Dixie is a Korean American girl who has a black belt is hapkido, a martial art. She and her best, well, ONLY friend, Avril are looking forward to entering the hapkido tournament together.

Unfortunately, Dixie's crush on Adam, a clueless surfer dude in her hapkido class, causes her to lose focus. She comes up with a daring idea to impress him with an expensive gift, and then finds out that not only has she spent the money for her tournament entrance fee, but also that Adam likes someone else.

Dixie feels like she is a disappointment to everyone in her life, including herself. It will take some friends and some shady re-gifting to show Dixie what (and who) is really important. ( )

Jen Dik Seong "Dixie" lives in Koreatown on the edge of LA. She is an angry and angsty teen who's only outlet is hapkido. She is very good at it and plans on going to a national championship. But unfortunately, Dixie doesn't always think before she acts and she spends her entrance money on a gift for Adam, a cute guy in her class. Adam, who has hardly ever noticed Dixie except in Hapkido class, turns around and regifts it to the girl he has a crush on. To top it all off when Dixie and Adam end up in the final round of the tournament together Adam asks her to throw the match. Will Dixie be true to herself and fight her best or will she give into her crush like she has so many times before? Read and find out.The art is well done. At first the style was off putting for me but I got used to it and it didn't detract from the story but it didn't add much either. A fun story to read with a pretty good message about crushes and how they can make you temporarily loose your mind. ( )

The manga-style illustrations by Sonny Liew and Marc Hempel, add a bit of humor and tenderness to the tale. Taking place in Los Angelos a few years after the Rodney King riots, the story also explored the racial bias and tensions Dixie experiences on a daily basis. Readers will identify with Dixie’s struggles of the heart as she learns to assert herself and face her obstacles.

Awesome illustrations, but the story was cliche and a bit boring. Would make a nice Disney Channel movie. ( )

A wonderful tale of being an immigrant, growing up, making mistakes, and somehow finding that perfect ending. This story manages to mix just enough grit in with the sweet to make it feel real and be cute without being cloying. ( )

Cute tale about a girl trying to find her "ki" again so that she can focus on her martial arts competition. Involves a little romance, great graphics, and a fabulous ending. I'm really loving the Minx graphic novels they're putting out. ( )

Meet Jen Dik Seong, Dixie to her friends. Part of her practices the ancient Korean martial art of hapiko, which connects her to her culture and makes her parents proud, part of her is a typical L.A. chick lusting after surfer boy Adam. As she trains for the hapkido championship, she notices that noticing Adam is throwing her off her game in a big way. But should she be looking elsewhere? Is all fair in love, war, and gift-giving? This graphic novel will make you wonder. ( )

Unfortunately, I heard about the DC imprint Minx after its announced demise. This is the first one I read, and it's a good example of young adult chick lit. But it's also got action, a little cultural learning, some good adolescent crush drama, and a powerful heroine. ( )

"Dixie" is Korean-American and a feisty teenager. Her (only) friend Avril calls her a spiky porcupine, because she is very emotional and quick to anger. That is part of the reason why she practices the ancient fighting art of hapkido - as an outlet for her anger and aggression. But Dixie has a crush on a boy, Adam, who also practices hapkido and because of her crush, she no longers tries as hard at hapkido. When she receives an invite to Adam's birthday party, Dixie is ecstactic, but does not know what to give him as a gift. A huge hapkido contest is coming up that Dixie is supposed to compete in and which costs a whopping $200. But Dixie takes a big risk and spends her entry fee money on Adam's present instead. At the party, Dixie learns that Adam has a crush on another girl and feels even more rejected- not only did she spend her money unwisely on Adam's gift, but she has to somehow get into the competition for her family's honor and for her dad's business deal. Wonderfully draw, this graphic novel is a fast and entertaining read. Dixie's character is very fun and personable, and the cast of minor characters are also interesting. Her twin brothers Timmy and Soon are especially entertaining. Highly recommended! ( )

Solid story, if a little pat and I think the art is only OK. Still, mostly heartfelt and the sort of thing that Marvel and DC should have been marketing to teen girls for years. Unfortunately that ship has pretty much sailed, and they've already lost most of that audience to Japan. As an entry in the "too little, too late" competition though, this is at least not bad. ( )

