Soul To Seoul Volume 1

From the boxes of books I had in storage.

Title: Soul To Seoul
Issue: Volume 1
Date: 2005
Publisher: Tokyopop
Writer: Kim Jea Eun (English adaptation by Ellen Choi)
Artist: Kim Jea Eun
Letterer: Eva Han
Editor: Julie Taylor

This was a mix of romance, family drama, and crime drama about Korean teens living in New York City. There was a lot going on here in terms of character interactions, and the first volume just scratches the surface of all of the potential drama.

At the center of it all are rapper Spike and wannabe-gangster Kai. Kai meets Sunil, a young woman recently arrived from Korea, and Kai is willing to give up his playboy ways to date her. Meanwhile Kai's cousin arrives to disrupt the dynamics of his already complex and tension-filled family life.

When Spike gets arrested, Kai takes his first step down a dark path for the sake of bailing his friend out of jail.

This felt a bit choppy as it jumped between different plot threads and conflicts. The writer clearly had a lot to introduce in the first volume and was determined to get everything in. Some of it, possibly the character JJ's backstory, might have better been saved for a future volume. Still, the story set up a lot of intriguing elements, and ended on a strong note.

Rating: 6/10

Dork Diaries: Tales From A Not-So-Happily Ever After

I got this at a Little Free Library in Ludlow MA USA, and will be "releasing" it at another Little Free Library somewhere in New England.

Title: Dork Diaries: Tales From A Not-So-Happily Ever After
Date: 2014
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Writer: Rachel Renee Russell
Artist: Rachel Renee Russell

This is (clearly intentionally) similar in format to Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, which I've read quite a few of because my son enjoyed them. The narration is prose with frequent illustrations.

The main character, Nikki, is considerably more likeable than the Wimpy Kid protagonist, but is also a bit on the bland side. It feels like the author is trying so hard to make Nikki relatable that she's afraid to give Nikki much in the way of distinctive traits, quirks, and flaws.

This story was an homage/parody of The Wizard of Oz, with elements of other fairy tales sprinkled in, as Nikki gets knocked out playing dodgeball in the midst of a bad day at school, and dreams up (is transported to) a fairytale adventure.

She meets fairytale versions of people she knows in her own world, has some adventures (the supporting cast could use a bit more diversity), makes some friends and some enemies, gets in trouble, and gets rescued by her friends.

She also resolves a bit of conflict with her younger sister, in a scene that is genuinely tender.

There's nothing awful here, but nothing all that distinctive either.

Rating: 5/10

Snow Drop Volume 2

From the unread manga shelf.

Title: Snow Drop
Issue: Volume 2
Date: 2004
Publisher: Tokyopop
Writer: Choi Kyung-ah (English adaptation by Sarah Dyer)
Artist: Choi Kyung-ah
Letterer: Christina R. Siri
Editor: Bryce P. Coleman

Romance begins to grow between high school student So-Na, and young model Hae-Gi. But just as things are beginning to get interesting at a party, So-Na's old rival Sun-Mi arrives on the scene.

Aside from the introduction of Sun-Mi, the plot in this volume was in something of a holding pattern. The Hae-Gi/So-Na relationship is making tiny bits of progress, but mostly these involve Hae-Gi ignoring basic consent, and So-Na continuing to try to manipulate things.

I did like the way that hints are slowly being given about some sort of connection in the past with So-Na's mother, the author of the book that gave Hae-Gi his name. There are definitely some layers of backstory that will be interesting to uncover, but this volume felt a bit transitional.

Rating: 5/10