Books of 2010 -- Part 2

[themadpoker]

June
223. White Cat by Holly Black -- 4 stars
224. Foiled by Jane Yolen and Mike Cavallaro -- 3 stars
225. Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley -- 5 stars (50books_poc: Book 15)

Oh my gosh. This is my perfect contemporary YA novel. It is the platonic ideal of a YA novel made flesh. I can't even describe how perfect it was, I'm just going to shove copies of it at everyone I love.

226. Solanin by Inio Asano -- 4 stars
227. Bring It On! Volume 5 by Baek HyeKyung -- 3 stars

Aww man! Normally I am all about the surprise!girls because what cast is not improved by the addition of extra ladies? But I was so pleased to have a bisexual character and then he was cruelly snatched away. :( But other than that fine.

228. Red River Volume 16 by Chie Shinohara -- 3 stars

Yuri is going to be the first female Commander-in-Chief of the Hittite army. =D I see many opportunities for showcasing her badassness in the future.

229. Black Bird Volume 1 by Kanoko Sakurajoki -- 2.5 stars

Kyo: -dangles Misao in the air as she screams, frightened, to get back to the ground-
Kyo: You know I won't drop you. I just wanted to teach you a lesson. You can't live without me. I just wanted to teach your body that.
Me: This is our HERO?????

Yeah, it's THAT kind of shoujo. D=

230. Red River Volume 17 by Chie Shinohara -- 3 stars
231. Red River Volume 18 by Chie Shinohara -- 3 stars

Man, Yuri is totally awesome, how did I not notice that before? This is a girl who will figure out a way to save her soldier from death within five minutes using limited materials. A girl who finds a way to cross a field of vipers without losing a single life. A girl who comes up with a plan to infiltrate and delay the Egyptian army encampment. Yuri for Queen of the Hittites!

232. Goddess of the Hunt by Tessa Dare -- 3 stars
233. Vampire Knight Volume 1 by Matsuri Hino -- 3.5 stars

Omm nom nom, shoujo is so delicious. <3

234. Mistwood by Leah Cypess -- 4 stars
235. Soul Eater Volume 2 by Atsushi Ohkubo -- 3 stars
236. Yurara Volume 1 by Chika Shiomi -- 3.5 stars

Guardianspirit!Yurara is so hot. =D I enjoy watching her own everybody! Definitely continuing this manga.

237. Naruto Volume 43 by Masashi Kishimoto -- 3 stars

Okay so the Itachi story was actually kind of neat! But what was going on with Kishimoto's drawings? You have super powerful fire attack that looks like scribbles? Well OKAY THEN.

238. Nightschool: The Weirn Books Volume 2 by Svetlana Chmakova -- 3 stars
239. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer -- 3 stars

I actually liked this! Man you know what? Meyer doesn't really suck all that much, haters to the left.

240. Fly on the Wall by E. Lockhart -- 3 stars
241. The Night Dance by Suzanne Weyn -- 2 stars

Okay the thing about Suzanne Weyn is she has great ideas. I hear a description of her books and I think 'that sounds brilliant! I love Arthuriana/fairy tale retellings/reincarnation stories!' But she falls through on the execution. I feel the same way about this as I did about her other book Reincarnation, a good story idea wasted because of generic characters and bad execution.

242. The Savage Damsel and the Dwarf by Gerald Morris -- 4 stars

Arthuriana done RIGHT. =D This was awesome and hilarious, I was giggling the entire bus ride home.

