Author Archives: Chloe C.

TOPIC – Coraline

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Coraline is a children’s novel written by Neil Gaiman, published in 2002 by Bloomsbury and HarperCollins.

It follows a young girl named Coraline as she finds a mysterious door that leads to nowhere in her family’s new flat. However, she quickly discovers that it connects to a tunnel to an alternate world. A world like her own, but different. There are alternate versions of everyone who lives in the house she does, including her Other Mother and Other Father. Everyone has button eyes, and the land doesn’t seem to exist past the house.

Although most people have watched the movie, I think that you should still read the book. It’s different enough that you won’t feel like you’re reading the same story again. For example, Coraline never falls for the Other Mother’s tricks. By the end, Coraline ends up playing a game against the Other Mother. If Coraline wins, she will get to go home, free her parents, and the other children that the Other Mother has trapped before her. If the Other Mother wins, she keeps Coraline. But in the events leading up to that, Coraline was never under the Other Mother’s spell.

The character Wybie also never existed in the book, nor any character that could be compared to him. The character’s appearances are also quite different, as the Other Mother is described as her hair floating around her, as if she was underwater. Coraline does not have blue hair, and the Other Father devolves into a doughy monster, instead of a pumpkin man. There is also a whole scene of Coraline trapped in a basement room with the doughy Other Father, where she has to escape by ripping out one of his button eyes, sneaking up the stairs, and slamming the trap door shut behind her.

I quite enjoyed the book, and read it all in one night.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

My Visit to San Diego Comic-Con 2023

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In July, I had the pleasure of attending Comic-Con at the San Diego Convention Center. For those who don’t know, the event, which is officially listed as Comic-Con International: San Diego on its website, is an annual convention that was first established in 1970 and is held for comic book fans (and really fans of anything in pop culture) to come together to share their interests.

This year, it was held July 20-23, and to get into the convention center, participants must either purchase a badge in advance through the group’s website (https://ww.comic-con.org/cci) months in advance or apply for the free badges that are set aside for professionals who work in the comic book or other related industries.

Since the badges that are available to the general public usually sell out, it can be challenging to get into Comic-Con, but if you’re lucky enough to get in, there is a lot to see and do, including hundreds of informative panel discussions, industry parties (although these are usually only available by advance reservation or special invitation), and sneak-peek showing of upcoming movies, shows, games, and toys.

One of the most popular features is the massive exhibitor area where companies like Disney, Blizzard, and Funko host booths where they showcase their latest offerings. There are also a large number of smaller companies and individuals who come to display their handmade art, fandom apparel, and other related merchandise.

Personally, I enjoyed the panels I attended. I went to one about makeup artistry, where Brenda O’Brien, a veteran makeup artist who has worked on the Lion King musical on Broadway, Saturday Night Live, and many other shows, demonstrated how she creates characters and explained how she had to adapt her skills to work in incredibly fast-paced backstage environments.

I also attended the “How to Make a Minicomic from One Sheet of Paper” with veteran comic book creator Zander Cannon, and another panel that celebrated the 35th anniversary of the Studio Ghibli movie My Neighbor Totoro, which was led by the movie’s original production coordinator, Hirokatsu Kihara, and his interpreter. He presented the original drawing Hayao Miyazaki made of the character that became Totoro, as well as many original, hand-painted animation cels used to create the iconic movie. It was amazing to learn from him that the studio considered these cels to be trash once they were used to make the film. Each one was so beautiful, it was stunning to think that anyone could have considered them rubbish.

In addition to the panels, I also got to see many cool booths, such as the Studio Ghibli booth, where my family and I took our photo in a re-created Cat Bus, which is a character from My Neighbor Totoro, the Marvel booth, where we saw costumes worn by the actors in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and an animatronics company’s booth that featured an animatronic Baby Yoda.

Another highlight on the exhibitor floor was an entire area dedicated to books. There were authors showcasing their own books, and booksellers selling all sorts of science fiction and fantasy. I even spotted a Little Golden Book biography of Taylor Swift, which I personally thought was pretty funny.

