Book Review – ‘The Story of the Comics (Marvel: Museum)’

Title: The Story of the Comics (Marvel: Museum)
Genre: Superhero, Comics
Word/Page Count: 96 pages
Publication Details: by Scholastic Australia on December 1st, 2019
RRP: $29.99 AUD (hardcover)

Welcome to the Marvel Museum. The museum is open all hours. It houses an astonishing collection of Marvel Comics artwork. Inside, you will discover extraordinary images of best loved characters from the Marvel archives, including The Avengers, Black Panther, Black Widow, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider Man, X Men and more!

Enter here to explore the remarkable history of the legendary Marvel Comics.

First things first, this book is MASSIVE. My picture doesn’t properly convey the size of this thing, it’s a coffee table book in the sense it could basically double as a coffee table top! So while it’s relatively slender, the length of the pages means that it’s jam-packed with noteworthy comic strips and covers  spanning the history of the Marvel universe, neatly packaged into chronological order with fascinating tidbits of trivia and insights into what went on behind the scenes.

Book Review – ‘Strange Planet’ by Nathan W. Pyle

Title: Strange Planet
Author: Nathan W. Pyle
Genre: Graphic Novel, Comics
Word/Page Count: 144 pages (paperback)
Publication Details: by Hachette Australia on November 26th, 2019
RRP: $19.99 AUD (hardcover)

Blurb from Goodreads:

Straight from the mind of New York Times bestselling author Nathan W. Pyle comes an adorable and profound universe in pink, blue, green, and purple. Based on the phenomenally popular Instagram of the same name, Strange Planet covers a full life cycle of the planet’s inhabitants, including milestones such as:

The Emergence Day
Being Gains a Sibling
The Being Family Attains a Beast
The Formal Education of a Being
Celebration of Special Days
Being Begins a Vocation
The Beings at Home
Health Status of a Being
The Hobbies of a Being
The Extended Family of the Being
The Being Reflects on Life While Watching the Planet Rotate

With dozens of never-before-seen illustrations in addition to old favorites, this book offers a sweet and hilarious look at a distant world not all that unlike our own.

I adore the Strange Planet comics on Instagram so I was super excited to find out a book was being released with a collection of old favorites as well as some brand new ones!

Book Tour – ‘The Long Distance Playlist’ by Tara Eglington

Title: The Long Distance Playlist
Author: Tara Eglington
Genre: YA Contemporary
Word/Page Count: 432 pages (paperback)
Publication Details: by Harper Collins Australia on December 16th, 2019
RRP: $19.99 AUD (paperback)

Blurb from Goodreads:

Told primarily in instant messenger conversations, Skype, emails and texts, this is Jaclyn Moriarty’s Feeling Sorry for Celia for the modern teen.

Taylor and Isolde used to be best friends – before THAT FIGHT, 18 months ago. It’s been radio silence ever since – until Taylor contacts Isolde to sympathise with her breakup: the breakup that she never saw coming; the breakup that destroyed her confidence and ended her dreams of joining the National Ballet School.

Taylor’s had his own share of challenges, including a life-altering accident that has brought his hopes of competing at the Winter Olympics to a halt.

Isolde responds to Taylor, to be polite. But what starts out as heartbreak-themed Spotify playlists and shared stories of exes quickly becomes something more.

And as Taylor and Isolde start to lean on each other, the distance between them begins to feel not so distant after all …

A boy. A girl. A one-of-a-kind friendship. Cross-country convos and middle-of-the-night playlists. With big dreams come even bigger challenges.

I decided to try something out of my comfort zone by picking this up as friends-to-lovers isn’t a trope I normally read, but I’m so glad I did because this blew me away! If you aren’t a fan of the trope, this book will make you a convert; if you already enjoy it, then prepare to swoon! The main characters are lovable and so endearing, the issues they face feel very relatable and the playlists ROCKED – so many of my fave songs were featured!

Book Review – ‘The Man In The Water’ by David Burton

Title: The Man In The Water
Author: David Burton
Genre: YA Contemporary
Word/Page Count: 256 pages (paperback)
Publication Details: by University of Queensland Press on October 1st, 2019
RRP: $19.95 AUD (paperback)

Blurb from Goodreads:

When 16-year-old Shaun discovers a dead body in the lake of a quiet mining town in outback Queensland, he immediately reports it to the police. But when he returns to the site with the constable, the body is gone.

Now his mum and the authorities question whether he saw a body at all.

Determined to show the town the truth, Shaun and his best friend, Will, open their own investigation. But what they discover is far more sinister than a mining mishap or a murder, and reveals a darkness below the surface of their small mining town.

The Man in the Water is a coming-of-age YA thriller set in a rural mining town in Queensland and follows a teenager who launches an investigation into a mysterious dead body which promptly vanishes after he leaves to report it.