Alison Dare Blog Tour

She's Your Favorite Adventurer... or at least She Will Be!

Alison Dare: Indiana Jones meets Lara Croft in fabulous, graphic adventures. Alison Dare is not your typical twelve-year-old. She's the daughter of an archaeologist & adventurer and the masked hero known as the Blue Scarab. To top it off, she's also the niece of an international super-spy; it's no surprise that a craving for danger is in her blood! Unfortunately, her parents have locked her away at the prestigious St. Joan's Academy for Girls, hoping that this would lead to a more "normal" life for their daughter. But despite all the strict rules at the school, Alison and her best pals - Wendy and Dot - somehow manage to find themselves involved in adventures that rival those of Alison's globetrotting, planet-saving relatives. Whether it's magic genies, super-powered bank robbers, or a dastardly baron bent on world domination, Alison Dare delivers the best thrills since Indiana Jones and more action than Lara Croft!

Alison Dare is feisty, fun and full of adventure! These graphic novels, Alison Dare The Heart of the Maiden & Alison Dare Little Miss Adventures, follow Alison as she turns boredom into amazing adventures. She fights angry mummies, perilous sandstorms and other unscrupulous villains! It's kid friendly, and adult enjoyable! Alison Dare should appeal to a wide variety of readers, from pre-teens to adults! The artwork is great! (Reminds me of the Archie comics I use to read as a young girl) And the story lines are so much fun with a good dose of suspense thrown in! There is plenty of tongue-in-cheek humor that the adults will love, such as when the Blue Scarab fights the evil "King" Memphis, who looks a little like another King from Memphis, and who proclaims "I'm all shook up and quivering in my blue-suede sandals"! Alison Dare's adventures seem to turn into "misadventures" for the most part, like when she unleashes a plague of locusts by accident, but she has two of her best side kicks with her, her BFF's, her best friends Wendy and Dot, who help her save the day so they can all be normal 12 year olds again in the end.

The Alison Dare graphic novels are published by Tundra Books, and are written by J.Torres, a Shuster Award-winning, Eisner Award-nominated writer, AND illustrated by J.Bone, an Eisner Award-nominated illustrator. Alison Dare was nominated for the Eisner Award in the Best Title for a Younger Audience category too! I love Alison Dare! These graphic novels are great! They are about 100 pages each, filled with more than one adventure that flow together nicely, and It's also nice to see a little girl power!

*But her adventures don't stop there! Tundra Books is asking for YOUR help in sending Alison Dare on more adventures! If you go to Tundra Books, you will see a couple of images of Alison Dare. What Tundra Books would like is for you to print out the images of Alison Dare, cut them out and then take her on an adventure! Photograph Alison in front of a famous landmark, exotic location, or in the face of danger! Send your photo of Alison Dare with a caption to tundra@mcclelland.com before June 30th, 2010 to be entered to win a special Alison Dare prize package! There will be 3 lucky winners! Go to Tundra Books for all the details and examples of photos! I Double-Dog Dare You!... And in the meantime, I caught Alison Dare on an adventure here in Connecticut...

Alison Dare spots something as she walks through the forest of contemplation...

she quietly sneaks up...

It's none other than the Giant Evil Matted Hare!

She now knows she must scale the Cliffs of Lettuce to get to him...

Aha! She has surprised him! She is ready though for... ADVENTURE!

I want to thank Sylvia of Tundra Books for inviting me along for the Alison Dare Blog Tour! And sending me the Alison Dare graphic novels to review! Alison Dare sure has spunk and I like that in a girl! I hope she goes on many more adventures because I want to tag along!

Memoir Mondays with Stitches by David Small... A Graphic Novel, A Memoir and A Review

A Memoir in Black & White...

Stitches, written and illustrated by David Small, is his coming-of-age story told in graphic novel form. It's David Small's memoir of growing up in a family where his mother "had her little cough", sobbed quietly "out of sight", and slammed the kitchen cabinets to communicate. His father took his frustrations out on a punching bag, and his brother on the drums... and it's the story of the operation that would remove a vocal cord and leave David practically a mute...

