The field of comics, also sometimes known as graphic novels, is dominated by male creators and readers. However, there’s been increasing push in the last few decades by women to enter the field and make their mark. Though comics drawn by women are gaining popularity, most are classified as “indie,” distributed by small publishers that may not be able to advertise or place volumes in prominent bookstores. Naomi Nowak’s most recent graphic novel, Graylight, is designated indie, though it deserves to be appreciated by a wider audience.

Sasha is a German photographer on assignment somewhere in northern Europe, where the sun stays up all night in summer. She is a mysterious person, a foreigner. She attracts the attention of a journalist, and he invites her to join him on his quest to interview a famous recluse. The woman takes a disliking to both of them and refuses to grant him an interview. But Sasha leaves with her own prize—a book stolen from the house.

Read more: http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2010/05/graylight.html

Hard headbands give me headaches. Recently I’ve taken to soft headbands with rubber surfaces; the rubber helps keep them in place. But, these don’t do much to cover up my laziness. The feathered layers around my face will stick out at odd angles, and these thin bands can’t hide when I’ve gone a day too long without washing my hair.

That’s where bandannas and handkerchiefs come in. Fold in a triangle, tie around your head, and you’re good to go. Unless you’re me. Then you’d better remember the bobby pins, or they’ll slip and slide, and have to be rearranged (which always requires taking them off completely, and often a good brushing).

The All Around Wide Pre-Tied Headband from CoverYourHair.com is a cross between a bandanna and a soft headband. The bottom half is rouched like a scrunchie, with generous elastic and extra fabric. The top half is a wide piece of fabric that is gathered at either end. You can spread this flat, like a bandanna, or bring it together into a thinner, ruffled band

Read More: http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2010/05/all-around-wide-pre-tied-headband.html

I began making my own jewelry in middle school and have become very discerning in my purchases since. I won’t buy something I know I can make myself or that I know is overpriced for the work and materials involved. But this pendant is something well outside my abilities and well worth the very reasonable price.

K. Robins begins by sculpting her shapes in wax. I enjoy running my fingers over the central spiral, where I can feel the uneven shapes of hand tooling. The long lines are smooth, and the whole thing has a satisfying weight without being oppressive. It is unusual in that there is no separate ring for it to hang from. Instead, the pendant’s uppermost ‘arm’ has an oblong hole near its top, so the pendant can hang directly from the cord. Because of this, it will always lie flat, and you won’t have to worry about walking around half the day with your necklace back-to-front.

Read More: http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2010/03/joy-pendant.html

For the Feminist Review

I’m a huge fan of Tracy Chevalier. Like a lot of people, I began with Girl with a Pearl Earring, and have since made my way through all but one of her other books. So of course I leapt at the chance to sample her newest offering.

Like all her books, Remarkable Creatures begins with something tangible. In Pearl Earring it was a Vermeer painting, and The Lady and the Unicorn explained the origin of a famous medieval tapestry. This time, the inspiration is a sketch of a most unusual woman.

Mary Anning is a working class girl living on the southern coast of Britain. The people there often host tourists and sell them “curies,” curiosities, as souvenirs. Only recently have men of learning begun to study and classify these curies as fossils. Mary has “the eye” for spotting them, and she is keeping her family afloat by hunting fossils along the beach.

Read more: http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2010/03/remarkable-creatures.html

Kate Perry is a pretty kickass chick. Her childhood dream was to be a ninja, and she’s now a seventh degree Kung Fu blackbelt. The serious study required in kung fu appears to have colored her novel, giving the ‘paranormal’ elements of this paranormal romance a more grounded feel than most Asian-inspired material written by Westerners.

Second in The Guardians of Destiny series, Chosen By Desire continues the modern legend of the Scrolls of Destiny, ancient writings that impart elemental powers on those who study them. Our heroine, Carrie, is a doctoral candidate looking for something to spice up her dissertation. On a tip, she travels to a Chinese monastery where her snooping uncovers exactly what she’s looking for. Frantic not to get caught, she stuffs the scrolls in her bag to study later. To ease her conscience, she promises herself she will return them as soon as her paper is approved, and she’s won a coveted position at her university.

But the legend is true and the current Guardians are onto her. Max, an American tapped to hold the power of Metal, follows her to California. Convinced that she is working with his rival to damage him, he invites Carrie into his home to translate the texts in his collection, giving him a chance to study her and learn her plans.

