The Scott Pilgrim Series by Bryan Lee O'Malley: Vol. 4

See previous reviews for Vol. 1, Vol. 2, and Vol. 3.

Volume 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets it Together

So, as it turns out, Scott gets to be a more sympathetic character as the books go on (or at least I'm hoping that's the trend). This volume was great, not least of all because Scott does actually start to get it together. He gets a job, stops completely mooching off Wallace, figures out that bisexuals exist, and has an actual conversation with Ramona wherein he sees beyond her mysterious Manic Pixie Dream Girl facade. He even learns that the exterior of any given Second Cup doesn't magically lead to the same interior.

I think this book is my favourite of the series so far; I did enjoy Volume 3, but this one has more of Wallace. I LOVE Wallace. There was a lot of great use of the city as always, including a trip to the Dufferin Mall (which is, let's face it, a pretty hurtin' mall); a streetcar getting sliced in half'; and perpetual Sneaky Dee's hangouts. There is a lot of great Toronto detail in the background too.

There was some great stuff about trying to make it as a band; Sex Bob-omb starts turning down shows because they are "recording", which seems to involve a lot of sitting around watching Stephen play guitar.

I had a little trouble in this volume telling some of the characters apart, particularly the girls: Kim, Lisa and Ramona all have similar haircuts and without colour, I am sometimes perplexed as to which is which. But apart from that minor complaint, I very much enjoyed this installment.

Five CN Towers out of five.

Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

I will tell you right off the bat, I'm not that into werewolves and other fantasy creatures (vampires, ghosts, etc.). Even during my Wiccan years or my goth phase (yeah, it happened) this sort of stuff wasn't really my bag. I should tell you this up front because I didn't like this book, and not being that into werewolves probably had a lot to do with it.

This is the first of Kelley Armstrong's "women of the Otherworld" series. Regardless of how I feel about the actual book, it is awesome to see a woman writing popular Canlit fantasy about women (and female beasties etc.). If you are into fantasy/horror, I recommend you check it out! (If you are not, don't.)

Normally I wouldn't put so much stock into the genre when talking about a book, but it's a difference-maker for me. When I read fantasy, I want the story to be compelling, not leaning on its fantastical worlds. I read stuff like this and I think: would this still be a good story if it wasn't about (wizards/goblins/werewolves/vampires/etc.)? (Hint: for Harry Potter the answer is yes. For this book the answer - in my opinion - is no. For Twilight, the answer is that it wasn't compelling even with the beasties).

Bitten is about Elena, the only female werewolf (the explanation is complicated, I won't get into it here). She is trying to live a normal life in Toronto with a really nice guy and a job and an apartment (on Lakeshore!), while secretly changing into a wolf every week or so (apparently they kinda have to or it just happens on its own). Then her pack leader, Jeremy, calls her and asks her to come back to Stonehaven (no really, that's what it's called), the pack hideout in upstate New York, to solve an urgent problem.

The story deals with two threads: the problem, which is that non-pack werewolves (or "mutts") have been killing people on the pack territory, and Elena struggling to decide which world she wants to live in: the human world with her bland but loving boyfriend, or the werewolf world with this sexy guy named Clay, to whom she used to be engaged, but he betrayed her trust by turning her into a werewolf, but she still kinda likes him.

The main problem I had with the novel: Elena is not super likable. It is certainly a big deal that Clay turned her into a werewolf without asking her first, for sure. But she never listens to him when he tries to explain or apologize - and then continually leads him on by snuggling with him, running around with him (literally, they're werewolves) and fucking him. Elena, you are not really a feminist character, even though I wanted you to be!  Her story brings up lots of issues of consent and agency but then basically dismisses them at will. The vagina wants what it wants. Anyway, I just couldn't really sympathize with her most of the time because she was being so unreasonable, or cruel.

I also found some of the description bland and repetitive, especially the running, hunting and fighting parts (although those readers more interested in wolves might disagree). The writing in general is fine, although the sex scenes are a bit amateurish, but it must be hard to write sex and not make it seem cheesy. Also there wasn't a lot of Toronto - most of the action takes place in New York state. I would hesitate to put this on a list of fiction set in Toronto.

I guess in the end this book just didn't hold my interest. I wasn't that invested in the protagonist, I didn't care when characters I had barely met died, I wasn't that compelled by all the running and biting and so on. This book took me a lot longer than it should have to read, and that is mainly because I was reluctant to keep picking it back up.

I think probably fans of the genre will like this, especially if they are frustrated by a lack of three-dimensional female characters in general. But for me, when you take away the wolves, there is not really a lot going on here - certainly not enough to keep me reading more.