I also heard there was going to be a cosplay wrestling match, where people who dressed up as various characters from pop culture would wrestle another cosplayer in an actual ring. I’m a little sad that I didn’t get to see that because it sounded super funny.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to buy any books while I was at Comic-Con, but there were many graphic novels and such that caught my eye and I’m hoping to get some or all of them eventually.

If you can, I definitely recommend going to Comic-Con at least once if you are a fan of comics or anything nerdy. There are so many things to do, things to see, and people to meet. It was a wonderful experience, and I hope I’ll be able to go back

Loveless

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In this day and age, romance seems to just be a part of everyone’s everyday life. This is the case for Georgia Warr, the main character of the book Loveless by Alice Oseman. Written in 2020, and published under Scholastic Press, this book follows her as she tries to make her way through her first year of university life, with only her two best friends, Pip and Jason, by her side.

The book itself opens with her at an after-prom party, where we learn very quickly that she has never had a crush on anybody, and is quite frankly scared of the idea of intimate romance. After a disastrous event involving her thought-to-be crush, her favorite jean jacket, and a bonfire, Georgia is left to question whether she will ever find someone she actually loves. When she gets to university, she discovers that she is roomed with a girl named Rooney, who she instantly idolizes. The way that she is able to socialize and flirt with other people with seemingly no effort at all has Georgia at a loss. She also meets her “college parent,” Sunil.

Georgia is desperate to learn Rooney’s ways, and they end up bonding over a shared love of theater, and especially Shakespeare. This leads to her, Rooney, Pip, Jason, and Sunil forming a Shakespeare Soc of their own. 

We follow Georgia as she manages her friendships, relationships, and eventual realization of being aromantic and asexual. 

Widely regarded as very good aro/ace representation, I have seen many people recommend this book. It helped me personally learn more about how different people identify and go about the world, and even realize some things about myself. All in all, this was a very good read that I highly recommend you check out if you have the time.

Loveless by Alice Oseman is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

The Bad Beginning

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Written by Daniel Handler under the pen name of Lemony Snicket, A Series of Unfortunate Events is an iconic book series following the miserable lives of the Baudelaire children after the untimely death of their parents.

The series starts with The Bad Beginning, which takes place immediately as Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are informed of their parent’s deaths. They are sent to live with their “closest living” relative, Count Olaf. He is a terrible caregiver, forcing the children to work and work and work all day, cook full meals for him and his acting troop, and even going as far as to slap them when they disobey. It becomes clear quite quickly that he is after their large fortune left behind by their parents, which is to be locked away until Violet is of age.

The book culminates with the performance of The Marvelous Marriage, a play secretly written by Count Olaf himself in order to trick 14-year-old Violet into marrying him, in order to gain access to her family fortune. However, the siblings trick him back by writing her name on the certificate with her left hand and not her right, leading to it not being written in “her own hand”. Count Olaf evades the police (because most all adults are incompetent in this series), which leads to the next book, titled The Reptile Room.

I remember reading this book for the first time when I was about 8 years old, and having to put it down because it was “too scary”. I don’t know quite what I found scary about it, looking back. I only picked it up again a few years later because I was a big girl at that point. I wasn’t scared of the monster under my bed anymore or anything. I actually really enjoyed it. Though, unfortunately, I have not technically read all of them. I (up to this point) have been unable to get my grubby little hands on a copy of every book, and thus far my knowledge is limited to the first book, the Netflix TV series, and many reads of the Wiki Fandom.

The Bed Beginning by Lemony Snicket is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

The Tea Dragon Society Series

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The Tea Dragon Society series is a series of graphic novels written by Kay O’Neill. The three-part story is set in a fantasy world in which dragons grow leaves and flowers on their horns, that are able to be brewed into tea. Whoever may drink the tea is able to see the memories of the dragon’s owner. 

The first book, The Tea Dragon Society, follows young Greta, a blacksmith apprentice, as she discovers the art of caring for a Tea Dragon after finding one lost in the marketplace and returning it to its owner. She meets Hesekiel and Erik, the owners of the tea shop that she returns the dragon to. There, she befriends Minette, a shy girl with no memories of her past. We learn that she used to be a prophetess, and in an attempt to see every future possible, lost all of her memories. The book is short, with beautiful calming art and a nice cozy story.

