Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley [book]

Scott Pilgrim: Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O'Malley [book]

Publisher: Oni Press, 2004
Paperback: 168 pages
Language: English
ISBN: 1932664084

Plot Summary:
Twenty- three year old Scott Pilgrim is a good will shopping, sarcastic, cool guy that plays bass in a band called Sex Bob- omb; he is a hipster. He does not have a job and he lives with his homosexual roommate in tight quarters while he lives his simple yet humorous life. He spends his days at the beginning of the story semi- courting Knives his seventeen year old girl friend, which consists of walking around and talking. Ramona Flowers is a mysterious, girl from New York that can travel to other dimensions and spends her time delivering packages by roller skates. Scott becomes obsessed with Ramona when she appears in his dreams and in his everyday life, so much so that he leaves a broken hearted Knives and starts to court this multi- colored hair space traveling hip chick. They officially meet at a party where Scott draws a doodle of her and decides that he needs to know more about the girl. The rest of the novel is playing in the band and attempting to get to know Ramona and it culminates when Scott finds out the Ramona has 7 evil ex boyfriends that Scott must defeat in order to finally be with her. He agrees to the challenge and band fights with her first ex Matthew Patel. Matthew Patel gets under Scott's skin by sending him an email and then engaging in a martial arts fight that has the back drop of bands and music. Patel is defeated and a rain of coins fall where he was standing showing that he vanquished and it is known that the first of the exes has been defeated when Ramona glows. At the end of the novel Scott and Ramona start their relationship and the novels to come afterward describe their continuing battle of the exes.

Critical Evaluation:
This book is fun, adventurous and whimsical. It uses manga style art work and action scenes, youthful language and characters that are unique and well developed. The references to video games are good connection to video games in the novel playing on alternative hobbies like graphic novels and video games (a good example being when evil exes turn into coins). The illustrations are well done and the story line is a little complicated in that Ramona is able to travel through another dimension, but overall it is easy to read and short enough to finish quickly and move to the next in the series. Perhaps the best part of these books is that Scott must battle Ramona's boyfriends, which I'm sure many people feel the need to compete with their significant other's exes at one time or another- literal or not.

Reader's Annotation:
Scott Pilgrim is in his early twenties, in a band and living his life day to day with his younger girlfriend when a mysterious girl starts to get into his head, changing his "precious little life" as he knows it.

Websites to look Into:
http://radiomaru.tumblr.com/
http://www.scottpilgrim.com/

Awards:
New York Times bestseller
Eisner Award
2 Harvey Awards
Doug Wright Award
Joe Shuster Award
Similar Books:
"Scott Pilgrim: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" by Bryan Lee O'Malley
"Scott Pilgrim: Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness" by Bryan Lee O'Malley
"Scott Pilgrim: Scott Pilgrim gets it Together" by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Booktalking Ideas:
Showing scenes from the movie in comparison with the book layouts
Comparing this graphic novel to other more traditional manga novels

Genre:
Graphic Novel, Action

Interest Age:
13-19 yrs.

Challenge Issues:
The only challenge issue that I for see in these novels is that Scott dates and underage girl and that there is violence. To combat Scott dating the younger girl, I feel that it is pertinent to say that their relationship consists of talking and he soon leaves her. As for violence, it is conveyed humorously rather than in rage, being presented through band battles and other fights with exes in the novels that follow it up.

Why this Book?
Graphic novels are very popular with young adults, and this book was made into a movie that was received by this audience very well. They are fun books for both boys and girls, and there are many of them so they can continue reading them over time.

Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks [book]

Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks [book]

Publisher: New York : First Second, 2012
1 v. (unpaged) : chiefly ill. ; 22 cm
ISBN: 9781596435568

Plot Summary:
Maggie was estranged from her mother and grew up with her 3 brothers and fathers being home schooled for most of her life until high school. She is close with her brothers and when she enters high school she becomes unsure of herself, but it is made much worse by the fact that Maggie is haunted by a nineteenth century ghost that leads Maggie and her friends to the grave yard many times throughout the novel. Maggie makes friends in school, named Lucy and Alistar who are outcasts and include her into their circle without passing judgement. Through Maggie and Alistar's conversations, Maggie learns that Alistar was once a bully to all of the people around him and school, and in a night of revelation he shaved his head into a mohawk and left all of the incrowd behind in order to be the person that he wanted to be.
Maggie spends her time in novel trying to ascertain what the ghost needs in order to be at peace, and even steals an artifact from a museum thinking that it will help the ghost return to her family. In the end her brothers reveal to her that they have always seen the ghost as well and it culminates with her realizing that some things can't be fixed and that she was not alone in the world in seeing the ghost, but that she always had her family. It leaves off with Maggie, Lucy, Alistar and her brothers becoming friends and going to school with one another, with all the ghosts of the past put to rest (except for the actual ghost, she sticks around).

Critical Evaluation:
This book was one of the first graphic novels I have ever read, and I thought that it was done well, and can appeal to both girls and boys (although I think that it may appeal more to females because of the main character). The book is in black and white and the illustrations are well made; it looks like a classic graphic novel to me with the signs of "Pow!" and large close ups of Maggie and other character's faces with exaggerated expressions most of the time. The themes of acceptance, family, and self doubt are all throughout the novel presented in all of the characters and their relationships with the people around them.

Reader's Annotation:
Maggie enters into high school after being home schooled with her 3 brothers as her only friends. Maggie also has a strange secret that makes making friends at school and adjusting to normal teen life that much more difficult.

Websites to look Into:
http://www.friendswithboys.com/
http://www.faitherinhicks.com/ice/

About the Author:
Faith Erin Hicks is Canadian and a comic artist, animator, and webcomic. She has contributed to "George of the Jungle" an animated series, and she creates comic strips for newspapers. One of the comics is called "Jenny's Brothers" (which is good comic similar to this book) and her own series caled "The Adventures of Superhero Girl".

Similar Books:
"Anya's Ghost" by Vera Brosgol
"Drama" by Raina Telgemeier
"Zombies Calling" by Faith Erin Hicks

Booktalking Ideas:
Introducing a graphic novel that can appeal to females
Using the book in a discussion about feeling like an outcast in high school

Genre:
Graphic Novel, Fiction

Interest Age:
13+

Challenge Issues:
Drinking and Theft
The only parts of the book that I can could see being issues would be the fact that there is drinking at a party in one of the flashback scenes and that they steal from a museum. I think that I can combat this with the fact that both characters realize what they did was wrong in the incidences and they become better for realizing their mistakes.

Why this Book?
I chose this book because it looked cute and after I read it I realized that it was a good story that could appeal to young women, and people that felt like they were outcasts or wanted to stand up for themselves.