There aren't a lot of words in Stitches. There really isn't a lot of need for lengthy prose- David Small's black & white ink drawings tell his story perfectly... I could almost feel his grandmother dragging me up the stairs to bed without supper.. I could feel the terror as he is put through shots, enema's and radiation to cure his boyhood illnesses. His drawings are so expressive and the bird's eye views he chooses to show certain scenes in, make the story a visually treat. They are not pretty pictures, but they are meaningful.

From "sock-skating" on a freshly waxed floor in the hospital his father "the radiologist" worked to finally having the operation to remove that cyst on his neck (which he'd find out later was really cancer caused by all the radiation his father gave him), Stitches takes you on a visual adventure of emotions. You'll get to know his often times cruel & dysfunctional family and feel the pains of growing up. I was surprised how haunted I was after I finished reading Stitches. I felt such pain for David growing up virtually unloved and isolated. A sensitive child trying to find his place in the world, trying desperately to have a relationship with his mother, but being let down each time the door to that relationship cracks open a bit, except for one final moment . This was definitely not my usual read, but part of my "reading outside the box" with The Graphic Novel Reading Challenge 2010. I chose this because it had gotten so much buzz and was nominated for The National Book Award in 2009 under the young peoples literature category . Only one other graphic novel has been nominated for the The National Book Award, and that was American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang in 2006. Stitches was a moving read, and one I am glad I stepped outside of my box to read! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to step into a graphic novel for the first time. And as far as the seasoned graphic novel readers are concerned... I bet you all read this already!

*P.S. This Book is Kindle Ready!

New Years Resolutions for Readers... The Graphic Novels Challenge 2010

New Years Resolutions for The Reader

Graphic Novels Challenge 2010

Like New Years Resolutions, Readers also make resolutions! These resolutions are all about the challenges! Type of books, length of books and even how many books! It's all so much fun, you aren't punished if you don't finish your challenge, and you're joining your reading community and reading!

The first challenge I'm going to join this year is going to be the Graphic Novels Challenge 2010! I've really enjoyed the Graphic Memoirs I've been reading and decided it would be fun to read more Graphic Novels and not just graphic memoirs.... So, Nymeth at things mean alot and Chris at Stuff As Dreams Are Made On are hosting this challenge at a special blog appropriated called, Graphic Novels Challenge Blog.

Here are the rules and guidelines...

*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!)

*The levels of participation:

Beginner (3 Comics or Graphic Novels)

Intermediate (3-10)

Expert (10+) You're more than free to adjust your level of participation after the challenge has begun.

*There will be mini-challenges!

*Overlaps with other challenges are totally fine.

You don't have to have a blog to participate- all you have to do is read! You can share what your reading right here if you'd like! I'll be posting the links to my reviews here as I'm going along. Do you read graphic novels? And suggestions of some of your favorites?! Let me know what

you've read in the past or are reading right now! And click on the Graphic Novels Challenge link above to read all about and join the challenge!

Books I Read for The Challenge:

Stitches by David Small... This graphic novel is David Small's memoir of growing up in his dysfunctional family, and having a little operation that was suppose to be harmless, but left him virtually mute.

Read my full Review of Stitches.

American Widow by Alissa Torres... This graphic novel tells the story of 9/11 through the eyes of Alissa Torres who lost her husband, Eddie Torres, in the North Tower. American Widow depicts the horror, frustration, and utter chaos that Alissa had to deal with as she dealt with the realization that her husband would not be coming home. This is a powerful book that seamlessly weaves together the backstory of Eddie & Alissa, Eddie & Alissa before they met, how they met, fell in love and came to become part of the story of 9/11.

Read my full Review of American Widow.

Tyranny by Lesley Fairfield... This graphic novel gives us a glimpse into the mind of a girl who begins to suffer from an eating disorder. The internal conflicts

and external pressures that cause Anna to battle with herse

lf about her self worth. Tyranny is Anna's alter ego, drawn as an angry squiggly line, who is constantly pushing her buttons and holding her back from living the life she was meant to. There is an important message in this slim graphic novel about eating disorders, and ultimately the novel shows that there is hope for young girls who suffer from this devastating disease. Read my full Review of Tyranny.