian perspective, they have a bibliography! A list of websites and recommended reading list to go to get more information.

I really like the artwork in this book. It has such great use of color and shadow in the depictions of the world, especially the underworld. Instead of depicting it all flames and fire (which seems to be something some artists like these days) it's more of a darker, almost hopeless place...much like it's described as in the original myths. It might be a bit creepy for really young readers, but middle schoolers and above will enjoy it. I enjoyed most of the character design, although at times it looks like Hades has a goatee (I think it would actually fit him well) and he looks a bit...well too much like an emo kid. I mean I know he's depressed and all, but...I do like the depiction of the other characters, I especially like the depiction of the many handed ones, the Hekatonchieres.

This is the perfect companion for people that have been enjoying the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan and want to know more about the Greek/Roman gods and how they work. It would be ok for elementary school age (3rd and above) but they would probably need to read it with a parent. But this would be an excellent book for a middle or high schooler (or even adult) that wants to learn more about the world of Greek mythology. I can't wait to read the previous volumes and to read what comes next

ARC provided by NetGalley

This book picks up right where Avatar Season 3 left off. The war has ended and Zuko is now Firelord. He's dedicated to restoring peace among the nations...with the help of the Avatar and his friends of course. His first step, withdrawing the Fire Kingdom settlements from the Earth Kingdom, the Harmony Restoration Movement. But trouble soon arises. Some of these colonies have been there for generations and have even intermarried and neither side wants to sepearte. Zuko torn between the plight of these families and the healing that needs to be done calls off the movement. But not all in the Earth Kingdom are happy about the Zuko withdrawing his support and Aang and his friends are going to have to work fast to prevent war from overcoming the world once again.

Gene Luen Yang, author of "American Born Chinese," brings his immense writing talents to the Avatar universe. Even though Gene is an avowed Avatar fan, I still approached this book with a bit of trepidation. As an outsider to the original series (or even in any of the comics) how would he approach the relationships in the series? How would he approach Aang and Zuko growing into their roles? My fears were unfounded however, as Gene has clearly immersed himself in the Avatar universe and has accurately captured the characters and their movements within his writing. He has created a well crafted story that does justice to the series and feels just like an episode (ok multiple episodes) of the TV series. I really like how he's approaching the Zuko/Ozai relationship. At the end of the cartoon series we're left with the image of Zuko asking about the whereabouts of his mother and Gene deftly weaves this interaction into the story to give the reader more information. He also accurately captures Sokka and that sense of humor/immaturity/maturity that we all grew to love. I love when Sokka sees Aang and Katara kissing and shouts out about how it's oogie, it's just so him. The one thing that bugs me, just slightly, is when Aang and Katara call each other sweetie. It just doesn't feel right coming from them. I don't know what word they should use, but it just feels weird.

The artwork...wow the artwork is absolutely fantastic. I don't think Bryan Gurihiru worked on the actual series, but man does he capture the characters perfectly. It's like looking at a print version of the cartoon. He's able to capture their expressions, even their very movements down to the last detail. And the colors are absolutely pitch perfect. I think one of my favorite scenes is at the very end where Zuko is visiting Ozai and Bryan just nails the expression on Ozai's face. Even without his firebending power you can tell its him. Compared to some of the comics I've seen that came out based upon the series this art just nails it. In my head when I'm reading the comic it's like watching the cartoon.

All in all this is the absolute perfect combination of writer and artist to work on this series and continue it for fans. For fans of the series this is just what you've been waiting for. It feels like Aang and crew never left. And if you're new to the series...why are you starting with this book? Go watch the original series and get hooked on it and then come back and read this title.

So what are "Mal and Chad" books like? Well imagine "Dexter's Laboratory," "Jimmy Neutron," and a dash of "Calvin & Hobbes" and you've got a pretty good idea. And please don't take that as me saying that Stephen has co-opted these other guys for his own, no no...Mal and Chad is unique in it's own way. This is the second printed adventure for "Mal and Chad" (they started off life as a webcomic which can still be found online) and this adventure is even bigger than the last one. Yes, even bigger than dinosaurs!

Mal is a certifiable genius. He doesn't like to brag about it, but he's invented invisible spray, a time machine, a dream machine, and most importantly gave his best friend, Chad, the ability to talk (Chad is a dog by the way.) But he tries to be a normal kid. But Mal is feeling a bit left out as Megan and her girlfriends have started a no boys allowed club and the club he started kicked him out. What's a guy to do? Fortunately Chad has a problem that needs to be solved. He's having really, really scary dreams and only Mal can help him face his fears. So using his dream portal Mal enters Chad's dreams, but something goes wrong and the dream creature follows them back to the real world and now Megan and her friends are in danger. Can Mal save everyone and stop the monster? Or will things go from bad to worse?