The second book, titles The Tea Dragon Festival, takes a turn to a new character named Rinn, when they find a real dragon in the forest outside of town. The dragon’s name is Aedhan, and it is revealed that he was assigned to look after the village, but fell asleep in the woods eighty years ago. It follows Rinn as they help Aedhan adjust to a new life, solve the mystery of his long slumber, and accept that he can not get back the time he lost.

The last book of the series is titled The Tea Dragon Tapestry, and once again follows Greta and Minette as they face challenges in their lives. Greta is tasked with creating something beautiful to impress a skilled blacksmith, and become their apprentice. All the while, she is learning how to care for a grieving tea dragon after it fell into her care when it’s previous owner died. Minette receives a mysterious gift from the place she once lived, which throws her whole life into questions and confusion. She learns over the course of the story that one must open themselves to those who care about them, to truly understand oneself. 

The Tea Dragon Society by Kay O’Neill is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.

The Haunting on Heliotrope Lane

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Ahh, the good old days. Playing catch on the street with your buddies. A basketball hoop in your driveway. Block parties. The old decrepit house at the end of the street where the old lady who lived there may or may not have been murdered. 

Those rosy memories. 

The Haunting on Heliotrope Lane is a mystery novel that was written by Carolyn Keene in 2018 as the 16th installment of the Nancy Drew Diaries series. The story follows Nancy, along with her best friends George and Bess, as they try to solve the mystery of what’s really going on in that old house at the end of Heliotrope Lane. 

This book feels quite different from prior ones in the series, taking on a much eerier and more suspenseful tone than previously seen. Especially if you’re like me, and had the amazing idea to listen to it on CD with sound effects and voice acting while trying to fall asleep in a cold, dark room. You never truly know what could be lurking in the shadows.

Anyways, this is probably my favorite book in the series, solely because I’m a sucker for spooks. If you’re into a slightly haunting but still fun and (mostly) kid-friendly mystery, then I definitely recommend this one. As well as the whole series in itself. It’s a revamp of the classic Nancy Drew series, through a modern lens that isn’t actually cringey! It’s a miracle.  Sitting at a whopping 24 books, you won’t be running out of content any time soon. I highly recommend this series, even if it might seem a little childish to my peers. I hold a great nostalgia for these books in my heart, and it only seems fair to try to spread it to as many people as possible.

The Haunting on Heliotrope Lane by Carolyn Keene is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Pax

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Pax is a children’s novel by Sara Pennypacker. It follows a boy named Peter’s journey to find his pet fox, Pax. He had found the fox all alone years ago, and taken him in. Since then, they had grown a very close bond with each other. 

Until the day that his father took Peter out for a drive.

Peter brought Pax with him, along with his favorite toy to play catch with. When they got out of the car, deep in the woods, Peter threw the toy.

When Pax came back, Peter wasn’t there. 

The rest of the novel follows Peter running away from home in order to find his fox again. It switches between Peter and Pax’s points of view, showing how the fox has become accustomed to his new life, meeting new friends along the way.

Oh yeah, and the whole book takes place during an unidentified war.

Peter is left at his grandfather’s home when his dad is drafted to join the fight as a soldier. Due to this, Peter is feeling more isolated than ever. He doesn’t have a very close relationship with his grandfather. Or his father. The whole family harbors their own anger towards one thing or another. Peter’s anger comes from his mother. Once, when he was young, he had gotten so angry that he broke his mother’s snow globe. As punishment, he had not been allowed to go grocery shopping with her. It was on that day, driving to the grocery store, that his mother had been struck and killed in a fatal car accident. Since that day, Peter had sworn to himself that he would never be angry again. He spent most of his time with Pax. So, when Pax is taken away from him, he makes the promise to find him. 

