papercraftalex's reviews
362 reviews

Going into this book, it's important to know it's not *really* about He-Man. He-Man is a blip in this story. It's about how capitalist propaganda is destroying children's imaginations and has been since the '70s. It presents a very clear path from the start of military propaganda, to how Chiquita bananas used propaganda to launch a coup in Guatemala, to Disney changing our laws and ruining our minds. Brown definitely isn't saying we shouldn't enjoy this programing, he's trying to get us to see how it's manufactured to manipulate us into buying merchandise. I wish it was longer so it could have the chance to go more in depth. This is a necessary graphic novel for our current climate and I absolutely recommend it. 

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was the first collection of Perkovich's that I've read, and it definitely won't be the last. It's a very intimate and experimental collection. I really loved the lines "There is always the prodding/Always the pinning/The pining/The pawing, pecking, prying/Never the permission" from "my teeth have teeth of their own—After Shriya Bajpai." She incorporates vulgarity in a few of her poems in a way that reflects the constant sexual harassments of women. Comparing these poems to the ones she writes about consensual sex and sex work, it points out the hypocrisy of society saying we need to be sexually open and sexually closed at the same time. She also writes about generational trauma, motherhood, and the abuse she's suffered throughout her life. It's stunningly beautiful and real and I absolutely recommend (though please check the CWs). 

I was given a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ableist, racist, vulgar, pretentious bullshit

My library has the other two books in this collection, Chickenology and Pigology, and I'm always recommending them to our child patrons, but I have yet to read either. This one makes me want to read them as soon as possible.

It's a very cute and informative look at sheep. It shows many different aspects: sheep products like wool, milk, and cheese, phrases and mythology involving sheep and wool, breeds of sheep, anatomy, how to take care of them, the history of shepherding, and more. It's a perfect book for science minded children (and adults!) and I highly recommend!

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

First and foremost, this book shouldn't be banned. While there are some explicit scenes, none are beyond the capability of teens or any worse than what they are absolutely seeing online.

With that out of the way, this book was unfortunately a disappointment. It makes for a decent memoir and George Johnson definitely has a way with words, but the manifesto part fell flat for me. They don't really acknowledge their privilege growing up as a middle class person, nor do they address their father being a cop except for at a brief line at the very end. If they wanted it to be representative of all queer people, then they should have gone more in depth with these topics. They also handled trans issues incredibly poorly. They deadnamed and misgendered their trans cousin, and says that they identify as queer now rather than gay because he's attracted to trans people. These sections left a very bad taste in my mouth. They also constantly call themself effeminate in a very negative way and never really deals with hating the feminine parts of themself. 

I like how they discuss being sexually assaulted. Going through almost the exact same thing as them, this part felt more like the relatable, helpful discussion they were trying to achieve in the rest of the book. I also loved the way they talked about their grandmother being such a guiding force in their life and how that is incredibly important for Black and queer youth.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book, but read if you're interested with these criticisms in mind.

I have not yet read the original of this, but I definitely plan to after reading the graphic novel. It is a stunningly haunting story about cyclic violence. The art really added a lot to the story, especially the unique lettering. I recommend this to all.

This is an adorable slice of life collection akin to Catana Chetwynd or Philippa Rice but featuring two bears! I really appreciate that the bears aren't gendered so it can reflect many different kinds of relationships and that Mocha is mute! 

There are many cute sections. My favorite shows Milk and Mocha trying to fit heart halves together, realizing they don't fit, and working together to mold the pieces into a full heart. It shows that people aren't just destined to be together with a happily ever after, but have to work to maintain a good relationship. Other panels show this too. It's very realistic for a book about bears!

It's also a perfect collection for teaching visual literacy. There isn't a lot of text, but it still tells a full story. I wholeheartedly recommend this!

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Great book. Wish I understood it

Thank you to Querencia Press for providing a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

This chapbook was full of vivid imagery and beautiful wording. It balances metaphorical with personal in a way that makes it easy to see the traumas the author has dealt with. There's also great use of unique visual structure to strengthen certain poems. Overall, it was a great work and I'll be looking forward to more poems by this author in the future!

There's nothing I can say that hasn't already been said. It's an obviously great book with a few pacing issues. I'm looking forward to Jennette's future books.