Review: Daisy to the Rescue

Daisy to the Rescue: 
True Stories of Daring Dogs, Paramedic Parrots and Other Animal Heroes
by Jeff Campbell

Synopsis

With their love and companionship, animals help to make our lives better every day. But sometimes, to our utter amazement and everlasting gratitude, animals literally save our lives. Daisy to the Rescue celebrates over fifty of these heroic animals with stunning illustrated portraits and detailed accounts of their exploits. The book asks important questions about why these animals act the way they do—often putting themselves in harm’s way in the process.

Today, scientists vigorously debate whether other animals share our capacity for empathy, compassion, morality, and altruism, and amazing new research is continually revising our understanding of the human-animal bond. Daisy to the Rescue presents these findings and applies them to these extreme life-saving situations. Taken together, these rescue stories make a compelling case for the presence of compassion in other animals and for the vital importance of the human-animal bond.

The dramatic, moving stories in Daisy to the Rescue provide a hopeful message about our world. Not only do they contain startling evidence of the mental and emotional capacities of animals, but they also demonstrate the healing, transformative power of our intimate connection with those incredible beings with whom we share the world.

Review

Let's start off with the truth: I never read books like this. Like, ever. I hardly even read non-fiction, let alone non-fiction about animals. It's not because I don't like animals - my husband and I have a dog, Jaxson, and I care about animals in general very much. It's just not the genre I think of picking up while I'm at the bookstore, you know?

With that said, this was truly a lovely book. At first, I thought it was going to be all about animal stories. This is what the title had me believe. However, the book turned out to be much more than that. There is an actual in depth look into the possible motivation behind the actions of these animals. The question of whether this is something emotional or already exists inside the animal's chemistry is asked and pondered. 

Then of course we're given the different stories about different animal's heroic moments. What's great about this, besides the obvious, is that there is focus on more than one type of animal and more than one kind of environment. This book was well thought-out, researched and truly seems a labor of love. 

Verdict

I cannot fathom a person that wouldn't enjoy this book! The person who would MOST love this book would, of course, be the animal lover :) It would make a great gift!

Interview: Tomboy's Liz Prince

Hello everyone!

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of reviewing Liz Prince's graphic memoir, Tomboy. You can read that here, dear reader.

Well - I'm here to revisit that fantastic book again with an interview from Liz Prince! She took the time to answer some questions of mine *swoon*

Enjoy!

Interview Questions – Liz Prince, author of Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir

1. Tomboy is such a great memoir concerning experiences many girls have, but that readers don’t hear too much of – why do you think that is?

I don’t know why that would be, but I specifically wrote Tomboy BECAUSE I didn’t see any other graphic novels discussing gender on this level, and in this way.  Since the book has come out, I have heard from many women who had a very similar experience to mine growing up, so I don’t know why it took so long for this story to be told, but I’m really glad to have been the one to tell it.

2. Zine culture is introduced late in this book. How has the culture or the experience of writing for a zine influenced you?

Zines are one of the purest printed forms of self expression, largely because they are almost always self published, and that means that you are allowed to SAY WHATEVER YOU WANT. I never had anyone tell me that my comics weren’t “marketable” because of the way I draw, or because I’m a woman writing about myself, or because they aren’t about superheroes, and so I was able to keep telling the stories that I wanted to tell, in the way that I wanted to tell them.  I was able to gain confidence, and try out different ways of storytelling/publishing.  Sometimes I failed, but I learned from that too, and seeing other people doing the same thing with their own work, it continues to be inspiring.

3. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, books, movies and television often introduced tomboy-ish characters in their stories only to give them a makeover. Do you believe the view of the tomboy has changed in recent years?

I think we have a larger vocabulary to deal with gender nonconformity in more positive way now, but there are still a lot of stereotypes that get thrown around within that world.  I’m not sure how the view of tomboys has changed, because as I’ve gotten older myself, I am dreadfully out of touch with youth culture.

