Blue Monday Vol. 1 by Cynna Flores-Clugston
Summary: Being a teenager can be a difficult job, something the adult world can never understand. While to her parents and teachers getting Adam Ant tickets is no big deal, to Bleu L. Finnegan it means everything. This could be the defining moment of her life, and there is no guarantee that she will ever achieve it.
On the way, Bleu must deal with the travails of adolescence—from prank-playing, porn-addicted boys to sexist-pig radio disc jockeys to trying to figure out how to show that dreamy substitute teacher that she’s his perfect mate. It all culminates on that fateful night when Bleu and her best friend, Clover, go to the club and try to get in at any cost! Nothing will bar Bleu from the pop idol of her dreams! Collects the debut mini-series as well as the various short stories that preceded it in independent comic book anthologies.
Thoughts: The first thing that I noticed when reading the volume was the art style. It immediately caught my attention with its vibrant use of colors, and this had a great impression on me. The main storyline was good because it focuses on the main character and her desire to win tickets to see her favorite musician. Some of the scenarios that are displayed as she attempts to call the radio station were hilarious. However, the second storyline focused on her strong crush for the substitute teacher, and I didn’t enjoy that. Finally, the characters were hit or miss for me in this volume.
Rating: 3/5
Blue Monday Vol. 2 by Cynna Flores-Clugston
Summary: Things start off bad as a costume party goes all wrong, and the brain-damaged, hormonally-challenged boys videotape Bleu in the bath. From there, Bleu and Clover will stop at nothing to get the tape back, while Erin makes it her personal mission to make sure everything stays screwed up! You see, this deranged action is actually a mating ritual in Alan and Victor’s eyes, and Erin can’t help but pit them against each other.
Thoughts: The volume had a good start with the friends playing a murder mystery game. Then they completely lost me when they introduced the main story. The sometimes likeable and sometimes unlikeable characters became completely insufferable due to how they handled the situation.
Bleu is frantically trying to get the tape back and maintain her reputation with other students and her teachers. Her “friends” made fun of her for trying to date one of the guys to get the tape back. It also doesn’t help that one of those friends is jealous of the attention she receives from the guys, and she ends up trying to sabotage Bleu throughout the volume. Overall, this was not an enjoyable read.
Rating: 1/5
Mister Monday by Garth Nix
Summary: Arthur Penhaligon’s first days at his new school don’t go too well, particularly when a fiendish Mister Monday appears, gives Arthur a magical clock hand, and then orders his gang of dog-faced goons to chase Arthur around and get it back. But when the confused and curious boy discovers that a mysterious virus is spreading through town, he decides to enter an otherworldly house to stop it.
After meeting Suzy Blue and the first part of “the Will” (a frog-looking entity that knows everything about the House), Arthur learns that he’s been selected as Rightful Heir to the House and must get the other part of the clock hand in order to defeat Monday. That means getting past Monday’s henchmen and journeying to the Dayroom itself. Thankfully, Arthur is up to the challenge, but as he finds out, his fight seems to be only one-seventh over.
Thoughts: I was pleasantly surprised once I began reading it. This was a good start with world building, and I love the overall concept of the story. While there were a few plot points that didn’t make sense or were annoying, I enjoyed it, and I’m interested in reading the rest of the series.
Rating: 4/5
Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany Jackson
Summary: Monday Charles is missing, and only Claudia seems to notice. Claudia and Monday have always been inseparable—more sisters than friends. So when Monday doesn’t turn up for the first day of school, Claudia’s worried. When she doesn’t show for the second day, or second week, Claudia knows that something is wrong. Monday wouldn’t just leave her to endure tests and bullies alone. Not after last year’s rumors and not with her grades on the line. Now Claudia needs her best—and only—friend more than ever. But Monday’s mother refuses to give Claudia a straight answer, and Monday’s sister April is even less help.
As Claudia digs deeper into her friend’s disappearance, she discovers that no one seems to remember the last time they saw Monday. How can a teenage girl just vanish without anyone noticing that she’s gone?
Thoughts: This was an interesting book to read, especially because the girl who goes missing shares my name and other characteristics. However, I eagerly flipped the pages in order to determine what happened to her and how the story evolves.
This book covered some difficult topics, but it was very well-written and the characters were extremely realistic. I felt like I went to school with many of the characters described in the book, and that I added to my immersion of the story.
The one downside is that the timeline is confusing when reading a majority of the beginning of the book. This caused some frustration as many of my coworkers can attest to. While I began to understand it better by the end, I had to wait a while for that connection to be made.
Rating: 4/5
Books I Didn’t Get To:
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