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Spell Checkers #3
Spell Checkers Volume 3: Careless Whisper
It's time for prom, and Cynthia really wants to be prom queen! The only hitch is, she wants to win the crown legitimately, meaning all the students she terrorized with wickedness and magic over the school year hold her fate in their hands. Meanwhile, an ancient evil with an even bigger grudge against all three Spell Checkers finally sees its opportunity for revenge. Expect all kinds of insults and injuries in an epic dancefloor showdown!
144 pages, Paperback
First published October 23, 2013
21 people want to read
About the author
Jamie S. Rich
120 books109 followersRich is an author of both prose (Cut My Hair, I Was Someone Dead, and The Everlasting) and comics (the two-volume series Love the Way You Love; the Spell Checkers series). His third full-length novel, Have You Seen the Horizon Lately?, was released by Oni Press in the summer of 2007. He regularly collaborates with artist Joelle Jones, including the Oni graphic novels 12 Reasons Why I Love Her and You Have Killed Me. Rich most recently wrote It Girl & the Atomics for Image Comics and A Boy and a Girl with artist Natalie Nourigat. He also serialized his fourth novel,
Bobby Pins and Mary Janes
, online.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 13, 2016
I received a free copy of this graphic novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
On a personal note:
This was a hard review to think about writing. I put it off for a long time.
Spell Checkers made me uncomfortable. Viewing it as humor was like laughing at a racist joke, or finding someone falling down the stairs comical. Maybe you laugh, but you kinda feel like an awful human being after.
So, I am willing to admit that part of my rating reaction is probably in a push to not feel like an awful human being. That being said, I have rated similar implicit messages with the same prejudice. So I figure that at least I am consistent.
Onto the nitty gritty:
My major problem with this (well, one of two) is that it is marketed for teens. If you look up the text on a publisher or retailer's site, it will tell you this book is for teens.
And that's terrifying.
Because all the main characters do is reinforce negative stereotypes and make it seem like bullying is not only "ok" but also funny. There's no remorse for the clique-ishness of the main characters, and they aren't "redeemed" by realizing their superficiality or meanness.
I understand that it's fun for people to read these representation of "mean girls" and to have insight into the way popularity can and does work in many high schools, but the homophobia, bullying and emphasis on externals as being the worth of a person isn't really the right message to be sending.
You might say this book is for entertainment and not education. Well, ok. But books do educate, naturally. We learn constantly, and I don't feel comfortable with the lessons that this graphic novel teaches.
Not to mention that there is a recipe for an alcoholic drink in the back of the graphic novel. Remember how I said this was marketed to teens?
This graphic novel enjoyed by adults might be a different case. With space and time to reflect separating the reader from the setting of the graphic novel, I suppose the occurrences within become less disturbing and more comical. But still, I feel that "humor" is not the 'ha-ha' type, but the '...this is funny? ha!' type.
I'm not sure who would enjoy this novel. Those most likely to (I think of my teenage brother), shouldn't, I feel. And those old enough to be critical of the culture proposed ... well, they probably will derive much less amusement from it.
On a 'pro' note...
The illustrations are gorgeous. I wanted to give the novel more stars, based on the illustrations, and I don't want to in any way disparage the work of the artist. It was the subject matter, rather than the execution, that I found unpalatable.
On a personal note:
This was a hard review to think about writing. I put it off for a long time.
Spell Checkers made me uncomfortable. Viewing it as humor was like laughing at a racist joke, or finding someone falling down the stairs comical. Maybe you laugh, but you kinda feel like an awful human being after.
So, I am willing to admit that part of my rating reaction is probably in a push to not feel like an awful human being. That being said, I have rated similar implicit messages with the same prejudice. So I figure that at least I am consistent.
Onto the nitty gritty:
My major problem with this (well, one of two) is that it is marketed for teens. If you look up the text on a publisher or retailer's site, it will tell you this book is for teens.
And that's terrifying.
Because all the main characters do is reinforce negative stereotypes and make it seem like bullying is not only "ok" but also funny. There's no remorse for the clique-ishness of the main characters, and they aren't "redeemed" by realizing their superficiality or meanness.
I understand that it's fun for people to read these representation of "mean girls" and to have insight into the way popularity can and does work in many high schools, but the homophobia, bullying and emphasis on externals as being the worth of a person isn't really the right message to be sending.
You might say this book is for entertainment and not education. Well, ok. But books do educate, naturally. We learn constantly, and I don't feel comfortable with the lessons that this graphic novel teaches.
Not to mention that there is a recipe for an alcoholic drink in the back of the graphic novel. Remember how I said this was marketed to teens?
This graphic novel enjoyed by adults might be a different case. With space and time to reflect separating the reader from the setting of the graphic novel, I suppose the occurrences within become less disturbing and more comical. But still, I feel that "humor" is not the 'ha-ha' type, but the '...this is funny? ha!' type.
I'm not sure who would enjoy this novel. Those most likely to (I think of my teenage brother), shouldn't, I feel. And those old enough to be critical of the culture proposed ... well, they probably will derive much less amusement from it.
On a 'pro' note...
The illustrations are gorgeous. I wanted to give the novel more stars, based on the illustrations, and I don't want to in any way disparage the work of the artist. It was the subject matter, rather than the execution, that I found unpalatable.
October 12, 2013
less malicious than the first one, I definitely liked it better.
September 11, 2015
This book was mostly forgettable. I read it less than a month ago, and while I fully remember the plots of the first two books, I can't remember a single thing about this one.
It is a pity, as I rather like the refreshing take on the "teen witches" genre.
It is a pity, as I rather like the refreshing take on the "teen witches" genre.
April 6, 2014
probably more like 2.5
May 27, 2014
Loved the art but didn't get into the story - possibly should have read book one first - but that wasn't on sale!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews