Graphic Novel Review of Uglies: Shay's Perspective by Scott Westerfeld and Devin Grayson

Book Title: Uglies: Shay's Story

Author: Scott Westerfeld and Devin Grayson

Illustrator: Steven Cummings

Publish Date: March 6, 2012

Genre: Young Adult Dystopia Graphic Novel

Series Name: Uglies (Graphic Novel #1)

Plot (from Goodreads):  

Uglies told Tally Youngblood’s version of life in Uglyville and the budding rebellion against the Specials. Now comes an exciting graphic novel revealing new adventures in the Uglies world—as seen through the eyes of Shay, Tally’s rebellious best friend who’s not afraid to break the rules, no matter the cost.

A few months shy of her sixteenth birthday, Shay eagerly awaits her turn to become a Pretty—a rite-of-passage operation called “the Surge” that transforms ordinary Uglies into paragons of beauty. Yet after befriending the Crims, a group of fellow teens who refuse to take anything in society at face value, Shay starts to question the whole concept. And as the Crims explore beyond the monitored borders of Uglyville into the forbidden, ungoverned wild, Shay must choose between the perks of being Pretty and the rewards of being real.

Why I Read this Book: I saw this at my library and decided to check it out.  I have read the first three books in the Uglies book series, but this was the first graphic novel that I have read in this series.

 

Review 

I was really disappointed in this graphic novel.  It was no where near as good as the novels.  If you have not read the novel series, I do no think that you would fully understand everything that happens in this graphic novel.

There are very few world-building aspects.  There is not any character building.  There were some events that I did not fully understand.

The Uglies and the Pretties looked exactly the same in the graphic novel.  Appearances are an important part of the series and as such I did not think that this was accurate to the novel series.

Also, I do not remember there being any references to adult situations in the novel series and there were some references to this in the graphic novels.

I will continue with the series, but I hope that the others are more in depth and true to the novel series.

 

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: 16+ for sexual references and references to nudity (you cannot see anything, but you know that they are nude)

Overall Rating: 2.5/5

A Review on the Volume 1 of Two Manga Series: Death Note and Kingdom Hearts

As you may or may not know, I am a huge fan of manga and graphic novels.  My favorite part about them is being able to see what the author envisioned for each of the scenes as he or she was writing.  I also like that they tend to be quicker reads than novels.  In the last week, I have started reading two manga series: Death Note and Kingdom Hearts.  Here is my review on the first volume of each of these manga series.

Death Note

General Analysis

Book Title: Death Note, Volume 1: Boredom

Author: Tsugumi Ohba

 Illustrator:  Takeshi Obata

Publish Date:  October 10, 2005 (United States)

Genre:  Young Adult Paranormal Fantasy

Plot:  A teenage boy, Light Yagami, finds the Death Note that a Shinigami dropped on Earth. The holder of the Death Note has the ability to kill anyone on earth as long as he knows their name and knows how they look.  Light decides that he wants to use the Death Note to rid the world of criminals and to make a utopia where everyone is no longer harmed by these criminals, but Light does not realize what he has gotten himself into when he starts to use the Death Note.

Overall Thoughts: I really enjoy this series so far.  The plot is very intense and the characters are believable.  The story is filled with action and suspense.

In Depth Analysis

Characters:  The characters are really believable.  They have a depth to them that is rarely seen in manga.

Writing Style:  The writing style for this manga is amazing.  The plot is very well thought out and very intricate.  As soon as you feel you understand all the rules of the Death Note, another rule is sprung on you that changes the plot dramatically and keeps you on your toes.

Likes:  I love the plot and the development of both the plot and the characters.

Dislikes:  I do not like that this is such a dark read, but the plot is so enjoyable and so mind boggling that I continue to enjoy the story that is presented.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age:  Because of the dark nature in the manga series, I would recommend this to teenagers 16 and above.  There is not and cussing in this first volume, but the book is very violent.

Overall Rating: 5/5

Kingdom Hearts

General Analysis

Book Title: Kingdom Hearts, Volume 1

Author: Siro Amano

Publish Date: October 11, 2005 (United States)

Genre:  Young Adult Fantasy

Plot:  When a storm hits his island, fourteen-year-old Sora is swept into a mysterious land where he meets Court Wizard Donald and Captain Goofy, who are on a mission to find King Mickey and return him to his throne at Disney Castle.  (Taken from GoodReads because I could not think of a description due to the confusing nature of the plot).

Why I Read this Book:  I have played the video game and wanted to know more of the story behind the video game.

Overall Thoughts: The plot was very confusing and I did not understand what was going on most of the time.  I loved the idea of the story line, but how it was presented was lacking in quality.

In Depth Analysis

Characters:  Most of the characters we already know from Disney, but the author has put a good amount of originality to them while keeping the characters true to their nature.

Writing Style:  The writing style of this volume was were I thought the manga was lacking.  The beginning of this volume was very confusing and the story line was really hard to follow.  There were so many questions left unanswered.

Likes:  I love the idea of the plot in this series.  The way the author integrates the stories that we already know from Disney into a brand new story is very creative and original.  I love to speculate which story from Disney will integrate itself into the story line next.

Dislikes:  Writing style (see above)

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age:  There does seem to be a dark nature to this series; therefore, I would recommend this book to ages 12 and older.  The darkness of the manga does not seem to be too overwhelmingly scary.

Overall Rating: 3/5

Future Reviews and Reads

I am continuing to read The Language of God by Francis S. Collins and Jesus Freaks by dc Talk.  They continue to be quite good.

I am also reading Everwild by Neal Shusterman, which is the second book in the series entitled Skinjacker.  It is much better than the first book, Everlost, which I also enjoyed.

I am also reading Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaker's Journey which is very interesting.  I am learning os much about the filmmaking process.