From the back cover: Flung far across the universe, from star to star, faced with monsters, magicians, and maybe new friends... an Earth girl named Zita must find a way home. Review: I'm always impressed by children's fiction that doesn't underestimate its audience, especially stories with multiple plot threads that wind up stitching together in a way that's both surprising … [Read more...] about Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke: A-
First Second
Foiled by Jane Yolen and Mike Cavallaro: B-
From the front flap: Aliera Carstairs doesn't fit in. She's invisible at high school. She's too visible at the fencing gym. Aliera's starting to wonder... where does she belong? Review: Tenth grader Aliera Carstairs has established a routine: go to school, go to fencing class, go home. On Saturdays she plays a table-top RPG with her wheelchair-bound cousin, Caroline. She’s … [Read more...] about Foiled by Jane Yolen and Mike Cavallaro: B-
The Color of Heaven by Kim Dong Hwa: C+
From the front flap: Ehwa, now a confident young woman, finds herself in the same maddening situation as her mother: waiting for a man. Her mother hopes for the return of her roaming lover, and Ehwa, in turn, gazes up at the same moon as her fiancé Duksam, a farmer who has gone to sea to seek his fortune so that he can marry her. Review: I do honestly want to like The Color … [Read more...] about The Color of Heaven by Kim Dong Hwa: C+
The Color of Water by Kim Dong Hwa: C
The story of Ehwa, as begun in The Color of Earth, continues in this second volume of a trilogy. Like the first book in the series, The Color of Water is mostly about sex. Ever-curious Ehwa discovers some new things in this volume, often spurred along by crude scenes involving fields of phallic peppers or copulating animals. She also begins a romance with Duksam, a … [Read more...] about The Color of Water by Kim Dong Hwa: C
The Color of Earth by Kim Dong Hwa: B
Ehwa and her mother, a young widow, live in the village of Namwon. Ehwa’s mother runs a tavern and bawdy local fellows often attempt to convince her to go to bed with them. When seven-year-old Ehwa overhears a couple of villagers insinuating that her mother is loose, she begins to wonder about the differences between men and women. As the years go by, Ehwa matures. She sees … [Read more...] about The Color of Earth by Kim Dong Hwa: B