This is a fantastic read, regardless of age. Even though Mal is a supergenius, he's one that we can all relate to. Who can't relate to someone wanting to help their best friend out? Even though Mal is a super genius and invents things like a dream portal, all he wants to do is help his friends. It's his first thought with Chad and it's his first thought when the dream monster escapes. The sense of humor, such as everyone calling Mal's lab coat a robe, is something that everyone will get a laugh or two out of. The artwork is imaginative and the images will be enjoyed by everyone, especially the depiction of Mal's mom after she uses invsispray on her head. This is the type of book that I'd hand to any young kid struggling to fit in.

Stephen's tapped into memories and dreams of childhood and put them on the page for everyone to explore together in the form of best friends, Mal and Chad. His writing is simple and easy to read and his drawing style evocatively catches the everyday world and gives new life to it. I highly recommend this book to children young and old and I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

Cross posted from my blog

Every so often a book will come along that will challenge you, that will make you think, and that will hopefully leave you a bit better after you've read it. And this is just one such book. And yes some people are probably thinking that's high praise for a graphic novel, but the story will give you chills within the first three pages and suck you in and not let you go until the very end of the story.

It's 1968 in Houston, Texas and the fight for civil rights is heating up. Young Mark Long's father, Jack Long, is the local TV station's race reporter and he's embedded into the third ward, one of the poorest parts of the town. Jack is attempting to cover the events occurring in town, such as the expulsion of the the SNCC (student nonviolent coordinating committee) from Texas State University, and do justice to the people that he's covering. He's saved at one event by Larry Thompson, a local black leader, and the two become friends and their lives intertwine. One white family from a notoriously racist neighborhood in the burbs and one black family from the poorest ward in Houston, come together and find common ground in a conflict that threatens to tear the city apart. But before the end it may all come crashing down with the arrest of the TSU five. Which will be the loudest before the end, the words of hate or the silence of friends? This semi-autobiographical tale is based upon true events of Mark Long's father.

One of the problem that I normally see with autobiographical stories, like this one, is that they often try to give the reader to much information about the story and invariably the reader gets lost or there are moment that leave us wondering why we're supposed to care about the story. But this book...this book doesn't have that issue. The authors have focused the story upon specific events of the race issues affecting the town in a given time period and give you enough information that you understand where the characters are coming from, but it never lets you wander away from what the focus of the story is. And more importantly you don't ever feel like you're missing out on something.

My favorite part of the storytelling though is how we get to see the story from two different perspectives--a white family from a racist neighborhood and a black family from one of poorest areas of Houston. Living in many ways on opposite sides of the world and yet we get to see the overlap and the differences between the two families clearly. And while that may sound like a cheesey way or stereotypical way of telling the story, Mark Long and Jim Demonakos tell the story in such a deft manner that you don't really see it being told that way. You see the characters as real people. You get to understand a bit of what they went through, the troubles that each family faced for the actions they took and didn't take, and that you want to know them in real life--just so that you could learn more from them. One last thought about the story--the title of the book comes from a quote by Martin Luther King Jr. "In the end, We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." And this book does justice to those words.

Nate Powell's artwork is absolutely gorgeous. It's done in his typical grace/style of capturing the human form oh so perfectly and it seems like this time he's gone even further in his use of shading to give us the beauty of all different types of skin tones, each character's is unqiue. His artwork is perfectly suited for this story capturing the range and intensity of emotions--the sorrow, the joy, and the fear that sends chills down your spine. That intensity, that feeling of life that he captures in their faces really makes them come alive. And the last pages of the books are some of the most powerful of the book. It seems like a rather basic layout of people walking in the street, with a closeup so that you can see the people's skin tones--both black and white, and you can see their faces. But then he starts pulling back and all you can see are forms of people all different sizes, both genders, and all muted gray. No race and no color to divide them, just one people.

You can't help but feel moved by this story and you can't walk away unchanged. The combination of story and art works perfectly in capturing this event and this time period. I'm predicting this book will be one of the best graphic novels of the year, perhaps even one of the best books of the year.

A review copy of this book was provided by Gina at FirstSecond

Even in the future discrimination can still be found, but so can robots, and colonies on the moon...and war. In New Beijing Cinder, a cyborg, is considered a second class citizen all because she has a few robotic parts in her even though she's still mostly human. She can love, she can bleed, and she can hope for a better future away from her evil stepmother. But for now...Cinder must work in her mechanic shop and support her stepmother and two stepsisters, all while dealing with the hate she receives from other shop keepers. But then...Prince Kaito, heir to the imperial throne of the Eastern Commonwealth, comes to her shop to get help with fixing a broken android. Her shop! And her life changes. She's swept up in a political battle between the Earth and the Lunars, the colony on the moon, who are just waiting to attack the planet. And along the way she must avoid being used for research purposes to find a cure for an incurable plague that is devastating the Earth.