Busier graphic novel than what I typically pick up, and busier = stylistically more detailed, art rougher, busier, and reminiscent of manga at times. Story of Korean American gal and her crush on a boy who is in her hapkido class and how she deals with it. Strong female again, though not along the lines of Kibuish, but more tough physically with moments of emotional/mental weaknesses.Great laugh out loud portions (the whole re-gifting thing, "Well Goddamn" and the woman with the tattoo). Underlying stories link to Korean culture (adaptation, Ki, warrior history, honor).Wraps up a little too tidily (the guy was suspended for hitting a teacher and he smokes, yo), but would otherwise disappoint readers if different. A heartwarming read, left me smiling at end of page (and Minx has a slew of good titles geared to a specific audience, I think I'm hooked). ( )

Dillinger thinks Dixie is cute... Dixie desperately wants Adam to notice her... Adam wants to date Megan. Megan doesn't care. When the National Hopkido Championships come to town, and Dixie finds the perfect birthday present for Adam, things get complicated quick.

The story is slight and a bit predictable, but still enjoyable. Lots of teenage hormones, and a clever little subplot. It's a quick, fun read once you get used to the flow. Dixie is, in what seems to be common manga tradition, drawn looking younger than her actual age. ( )

Dixie is a really strong girl. She is a Korean American living in LA. She does Hapkido and has a crush on a guy in her class. When she is invited to his birthday party, she blows the money she should have spent on The National tournament entry fee on a warrior statue for him. Things don't turn out quite as she planned and the gift is re-gifted. Can she find a way into the tournament? Will she get the guy of her of dreams? ( )

Dixie is hapkido (a Korean martial art) fanatic. Living on the edge of LA's Koreatown, she battles the usual high school crap of boys and the urban crap of which side the street it's ok for Koreans to walk on.

In a daring move to get the guy, she spends her tournament entry fee on a statue of a Korean warrior. The guy promptly gives it to the prettiest girl in school. Heart in the gutter, with no way to enter the tournament, Dixie needs to find her missing ki, and fast.

A most fantastic story, this is my favorite Minx title so far. Very well done. I love Dixie's prickly character and the very real story arc.

see all my reviews at www.tushuguan.blogspot.com ( )

Oh, so much fun. I love Sonny Liew's art style, all fluid line work and unusual shapes. The story follows Dixie Seong through, oh, about a month of her life in LA's Koreatown and involves "rebellion, romance, and recycled gifts." It's also about the relative merits of wanting and getting, and how appearances can be deceiving, to use a few cliches. A lovely story all in all. Oh, also: One thing I like about Liew/Hempel/Carey's work is that, for stories written and illustrated by men, they're filled with engaging, kickass, interesting women and girls. Everyone regardless of gender is three-dimensional, complicated and silly and unique and imperfect and depicted with realistic body shapes (well, stylized, sure, but nobody looks like Barbie or Ken, or Pamela Anderson or the men from 300 - the movie version). In the comics industry, that is something that can be hard to find - humor and caricature without being derogatory, respect without it being some kind of statement. These are good storytellers, good artists. ( )

re-gift –verb
1. to give an unwanted gift to someone else; to give as a gift something one previously received as a gift; also written regift

Dik Seong Jen (Dixie) has a spiky exterior–her spikiness is a defense mechanism guarding against her powerful emotions–as she puts it, “I don’t show it, but deep down I’m really a passionate person”.

For many years, she has loved hapkido because she is proud of her Korean heritage and because she needs the physical outlet for what she cannot express in words. More recently, she has discovered that she loves (or at least has a huge crush on) Adam Heller. This crush is so powerful that it’s throwing off her ki (”the universal energy that some call spirit”), and, subsequently, her ability to fight her best in hapkido. She has been ending up swept off her feet (in more ways than one) in sparring sessions with Adam.

Paralleling Dixie and Adam’s storyline is Dixie’s run-ins with Dillinger and his crew. Dillinger’s spiky exterior as the tough Hispanic kid is countered by his actions–he defends Dixie against his gang who have derided her heritage by telling her to “walk on the Korean side of the street” and he helps her practice for the hapkido tournament. Most importantly (at least for the sake of the book’s title), he plays a role in the re-gifting–the Hwarang warrior figure really makes its way around to sundry recipients throughout the book. By doing so, Dillinger helps Dixie to reboot her Korean American pride in who she is and to re-discover her ki.

