Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu

Reviewed by: Cindy Thomas, Youth Services Assistant

Genre: Fantasy graphic novel

Suggested Age: Teens, Tweens, and Adults

What is this Book About?  Nova is a witch who lives with her grandmothers and works in their magic bookstore.  When her friend tells her there have been weird lights coming from the woods, she goes out to explore and runs into her childhood crush Tam, who is a werewolf.  Tam gets attacked by a horse possessed by dark magic, but manages to get away safely with Nova’s help.  The two go back to the bookstore to research the creature and discover that it can be stopped if Tam can harness the full power of their werewolf magic.  There are still problems, though. Who put a spell on the horse in the first place, and why is it always trying to attack Tam?

My Review:  It’s clear that the creators put a lot of heart into this work.  The characters are really likable and fully thought out.  I think many graphic novels and comics have an unattractive art style, so I’m very picky about which ones I read.  I liked the way this one looked, though, and the story was interesting.  If you read a lot of fantasy novels or magical girl manga, then the plot will be predictable and feel like something you’ve read before.  That being said, I thought this was super cute, and I hope they publish more volumes.  It’s great if you’re in the mood for a quick, lighthearted read.

Three Words That Describe This Book: Adorable, Nerdy, Magical

Give it a Try if You Like:  Lumberjanes, Kiki’s Delivery Service

Rating: 4/5

Find it at the library!

About FDL Reads

FDL Reads is a series of weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library.

Komi Can’t Communicate by Tomohito Oda

Reviewed by: Atlas Agunod, Circulation Assistant

Genre: Graphic novel, comedy

Suggested age: ​Teens and Adults

What is This Book About?  ​Komi’s dream is to make 100 friends! However, she’s got a big problem: she has terrible social anxiety. None of her peers seem to notice though. Rather, everybody mistakes her quietness and lack of expression as cool aloofness until she meets Tadano. He finds out about her lack of communication skills and her dream to make 100 friends, so he does what any good friend would do, help Komi achieve her dream! There’s just one more problem though…Tadano doesn’t have any friends either!

My Review: ​I wasn’t expecting to like this book as much as I did! The situations Komi is put in mixed with her shyness make great comedy, especially because of how relatable some of them are. I was scared it might turn into a poorly written, almost forced romance between her and Tadano, but there are only well-written hints of that in the story that feel well earned. The different characters Komi attempts to befriend are also a driving force for this series, and each one is like a walking comedy bit. However, the comedy never gets in the way of actually progressing the story. When reading, I could tell the side characters really do care for Komi and want to be her friends. I can’t wait to see where this series goes! I’m rooting for Komi to make those 100 friends!

Rating: 5/5

Three Words That Describe This Book: Funny, Relatable, Cute

Give This a Try if You Like: ​Slice of life manga, Shoujo manga

Find it at the library!

About FDL Reads

FDL Reads is a series of weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library.

Brave the Tempest by Karen Chance

Reviewed by: Alexandra Schenk, Student Intern

Genre: Fantasy

Suggested Age: Adults, Teens

What is this Book About? Cassandra Palmer recently (6 books ago) became chief clairvoyant of the magical world but she is still not very happy about her new position. She can barely uphold all the responsibilities weighing on her shoulders. As Pythia, she not only has to rule her own court and interact with the most powerful creatures of the magical world, but she also has to protect the timeline from being manipulated. And protecting the time is a hell of a job with the magical world at war even with the ability to “jump” in time and space. But, Cassi manages everything even if it might drive her crazy, she learns to trust in other people and she also learns to stand up for herself and for the people depending on her. Between saving the world from destruction, planning a war against the realm of a fairy king and nearly dying several times, there is still time for some romantic interaction between Cassi and her bodyguard mage John Pritkin.

My Review:  I started reading Karen Chance’s books a long time ago when someone gifted me the first book in her Cassandra Palmer series and I became a fan since then. I love the world Chance created for her books. There are vampires, mages, fairies, witches, demons and many more magical creatures. They live parallel to us normal humans. Each species has their own government and we learn about how they live, but there is always a perfect balance between what we learn about the “circumstances” and what we read about the personal drama. And there is a lot of that! The main character Cassi has a big mouth, a super powerful vampire ex-lover, a super powerful half mage half demon boyfriend and she apparently is a half goddess herself. Like I said, potential for a lot of drama, but also for a lot of fun! Especially in that book we witness how Cassi grows, accepts her new responsibilities and  begins to find her place between the magical rulers and I really liked that. Chance’s books always have a funny tone.  Cassi always seemed a little bit clumsy, but in Brave the Tempest we see that she is grown up now and with war on the horizon the book, all in all, seems a little bit darker and more serious. But the book still had its funny moments and especially the secondary characters made me laugh out loud sometimes. Like I said, I always loved Karen chance’s books so I might be a little bit biased. It was a quick and joyful read and I recommend the Cassandra Palmer series to everyone who likes paranormal romances. The only reason I don’t rate it 5/5 is that I would have loved to see a little bit more of my favorite character…

Three Words That Describe This Book:  fast, funny, magical

Give it a Try if You Like: The Guild Hunter series by Nalini Singh, The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward

Find it at the library!

Rating: 4/5

About FDL Reads

FDL Reads is a series of weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library.