Book Review: Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega and Rose Bousamra

Title: Frizzy
Written by: Claribel A. Ortega; Art/Illustrations by: Rose Bousamra
Source/Format: Bookish First, First Second; Paperback
Publisher/ Release date: First Second; Oct 18, 2022

Goodreads        Barnes & Noble

Synopsis From Goodreads:
A middle grade graphic novel about Marlene, a young girl who stops straightening her hair and embraces her natural curls.

Marlene loves three things: books, her cool Tía Ruby and hanging out with her best friend Camila. But according to her mother, Paola, the only thing she needs to focus on is school and "growing up." That means straightening her hair every weekend so she could have "presentable", "good hair".

But Marlene hates being in the salon and doesn't understand why her curls are not considered pretty by those around her. With a few hiccups, a dash of embarrassment, and the much-needed help of Camila and Tia Ruby—she slowly starts a journey to learn to appreciate and proudly wear her curly hair.

What I Thought:

Frizzy, written by Claribel A. Ortega and art by Rose Bousamra, revolves around Marlene as she takes the steps to figuring out her curly hair and ultimately being herself.

The story was quite an emotional one as Marlene encountered various terms being thrown around by her family. Terms like “good hair” or “You should be more like your cousin.”(page 31), pushing the idea of a best type of hair. And I’m sure many who have curly hair may relate to this. I enjoyed Marlene’s supportive relationships with her best friend Camila, and her  curly haired aunt Ruby (who helped a lot). Most of all, Marlene was more concerned about her mother. Marlene wanted both her mother’s approval and to not hurt her feelings, especially given some rather sad memories. In the end, the story came together with a very heartwarming and emotional conclusion. 

Also, Bousamra’s art is beautiful and I love the style. It’s simplistic but not in a way that’s overly simplified. It’s just right. The colors are like muted pastels that mesh really well with the overall feel, giving off a refreshing modern retro vibe. I think Ortega's writing and Bousamra's art are a perfect combination.

Overall, I enjoyed reading frizzy. It sort of brought me back to the trials and fun of going natural, I loved it. If it sounds interesting to you or your young reader, I recommend checking it out.

I received this book from Bookish First and First Second for this review.

Thanks for reading!

Kinda, Sort of Break / 2021 Art Dump

Hey, I usually take a break when Our Thoughts Precisely posts the break announcement, but I think I'll be away a little longer. I'll be around, but not posting (except for post that were prescheduled). Anyway, art dump in coming! Also, thanks for reading and enjoy your holidays.

Sweet Dream Afro

Spring Showers and Flowers | Mermaid Dress

Strawberry Girl + Adjusted version

Random Sketch | Sketch Inspired by Let Me Call You Sweetheart (Mary Higgins Clark)

My Favorite Looks from Valentino's FW21 Show

Halloween 2021 | Halloween Art on Our Thoughts Precisely Part 1 / Part 2

Holidays 2021 | Doodle About to Sit/Party Girl

End of the Year (EOY) Round Up 1 Melanie Main & Melanie Halloween

*(I'll post the other parts later. *Edit they're below.)

Strawberry Girl and (lack of) Mermaid Gown EOY 2

EOY Spring Showers and Flowers

You can catch my time-lapses over on AdriArting 

Book Review: The Way To Go by Kate Ascher

Title: The Way To Go: Moving by Sea, Land and Air
Author: Kate Ascher

Illustrators: Vic Kulihn, Design Language, David Preiss, Ken Batelman, Jason Lee, Aaron Ashley, Michael Fornalski, Jim Kopp, and James Provost

Source/Format: Purchased; Hardcover
ISBN: 9781594204685
More Details: 
Publisher/ Release date: The Penguin Press; Mar 20 2014

Goodreads        Barnes & Noble

Synopsis From Goodreads:

In our digital age, it’s easy to forget that almost everything we enjoy about modern life depends on motion. We ride in cars and on buses and trains to work; enjoy food shipped over oceans; fly high in the sky to any point on the planet. Over the last century, the world has come to rely on its ability to move just about anywhere effortlessly. But what prompted this transformation? What inventions allowed it to happen? And how do the vehicles and systems that keep us in motion today—airports, trains, cars, and satellites—really work?

Read more on Goodreads

What I thought:

The Way To Go by Kate Ascher covers the three main ways humans travel. It’s as the subtitle puts it, Moving by Land, Sea and Air. It’s not a deep dive into every topic. Instead, it shortly delves into finer details that we may not think about (like how train tracks are laid, or maintenance of ships in a dry dock). I liked that it’s a nice general over view of travel.

I mainly picked up the Way To Go as some leisure reading. I did feel there were a couple of parts that got repetitive; especially since certain areas naturally overlap. They were often named in one paragraph, and then further explained in another nearby, or on a different page with a closely related topic.  With that being said, I did enjoy it a lot. There were illustrations on every page. And, like many books I’ve read, technical terms are given a definition. Definitions of which could be found in the text that accompanied illustrations and photographs. Next, I love how the chapters are broken down into specific areas. For example within Sea is Life at Sea, Navigation, and Closer to Shore. This brings me to my next favorite. A single topic or closely related ones within the sections were contained in one page and/or a two page spread. 

The Way To Go is not an end all, definite, or technical book. And, I think it does what Ascher set out to do well. So, overall I enjoyed it a lot. I recommend checking it out if it sounds interesting to you, or if you want to simply discover the broad details of traveling.

Thanks for reading!