Dixie’s crush on Adam causes her to misplace her passion for a time and to muddle her decision-making so that she stands in danger of losing her spot in the National Tournament and in danger of losing control. She also risks losing everything else she holds dear–her ki, her self-respect, her best friend, her pride in her heritage, and her family’s trust.

In the end, Dixie sees clearly what she has to do, “No confusion. No hormones. No need to think twice.” The story really moves–the illustrators’ masterful use of line makes the hapkido sequences look real and the apt character facial expressions and body positions say a lot without the text having to say anything. When the character’s are speaking, their voices are consistent with their personalities and depictions. Re-gifters is a fun story that speaks to family and cultural expectations, unrequited love, friendship, perseverance, and competition all wrapped up in a complete package to give to the graphic novel fans out there as well as to those who like sports and/or multicultural stories. Re-gifters is not likely to be re-gifted, although it is likely to be loaned out its fair share. ( )

A spunky black-belt Korean-American girl pursues her crush and discovers herself along the way. ( )

Re-Gifters is the second book to be published by Minx, a division of DC, called (by themselves) "the face of modern fiction" (yeah, whatever). Minx was developed to target women. Their books have a manga-like feel, they're softcover, small and cheap(er). Protagonists are women. No spandex here.
Naturally, some people were a bit dubious about this tactic.
But appealing to female comics readers seems to be important in the industry right now. Anyone remember that New York Comic Con panel, "Capturing Female Readers"? Which makes it sound like they're out there with tranquilizer guns and nets. Additionally, the name "minx" irks me as I feel it has strong connotations-devious, seductive, overtly sexual, etc.
So the Minx line has this whole "chick lit comics" feel that disturbs me. This is the first Minx title I've read and I picked it up only because Mike Carey wrote it, and I adore his Lucifer series. In September "Confessions of a Blabbermouth" will come out, also by Carey, and I'll probably pick that up as well though the title puts me off. Brian Wood is working on "The New York Four" with Ryan Kelly and I've no doubt that'll be great, because Brian Wood is my favorite of the Brians (Brian Michael Bendis, Brian Wood, Brian K Vaughn-all bald, male comics creators currently popular).

Um, getting back to Re-Gifters.

It was really good. Not Lucifer good, but good. Conflict resolution wasn't cheesy, and neither was the requisite "strong female protagonist." She kicked butt. Literally. ( )

High schooler, Dik Seong Jen (Dixie) is a black belt in the Korean martial art of hapkido. She is totally crushing on beach blond, Adam, a classmate in her dojang (hapkido school) who also attends her high school and has lost her ki. Adam, of course, is oblivious to the love vibes coming from Dixie and is counter-crushing on popular girl, Megan. Dixie's missing ki is causing Dixie to get her butt ki-cked and she has used the two hundred dollar entrance fee to buy unappreciated birthday present which gets re-gifted (hence the title) and eventually comes by to Dixie along with her ki at the Hapkido National Championship. The ending is predictable, but the ride is fun and Dixie's twin brothers are a riot. ( )

Soppy, romantic, happy, cheerful, involving martial arts. What more can a girl ask for? If you're looking for a comparison with Carey's other work, probably closest to "My Faith in Frankie". Lovely. ( )

http://avidbookwoman.wordpress.com/20... ( )

Jen is a black belt in hapkido and she's certain to do well in the national tournament coming up... that is, if she can take her mind off of Adam, the hot hapkido student in her class. Jen knows that she needs to do something to get his attention... but what? Then she has the idea to spend her tournament registration money on a very special gift for Adam. But will he appreciate it or will he turn out to be a re-gifter? And how will Jen get into the tournament now that the money is gone? And is Adam worth all this trouble anyway?

Another hit from the new MINX line of graphic novels. It gets a big plus from me for showing characters of very different backgrounds in a book that's not predominantly about race or class. The story is entertaining and certain to appeal to teens and YAs. ( )