243. Gentlemen by Michael Northrop -- 3 stars
244. Vampire Knight Volume 2 by Matsuri Hino -- 4 stars

Upon reading this volume of Vampire Knight, it has come to my attention that Zero is that rarest of all shoujo creatures, the straight!uke. It's amazing because Yuki is this tiny adorable blushy little thing but she totally tops him. Read the scene where she gets him to drink her blood if you don't believe me. Seriously, I did and I was like 'Oh! No wonder I always liked Zero the best! He is totally not the alpha male! Oh high school Zeineb who did not know the words to describe her fictional preferences but totally knew them when she saw them. <3' Also I notice Senri is a bit of a jerk which I am adding to my mental characterization bank. :)

245. Vampire Knight Volume 3 by Matsuri Hino -- 3.5 stars

So after volume 2 I was thinking this was one of those manga where the love triangle isn't really so much of a triangle because it's crystal clear it'll be Yuki/Zero endgame (much like in The Hunger Games where I wonder at people who actually think there's any possibility Katniss will end up with Gale. You can ship them sure but with the amount of time spent on him versus Peeta it's kind of obvious where things are going). Anyways, I forgot that Kaname actually does make a pretty good showing. Tiny!Yuki and Kaname are adorable, I could probably feel them if I wasn't already on the Zero/Yuki train. And it's kind of neat seeing how Hino lays the ground for her plot twists later because rereading I can definitely see layers of a sibling relationship with the way Kaname treats Yuki. Which I am actually more down with than a romantic relationship for the two of them (well duh, hardcore Zero/Yuki shipper but even outside of that).

246. Vampire Knight Volume 4 by Matsuri Hino -- 4 stars
247. Vampire Knight Volume 5 by Matsuri Hino -- 4 stars
248. Maps and Legends by Michael Chabon -- 3.5 stars
249. Pandora Hearts Volume 1 by Jun Mochizuki -- 4 stars
250. Pandora Hearts Volume 2 by Jun Mochizuki -- 4 stars
251. Vampire Knight Volume 6 by Matsuri Hino -- 3.5 stars

I kind of love all the vampire kids. I mean they're like this really tight group of friends who stay together often enough to have built up a routine, it's pretty awesome. And this was sort of the Aido volume yes? In a awww and also hmm brighter than he looks sort of way. Though I sort of pity his taste in crushes. I feel Kaname Kuran may not be the best guy to be in love with! Too much foreshadowing of DEEP DARK secrets.

252. His At Night by Sherry Thomas -- 4 stars (50books_poc: Book 16)

My favourite moments in this was when the heroine beat her abusive uncle down with her purse (it had a pound of iron in it) and when the hero's brother punched him for lying to him for thirteen years. I don't know what that says about me. ^^

253. Bizenghast Volume 6 by M. Alice LeGrow -- 3 stars
254. Vampire Knight Volume 7 by Matsuri Hino -- 3.5 stars
255. Full Moon City edited by Darrell Schweitzer and Martin H. Greenburg -- 3 stars

Best Story: No Children, No Pets by Esther M. Friesner
Worst Story: Weredog of Bucharest by Ian Watson

Decent collection overall, even the worst of the stories I wouldn't rate below a 2. And they weren't even bad, just boring and not to my taste.

256. Vampire Knight Volume 8 by Matsuri Hino -- 4 stars

SO GOOD OH MY GOD. *_* I just hit the new content. I want so much fic. Senri fic and Shizuka/Ichiru fic and Kaname fic. Basically canon backstory on EVERYBODY.

257. Vampire Knight Volume 9 by Matsuri Hino -- 4 stars
258. Yurara Volume 2 by Chika Shiomi -- 3.5 stars

Once Spirit!Yurara put Yako on suicide watch and he did it because he is basically on her leash and the next day he was really tired and she petted him on the head and told him he did a good job and she'd take it from there and he went to dream sparkly dreams of flowers and I shipped them madly and lo it was good.

