Random Reviews
By the Pricking of My Thumbs, Agatha Christie
Tommy and Tuppence what what.
In this latest installment of the adventures of the Beresfords, Tommy and Tuppence are grandparents and dealing with an even more elderly aunt who enjoys being cranky. Sidebar: Aunt Ada is one of the most amazing people in this book and I'm really sad that she dies one chapter in. Not of anything sinister, she's not murdered, she's just old. Bless.
Anyway, after Aunt Ada dies, she leaves our heroes a painting that contains a house Tuppence is sure that she's seen somewhere. Add to that the disappearance of another elderly lady from the nursing home where Aunt Ada was living, and Tuppence starts to get her instincts up. She goes to find the house, sure that it can explain the lady's disappearance, while Tommy is away at a conference, and trips headlong into... well, I'm not sure how many plots, but they all tie up in the end.
So, as usual, I love Tommy and Tuppence, I love their interaction, and I love their marriage. That said, this was one of the messier plots I've read from Christie. I had trouble following what was going on, and I'm still not completely sure what happened in the end. Also, Betty (from N or M) just kind of disappeared? IDK, she wasn't mentioned at all in this book. I mean, I'll definitely read it again because I love Tommy and Tuppence, but this was a more confusing book than I'm used to.
Fuck Fascists Factor: 2--fascists have slight problems. Pretty much everything in this book happens because Tuppence had a gut feeling and Tommy trusts her with his life.
Where Am I Now?, Mara Wilson
So Mara Wilson is my new personal heroine.
Where Am I Now? is a collection of essays on various aspects of her life-- her relationship to sex, existentialism, her mental illness-- that made me sit up and go "OMG THAT'S FUCKING ME ARE YOU ME." Spoiler alert: Mara Wilson is not me, as I am neither famous nor Jewish, but we're very close in age (she's a little under a year older) and both mentally ill and this book resonated so much with me, like she was personally plucking my heartstrings.
The vague arc of the book is growing up famous and learning how to be after child stardom, but it's also just sort of about growing up out of place and trying to accept yourself, and maybe not 100% succeeding but 100% working on it. She's articulate and funny and I just really want to be friends with her, okay. Plus her entire essay on Matilda made me go "oh god yes."
Actually the whole book made me go "oh god yes." So maybe you wanna read it.
Fuck Fascists Factor: 4--fascists have major problems. Hilarious Jewish girl calls out assholes and herself. A+.
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Vols 1 and 2, Amy Reeder et al
Oh my god this is the cutest comic you guys.
I'm not the biggest fan of comics lately, particularly Marvel, as they all seem to be like "CIVIL WAR II" and I'm like, no one wanted Civil War I, why is there Civil War II, not even Ms. Marvel can make me care about that bullshit. But this adorable little book, much like my other favorites Ms. Marvel and Squirrel Girl, has zero Civil War and 100% amazingness.
Our heroine, Lunella Lafayette, is the cutest nine-year-old you'll ever meet, and definitely the smartest. She's underchallenged and bored in school (boy, do I know that feel) and trying very hard to neutralize her latent Inhuman gene before she changes-- into what, she doesn't know. Moon Girl is something her classmates call her, because she spends so much time in her own head. Her life is about to get complicated, however, when a Kree Omni-Wave Projector falls into her hands and... well... summons a T-rex and a bunch of prehistoric monkey folk who want to kill her.
The T-rex adores her, though.
It's very much a girl and her T-rex story with occasional bursts of superheroing, with bonus Ms. Marvel in one issue-- and lo, internet, I shrieked with joy and my roommates thought me insane-- and some fangirling naturally ensues. Plus the Hulk pops up a couple times, but apparently he's not Bruce Banner? IDK, I'm not keeping up with that, it's not a line headed by an awesome young lady. Like Lunella. Who is amazing.
Just go read this, guys. It's a delight, and Lunella is my new favorite along with Kamala Khan. Lucky me, they're friends. :D
Fuck Fascists Factor: 5--fascists will froth at the mouth. Lunella is a nine-year-old black girl and explicitly the smartest character in the Marvel Universe. Also, she has a T-rex.
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