American Vampire Vol. 1 by Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque, and Stephen King

American Vampire Vol. 1 by Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque, and Stephen King-192 pages; Eisner Award for Best New Series, 2011

This is definitely interesting. I am somewhat interested in vampires and thought I would try this since it won an award. Two stories are contained within this volume that are intertwined. One starts in 1880 with outlaw Skinner Sweet being taken by train to jail when an ambush set by his gang gets him free, but he is killed by a vampire. However, the vampire's blood gets in Skinner's wounds and he "raises" from the dead a new breed of vampire. The story leads up to 1925 where the second story begins.

The other story is about Pearl, who is an up-and-coming actress working multiple jobs to pay the bills. She is fatally injured by European vampires, just like Skinner Sweet, but Skinner bites her and turns her into a vampire much like himself. Skinner and Pearl can walk around in broad daylight without and ill effects. It was an interesting read and Stephen King wrote the chapters on Skinner Sweet's story, so that's pretty cool.

A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel by Hope Larson

A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel by Hope Larson-392 pages; Eisner Award for Best Publication for Teens, 2013

This is an adaptation of Madeleine L'Engle's Newbery Award-winning novel of the same name. It was a good, interesting read and has many lessons/morals. One is that being different is okay, even good. Our differences should be celebrated, understood and not made fun of or taken lightly. We don't want to be all the same or all alike. We are all equal, but that is different from all being alike. It means we all have (in an ideal world) an equal opportunity to succeed, regardless of nationality or any circumstance. The other main moral is to be yourself and to be content with who you are and your quirks/differences.

The main plot is Charles and Meg trying to find their father and they end up "Tessering" (or "wrinkling in time") to a planet called Camazotz to rescue him. Interesting characters help them along the way. Mrs. Who, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Which, along with Calvin are the main secondary antagonists.

Overall, it was fun to read and I enjoy reading young adult fiction sometimes.

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll and This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll-200 pages; Eisner Award Winner for Best Graphic Album-Reprint, 2015

This is an eerie collection of short stories about journeys into and out of the woods. Each story involves a family member (or family members) disappearing, going crazy, killing one another, and/or being possessed. The graphics/illustrations are well done and the stories are interesting, if weird. Overall, it was an easy read and I enjoy reading graphic novels.

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki-320 pages; Eisner Award Winner for Best Graphic Album-New, 2015; Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book; Caldecott Honor Book

Rose and her family (the Wallace family) go to the same place for vacation every summer: Awago Beach. Rose has a cabin friend she hangs out with every year named Windy, who is a year and a half younger. Rose's parents fight because her mom really wants to have another kid but can't and so she doesn't want to have fun anymore. I read some reviews on Goodreads and some of them said that the book didn't have much of a plot and I agree to an extent. There is a bit of a plot. Rose's mom (and the family) getting past the miscarriage and not being able to have another baby. The story does show Rose sort of "coming of age" a little bit and she seems to be "outgrowing" her friend Windy in many ways, but they stay friends. Other than that, there is not much plot, but the book was an okay read.