Book Reviews: Library by Michael Dumontier, Neil Farber

Title: Library
Author: Michael Dumontier, Neil Farber
Published: Drawn and Quarterly, 2021
Rating: 2 of 5
Page Count: 110
Total Page Count: 528,450
Text Number: 1935
Read Because: browsing graphic novels shelf at..., hardback borrowed from the Timberland Regional Library
Review: A collection of book covers that aren't, not in any particular arrangement. Some are "honest book covers" pastiche, and many have contemporary literature vibes, preoccupied with loneliness, social prestige, and death. I could see myself liking this if this were structured, if it had an internal narrative; if this were more fantastical, if the titles inspired wonder or curiosity. As is: tedious, pointless; at best, cute.

Book Review: Garlic and the Vampire by Bree Paulsen

Title: Garlic and the Vampire (Garlic Book 1)
Author: Bree Paulsen
Published: Quill Tree Books, 2021
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 160
Total Page Count: 528,610
Text Number: 1936
Read Because: browsing graphic novels shelf at..., hardback borrowed from the Timberland Regional Library
Review: When a vampire moves back into the local castle, Garlic is volunteered to scare him off because ... she's garlic. This is adorable. Of course, middle grade defangs (haha) the danger, although picture books and MG can be weird and unsettling when they want to and I wish that were moreso; it's not even spoopy. But that's balanced by the characters: Celery is mean, and that meanness doesn't have a neat heel-face turn; relationships and character arcs have movement without easy resolution, they're nuanced, and I appreciate that. This is cozy, quirky, sentient garden-grown garden-helpers and a vampire that drinks V8; I would have enjoyed weirder, but am more than sufficiently charmed to read the sequel.