4. How do you decide what to write about?

Tomboy is a story that I’ve always wanted to tell, and the time just seemed right.

5. What do you need to write? Paper and a pen, a laptop? Music? Etc.

I’m a paper, pen and pencil kind of person: my least favorite part of comics process is when I have scan my artwork and clean it up in photoshop.  I like to listen to music when I write, but if it’s something that is too new to me, I sometimes have a hard time concentrating on writing, so a lot of Tomboy was written all alone, in silence (it’s not as sad as it sounds, I have 2 cats to keep me company).

6. Do you still love the Ghostbusters? And, if so, do you still have your toys and figures? (I had to ask this question!)

I do still love Ghostbusters; I used to have a ghostbusters tattoo, but I had it covered up several years ago, just because I became more interested in having artwork as tattoos, instead of logos.  I have a Ghostbusters trap, but it was one that was given to me a few in my adult life, because most of my toys really were destroyed by my younger brother (that wasn’t just a funny part of the book).

7. While I was reading Tomboy, the word FEMINISM was always forefront in my mind, but I don’t remember the word being mentioned or mentioned much in the book. What is your opinion of both the word and how your work relates to it?

I specifically didn’t talk about feminism in Tomboy because it wasn’t a concept that I got involved in until I was in my mid-20s, and I wanted the book to be a very truthful account of what my evolution was.  I would like to write a comic that explores what feminism means to me in great detail at some point, because it obviously has informed my work quite a bit!

8. Has the view or idea of being a woman/girl changed since your experiences in the book?

Yes.  The end of Tomboy is really the beginning of another story, about the part of my life where I figure out the ways in which I both further and set back the feminist cause (I think a lot of people unwittingly do).

9. What inspired you to write about your experiences?

I’ve always been the most drawn to autobiographical stories and comics, both as reading material and as the work that I want to make.  I almost don’t know how to make any other work! I like the connection that I feel when I read a true story about someone else, and I hope that my readers feel the same type of connection to me when they read my comics.

10. Do you have any advice for the girls and women who prefer t-shirts, jeans and Converse shoes to dresses and heels?

I don’t consider myself a fashionista by any stretch, my personal philosophy these days is: If it feels good, wear it!

Review: Alice + Freda Forever

Alice + Freda Forever: A Murder in Memphis
by Alexis Coe

Synopsis

In 1892, America was obsessed with a teenage murderess, but it wasn’t her crime that shocked the nation – it was her motivation. 

Nineteen-­‐year-­‐old Alice Mitchell planned to pass as a man and marry seventeen-­‐year-­‐old Freda Ward, but when their love letters were discovered, they were forbidden to ever speak again. 

Desperate and isolated, Alice pilfered her father’s razor, and on a cold winter’s day, she slashed her ex-­‐fiancée’s throat. Alice + Freda Forever, by Alexis Coe and illustrated by Sally Klann, is a tragic love story with more than 100 illustrated primary sources. 

More than 120 years later, the tragic but true love story of Alice and Freda is finally being told. Publishing in October and embellished with letters, maps, historical documents, and more, Alexis Coe’s Alice + Freda Forever marks a seminal point in the history of same-­‐sex relationships in the U.S., and is not to be missed.

Review

I was offered the opportunity to read more ZestBooks after reading and reviewing Tomboy - of course I said yes! My background is in Clinical Psychology, so this story definitely caught my attention. The story of a 19 y/o girl loving another girl in 1892 is already a story worthy of attention, but add in the murder aspect and you have quite an investigation story on your hands.

Coe has done a fantastic job of weaving together Alice and Freda's stories along with a thorough research investigation as to people's motives, relationships and their perspectives. The book grabbed my attention and kept it from start to finish. It was eye-opening to realize how the label "insanity" could be placed on anything that society doesn't understand (I'm not talking about the murder here). As I type this, I'm thinking that I could apply that statement now as well [to some people].

Verdict

I believe that anyone interested in true crime or has a background in Psychology would really enjoy this book. However, anyone looking for a great story will be highly satisfied!

