"The Man Who Never Missed" - Steve Perry

This was good, but weird. Involved, but not long enough. Deep, but gruesome. It's like a book you want to recommend but you feel like you let someone down if they do read it.

Seriously, I enjoyed reading it, but I hesitate to recommend it because it does have a lot of graphic language and it felt short-lived. It feels like it's book 1 of a series only there isn't a book 2. (It is book 1 of 8 in the "Matador" series but ... you'll have to read it to see why).

Khadaji is a bar owner on a planet loaded with Confederation soldiers. He goes out at night and paralyzes almost 3,000 of them. Khadaji is a soldier in the Confederation army, a governing body for the galaxy. After a slaughter of a battle, he deserts. Khadaji is in training for Sumito, a martial art. He stinks at it. Khadaji is a student on a planet designed for education. He learns a lot, including how and what drugs are worth smuggling.

Read Also:

I feel kinda bad about this but...the Firefly TV series by Joss Whedon again.

David Weber's "Honor Harrington" series.

"When Calls the Heart" - Janette Oke

Christian romance...also a TV film by Hallmark...I don't think it gets any cheesier than that. But it takes place in Canada! RCMPs and heart-wrenching losses, a welcoming community and a girl who is "clutzy." All the elements are there.

At least I read the book!

Elizabeth Thatcher heads west to teach school. What she finds is a community full of children who want to learn, grateful parents regardless if their children are school-age or not, and eligible men! Hmm...seems mighty convenient...

Read Also:

Rosslyn Elliot's "The Saddler's Legacy" series; book 1 is Fairer Than Morning.

Lynn Austin's "Refiner's Fire" series.

Francine Rivers "Lineage of Grace" series. Ruth's story: Unshaken.

"Nimona" - Noelle Stevenson

Oh good golly! Such a subtle study of how someone becomes a "hero" or "villain." But not Nimona, she's the sidekick to the villain. Shapeshifter, hip, loyal, she's great! Also, a fascinating mix of medieval and technological societies.

Nimona is a sidekick, assigning herself to Ballister Blackheart, the villain in town. Sir Goldenloin is his archnemesis, a hero. However, determining who the real villain is may take the three combining efforts and trust.

Read Also:

Firefly TV series by Joss Whedon.

"Bone" graphic novel series by Jeff Smith.

I just found out about The Rise of Aurora West by Paul Pope and it looks good!

"Emma" - Kaoru Mori

Cursed serials!!! Yeah, I don't do manga much. But this sounded good...

...It was good. Detail was amazing, story was cute, the side-characters were intriguing. Of course, having said that, I've only read 3 of the 10 volumes!! I'm committed.

A 10-volume set, over 4,000 pages of Manga Victorian England. So well done.

A Japanese woman authored these books. They were serialized in Japan and, 10 years later, are being translated into English. She tells stories in the afterwords about her fanmail, interviews, and editor. She's never been to England, is alive now so never lived through the time period, her fanaticism with details. It's quite fascinating.

Read Also:

Try some Graphic Shakespeare, Shakespeare plays turned into graphic novels! by Vincent Goodwin.

Check out BBC America and PBS. "Downton Abbey," "Upstairs, Downstairs," or any other British class-system show. 

"Orangutangled" - Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen

First, please forgive the "monkeys" tag for orangutans, I figure it's close enough.

Second, Fun! This has bright, bold illustrations, great rhyme scheme, fun story (made me want to eat mangoes) and is full of silly animals and words.

Read Also:

Jan Thomas'... Yeah, anything written/illustrated by Jan Thomas. Similar illustrations and silly characters/story.

Andy Runton's Owly and Wormy: bright lights and starry nights.

For the new reader, Carole Lexa Schaefer's "Monkey and Elephant" is a good series.

"ABC Dream" - Kim Krans

This was so much fun! Each page is filled with items that begin with the letter, almost a guessing game. But what really sold me on this book was there are also adjectives and verbs depicted on each page.

T: tigers, two (tigers), and tired.

It was clever, fabulous! My husband and I got all intense trying to guess them all. No worries, there's a cheat sheet at the end.

Read Also:

Michael Arndt's Cat Says Meow and other Animalopoeia where each letter is incorporated into the picture. A "w" makes whiskers on the cat!

Alphablocks by Christopher Francescelli has a cut-out letter for illustrations.

Andrew Zuckerman's Creature Numbers and Creature Colors have similarly rich illustrations.

"Johnny Tremain" - Esther Forbes

I've always wanted to read this since seeing the Disney film. It's a decent read (the movie is better), I felt it was an engaging story with a slow writing style.

I guess the selling point is what it teaches about liberty and the cost of said liberty. Things like comfort, friendship, pride, are all sacrificed by everyone from the young Tremain to old Mr. Otis.

Johnny is a silversmith apprentice in Boston, 1773, until he burns his hand on hot silver. No longer having a future in the trade, he roams around Boston until he comes across the Sons of Liberty and joins them. A witness to many historical incidences leading up to the Revolutionary War, Johnny grows from a punk to a man as he throws tea into Boston Harbor, tells the squire of Christ Church to hang 2 lanterns in the belfry tower, and mourns the aftermath of Lexington and Concord.

Read Also:

The Revolutionary War: an interactive history by Elizabeth Raum lets you choose your own path through the war. Each path is a historically documented choice made by somebody.

Ben and Me by Robert Lawson. Benjamin Franklin has a pet mouse.

"The Magic Treehouse" series by Mary Pope Osbourne has Revolutionary War on Wednesday.