Pax is a children’s novel by Sara Pennypacker. It follows a boy named Peter’s journey to find his pet fox, Pax. He had found the fox all alone years ago, and taken him in. Since then, they had grown a very close bond with each other. 

Until the day that his father took Peter out for a drive.

Peter brought Pax with him, along with his favorite toy to play catch with. When they got out of the car, deep in the woods, Peter threw the toy.

When Pax came back, Peter wasn’t there. 

The rest of the novel follows Peter running away from home in order to find his fox again. It switches between Peter and Pax’s points of view, showing how the fox has become accustomed to his new life, meeting new friends along the way.

Oh yeah, and the whole book takes place during an unidentified war.

Peter is left at his grandfather’s home when his dad is drafted to join the fight as a soldier. Due to this, Peter is feeling more isolated than ever. He doesn’t have a very close relationship with his grandfather. Or his father. The whole family harbors their own anger towards one thing or another. Peter’s anger comes from his mother. Once, when he was young, he had gotten so angry that he broke his mother’s snow globe. As punishment, he had not been allowed to go grocery shopping with her. It was on that day, driving to the grocery store, that his mother had been struck and killed in a fatal car accident. Since that day, Peter had sworn to himself that he would never be angry again. He spent most of his time with Pax. So, when Pax is taken away from him, he makes the promise to find him. 

Pax by Sara Pennypacker is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Here in the Real World

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Here In The Real World, by Sara Pennypacker, is a story about a young boy named Ware, who just can’t seem to fit into others’ expectations of him. He doesn’t want to, either. He prefers to stay just outside of crowds, like an onlooker instead of a participant. The people around him don’t really seem to accept him for who he is. Even his parents, as later revealed, wish he could just be “normal,” like all the other kids. 

His parents send him off to a summer camp, an idea he voices his disdain for. He even offers to PAY his mother not to make him go. This statement is what leads to the parents’ aforementioned wish.

His parents do not oblige, obviously, and off to summer camp he goes. Unfortunately for him, things haven’t changed from the last time he was there. The room still smells. The kids are still mean. And they all still have to do laps around the entire building in the blistering hot Florida sun.

It’s during these laps that the main plot of the book begins. 

Ware decides to make a run for the large, old tree behind the building. And he makes it. No one sees him run away. No one sees him climb the tree. And no one sees the old abandoned church behind the wall. Not the way he sees it, anyway. 

He sees a great castle, with a drawbridge and a solar calendar. He sees what he’s always wanted. A place to be alone. To be by himself. That is, until he meets Jolene, the girl who has already “claimed” the lot. She uses it to grow her own vegetable garden. 

Can they learn to get along, and share the space over the summer? Or will it all fall to pieces?

You’ll have to read the book to find out. 

Here in the Real World by Sara Pennypacker is available to download for free from Libby.

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid Animated Movies

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Many people know the hit book series Diary of a Wimpy Kid, written by Jeff Kinney. It’s a cult classic among playgrounds and elementary schools alike. Chances are that you, yourself, have read at least one of these books.

Then, in 2010, the first live-action adaptation came out. Grossing over 76 million dollars, it became a hit, spawning two more movies soon afterwards. There was also The Long Haul of 2017, but we’re not going to speak of that. Instead, I would like to focus on our star, Greg Heffley’s, newest adventure. 

The animated movies.

It started on December 3rd, 2021. The movie had been teased for a while beforehand, but it was that simple day that the world saw its true colors. 

The movie follows the same general plot of the first book, as our protagonist, Greg, makes his way through his first year of middle school. Greg is a scrawny, “wimpy” kid (hence the name of the book series), looking to ascend the ranks of the school hierarchy. With his best friend Rowley by his side, plenty of wacky antics ensue. Sounds fine, right?

Until you actually watch it. 

For some, these movies were seen as cheap ways to make more money off of a well-known brand. Many find the animation to be a significant step-down from most content of Disney+, where the movies are available. With the first one standing just under an hour, and the second one just over, people have suggested that maybe it should have been a short film, or even a TV show. I personally am happy with any new addition to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid universe, but I can see where many people are coming from with their critiques. What do you think?