Another book review blog?!?

Yes because people ask "Have you read anything good lately?" And I have. From a class ...

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Octopus Pie: There Are No Stars in Brooklyn - Alternative Format, Graphic Novel


Author/Illustrator: Meredith Gran
Title: Octopus Pie: There Are No Stars in Brooklyn
Publication Date: 2010, originally self-published on website
Number of Pages: 252
Part of a Series: Not yet, but a second volume is planned
Subject Heading(s):
  • Alternative comics
  • Amazon
  • Artistic
  • Birds
  • Brooklyn
  • Comic strip
  • Feral parrot
  • Friendship
  • Graphic novel
  • Independent comics
  • Interpersonal relations
  • Living alone
  • New York
  • Novelist
  • Review
  • Roommates
  • Single women
  • Stoner
  • Webcomic
  • Weed
Geographical Setting/Time Period: Brooklyn, NY, current time
Main Character(s):
  • Everest Ning, an angry, nerdy young woman, bedeviled by her suspicion that she is a loser
  •  Hanna Thompson, cheerful easygoing stoner, somewhat of a slacker and Eve’s roommate
Plot Summary: Out of college and trying to make sense of life as an adult, Eve and her roommate Hannah navigate the day-to-day routine of life in Brooklyn. Eve has a job at an organic market; Hannah makes pastries for the same enterprise. The girls revolve around each other through problems with boyfriends, lifestyles and making enough to live on. A feral parrot and a house cat named Manuel help round out the episodes depicted in this collection of 2 years worth of adventures.
Appeal: The storyline is character driven and fast-paced. The characters are funny; the drawing is quirky but showing attention to the detail that is necessary for effective story-telling. The episodes are logical in their ordering within the collection.
Brief quote: “Times have changed, Eve. Stoners are a clean, industrious people, some of the most discerning, provocative minds of our time.” (155)
Prizes or Awards: None found
Similar Works:  
  • Dykes to Watch Out For: The Sequel by Alison Bechdel. Graphic novel that focuses on interpersonal relations between funny characters. (Novelist)
  • Drinking at the Movies by Julia Wertz. Graphic novel that illustrates the life of 20 somethings in New York City. (Amazon)
Reviewer’s Name: Nancy Rimassa

 Octopus Pie: There Are No Stars in Brooklyn
Form adapted from Saricks, Joyce G. and Nancy Brown. Readers’ Advisory Service in the Public Library 2nd. Chicago: ALA, 1997.

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