ISBN-13: 9781891830433
Publisher: Top Shelf Productions
Published: July 2003
592 pgs
Source: Personal Library





After reading several glowing reviews on Blankets from fellow bookbloggers, I decided I should wait no more. I picked up this chunky novel last Tuesday, and began devouring it the moment I got home. I would have read it in one sitting if not of time constraint and family commitment. This is one of those books that you could not stop reading until you have read the last page.

Blankets is actually a graphic memoir of Craig Thompson's life. It is basically a record of his experience growing up, and involve themes like family, love, religious beliefs, child sexual abuse and freedom. Right from the first page, Craig shows us his love/hate relationship with his younger brother, Phil, and I have to admit it made me nostalgic as it reminds me of my relationship with my younger sister when we were younger. Both of us would say or do some mean things to each other, but at the end of the day we would forgive and forget and this would be a cycle as it goes on again and again.

Craig then proceeds to share with his readers about his strict fundamentalist Christian parents and the sexual abuse he and Phil have to endure though he did not elaborate further. His life in school is not that great either, as he has to face those bullies and disapprovals from his teachers. He took everything in without any grunt or complain, and this made my heart ache for him. He turn to drawing because it is his passion and an escapism.

He then met his first love, Raina, when he attends a winter church camp. She is like a beacon to him, and Craig has never felt so happy in his life. Raina too comes from a strict religious family, and on top of that she has to deal with the separation of her parents, as well as taking care of her mentally ill siblings. The love between Craig and Raina is simply pure and beautiful, but alas Raina felt it is simply too much to commit to a long distance relationship while dealing with her family, so sadly they have to go on separate ways.

What is most beautiful about Blankets is not only the outstanding illustrations but the emotions it evoked in me while reading this (Craig really captured all the emotions perfectly in this book.) There are some heartwarming, tender moments, but there are also some not-so-good moments that made you think and question about life, faith and freedom. It also made me teary-eyed just viewing the blanket Raina had made for Craig, because that reminds me of the blanket my grandmother used to make for me when I was a little girl.

Craig with his little brother, Phil

Craig and Raina

Seriously, I could go on and on, but I would rather you read it for yourself. I could now understand why this graphic novel has been receiving so many good reviews, and I can tell you I am so glad I did not wait much longer in reading it. Now it's your turn!

For more reviews on Blankets, please visit Book Blogs Search Engine.

First of all, I want to thank Joanna again for sending American Born Chinese to me. I have been coveting this graphic novel for a while after reading so many glowing reviews on the blogosphere and after reading it for myself, I can now understand why this book deserves a shout out.

The first tale is about a Monkey King (also known as Sun Wukong in the original, classical Chinese novel, Journey to the West, but please do not confuse that with this graphic novel) who vows to be recognized as a deity after his embarrassment from admitting to the Heavenly Dinner Party because he is a monkey and does not wear shoes. He begins to master the various arts of kung-fu and in no time, he is all set to prove to the other deities that he could share the same ranks as them. Alas, he is being tested after his encounter with Tze-Yo-Tzuh, his creator, and the latter buries him in a mountain of rubbles for five hundred years.

The second tale is about an American Chinese boy named Jin Wang, whose purpose is to fit in after his family moved to a new neighbourhood. He met a fellow student, Wei Chen, who came from Taiwan and they became good friends after their exchange over a Transformers toy. Jin Wang also begins to fall in love with an American girl, Amelia but he is intimidated and feels he is not good enough for her and it does not help much when another classmate feels it is best of him to leave her alone.

Finally, the last tale is about the relationship between an American boy, Danny, and his Chinese cousin, Chin-Kee. You may wonder at this point why they are related in the first place, and that I would have to leave it to you to find out yourself because it is part of a plot setup and it involves major spoilers.

What I loved most about American Born Chinese is aside from the colourful illustrations and the great characterization, these three little (interlinked) stories convey the same message about finding one's identity and to love and to accept who you are. I think the good part of these stories is they are told in a light, humourous way without losing the topic. There are indications of racial stereotypes of the Chinese people but I think in a way it helps to create awareness of racism/stereotypes no matter what races we are. I absolutely loved the twist ending and thought how brilliant that is. I would recommend this to anyone who love a good story (and a good laugh).

Other reviews:
An Adventure in Reading
Bermudaonion's Weblog
Book Addiction
Book Nut
Books of Mee
Epiphany
Everyday Reads
Frenetic Reader
nothing of importance
Regular Rumminations
Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic
Stuff as Dreams are Made On
The Hidden Side of a Leaf
The Written World
The Book Zombie
Things Mean A Lot
Tripping Towards Lucidity
Worducopia
(Let me know if I missed yours.)

Here are a few more reading challenges I am joining for next year, though I have not decided on the lists, but being a moody reader I guess I will have to keep those lists open.

First of all, the Graphic Novels Challenge hosted by Chris and Nymeth. I have to admit I don't read a lot of graphic novels (mangas probably) so this is a good opportunity for me to read more of this genre.

The rules:

• The challenge starts on January 1st 2010 and ends on December 31st (but we don't mind you starting early.)
• You don't have to make a list beforehand (but you can, of course! Lists are great because they give ideas to people who aren't sure what to read. And if you do make one, don't feel forced to stick to it!)
• We simplified the levels of participation: you can be a Beginner (3 Comics or Graphic Novels), Intermediate (3-10) or an Expert (10+). You're more than free to adjust your level of participation after the challenge has begun.
• There will be mini-challenges! Look for a post with more info on that soon.
• Overlaps with other challenges are totally fine.

Since I'm considering a novice under this category, I will go for the 'Beginner' where I'm requested to read 3 graphic novels.

I am happy to see Naida of The Bookworm is hosting the Romance Reading Challenge again in 2010. Here's what she says:

I'm happy to say that my Romance Reading Challenge is going into it's third year! Wow! Thank you all who have joined and read and posted thier reviews. That's amazing to me, that I started a challenge and other bloggers joined up and participated, it's really great. I hope you will sign up again this year.
So, without further ado, here's the rules:

1. "Romance" isn't limited to steamy Harlequin novels. There is a huge selection of books in this category such as contemporary romance, historical romance, romantic suspense and paranormal romance to name a few. As long as the story has romantic love between the two main characters your selection will fit this challenge. The novels do not need to have a happy ending either, there can also be unrequited love.

2. Choose at least 5 novels to read. You can change your choices at any time. Crossovers between other challenges are fine.

3. Read them at your own pace in 2010 then post the link to your review(s).

And finally, Alaine of The Royal Reviews is hosting a Fantasy Reading Challenge in 2010.

The Fantasy Reading Challenge can include YA Fantasy or Historical Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy or any other sub genre of Fantasy. There really are no limits to this challenge as Fantasy is such a wide and varied genre. Just enjoy and have fun!

The rules:

• Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate. Non-Bloggers: Include your information in the comment section on the post about the challenge.
• Any book format counts.
• You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.
• Only books started on January 1st count towards this challenge.

There are four participation levels:

1. Curious– Read 3 Fantasy Fiction novels. (I'm picking this level.)Fascinated– Read 6 Fantasy Fiction novels.
2. Addicted– Read 12 Fantasy Fiction novels.
3. Obsessed– Read 20 Fantasy Fiction novels.

So that is all from me at the moment. I am sure I will participate in more, after all they are so fun and addictive (plus, the buttons are all so lovely)!