The first to seek forgiveness admitting wrongs deeper vesting in love can it be?
“I’m sorry!”
My existence, whispering apologies shouldering responsibility for all the wrongs guilt-ridden, self admonished.
“It’s my fault! “
Just a way to show my love for you a way to let you know you mean more than you know. I don’t want you to think I’m always this wrong.
“I’m so sorry!”
Caught in my own web, guns backfiring inside my head. piling up the failures apologizing for things beyond my control, taking responsibility for others wrongs
“Forgive me”
For I have loved the most… loved everyone so much, that I forgot to love the one who needed it more. Myself.
“Sorry.”
For-give. what am I giving? For-get. what am I getting?
Forgiving. Forgetting. To live, to love, I am not alone in this, not everything is my wrong. And you can’t see I’ve grown.
Old poems come back again, apparently, I had a lot to say about self-love and apologies back in 2014. Which in all honesty was a tough period of time for me, but it helped me grow and we’re here for the better.
Theme/Month: The Stranger the Better, for August 2021
Ownership: Subscribed on their 6 boxes option. If you are interested in purchasing a Tales by Mail subscription, you can do it on their website.
Tales by Mail is a bi-monthly middle-grade book box that comes with two books, some activity pages you can collect, or copy or use in various ways, a pin and one or two items.
With a very interesting theme, let’s see what was in the box, starting on the top left corner and going clockwise:
Crowfall by Vashti Hardy, which looks very intriguing to me.
The activity pages for the month which go into the collectible ring binder.
The most adorable keyring, which is the mascot for the box and I was so taken by it.
The Tentacle Boy which wasn’t in my radar but looks intriguing and creepy weird.
Promotional bookmark for The Tentacle Boy and Pizazz
The collectible pin
It was a very cute choice and maybe not my favourite box of the year but my absolute favourite was that keyring which I thought was super sweet and honestly, it won my heart.
I am NOT Starfire by Mariko Tamaki and Yoshi Yoshitani
Rating:
Read Before: No
Ownership: Preordered because I like Starfire and the art fo Yoshi Yoshitani
Spoilers: Free of spoilers but will discuss plot.
I was really into Teen Titans when I was younger (the original Cartoon Network ones were so cute) and therefore I have a soft spot for them and when I saw Yoshi Yoshitani was the artist for this I had to get it.
The premise is that Starfire’s daughter is most certainly not like Starfire. Mandy is more of an outcast, less of an extrovert, prefers black and darkness and not the fame and bubbly spirit that her mum is. And also, she is keeping secrets form Starfire who is trying to save the world and keep her daughter well.
Things suddenly get in motion when Mandy gets paired up with other class crush, Claire for a project and therefore starts to feel like she’s making friend,s but also, Starfire’s past is catching up with her and may affect Mandy, and Mandy may have to make big decisions before she feels ready.
If anything this comic is a love letter to Starfire, to not knowing fully your identity, maybe of being first-generation and trying to figure out how to fit in the world but also with the expectations of your family. And it is about being mixed and having doubts, cracks in your identity. It was a very interesting exploration of various themes and at the same time you could see it as a very cute romance and fun superhero book. To me it was both and the art was amazing, alongside a very interesting plot.
Recommended for Teen Titans fans, and anyone who wants a wacky fun superhero and family, and identity graphic novel. I sped through this one and then shared with my friends so they could enjoy it too.
RWBY: The Beacon Arc (Full Series) by Bunta Kinami
Rating:
Read Before: Yes, I tried to read the first volume but wasn’t in the mood, apparently, later on I was.
Series: RWBY The Beacon Arc
Ownership: Bought and preordered respectively.
Another Full Series review and this was a short series. For some reason, I had high hopes for it and I struggled a lot to get on with the art of it mixed with the writing. I did enjoy the characters a lot but they were a little too similar in the manga to be able to distinguish them as much as I would have liked, which is why it didn’t get a high rating. It also assumes you have watched the anime, which is all fine but there is no catch-up, nothing beyond “hi, welcome to this story where we gloss over 90 of everything and just do action scenes”.
The story is basically about Ruby getting to the Beacon Academy because she is very talented and can become a Huntress against the Grimm which are monsters in this world. As she starts, she defeats a big villain no one else can and then becomes the captain of her team because she wins a challenge, and then goes on about hunting the big villain and making her way as a team with her enemy.
