Book Drops: Dead To You by Lisa McMann

Dead To You by Lisa McMann. New York: Simon Pulse, 2012. ISBN: 978-1-4424-0388-8

Ethan De Wilde has been found.
He was abducted when he was 7. He is now 16.
He doesn't remember anything from the first 7 years of his life...That happens, right? Or does it?

I could not put this book down. It is a pretty intense book that explores what happens when a missing child is reunited with their family. It's painful, there's anger, but there is also hope and understanding.

I don't want to say more except that it is worth picking up. I would say this is for a mature 8th grader. There is some explicit language but it's not used excessively like in Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist where the F-Bomb was used all the time!!!

Graphic Novel Fridays : Britten & Brulightly by Hannah Berry

For today's GNF selection, I picked up Britten and Brulightly by Hannah Berry. This GN had received some good reviews in Booklist and PW so I thought I would check it out.

What Caught My Eye: Well, a number of things - (1) good reviews (2) my coworker read it first and gave it a thumbs up (literally!) (3) I love film noir and this cover as well as the rest of the GN is noir-y. (is that a word? nope..but I'm going to use it!)

Why I Didn't Put It Down: The images and text really do play well off of each other in Berry's book. The movement of the images the placement of certain phrases make this one of those GN's that you do not want to put down. Also, there's a talking teabag (yup..a bag of tea) in this...guess who it is? I loved the way colors are laid out as well - greys, blacks, whites, a tinge of blue, a pop of red - it's very beautifully illustrated.

Who would I recommend this to: Those of us who love noir and noir-y things. Those who like a good detective story. WARNING: the "F" word occassionally pops up in this GN. Not a lot (maybe twice) but if you are worried about parents, administrators and easily offended people (like the Dictionary Banners!) then you should probably head to your local comic/gn shop and check it out first. I did not think it was too risque or shocking so it's in our collection there really are worse things...like dictionaries!!! (ok, I'll stop..but seriously, banning the dictionary - seriously people? there's other more important issues - Yemen, Iraq, war, genocide, Haiti, people straving in America - let's focus on that instead of the definition of Oral Sex in Merriam-Webster...)