259. Red River Volume 19 by Chie Shinohara -- 3 stars
260. Red River Volume 20 by Chie Shinohara -- 3 stars
261. Red River Volume 21 by Chie Shinohara -- 3 stars
262. Red River Volume 22 by Chie Shinohara -- 3 stars
263. Full Moon wo Sagashite Volume 5 by Arina Tanemura -- 3.5 stars
264. NG Life Volume 5 by Mizuho Kusanagi -- 4 stars

So ADORABLE guys. I find it the most unfair thing in the universe that this manga doesn't have a huge fandom. D=

265. Rasetsu Volume 3 by Chika Shiomi -- 3.5 stars
266. Full Moon wo Sagashite Volume 6 by Arina Tanemura -- 3.5 stars
267. Full Moon wo Sagashite Volume 7 by Arina Tanemura -- 4 stars
268. Thief Eyes by Janni Lee Simner -- 3.5 stars
269. I.N.V.U. Volume 5 by Kim Kang-won -- 3.5 stars
270. Black Bird Volume 2 by Kanoko Sakurajoki -- 2.5 stars
271. Black Bird Volume 3 by Kanoko Sakurajoki -- 2.5 stars
272. The Karma Club by Jessica Brody -- 3 stars
273. The Princess and the Snowbird by Mette Ivie Harrison -- 2.5 stars

Books: 15
Manga/Comics: 36
50books_poc: 2


July
274. Emma Volume 9 by Kaoru Mori -- 3.5 stars
275. Mugen Spiral Volume 1 by Mizuho Kusanagi -- 4 stars
276. Mugen Spiral Volume 2 by Mizuho Kusanagi -- 4 stars
277. Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves -- 4 stars (50books_poc: Book 17)
278. Nightschool: The Weirn Books Volume 3 by Svetlana Chmakova -- 3 stars
279. La Corda D'Oro Volume 12 by Yuki Kure -- 3.5 stars
280. Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar -- 2.5 stars
281. V. B. Rose Volume 8 by Banri Hidaka -- 4 stars

I love the friendships in this manga! So adorable. ^o^ And Kana is an amazingly cute tsundere and I would totally read a volume of her hanging out with Tsuya-chan. Or! An extra extended flashback of her, Tsuya, and Yukari in their high school days! Because ADORABLE.

282. Red River Volume 23 by Chie Shinohara -- 3 stars
283. Red River Volume 24 by Chie Shinohara -- 3 stars
284. Red River Volume 25 by Chie Shinohara -- 3 stars

Also known as The One Where Kail and Ramses Abandon Their Wartime Responsibilities for a Bout of Naked Wrestling. Wow guys! That was really stupid and immature of you! But it's nice that the author is equal opportunity with her fanservice.

285. Red River Volume 26 by Chie Shinohara -- 3 stars
286. Red River Volume 27 by Chie Shinohara -- 3 stars
287. Red River Volume 28 by Chie Shinohara -- 3 stars
288. Whistle! Volume 24 by Daisuke Higuchi -- 3.5 stars
289. Ouran High School Host Club Volume 14 by Bisco Hatori -- 3.5 stars
290. Changes by Jim Butcher -- 3 stars

Wow, these books are kind of sexist. How did I not notice that before? And I don't mean Harry is sexist because I DID notice that before from like book one but the storytelling totally supports him. It kind of hit me when we get to Alamaya and she was all naked virgin sacrifice! Pretty much ALL the female villains are sexualized in some manner. It gets pretty old! It's not like I am against eye candy in principle but I like it to be equal opportunity. Thomas Raith only earns you so much leverage Butcher, you have exceeded your capacity.

291. Soul Eater Volume 3 by Atsushi Ohkubo -- 3.5 stars
292. Naruto Volume 44 by Masashi Kishimoto -- 3 stars
293. Vampire Knight Volume 10 by Matsuri Hino -- 3.5 stars
294. Spirit Bound by Richelle Meade -- 3 stars
295. The Squire's Tale by Gerald Morris -- 4 stars
296. The Squire, His Knight and His Lady by Gerald Morris -- 3.5 stars
297. Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins -- 3 stars

A little too unoriginal for me to really get into it. I felt like I'd read it before even though I hadn't.