This is a compelling reimagining of Cinderella, set in a dystopian future where the world has experienced a 4th world war, there are robots and cyborgs, a colony on the moon, and are now suffering a plague. Those components right there drew me in because it sounded a bit like Issac Asimov's world (which I love), but what kept me interested in the book was the fact that Cinder is such a compelling character. She's a strong female character who isn't afraid to get dirty, not afraid to put herself in danger, she can love, and she's selfless--even willing to help those that hate and despise what she is. And their are other compelling characters, such as the stepsister that truly does care for Cinder. And even the evil stepmother isn't so evil and has some good in her.

The story isn't without faults though. My biggest issue is that there is just so much going on in the story that at times it felt overwhelming: Cyborgs who are considered second class citizens, the plague, robots and AI's, and of course the Lunar colony that wants to destroy the planet. It just felt like a lot to introduce in one book and I just never felt like each of these issues got the explanation/justice that it deserved and I just wanted to be able to focus on some of those aspects a bit more. Perhaps we'll resolve some of these issues in the other books, but I hope there isn't as much being thrown at us in one book.

The one other minor quibble I have, as others have already noted, I figured out the plot twist within the first 40 pages. It didn't detract from the overall book, but it's the first time in a long time that I've a significant plot twist was revealed so early on and it felt a bit like we were clubbed over the head with it. I just wanted it to be a bit more of a surprise than it was.

It's still a good read and I'd recommend it to just because I really do enjoy the unique aspect of cyborg/prince charming/Lunar people in it. And I look forward to seeing what the next volume reveals.

ARC provided by NetGalley

Harry Dresden's life is a bit chaotic at the moment. His best friend and top client, Lt. Karrin Murphy isn't speaking to him at the moment after events of Storm Front. And a lot of people think he's working for mobster Johnny Marcone. And to top it all off a pack of werewolves has apparently descended into his city. What's a wizard to do? Harry pulls it together, attempts to help Murphy out and protect the city. But before all is said and done, Harry's life and that of his friends is in serious danger and none may make it out alive.

I've never really been a big fan of comic adaptations of books, especially ones that I really like--like the Dresden Files. One reason is because adaptations tend to leave so much out of the story due to space constraints. The second reason is because they tend to convert a lot of text into images, which means that the artist really has to know their stuff in order to depict someone else's characters...and most of the adaptations I've read this doesn't happen. So that being said...the storyline adaptation is actually well done. While they leave a good bit out they do capture the important aspects of the story and it's easy enough to read. They also don't fall into the bad habit of trying to cram a lot of text into dialogue boxes so the page is clear and easy to read. They capture the important moments of the story and they make the comic form work well with it.

But there are two parts to an adaptation and the artwork has to carry a lot of the story. And for me that's where this adaptation really struggles. While they capture the background and details well, such as the Blue Beetle being different colors, they don't really capture the characters well. Kim for example looks half crazed and her hair seems to grow bigger with each panel. And why does it look like she has volleyballs attached to her chest? And it doesn't get better. Harry never looks the same in any panel and his hair seems to go from bright red to medium brown, Georgia looks like a stick figure, Billy looks like a fat slob, and MacFinn looks like a weird version of Wolverine. And even though Harry is tall, to illustrate this it seems like the artist falls into the habit of making everyone appear at least half of foot to a foot shorter than him, which makes him look like a weird giant. Overall I just found the artwork really disappointing.

I'm a huge fan of the Dresden files, but I have trouble recommending this one as I don't think the artwork really suits the story well.

Review copy provided by NetGalley

Ivy and Sprout are curious about the shard of stained glass they found in the woods. And while their friends have many suggestions as to what it is, it isn't until they visit Wart, the town's librarian, that its secrets are revealed. Wart shares with Ivy and Sprout the story of the old kingdom, how the korgi's came to korgi valley, and the evil that destroyed the old kingdom. Ivy and Sprout leave Wart's happy with their new found knowledge. But evil still lurks around the old kingdom and danger might still be around.

This is my first journey into the world of Korgi and wow...after reading this volume I'm hooked. It's a completely wordless tale with absolutely fantastic illustrations. I get the impression that this volume is slightly darker than previous two, but it's still something I think young readers would enjoy. And for me the best thing is that even though I haven't read the other two volumes it was easy to slip into this world and get to know the characters. I love Ivy and Sprout's relationship and how easily they get along (and Sprout's love of all types of food.) One of my favorite parts of this story is where the characters are trying to figure out what the shard of stained glass is and their interpretations range from a knife to a toothpick. The line work in this book is absolutely gorgeous and it reminds me in some ways of Shaun Tan's work (The Arrival.) I especially love seeing the porcupine practicing his archery skills with his own quills. I also really like the images from the storybook that the old frog is reading, they look just like old woodcut images and are absolutely fantastic.

I'm definitely going to be reading the other two volumes and eagerly await the next volume in the series. This is a great story for young and old alike.

Electronic review copy provided by NetGalley