Another selection of graphic novels read in December

Closing out the year that I've been focused mainly on reading graphic novels. Genres of all types are available in the graphic format, and I've sampled quite a few. I won't stop reading graphic novels next year as I really love them, but they won't be my sole focus.

It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth by Zoe Thorogood (2022) 196 pages

I love the summary on the back cover. "[This graphic memoir] is an intimate and metanarrative look into the life of a selfish artist who must create for her own survival." The meta use of the graphic form is one of my favorite things about it! The author struggles with anxiety and depression. I will not use the overused word r******** that she hears from so many people at comic conventions that it becomes meaningless. I have empathy and understand some of her challenges with these mental health issues. The different versions of herself are a great visual way to illustrate the way she copes with life.  Revealing the script and the process of creating a graphic memoir is fun.

Stone Fruit by Lee Lai (2021) 231 pages

This is about the joys and tensions of a queer couple who are aunties to a six-year-old niece. There is a bit of Where the Wild Things Are. And the hard conversations between couples with the psychological and emotional wounds passed down through families are featured. Intimately emotional as sibling relationships are repaired.

Yucatan 1512 by Alex Vede (2025) 80 pages

This reminded me I wanted to watch the Aztec Batman movie on HBO Max. And it reminded me of the video game Shadow of the Colossus. I loved the visual style. The story is simple and less than 100 pages, but it serves the purpose. Spanish conquistadors search for Mayan gold and slaughter innocents. One rogue soldier helps a Mayan girl escape. The cover image shows the type of creatures that rise to push back the conquistadors. I'm curious to see what else Alex Vede can do as he is just starting his career as an illustrator.

The Reprieve by Jean-Pierre Gibrat (2008) 128 pages

WWII historical fiction from France that is a prequel to the author's Flight of the Raven. Paintings are gorgeous and cozy of this French town under German occupation. The main character is witty and jokes around a lot. Julien deserted conscription by the Germans, goes into hiding, and continues falling in love with a high school girlfriend. The humor and the beauty of the art made me forget the dangers of war and the role of fate/death that cannot be escaped. I did not see the final dramatic turn coming.

Goddess of the River

 Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel, 496 pages.

The river Ganga is angry when she is pinned to Earth and forced to flow in a certain way. She is even angrier when she is cursed to live a mortal life and bear mortal children to save the immortal godlings she is so fond of. Human life changes her, and impacts the course of human history as her son Devavrata is left behind, a prince who swears not to take the throne. 

I'm afraid I didn't care much for this Orcs & Aliens selection (although plenty of other members did!). I did not feel that the two timelines served this book well, and mostly served to confuse what was already a somewhat confusing book. I'm also afraid I didn't find the characters very engaging, although I'm sure they were likely more engaging here than in their source material. Overall this was a fine book, but I don't know that I would recommend it to anyone except fans of the Mahabharata. 

Our Infinite Fates

Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven, 352 pages

For thousands of years, Evelyn and Arden have found each other as they've been reincarnated, and every time they've fallen in love, and every time, one of them has killed the other (and subsequently died themself) just before their shared 18th birthday. EVERY TIME. Evelyn has no idea why it has to happen, as she can only remember the last few lives, but for some reason, Arden can remember all the way back to the beginning. Told in chapters alternating between their current situation and flashbacks to their previous deaths, this book weaves a tale that questions fate, love, and whether we can ever do anything to change those things. It's an angst-filled story, and it's perfect for teens who would like a bit of substance to their dramatic love stories.

She Who Became the Sun

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan, 414 pages

In 1300s China, Zhu Chongba has escaped a life of starvation on the high plains to become a powerful monk and military strategist. Yet Zhu has a secret: to avoid her own predicted fate of nothingness, she has stolen her dead brother's identity and his predicted fate of greatness and renown. As she moves up in the world and becomes more powerful, she must balance her secret with her ambition.

This is listed as fantasy in our catalog and on our shelves, but I don't know that that's necessarily a great place for it. Yes, there is a bit of glowing for anyone who is deemed to have the mandate of the gods (a common enough trope in anything imperial), but really this is a fascinating historical fiction of a woman trying to function in a man's world without being found out. Definitely a good book, but don't go into it expecting great workings of magic.

In Five Years

 

In Five Years: Rebecca Serle, 255 pgs.

Dannie is a high level lawyer looking for even more prestige.  She has a solid five year plan that includes marrying boyfriend David and climbing the ladder.  One night, she falls asleep and wakes up 5 years hence.  She is living in a different apartment and finds herself with a man she does not recognize. She is confused and discombobulated but then they make love and she thinks maybe things haven't turned out too badly.  Now she wakes up again in her own life - present day.  She is stunned by this vision of her future but thinks she should stick with her original plan.  Life happens and time passes...she ends up meeting the man she saw herself with she doesn't know how to handle her feelings.  Her best friend Bella, her polar opposite as far as personality is dating this guy and falling for him big time.  Dannie decides to double down on making her original plan happen but can you deny fate?

You Were There Too

You Were There Too by Colleen Oakley, 327 pages

Artist Mia and her surgeon husband Harrison have just moved into the small town of Hope Springs, Pennsylvania. It seems to be a perfect life, except Mia keeps having these vivid dreams about a very specific random man. Imagine her surprise when she meets that man and finds out he's been having dreams about her too! Soon Mia and the dream guy (Oliver) are investigating all of the possible implications of their dreams, straining Mia and Harrison's already fraught relationship, brought on by Harrison's long hours and Mia's third miscarriage. Mia is soon questioning whether Harrison or Oliver is who she's really meant to be with.

This was a really tough premise for me to swallow, and even though the book got easier to read as I went, the first half involved so many eyerolls on my part (at the premise, not the writing or anything) that I had a really tough time getting into it. But if you're OK with more mystical possibilities than I am (and that could include just about everyone), it's probably a good read. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

The Immortalists

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin  346 pp.

This book was not what I expected but I enjoyed it. The four Gold siblings, two boys and two girls, sneak out to visit a fortune teller and are told when they will die. Even though they think what they were told is all phony, those revelations go on to affect their lives. Only one was given the prediction of a long life. Simon, the youngest and sister Klara escape to the west coast for the party culture and show business, Daniel, the elder brother, becomes an army doctor, while older sister, Varya, does longevity research. The book explores the question "Are we the victims or the perpetrators of our own fate?" I listened to the downloadable audiobook which is well read by Maggie Hoffman.

Fortitude Smashed

Fortitude Smashed by Taylor Brooke, 331 pages

Imagine having a clock counting down to the exact moment that you'll meet your soul mate. Now imagine that you're a cop checking out a burglary in progress when your clock hits zero. Surprise! Your soul mate is an art thief! This is exactly what happens to Detective Shannon Wurther, who discovers that his fate is tied to that of bartender/art thief Aiden Maar. While the men are undeniably physically drawn to one another, both have their reservations about the other's lifestyle.

I picked this book up after I found it on a recommendation list, and I swear I thought it was going to be more sci-fi than it was. (Other than the countdown clocks embedded in everyone's thumbnails, there was no sci-fi whatsoever.) Instead, I found a steamy romance with complex characters who are trying to understand this brand new relationship that fate has thrown at them. The book left a lot of things unsaid (like what the deal is with those clocks, and why the soul mates are referred to as "Rose Roads"), and the treatment of the two protagonists was more than a bit uneven (SO MUCH to unpack with Aiden, SO MANY QUESTIONS left unanswered about Shannon). There's supposed to be another book in this series (as evidenced by the "Camellia Clock Cycle Book One" on the cover), but the MLC doesn't own it and I'm not sure whether I want to spend the time to track it down. Meh.