My count for this month is entirely skewed because my school library got all of the Sailor Moon manga and I've been dying to finish the series.
Sailor Moon Vol 4, finished 4/8; Sailor Moon Vol 5, finished 4/9; Sailor Moon Vol 6, finished 4/10; Sailor Moon Vol 7, finished 4/12; Sailor Moon Vol 8, finished 4/23; Sailor Moon Vol 9, finished 4/23; Sailor Moon Vol 10, finished 4/28. The "Renewal Editions" manga are really good: they've been cleaned up and re-translated, meaning they're a lot better than the original editions I've seen that were westernized. They go really quickly compared to the anime, though, and most of the story arcs only last one or two of the volumes. I kind of miss the depth / time that the anime put into the arcs, but reading the manga is easier for me because it doesn't have that painfully obvious "90's quality" to it. That said, I'm super excited for Sailor Moon Crystal that's coming out this summer.
Earth Girl by Janet Edwards, finished 4/9. I really liked the concept and the worldbuilding of Earth Girl, and how most of the characters weren't flat. The only thing I really didn't like was Jarra's lie: I got about halfway through the book and started to wonder if I'd forgotten something, because the plot seemed to totally forget Jarra's actual background. The thing with Jarra's lies being (or becoming) true was a little strange, too. I can understand a resemblance between the past Jarra makes up and the past Jarra didn't know about, but they were almost entirely identical, and it just seemed to fairy-tale-like. The edition I had also had a really tiny font, so it was hard for me to make progress on the book. Earth Girl isn't all that bad; I just don't really have anything to recommend about it.
When We Wake by Karen Healey, finished 4/10. I didn't think When We Wake was all that interesting. The concept was pretty cool, but there wasn't really anything that made me want to keep reading other than the fact that it's a library book and I had other books to finish. It didn't really seem like anything was ever explained enough for me -- maybe I just wanted more detail than the book gave, or it's going to be covered in the second book, or something. But I don't have a compelling reason to read the second book.
Ivy by Julie Hearn, finished 4/22. To be honest, I can't really tell you what the plot of this book was. There didn't seem to be any sort of point to Ivy. It just seemed more like a string of events that didn't build up any sort of anticipation. There was some character development, but I wasn't even that interested in the characters for it to make any sort of difference. Maybe I just have a thing against historical fiction -- but who would voluntarily decide to be a vegetarian when their family can barely feed everyone as it is?
The Lost Code by Kevin Emerson, finished 4/25. The premise of The Lost Code was what made me finish the book. If I wasn't so interested in the Atlantean stuff, I would have put the book down as soon as I started to notice the narration. It wasn't all that bad, but there were a few times where I started to pay more attention to how the narration stuck out rather than what was going on. The book was also just kind of all over the place. The concepts of the Eden domes and the lost Atlantis culture was really the only reason I finished, and while I enjoyed the attention that those topics got, the rest of the book wasn't all that great. (Also, that kid on the cover does not look 15. At all.)
The Language Inside by Holly Thompson, finished 4/29. The Language Inside was a bit different for me, being written in poetry instead of with a full narrative like a novel. And I really liked it! It can be a little depressing at times, watching Emma struggle between wanting to return to Japan and staying in the US for the life she's beginning to establish. But it was really good. I'd totally buy it if I got enough spare money to. It was kind of a quick read, since it's mostly just a few words per line rather than full paragraphs of text, so it took like a day to read despite being 500+ pages. I would have kept it for longer if I didn't have to lug it around school. (For some reason, I thought the copy I'd found at the public library had a different title? But nothing on the internet indicates anything other than The Language Inside, so maybe I was just wrong.)
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