Tyler Reynolds's Blog - Posts Tagged "middle-grade-fantasy"
Novel or Graphic Novel?
For this first week, I'll review two books...sort of. I read The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau and The City of Ember: The Graphic Novel which was adapted by Dallas Middaugh and with art by Niklas Asker.
Just gotta say, the graphic novel edition is top shelf. Having the pictures to help you, well, picture the story and the characters is pretty awesome. The problem is that there just aren't many words. You get the story, but without the details. Despite the moody scenes and the expressive faces on the main characters, I felt like the story just went by too fast. I didn't feel like I lived it the way I did in the full length novel.
It's funny too, because I read the novel after the graphic novel, so I already knew what happens in this fascinating fantasy/sci-fi story. Lina and Doon are kids who live in Ember. Ember is this weird city without sunlight. The whole place relies on electricity, and the generator is breaking down. So right away there's a mystery. Where is this place? Why are there people here? And why don't they know how to fix the electricity?
I'm not going to give you any spoilers. Just know that Lina and Doon face some real danger and some exciting adventures when they try to save their city!
It's a totally great ride, and I highly recommend the longer version so you can savor it.
On the Dudes Summer Book Bingo card, here's how these books qualify:
The City of Ember: WHOA!, AWESOME GIRL, TOOK ME TO A NEW WORLD, and even SIBLINGS TEAM UP if you count Lina's little sister, Poppy, as a team member.
The City of Ember Graphic Novel could work for those squares or GRAPHIC NOVEL (obviously), or BECAUSE I'M LAZY since it's faster to read.
Find the bingo card here: https://emilykayjohnson.com/TheDudesC...
Just gotta say, the graphic novel edition is top shelf. Having the pictures to help you, well, picture the story and the characters is pretty awesome. The problem is that there just aren't many words. You get the story, but without the details. Despite the moody scenes and the expressive faces on the main characters, I felt like the story just went by too fast. I didn't feel like I lived it the way I did in the full length novel.
It's funny too, because I read the novel after the graphic novel, so I already knew what happens in this fascinating fantasy/sci-fi story. Lina and Doon are kids who live in Ember. Ember is this weird city without sunlight. The whole place relies on electricity, and the generator is breaking down. So right away there's a mystery. Where is this place? Why are there people here? And why don't they know how to fix the electricity?
I'm not going to give you any spoilers. Just know that Lina and Doon face some real danger and some exciting adventures when they try to save their city!
It's a totally great ride, and I highly recommend the longer version so you can savor it.
On the Dudes Summer Book Bingo card, here's how these books qualify:
The City of Ember: WHOA!, AWESOME GIRL, TOOK ME TO A NEW WORLD, and even SIBLINGS TEAM UP if you count Lina's little sister, Poppy, as a team member.
The City of Ember Graphic Novel could work for those squares or GRAPHIC NOVEL (obviously), or BECAUSE I'M LAZY since it's faster to read.
Find the bingo card here: https://emilykayjohnson.com/TheDudesC...
The Dark is Rising
Yikes! What a great series title. This week I'm reviewing the first book of The Dark is Rising Sequence which is Over Sea, Under Stone.
It's about three kids whose family rents a vacation house with their uncle on the coast in Cornwall, England. This area has a lot of connections to the King Arthur legends, and right away the kids get involved with a mystery involving an ancient map and a group of evil villains who are desperate to find its secret.
I liked this book because it starts out very real and everyday and then gets mystical and dangerous. I also loved that it's a clash between good and evil, and I'm all about that.
Like the Dudes, the siblings in the story are all different, but they have to work together. And they do awesome stuff like climb cliffs and explore caves. And there's a loyal dog too. I'll totally be reading the other four books in the series to see how it all comes out.
On the Dudes Summer Book Bingo card, here's how this book qualifies:
WHOA!, AWESOME GIRL (Jane), TOOK ME TO A NEW WORLD (Cornwall), SIBLINGS TEAM UP, or TIME MACHINE because it's all about what happened in King Arthur's time and what will happen in the future.
Find the bingo card here: https://emilykayjohnson.com/TheDudesC...
It's about three kids whose family rents a vacation house with their uncle on the coast in Cornwall, England. This area has a lot of connections to the King Arthur legends, and right away the kids get involved with a mystery involving an ancient map and a group of evil villains who are desperate to find its secret.
I liked this book because it starts out very real and everyday and then gets mystical and dangerous. I also loved that it's a clash between good and evil, and I'm all about that.
Like the Dudes, the siblings in the story are all different, but they have to work together. And they do awesome stuff like climb cliffs and explore caves. And there's a loyal dog too. I'll totally be reading the other four books in the series to see how it all comes out.
On the Dudes Summer Book Bingo card, here's how this book qualifies:
WHOA!, AWESOME GIRL (Jane), TOOK ME TO A NEW WORLD (Cornwall), SIBLINGS TEAM UP, or TIME MACHINE because it's all about what happened in King Arthur's time and what will happen in the future.
Find the bingo card here: https://emilykayjohnson.com/TheDudesC...
