Anna Tschetter

I think this is such a WEIRD choice of manga to exist and also be translated/officially released in English. People have been clamoring for other Gundam manga like Crossbone and Moon to be officially released in English for so many years and . . . this is one of the ones that was picked?! A manga adaptation of a “lost” episode of the original Mobile Suit Gundam that was recently animated as a full length movie in the style of Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's: MSG: The Origin?! Truly a wild choice.

Anyway . . . it assumes that you have seen the OG MSG and/or the Cucuruz Doan's Island movie to understand WTF is going on. They pretty much jump you into the One Year War with very little explanation of what is happening. The best part is the Yoshikazu Yasuhiko inspired art and most much needed respect for Zeon's Gogg.

[I'm realizing that anyone who reads my regular reviews is going to be like, “WTF are you talking about Anna?!” and you know what? Get on that Mobile Suit Gundam bandwagon, my friends....]

I enjoyed this but didn't love it. While I enjoyed learning about the code-breaking efforts - and especially the info about the Policy codebreakers and Alan Turning's cameos - I think it could have been a little shorter. It felt a little overstuffed to me and strained my suspension of disbelief.

This was a sweet graphic novel about grief, accepting yourself and others, and the importance of vulnerability. I think this will resonate with a lot of tweens and teens, though I did think that sometimes it was hard to figure out via context clues/images what was happening when characters spoke Indonesian. But, it's great for Indonesian people to see that representation!

Wow. I loved this! I mean I figured I would because I do love a graphic memoir but this was exceptional! The art was gorgeous and like NGE Shinji my heart was breaking for little HS Sarah finding heir way in the world through stories they loved.

While this felt like it ended abruptly, I really enjoyed it! This queer folktale manages to be sad and hopeful at the same time.

This was sweet! I felt like teen me - ok and sometimes adult me - has a lot in common with Mal in that I can let other people take advantage of me at times in an effort to be nice/liked/keep the peace. I'm glad she started working on that in the end.

Also, the drag Queen story hour at the library plot also hit close to home.

Scams! Smooching! Shapeshifting cat girls!

Ahhh what's happening?! What is the deal with snake man and his pretty boyfriend?!

First it was melancholic but now it's WEIRD. I'm into it!

This was really sweet! I enjoyed Frieren starting to learn about emotional and personal connections. I think there's a strong possibility that it will emotionally devastate me so I'm excited for that.

I enjoyed these witchy teens and their attempts to save their town from an extremely creepy spirit/demon/eldritch horror. I think it's a strong debut for this writer and am excited to see what's next!

I liked but didn't love this but I did really appreciate the author's love of Star Trek Voyager!

The Nimona comparisons do make sense! Funny with a good heart behind it.

This is something that I enjoyed and I realize that the nature of it is to not have all of the answers and for it to be more a mood than a fully fleshed out world, but I still wanted more!!

First of all, I think Huang would appreciate that this is the 69th book I've read this year. (Nice.)

I really enjoyed this but I wish it was a little longer! Usually, I think books should be shorter but I wanted more time with all of the characters. I had originally told a coworker when I started it that it was pretty spicy, but the spice was mostly in the beginning and end. I could have had more but I was mollified by lots of LONGING and PINING. Great stuff.

I was afraid that I wouldn't like a new, non-Stevie Bell mystery but I loved weirdo Marlowe. What a delight!

This was really lovely! I really appreciated how Farid weaved in the many threads of Ava's life: her culture, her dad, music, surfing, and the expectations of being a teen in an immigrant household.

This is the second book I've read this year that touches on the history of institutionalization and de-institutionalization and I find both so fascinating and sad. Hylton approaches the topic with such empathy and grace, but also the righteous anger that is so needed. A must read for all who are concerned with mental health, race, and the ways in which they interact.

I can't quite make up my mind on this. It's very ambitious in what is it trying to say about trauma and family and recovery which worked sometimes for me but others felt really didactic. It also stretched my belief at times - a psychiatrist would be able to tell by sight that something had been gnawed on by human teeth?! I dunno - but I needed to find out how it all worked out.

The pyschoanalytics would have a field day with this. It's all monsters and yearning and repressed sexuality. A+

Ok, officially hooked on this now. The feelings of being “other” are so well explored. And the WIG MONSTER?! I'm so glad we dont have a hub!!

I love Jane Eyre and so was super excited about this book. It didn't quite work for me but I love that it exists!!

I missed some favorite touchstones: the red room, Jane being plain, and wandering the moors. But Jane and Bertha were so sweet together. And it's nice to see an actual happy ending for Adele for once.

This was really sweet! I loved the idea of the secret, backwoods broom races. I think the authors did a great job with the world-builing and characters. This is a good comic read alike for those who like Rust in the Root!

This is really intriguing! I'm curious to see where the series goes in terms of the “nostalgia” theme and what that really means to the author. Is it amnesia? Another life? I want to find out!

This didn't really work for me but I can see that others would enjoy it. It felt a little disjointed and the world underdeveloped. Nice art, though!