298. What Happens in London by Julia Quinn -- 4 stars
299. Sand Chronicles Volume 8 by Hinako Ashihara -- 4 stars
300. We Were There Volume 10 by Yuki Obata -- 3 stars
301. Crimson Hero Volume 13 by Mitsuba Takanashi -- 3 stars

It's a good thing I read this series because Nobura is awesome because otherwise I would be turned off by how unspeakably stupid the plot developments this volume were.

302. Tongues of Serpents by Naomi Novik -- 4 stars
303. Nabari no Ou Volume 1 by Yuhki Kamatani -- 2.5 stars
304. The Folk Keeper by Franny Billingsley -- 4 stars

I really liked how inhuman Corinna was and how it wasn't because of what she was but rather how she grew up. Tough survivor girls ftw.

305. Tegami Bachi Volume 2 by Hiroyuki Asada -- 3 stars

This is an odd little manga and I'm not 100% sure whether I like it all that much. But it has Niche and my weakness for fierce feral girls will never fade so I guess I'm continuing!

306. Children of the Sea Volume 3 by Daisuke Igarashi -- 3 stars
307. Nabari no Ou Volume 2 by Yuhki Kamatani -- 3 stars
308. Nabari no Ou Volume 3 by Yuhki Kamatani -- 3 stars
309. Nabari no Ou Volume 4 by Yuhki Kamatani -- 3.5 stars
310. Burned by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast -- 2 stars
311. The World Above by Cameron Dokey -- 3 stars
312. Parsifal's Page by Gerald Morris -- 3.5 stars
313. Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones -- 4 stars
314. Legend Volume 1 by Kara and Woo Soo Jung -- 3 stars

Hot guy kidaps you, kick him in the balls and run. I love a heroine who has a sensible reaction!

315. Legend Volume 2 by Kara and Woo Soo Jung -- 3 stars
316. Darkborn by Alison Sinclair -- 3 stars

Books: 15
Manga/Comics: 28
50books_poc: 1


August
318. North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley -- 5 stars (50books_poc: Book 18)
319. Ugly Duckling's Love Revolution Volume 1 by Yuuki Fujinari -- 3 stars

The summary for this is a little misleading, it's not really a case of Hitomi liking the guys and dieting so they might notice her. More cute little vignettes involving different combinations of the characters. Hitomi is pretty cute really, I sort of hope she doesn't end up losing too much weight because I don't know if it'd suit her. The adorable roly-poly look works for her.

320. Read or Dream Volume 3 by Hideyuki Kurata and Ran Ayanaga -- 4 stars
321. You Know You Love Me by Cecily von Ziegesar -- 2 stars
322. Cum Laude by Cecily von Ziegesar -- 2 stars
323. Nabari no Ou Volume 5 by Yuhki Kamatani -- 3 stars
324. Warrior Rising by P. C. Cast -- 1.5 stars
325. Nabari no Ou Volume 6 by Yuhki Kamatani -- 3 stars
326. Nabari no Ou Volume 7 by Yuhki Kamatani -- 3 stars
327. We Were There Volume 11 by Yuki Obata -- 3.5 stars
328. Monkey High! Volume 3 by Shouko Akira -- 3 stars
329. Monkey High! Volume 4 by Shouko Akira -- 3 stars
330. The Seer and the Sword by Victoria Hanley -- 3.5 stars
331. The Last Airbender Prequel: Zuko's Story by Dave Roman, Alison Wilgus, and Nina Matsumoto -- 3.5 stars
332. The House You Pass On the Way by Jacqueline Woodson -- 3.5 stars (50books_poc: Book 19)
333. The Darkangel by Meredith Ann Pierce -- 3 stars
334. Yotsuba&! Volume 1 by Kiyohiko Azuma -- 4 stars

This is such great cheer up material. It is just impossible to be sad reading about a wide-eyed six year old exclaiming her way through the world. I liked it alot.

