Title: Americus
Author(s): MK Reed and Jonathon Hill
Format: Paperback
Release Date: August 30th, 2011
Publisher: First Second
Source: Publisher in exchange for an honest review
Pages In This Edition: 216
Rating:

/5

On the Cover:

Beyond the Cover:

Summary taken from Goodreads:

"Neal Barton just wants to read in peace. Unluckily for him, some local Christian activitsts are trying to get his favorite fantasy series banned from the Americus public library on grounds of immoral content and heresy. Something has to be done, and it looks like quiet, shy Neal is going to have to do it. With youth services librarian Charlotte Murphy at his back, Neal finds himself leading the charge to defend the mega-bestselling fantasy series that makes his life worth living."


Review: 
I've really been getting into graphic novels lately because they display ideas in a way that print books just can't; they give the reader images to follow along with and explore without the reader themselves having to create the images. They're fun and quick, and I really like the genre as a whole so far.

Americus is definitely one of the best graphic novels I've read. It deals with an issue that sadly has been making the news quite frequently: the banning of books in public libraries. Neal is faced with a conundrum when his best friend's mom decides that his favorite books series is preaching witchcraft to kids.
The fact that people want to ban any book at all from the hands of someone who connects to it horrifies me. That was probably one of the major reasons this book interested me; it got into the brains of both sides of the argument. It even managed to do this in a way that I wasn't personally offended or turned-off by, which can be hard to do as a book with this subject manner.


The plot mainly centers around the fight to save the books, but it's also as much of a coming-of-age story as it is a book about an important political/social issue. Even though I'll never know what it's like to be a 14 year-old boy, I did know what it was like to be a 14 year-old girl, and Reed captures the awkward development of coming into high school age perfectly. This of course made me love Neal as a character, and I was rooting for him the whole time.

The artwork was probably the only thing that I wasn't totally excited about. It was fine, and often times very expressive, but personally I did prefer the style that much. Not to say someone else wouldn't. Personally, they just weren't my favorite. But the story was so great, that it didn't really bother me that much.


Of course the important take-away and moral message anybody would get from this book is that fact that nobody knows what a book can mean to person. Books can and do change people's lives every day, and nobody has the right to take that away from someone. A parent can "ban" a book in their own homes, but to expect everyone around them to follow their definition of what's wrong and what's right is something I don't think I'll ever understand. 

Overall, I thought Americus by MK Reed and Jonathon Hill was a great graphic novel with an important message, and I would recommend it to anybody who likes a good coming of age story that happens to feature an awesome sub plot that includes a witch that may or may not be half dragon...(I didn't mention that earlier huh?) 

--Alexis


What do you think about books being banned in public libraries?

Time for the winners guys! I picked the winners using random.org. :)

(Insert drum roll here.)


The winners of my first ever giveaway are Sarah Cruz and Cary Cheyenne!
They both win a SWAG prize pack with three The Mark book marks signed by the author Jen Nadol. I've contacted the winners and they have 48 hours to send me their shipping information before I pick a new winner.

I want to thank everyone who entered the giveaway! :)

Time for this week's IMM! As always it's hosted by the awesome blog: Kristi @ The Story Siren. :) I was really happy with all the books I got this week, and actually have already finished all of them but one.....(They're good books!)

Mercury by Hope Larson
Release Date: January 5th, 2010
Source: Library
Summary from Goodreads:

"August 31, 5:15 PM, French Hill, Nova Scotia: A girl named Tara is running. She runs through her nice neighborhood and up a road to the burned ruins of what was once a beautiful house—her family's house.

August 31, 1859, French Hill, Nova Scotia: A girl named Josey is picking blackberries with her friend Connie. As the girls gossip, a handsome stranger knocks on the door of Josey's house. His name is Asa, and with his coming, Josey's life—and later in time, Tara's as well—is about to change forever.

Because there is treasure in the woods that belong to Josey's family. Gold—an untold fortune. Asa has a secret way of finding it, and his partnership with Josey's father could make them all rich. But there is darkness in the woods, and in Asa. And in the present day, Tara, Josey's descendent, is about to discover the truth about what really happened in the family's past.

Eisner award winner Hope Larson weaves together history, romance, and a touch of her trademark magical realism in this remarkable graphic novel of how the past haunts a teenage girl's present."
 I finished this one earlier this week. Review to come!


Swoon by Nina Malkin
Release Date: May 19th, 2009
Source: Barnes and Noble
Summary from Goodreads:

"Torn from her native New York City and dumped in the land of cookie-cutter preps, Candice is resigned to accept her posh, dull fate. Nothing ever happens in Swoon, Connecticut...until Dice's perfect, privileged cousin Penelope nearly dies in a fall from an old tree, and her spirit intertwines with that of a ghost. His name? Sinclair Youngblood Powers. His mission? Revenge. And while Pen is oblivious to the possession, Dice is all too aware of Sin. She's intensely drawn to him -- but not at all crazy about the havoc he's wreaking. Determined to exorcise the demon, Dice accidentally sets Sin loose, gives him flesh, makes him formidable. Now she must destroy an even more potent -- and irresistible -- adversary, before the whole town succumbs to Sin's will. Only trouble is, she's in love with him.

What do you do when the boy of your dreams is too bad to be true?"

This book was so good! A little provocative though. My review can be found HERE.

Americus by MK Reed and Jonathan King
Release Date: August 30th
Source: Publisher
Summary from Goodreads:

"Neal Barton just wants to read in peace. Unluckily for him, some local Christian activitsts are trying to get his favorite fantasy series banned from the Americus public library on grounds of immoral content and heresy. Something has to be done, and it looks like quiet, shy Neal is going to have to do it. With youth services librarian Charlotte Murphy at his back, Neal finds himself leading the charge to defend the mega-bestselling fantasy series that makes his life worth living."


I read this book today, all in one sitting. It's an amazing Middle Grade/Young Adult graphic novel dealing with some important thought provoking topics. Full review to come.

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
Release Date: September 8th, 2009
Source: Borrowed from friend

Summary from Goodreads:

"Seventeen year-old Veronica “Ronnie” Miller’s life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wilmington, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains angry and alienated from her parents, especially her father… until her mother decides it would be in everyone’s best interest if she spent the summer in Wilmington with him. Ronnie’s father, a former concert pianist and teacher, is living a quiet life in the beach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will become the centerpiece of a local church. The tale that unfolds is an unforgettable story about love in its myriad forms – first love, the love between parents and children – that demonstrates, as only a Nicholas Sparks novel can, the many ways that deeply felt relationships can break our hearts… and heal them."


Not sure when I'll get to this one, but I loved the movie and thought it would be a good read.


That's all for me this week! What did you get in your mailbox? Comment below and let me know, or leave a link in the comments and I'll be sure to check yours out! :)


--Alexis