Two CN Towers out of five

The Scott Pilgrim Series by Bryan Lee O'Malley: Vol. 1

Confession time: I saw the movie before reading any of the graphic novels, which I realize makes me a horrible person, and I apologize.

Volume 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life

This (very brief) volume introduces us to the main players: Scott and his very young girlfriend Knives, his band, his roommate Wallace, his sister, and the intriguing love interest, Ramona Flowers.

The plot is basically this: Scott, who is in his early 20s, is (rather chastely) dating a high schooler (Knives). They spend most of the book hanging out and going to thrift stores. Scott seems to enjoy listening to Knives chatter on about the high school drama in her life. Can I just say: I never want to date someone in high school. Besides the obvious creep factor (and it's worse for me than for Scott Pilgrim - I'm 27), I just am so glad that drama-filled part of my life is over! The only thing worse than high school drama is hearing about someone else's high school drama.

Anyway, Ramona Flowers, whom Scott has not met, starts appearing in his dreams. Then he meets her for real. They start hanging out/dating, and Scott has to not be an asshole and break it off with Knives - oh and Ramona has a bunch of evil exes that Scott has to fight. What? Yeah, it's a comic book.

I liked it. I thought Scott was a slimy douchebag and am still confused as to whether we're supposed to sympathize with him. The other characters are cool though, and I like the attention to detail in their clothes and hair. And Toronto is featured prominently and surprisingly accurately in the background. Some places we've seen so far include the stairs to Casa Loma and the Pizza Pizza at Bloor and Bathurst. Cool cool.

Four CN Towers out of five

My review of Volume 2 coming soon...

Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson

I picked this book up at the library and read it on my commute, and that was the perfect way to do it, I think. The story is set in a future downtown Toronto decimated by poverty and riots, and there is something so totally eerie about reading it while the streetcar you're on rolls down the same streets described in the story, past protesting members of Occupy Bay Street. It hits close to home, for sure.

The story is part dystopian fiction, part supernatural thriller. It deals with a Toronto separated into the dangerous downtown and the safe and prosperous suburbs; in "the Burn", there are no police, no services, and things are run by mob rule. However, an organic community has sprung up, and a barter economy, and I found a lot of parallels between this world and the kind of society the protesters in St. James Park are establishing on a micro level.

The protagonist is a young, single mother of Caribbean descent, named Ti-Jeanne. She lives with her grandmother in the former Riverdale Farm (!) across the street from the Necropolis, which has a prominent part in the story - making me so glad that I was able to tour it during Doors Open Toronto this year! Gros-Jeanne, the grandmother, is a healer and a woman who "serves the spirits"; she is beloved by the community although her relationship with her granddaughter is sometimes strained.

How to describe this plot? In a nutshell, the premier of Ontario requires a human heart (!) and for various reasons the leader of the "posse", Rudy, is commissioned to obtain one. He orders Tony, a former nurse who was fired because of a drug addiction, to basically kill someone and get their heart. Tony is Ti-Jeanne's former lover (and baby daddy) and comes to her and Gros-Jeanne for help escaping the Burn and Rudy's long reach.

From there you need to discover for yourself, but it gets pretty intense! There are spirits and visions and drugs and people get flayed with knives! But it is also great. I like the way it is written. Almost all the characters are Caribbean and speak in that almost musical dialect: he go do this, she nah go do that, etc. The setting is perfect; it both is and isn't Toronto. I love reading about areas that are familiar to me, especially when the author describes how they have changed since the riots - those familiar with downtown Toronto will recognize Dundas subway station, the Don Valley Parkway, Allan Gardens, and especially the CN Tower where the climactic scene unfolds. This is a story that needs - and loves - its setting.

What I loved most about the book was the characterization of the protagonist Ti-Jeanne, and the unapologetic use of female characters throughout. Ti-Jeanne is flawed and roundly drawn - completely three-dimensional. She is feeling the same disbelief as the reader when the spirits first start to appear; we take our cues from her. Her sexuality and sexual desire are portrayed as completely unremarkable. Most of all I loved that the two heroes of this story are women of colour: a single mother and a witch. Amazing amazing.

Hopkinson sticks women in lots of peripheral roles as well that in most stories would probably default to men: the Premier is female, the heart surgeon is female (with a female partner), the lead street urchin (oh you better believe there are street urchins) is female, and on and on.

I have to say I loved reading this. It is a quick read (it only took me five one-way commutes) and totally engaging. It can be dark at times and I really wasn't kidding about people getting flayed with knives, but there are strong themes of hope and redemption and it is brilliantly written.

Four towers out of five.