335. Honey Hunt Volume 5 by Miki Aihara -- 4 stars
336. Crown of Love Volume 3 by Yun Kouga -- 3 stars
337. The Shadow of the Moon, the Sea of Shadows by Fuyumi Ono -- 4 stars (50books_poc: Book 20)
338. Fables: The Great Fables Crossover by Bill Willingham -- 0 stars

I thought of inventing a new negative rating to describe how bad this was but you know, the art was pretty decent at least.

339. The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia by Laura Miller -- 5 stars
340. The Magic Touch Volume 1 by Izumi Tsubaki -- 2.5 stars

Booooring. I picked this up because the library has so many volumes and I've never read a manga about massage before. Massage ended up not being much of the focus though, it basically just turned into a really really standard shoujo love story. :/ You cannot just toss in every shoujo trope without variation! You either need enough twists to make it interesting or be charming enough that they feel fresh anyways. This was neither.

341. Bizenghast Volume 7 by M. Alice LeGrow -- 3 stars
342. Reborn! Volume 16 by Akira Amano -- 3.5 stars

Gokudera grew up niiiice. =D What, you want to know about the plot? This is Reborn! No one reads it for the plot! But if you must, it wasn't half bad. I'm curious about what's going on. I did feel a twinge of disappointment when we found out Lal Mirch's name since I was hoping she was Chrome grown totally badass. Still, the possibility of awesome Chrome still exists! In fact I would love it if while the crew is all we need our most powerful guardian back! Where is Hibari? their information is actually totally out of date and if they're looking for a powerhouse they should really be searching for Chrome. Fingers crossed for awesome!

343. Rules by Cythia Lord -- 3.5 stars

-sigh of satisfaction- There is really something special about MG YA. Sometimes I like them better than anything else.

344. Read or Dream Volume 4 by Hideyuki Kurata and Ran Ayanaga -- 4 stars

So cuuuute. Anita and Hasumi are so OTP I'm like floating on sugar. Seriously, when they're a little older they're going to be that couple who're so adorable and stable that everyone aspires to be like them. And the Paper Sisters are the best adopted family ever. ♥♥♥ I really really love these characters.

345. Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 23 by Hiromu Arakawa -- 5 stars

HOW IS THIS MANGA ALWAYS SO GREAT? Seriously, sometimes Fullmetal is the only thing singlehandedly maintaining my faith in the shonen genre. IT CAN BE REALLY AWESOME, I WISH MORE OF IT WAS AWESOME LIKE THIS.

346. Nana Volume 21 by Ai Yazawa -- 5 stars

Oh my God. I just -- I can't believe it. Ren dead. When Takumi first said it I thought it was, I don't know, a joke. A really stupid joke. And then I realized he wasn't kidding and it was like a punch in the stomach. I didn't think this was going to be the kind of manga where people die. I wish I knew someone else reading Nana, I want to talk about it.

347. Glee: The Beginning by Sophia Lowell -- 2 stars

I've read better fanfiction. To be fair though, it's possible she just wanted to match the tone and caliber of the writing on the show.

348. Sugarbabe by Holly Hill -- 2.5 stars
349. One Thousand and One Nights Volume 10 by Han SeungHee and Jeon JinSeok -- 2.5 stars
350. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins -- 4 stars
351. Bleach Volume 31 by Tite Kubo -- 3.5 stars

MY GIRL ORIHIME. T_T This wasn't the happiest volume for her fans. I wasn't bored though so good job Tite Kubo!

352. Otomen Volume 7 by Aya Kanno -- 3.5 stars
353. The Royal Diaries: Lady of Ch'iao Kuo, Warrior of the South by Laurence Yep -- 3 stars (50books_poc: Book 21)
354. Skip Beat Volume 21 by Yoshiki Nakamura -- 5 stars
355. Hikaru no Go Volume 20 by Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata -- 4 stars
356. kimi ni todoke Volume 5 by Karuho Shiina -- 5 stars

SO CUTE OH MY GOD.

357. President Dad Volume 1 by Rhim Ju-Yeon -- 3 stars
358. The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer -- 4 stars
359. Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols -- 3 stars