About the Author

Alexis Coe is a columnist at The Awl and The Toast. She has contributed to The Atlantic, Slate, The Millions, The Hairpin, LA Weekly, The Bay Citizen, Mission at Tenth, The Paris Review Daily, Los Angeles Review of Books and other publications. Before moving to San Francisco, she was a research curator at the New York Public Library, where she co-curated the most popular exhibition in the library's 101 years, and a project-based oral historian at the Brooklyn Historical Society. 

ADVANCE CRITICAL PRAISE FOR ALICE + FREDA FOREVER

“This is a captivating account, and readers will quickly become absorbed in the suspense surrounding Freda’s murder. Additionally, the book provides a foundation for discussion of sociocultural themes, such as how LGBT relationships have historically been viewed by society, gender and femininity, and even journalism.” –★ School Library Journal [Starred Review] 

Alice + Freda Forever: A Murder in Memphis links:

• Alice + Freda Forever on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Alice-Freda-Forever-Murder-Memphis/dp/1936976609

• Alice + Freda Forever on Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/alice-freda-forever-alexis-coe/1118884413?ean=9781936976607

• Alice + Freda Forever on IndieBound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781936976607

• Alice + Freda Forever on The Book Depository (for those readers outside of the USA, this site offers free shipping internationally to any country) http://www.bookdepository.com/Alice-Freda-Forever-Alexis-Coe/9781936976607

• Alice + Freda Forever on the Zest Books site has “buy now” options: http://zestbooks.net/alice-and-freda-forever/

• Alice + Freda Forever on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20256746

• Alice + Freda Forever on Library Thing: https://www.librarything.com/work/15235499 

Review: Tomboy

Tomboy
by Liz Prince

Zest Books

Synopsis

Growing up, Liz Prince wasn't a girly girl, dressing in pink tutus or playing Pretty Pretty princess like the other girls in her neighborhood. But she wasn't exactly one of the guys either, as she quickly learned when her Little League baseball coach exiled her to the outfield instead of letting her take the pitcher's mound. Liz was somewhere in the middle, and Tomboy is the story of her struggle to find the place where she belonged.

Tomboy is a graphic novel about refusing gender boundaries, yet unwittingly embracing gender stereotypes at the same time, and realizing later in life that you can be just as much of a girl in jeans and a T-shirt as you can in a pink tutu. A memoir told anecdotally, Tomboy follows author and zine artist Liz Prince through her early childhood into adulthood and explores her ever-evolving struggles and wishes regarding what it means to "be a girl."

From staunchly refuting anything she perceived as being "girly" to the point of misogyny, to discovering through the punk community that your identity is whatever you make of it, regardless of your gender, Tomboy is as much humorous and honest as it is at points uncomfortable and heartbreaking.

Review

When I first read the synopsis of this book, I knew...I just knew I was going to love it. My experiences growing up mirrored Prince's so much and the evolution of her thinking was much like my own. 

The book is about Prince's experiences growing up as a tomboy - one who didn't "grow out of it." It involves her experiences with others and their view of her as well as how that shaped her view of them. There are some hilarious moments, but there are some heartbreaking ones as well. Prince does a wonderful job of showing the reader how innocent we truly are growing up until someone shares their view of us - which just causes us to shape how we feel about ourselves. I couldn't read this book all in one go - not because I was unable to (it's really easy to get into this book), but because so much of Prince's struggle was my own. I had to let that sink in. 

What I loved the most about this book is Prince's introduction to feminism and her understanding that it wasn't womanhood that she hated, but rather society's expectations of womanhood. 

As a major plus, Liz Prince is a "geek"! I loved the Ghostbusters talk as well as Prince's introduction to zines and such. 

Verdict

Buy this book for yourself and for those growing girls in your life who may be feeling outside the norm because they're not into dresses, dolls and the color pink. Buy this book. Do it. Now. Go. I'll wait.