Read More: http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2010/01/chosen-by-desire-guardians-of-destiny.html

Louder Than Words is a series aimed at teenagers about teenage experiences. Atypically, the volumes are also written by teenagers. It may seem bizarre to ask teenagers to write memoirs—as Marni says, her siblings laughed—but Louder Than Words is dedicated to “reinforce[ing] the message that the experiences of teenagers and their perceptions and beliefs regarding [their] experiences have validity.”

Marni Bates comes from a dysfunctional home. Her parents are estranged long before they divorced, and her sister is her rival. Young Marni wants to be loved, so she plays into the manipulative games her father contrives. The shocking realization that her father sees her as a tool, rather than a daughter to love, is the first of many sledgehammers to Marni’s self-esteem.

Trichotillomania is a stress-related disorder. People pull their hair out as a means of coping, not unlike cutting or other forms of self-mutilation. Marni begins to pull at her eyebrows, taunted about her unibrow, a term she doesn’t even understand. Soon she is tugging out her eyelashes, her bangs, and the hair behind her ears. She knows she’s gone too far, but she can’t stop herself. Still, she hides the results of her pulling well, giving the disorder free reign over her mind and body.

Read more: http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2009/12/louder-than-words-marni.html

Part One of Interview: http://www.snap2objects.com/2009/11/02/30-covers-in-30-days/

Part Two of Interview: http://www.snap2objects.com/2009/11/11/30-covers-in-30-days-part-2/

Part Three forthcoming.

Racing the Dark
By Alaya Dawn Johnson
Bolden

Racing the Dark is unique among fantasy books. The world draws upon Pacific Island and East Asian cultures to create a rich blend very different from fantasy canon—an island nation with an animist religion centering on sacrifice and binding. Though a young adult novel, Johnson is unafraid to tackle harsh topics, and readers will love her for it.

The book begins with Lana’s womanhood trial: the morning of her first bleeding, she must dive alone to prove her worthiness as a diver (like the ama pearl divers of Japan). Her findings mark her as being destined for great things. Lana doesn’t want the sort of life the island elders would force on her, so she hides the signs and tries to go on as before. But forces in the world are already shifting. Soon the divers have no gems to collect, and the weather patterns begin to ravage their island. Their way of life dying, Lana and her family leave in search of something better.

Read more: http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2009/10/racing-dark.html

Reviewed for The Feminist Review

By Lauren Lipton
5 Spot

**spoiler alert** At its core, Mating Rituals of the North American WASP is wholly typical. Girl goes to Vegas. Girl gets drunk. Girl wakes up to find she married some stranger. Girl flees back to New York. Boy calls her up to tell her that, yes, they’re legally married. In time, Boy and Girl fall in love and decide to stay married. Mix in a secondary cliché plot: if they stay married, they get money.

Peggy is a New Yorker who runs a shop with her best friend. They’ve been successful for ten years, but their rent is about to be hiked up (that much is realistic). Luke Sedgwick is the last surviving member of the venerable Sedgwick clan, a family that has not left Connecticut since its founder built a big house which is now falling apart. Luke would love to sell the house and leave his oppressive birthright behind him, but his great-aunt Abigail is in her eighties and she refuses to leave. Her health is deteriorating at the same pace as the house, and Luke is badly in need of a way to pay for both.

Read More: http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2009/07/mating-ritual-of-north-american-wasp.html

Originally Posted On:  The Feminist Review

By Allan Appel
Coffee House Press

The back copy for The Hebrew Tutor paints a picture that is enticing:

Under threat of nuclear war and the gorgeous California sun, the two [Norman and Bayla] forge a tentative truce. They may not be learning Hebrew, but through the miracle of motorcycles and the epiphanies of the road, Bayla and Norman just might learn to shape their own destinies. And—for a few precious hours—become a latter-day Bonnie and Clyde searching for a reverse Jewish nose job in the City of Angels.

This paragraph implies that we will spend quite a bit of time with “the two,” Norman the Hebrew tutor and Bayla the tutored. It implies that this time will be full of adventure, riding motorcycles, under threat from things unseen, playing at Bonnie and Clyde. It suggests a cheeky ‘eff you’ to Hollywood dogma. All of this happens… but it doesn’t receive the focus the copy suggests.

Read More: http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2009/08/hebrew-tutor-of-bel-air.html