Yishan Li

I loved this book! Mary's kind of an angsty teen, although I love that her family has instilled "proper syntax" as a highly important value. The dialog is amusing, the art is lovely and sometimes funny, and the 3-generation household of women is a trip. I wish I were as cool as Aunt Macy.

And I demand more Rhonda.

After hearing about the reboot that was coming and then tossed aside, I've been craving the Buffy. This little ditty is a throwback set during the first season of the show, when the characters were simpler and we didn't know all the bad stuff about Joss Whedon.

A vampire's harsh words causes Buffy to get a little lost in her own head about whether she would still be friends with Willow and Xander if she weren't the slayer or if she'd be more like mean girl Cordelia Chase, slaying the geeks show more with drive-by disses.

The angst and friendship stuff works well, but the ending gets crashed by a monster and wraps up the story a bit too abruptly without really unpacking all its potential.

Still, it's good to get that Buffy rush, and I'm going to try the other two books in this short series. show less

Another nice little Buffy adventure set somewhere between episodes during Season 1 of the TV show. Buffy's slayer responsibilities cause her to skip a class at school, so when her mother, Joyce, gets notified, she decides to be a more active parent and spend more time with Buffy, which cuts into Buffy's ability to track down a new demon in town that controls minds through hypnosis.

I like that Joyce gets some quality screen time and that the two plotlines collide in time for a tidy show more conclusion. Solid nostalgia buzz. show less

This book isn't quite firing on all cylinders, but I found myself enjoying my time spent with the goth teen railing against her mother and the herd of monsters who are all vexing her with their expectations of what she should be doing with her life. Good characters and art really helped to carry me past the flaws in the story and pacing.