Manga Review: Imawa No Kuni No Alice (Alice In Borderlands)

Title: Imawa No Kuni No Alice (Alice in Borderlands) 
Author: Haro Aso 
Volumes: 18
Chapters: 87
Status: Completed 
Tags: Action, Shonen, Horror 

Summary:

"To be released from the dull routine, escapism, 8th grade disease, peter pan syndrome, it doesn't matter what you call it...It doesn't mater where. Have you ever wanted to go somewhere else? An unknown place" 

And so begins the story of Arisu Ryouhei who, while hanging out with his friends Chota and Karube, notices a flash of light that transports him into the "borderlands." A barren land whose citizens are forced into life or death games based on strength, brains and just a pinch of luck. 

Wdebo's Review: As I have noted numerous times before on this blog I am a sucker for the a good horror story so when I saw the Alice in Borderlands Netflix series I voraciously engulfed it in a few days. Unfortunately, the series ended on a large cliff ending. However, as an impatient person who noticed there was a completed manga it was based on, I knew I had to finish the manga to fill in all of the holes from the show. 

For those (like me) who were scouring the internet trying to figure out where to start in the manga after finishing the Netflix series, I would highly suggest just starting from the first chapter. There are some scenes that are shown in the show as well as many series of events, character utilization and games that are different so you would just get the best understanding of the story by starting from the very beginning. 

I love a good survival game story which we can just blame on my old Battle Royale obsession. Alice in Borderlands thoroughly fulfills that quota. It presents many games and deaths which is sometimes all you need to read after a long hard day of work. I loved the set up of every single game. There were so many loopholes and twists to guess and work out strategies for. Arisu's logic thorough every game was very interesting to see laid out and I just throughly enjoyed reading how he figures out all of the games. 

The characters are interesting as well. You really start cheering for all of them. Additionally, certain situations really surprised me when I realized how expendable some of the characters were. I definitely thought some people would not have been killed off that quickly. 

I also feel like the story helped to tie up all of its strings with a very satisfying conclusion. 

All in all, a highly enjoyable manga for those who love a good survival game story with highly colorful characters to both hate and cheer on. 

Grade: A-

Wdebo :) 

Book Review: Glass Sword By: Victoria Aveyard

"If I am a sword, I am a sword made of glass, and I feel myself beginning to shatter"

Book Title: Glass Sword
Author: Victoria Aveyard
HARDBACK
Amount of Pages: 444
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: February 9, 2016
Geared Towards: Older Teens
From: Library
Extra Info: Book #2 in the Red Queen series. Sequel to Red Queen.



Summary (From Front Flap): Mare Barrow's blood is red-the color of common folk-but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control.

The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince-the friend-who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: She is not the only one of her kind.

Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors.

But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, all risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat.

Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?

Wdebo's Review: As someone who read Red Queen at an insanely rapid pace, I could not wait to pick up Glass Sword and see what happens to Mare and her fellow newbloods. Though the book did start out slowly and was hard to hold my attention, as soon as the action picked up so did my interest and I could not put it down until the last page.

Once again, I am greatly impressed by Victoria Aveyard's ability to spin the intriguing world of Red and Silver bloods. The plot is well wrapped with various twists and turns that made the story very immersive and intriguing. It definitely did not follow a linear pathway as I thought it would. There were so many dips and surprises until it reached the end and I honestly cannot wait for the next installment of the story! However, I do have to admit I do agree with the issue that was brought up in the book of how Mare is only paying attention to the Newbloods in training them and keeping them safe but not paying attention to the commoners. It feels like there are lots of deeper issues that can be brought out to light in the story and dug deeper into but I guess since there is so much going on in the novel that didn't happen and is a shame because that could have helped make the book a lot stronger.

Once again, as with Red Queen, I was not really invested in any of the characters but I do enjoy reading about them. However, something that I appreciate about Victoria Aveyard's writing is her ability to know when to use and when to let go of characters. But I really did wish that she can make the relationships between various characters stronger and leave a deeper impression for me, it would help me become more deeply involved in the story. However, apart from that issue, I do have to admit that I greatly enjoyed this sequel and it was a great addition to the series!

Cafe Cover Chit Chat: I am starting the get used to the blue background, but I really do love the crown and how the blood colors stand out so much (A-) 

All in all, a wonderful addition to the series! Fans of Red Queen should start reading Glass Sword right now!

Grade: A-

Wdebo :)

Book Review: Red Queen By: Victoria Aveyard

"They've pulled me inside out, swapping Mare for Mareena, a thief for a crown, rags for silk, Red for Silver. This morning I was a servant, tonight I'm a princess."

(104) 

Book Title: Red Queen
Author: Victoria Aveyard
PAPERBACK
Amount of Pages: 383
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: February 10, 2015
Geared Towards: Teens
From: Library Summer Reading Program
Extra Book: First book in the Red Queen series


Summary (From the Back of the Book): MARE BARROW'S WORLD IS DIVIDED BY BLOOD-those with red and those with silver. Mare and her family are lowly Reds, destined to serve the Silver elite whose supernatural abilities make them nearly gods. Mare steals what she can to help her family survive, but a twist of fate leads her to the royal palace itself where, in front of the king and all of his nobles, she discovers an ability she didn't know she had. Except...her blood is Red. 

To hide this impossibility, the king forces her into the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, her actions put into motion a deadly and violent dance, pitting prince against prince and Mare against her own heart.

Wdebo's Review: I wasn't quite sure what this book was about when I first picked it up but I saw the high Goodreads ratings and knew I should check it out. The story sucked me in from the very beginning and wouldn't let go until the twist at the end. After putting it down, I cannot wait to pick up the second book!

The novel was very well written and paced in a way in which important details were introduced at the right moment so the story never felt interrupted in order to catch readers up to speed. Additionally, I was impressed by how well built the world was. There were lots of good details added in and the environment was also manipulated efficiently which made this story a very fun read. My main complaint with the story was that even though I found the world to be well produced, there were parts of the story that were just too similar to other pop culture references. For example many of the characters and driving forces were akin to Game of Thrones including a very Joffrey character. Additionally, the main character was similar to many dystopian character found ubiquitously in the genre from Katniss to America of The Selection. Mare was written as the stereotypical headstrong girl from the depths of the slum who captures the heart of the haves she finds herself dropped into and the have-not back at home with that "special" sparkle of hers.

Speaking of characters, though Mare is similar to many other characters before her, I still really enjoyed reading her journey through the story. She interacted well with many characters in the novel and I really liked how the author was able to seamlessly introduce so many different characters as the story continued on. However, I really wish that there could have been a strong friendship bond instead of romance between any male character. Additionally, as stated before, there were characters that seemed to be like tropes found in other novels of the same genre and it would have been better if they could have had more depth added to them and given an even more colorful story.

Cafe Cover Chit Chat: I really like the crown dripping in dark crimson blood, but I feel like the background was too simple. I understand why they wanted to make it that simple, so that they could bring more attention to the crown, but it would have been nice if there was a little bit more pizzaz going on in back. (B+) 

All in all, though some aspects of the story seem quite cliched and trope-like, the story as a whole was very enjoyable and a great way to immerse yourself into a new world that you will be clamoring to know more about as you breathlessly read till the last page.

Grade: A-

Wdebo :)