It felt a little too much of a “perfect one heroine” that does no wrong and if she does, the day still gets saved, her clumsiness is cute and basically it is a collection of all the possible cliches and Mary Sue like things you’d expect but in drawn form in a fantasy world, plus a lot of fan service in how the characters are dressed nad how they show in the manga. It was still an interesting plot and the world is interesting but it was too much a “perfectly perfect cute lady that wow, does no wrong, saves the day can think better than the best adults ever, and wow, so young, much amazing”.
Still, it was a good waste of time and therefore I decided to review it.
The Loss of the Self in Sickness and Pain by Moon Kestrel
to the ghosts of my illness, who come and put a sympathetic hand on my shoulder, reminding me of what it was like to have them around in the flesh rather than just in glimpses.
to their randomness, for they do as they please. weather changes or tiredness will draw them near with ease. the thumping inside my head as they knock to let me know i lived through it all.
to their humming in my ears, recounting the past and the tears.
sometimes they make me cry, taking advantage of my sensitivity, but they’re not evil they’re just ghosts.
here’s to the phantoms that keep reminding me how bad it was but instead, succeed at making me grateful.
i raise my glass, to them all, for i am alive i survived.
A toast. Because sometimes old poems and pieces of artwork speak better than new words (this was written in May 2016), and the artwork is from 2013. Some ghosts are persistent, some are here to stay.
I hadn’t done a Moon Writes post in a while and given that I’ve had a small regression and remembering how bad the pain can be, this felt applicable, and hey, maybe it will speak to others, even if it is a toast made for my specific ghosts.
Ownership: Subscribed on their 12 boxes option. If you are interested in purchasing a Book Box Club subscription, you can do it on their website.
Book Box Club is a young adult subscription box, the unique thing is the Clubhouse where you can chat to the author a month (or so) after the box was shipped and ask questions and just chat around. It also includes several goodies and usually the choice of book is one that is unique and not in other book boxes so very few chances of duplicate books and a lot of new reads discovery power.
June’s box was all about the power of imagination and therefore full of fandoms that had to do with imaginary worlds or similar things, so let’s see what was inside starting with the theme card and going clockwise:
Just Imagine theme card, there was also a clubhouse invite.
Joe Cool Alice in Wonderland socks, which makes me happy because they are so comfy and nice. Love it when I get socks
Somewhere Over the Rainbow bookmark which is adorable.
A quote print about imagination and reality, a bit too pink for my taste but still cute.
Coraline keychain
The main book, Strange Creatures which was definitely not what I imagined, see what I did there?.
And finally, a tin of hard boiled sweets, very old style, with a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory motif.
Overall very dreamy, very much appealing to memories and imagination, cute. The book was an interesting surprise and very much for me not my book as it was a bit too intense and just not my kind but I could see why it was chosen and it had an interesting concept.
Ownership: Copy provided for review upon request by the publisher
Series: 44 tiny…
Disclaimer that even though I got gifted a copy of the book but the publisher, I would’ve still reviewed it because I enjoy the series and it is on my radar all the time.
Look, I’ve been a fan of the tiny pygmy mice and Betsy and her family since the first book, 44 Tiny Secrets, and every time there’s a new one I am just utterly excited to read it. So far we learned about the pygmy mice and that they can play the piano, but then we also learned they can be marvellous acrobats since they were trained by someone that was in the circus, Betsy’s grandma.
44 Tiny Chefs now looks at Betsy’s dad and his new hobby, baking! So when the opportunity to open a bakery presents itself, the family is super happy as they have been filled too much with all the baking that has been trialled and done. And then, some interesting parts happen and they get invited to host a royal gala, but can they actually cook for so many people successfully and not fail for the Queen?
Honestly, the whole book was funny, I could imagine the distress, the confusion and all the over the sweetness of it and of course, I love the family Betsy has and the adventures they get into, and the cute little mice.
I can recommend this if you want cute musical, baking and animal shenanigans, and a family that isn’t absent for most of the book.
Ownership: Review copy from the publisher and preordered
Content warnings: There’s a lot of types of violence, manipulation, gaslighting and abuse, alongside disturbing scenery, basically this is a horror book and it should be read with that in mind, it is not a cute story.
I have seen this compared a lot to the Addams family and as much as it is about a family of monsters and misfits and the value of family, that is as far as it goes in the similarities. For the most part, Eleanor is unsure of her place in the family, and she is not even sure if it was worth coming back or if they are welcoming her, afraid of her or just don’t care at all. This means that the book is mostly very dark humour set into horror and creepy mode.
Because Eleanor is trying to piece together why her family is reacting to her the way they are, and why they first sent her away, there is also a lot of internal retrospection and the book at times can seem quite intense in how Eleanor feels, but that is part of the charm of it since we’re very much into her head and trying desperately to discover the truth against time and against forces trying to get rid of the family from outside and inside.
What Big Teeth relies a lot on atmosphere, a narrator that is trying to piece her life together and many elements of what sometimes can make you love your family but at the same time make it toxic and therefore it deals with very intense topics even if you take away the fantastical and horror part of it. It is the strength and probably weakness of the book, as it means it won’t be for everyone due to the particular way it depicts things and how it portrays the not so good parts quite heavily.
It is not that there is no love in the family, it is more a case of many secrets crashing against each other, some due to selfishness and some done in what a family member may have thought was a way to save the family or to protect them, and it shows that love sometimes is hard to show and it gets tangled with a lot of things when you live with your family for most of the time and it is the only thing you know.
Ownership: Subscribed on their 6 boxes option. If you are interested in purchasing an Illumicrate subscription, you can do it on their website.
Illumicrate is a book subscription box, it usually features fantasy and sci-fi but not exclusively young adult, sometimes it features adult too. It usually contains a new release, a pin and several bookish goodies.
Despite last month’s box being my most anticipated read and a great box, I think this is one of my favourite boxes of the year from them, so let’s see why I think so, starting from the leaflet in the middle of the lower row:
Out of the Woodes leaflet with the photo challenge and contents detailed.
A wordmark with a quote about it, but I love the sleepy fox and yes I won’t use it as a bookmark but the design wins me over.
The main book which was stunning, The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid.
A creepy kinda print which goes well with some others and I just like the artwork.
The Lord of the Rings puzzle in a “book” case, my puzzle-loving heart is extra happy since it is from LOTR.
A beautiful and delicate glass bottle with birch trees and a quote woven around, the design of it looks amazing when you fill the bottle.
The monthly pin, which as per usual is a nice pin.
A woodpin for We Hunt the Flame
Probably my least favourite item, a print that hangs in a fancy hanging way for Holly Black, I think?
Overall, the theme and items completely matched and the vibe was spot on with it, the designs were delicate and forest and had a tinge of the creepy and the beautiful. I felt like the whole box was a good one and I am very happy.
Ownership: Bid for the proof copy in aid as it was annotated.
As a fan of Stephanie’s books, and knowing the Raven Heir was in the making a few years ago, it was inevitable I’d bid and bid until I got this proof. Which then I promptly devoured and enjoyed thoroughly.
We meet Cordelia and her triplets, Giles and Rosalind, who are much more well-behaved than she is, and a lot less wild. She can feel it in her bones, in her being, that the woods call her, the shape-shifting is ever so tempting and it is hard to obey the rules. But Cordelia tries hard and does her best, even if sometimes this doesn’t work out.
But when the safety of her home is at stake and the triplets are suddenly in the run for their lives, it is Cordelia who seems to know more than her triplets and who will have to make very tough decisions.
Overall the book explores the power of being siblings, friendship and the weight of responsibility and knowing something. But it also has a lot of animals, and nature involved, and all the elements of a perfect Disney/Pixar film, or a good animated series that will stay with you for years to come. Actually, if it was to be made as a film, I’d say give it to the studio behind The Secret of Kells, or Wolfwalkers, because it would fit so beautifully in that style. If you have watched either film or any of their films, The Raven Heir has that magical quality and fantasy epic that is also heavily tied with nature and living and the power and weight of choices made.
As per usual, the author has made an amazing book and there is layers and layers of it to look into, starting with the world and then coming to Cordelia, her magic and the magic of her triplets, alongside her identity and the adventure they have to set off to save the kingdom.
Highly recommended to readers of all ages, anyone that loves a good story, one that will stick with you forever, this is the one to pick.
