Mera: Tidebreaker (graphic novel) by Danielle Paige - Paul's REVIEW

*I received this book as an eARC from DC Ink via Edelweiss. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

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Title: Mera: Tidebreaker
Author: Danielle Paige
Illustrator: Steven Byrne
Release Date: April 2, 2019

About Danielle Paige
Danielle Paige is the New York Times bestselling author of the Dorothy Must Die series and the Stealing Snow series. In addition to writing young adult books, she has worked in the television industry, where she’s received a Writers Guild of America Award and was nominated for several Daytime Emmys. She is a graduate of Columbia University and currently lives in New York City.

About Stephen Byrne
Stephen Byrne was born in Dublin, Ireland, where he studied at the Irish School of Animation. He has worked in Ireland and the United States in the fields of animation, TV advertising, satirical newspaper cartoons, and video games. He now lives in London, where he works on his true passion, comics.

About DC Ink
DC Ink is a new young adult graphic novel line from DC. The line will introduce DC’s most iconic Super Heroes to a new generation of fans with stories told by some of the most successful authors from the young adult publishing space. DC Ink titles will be standalone stories, not part of DC’s ongoing continuity, and completely accessible to new readers who have no previous knowledge of DC characters. The line will launch in April 2019 with the release of Mera: Tidebreaker by Danielle Paige and Stephen Byrne, followed by Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale by Lauren Myracle and Isaac Goodhart in May, Teen Titans: Raven by Kami Garcia and Gabriel Picolo in July, and more titles to be announced.



Synopsis: Princess Mera is teenage royalty and heir to the throne of Xebel, a penal colony ruled by Atlantis. Her father and the entire kingdom are expecting her to marry and introduce a new king. But Mera is destined to wear a different crown.

When the Xebellian military plots to overthrow Atlantis and break free of its oppressive regime, Mera seizes the opportunity to take control of her own destiny by assassinating Arthur Curry—the long-lost prince and heir to the kingdom of Atlantis. But her mission gets sidetracked when Mera and Arthur unexpectedly fall in love. Will Arthur Curry be the king at Mera’s side, or will he die under her blade as she attempts to free her people from persecution? Mera is forced to choose between following her heart and her mission to kill.

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Review: DC Ink is bringing Young Adult stories about DC characters to the graphic novel format! The first book is Mera: Tidebreaker written by Danielle Paige. Steven Bryne illustrates this story in mostly blue tones with highlights of orange for Mera's (and her father's) hair.

This graphic novel tells the story of a young princess trying to live up to the model left behind by her deceased mother who was both a queen and a warrior. The royal politics of the underwater world is at the forefront of this story. There are a lot of princess tropes that Paige plays with. It's like if The Little Mermaid was on a mission to kill Prince Eric. 

This is a fun "fish out of water" assassin princess story. Mera thinks she has it in her to kill the Atlantean Prince Arthur and bring his head back to her father, but is that really the type of person she is?

I give this book a 3.5/5. Paige merges classic tropes with empowering characters, but it could have had more of an original feel to it, in my opinion. I'm looking forward to the other DC Ink titles. I already have downloaded Raven's!


--PAUL

Paul's Top Books Read in 2014

2014 was another wonderful year for Young Adult books, especially in the Fantasy genre. I didn't meet my Goodreads Reading Challenge, but I did read over 50 books in 2014. I wanted to share a few of my favorites. First, I have my favorites that are not sequels. Then at the bottom I have listed my favorite sequels. Click on the titles or the cover pictures for links to my reviews!

TOP BOOK OF 2014

Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

Runner Ups

                                   

The Wizard's Promise                                   No Place Like Oz

Honorable Mentions

                  

Here are some sequels that I loved in 2014:

                      

What were your favorite books of 2014? Check out my reviews of these books by clicking on the titles or the cover images.

-PAUL

No Place Like Oz (Dorothy Must Die #0.5) by Danielle Paige - Ashley's Review

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Title: No Place Like Oz (Dorothy Must Die #0.5)
Author: Danielle Paige
Year Published: 2013

Paul's Review

Synopsis: After returning to Kansas, Dorothy Gale has realized that the dreary fields of Kansas don’t compare to the vibrant landscapes of Oz. And although she’s happy to be reunited with Aunt Em, she misses her friends from the yellow brick road. But most of all, Dorothy misses the fame and the adventure. In Kansas she’s just another prairie girl, but in Oz she was a hero. So Dorothy is willing to do anything to get back, because there really is no place like Oz. But returning to the land she left comes at a price, and after Dorothy is through with it, Oz will never be the same.

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Review: I love the Oz books, and I love when there are retellings of things that happen in Oz. I think it's one of my favorite classics to read new and interesting spins on, because the world is so vast and there are so many ways it can be changed into something new and exciting. This novella was no different, and might even be one of my favorites! 

Dorothy is always portrayed as being the hero - she killed the Witches and restored peace to Oz, and all of the residents of Oz love her for that. In this novella though, she's not the sweet little girl from Kansas that everyone remembers. She's actually kind of a jerk for most of the book, and I actually liked that about her. Especially since the next book is called Dorothy Must Die.... I'm pretty glad that I'm not sure whether or not I should actually like Dorothy. 

One of my favorite parts about this novella was all of the references to the originial book series. Ozma is really important in the books, and it makes sense that she's the ruler at the time that this novella is taking place. Other fans of the series may notice that the Saw-Horse, Polychrome, and the porcelain dolls (among other inhabitants of Oz) make appearance or are mentioned, which is pretty neat. And Dorothy's slippers stick to the original story in terms of their color, although she does receive a special gift on her sixteenth birthday that will make bring back memories of the original movie. 

I really enjoyed this novel, and I'm excited to see what will happen to Oz as the story continues in the rest of the Dorothy Must Die series! I think I want to read a few more Oz books before I read Dorothy Must Die though so that I can pick up on all of the subtle references and know who the characters and places are from the original books. I would definitely recommend this novella to anyone who is thinking about reading Dorothy Must Die and to any fans of The Wizard of Oz, be it the movie or the books. A 5/5! 

--Ashley

No Place Like Oz (Dorothy Must Die #0.5) - Paul's Review

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Title: No Place Like Oz (Dorothy Must Die #0.5)
Author: Danielle Paige
Year Published: 2013

Synopsis: After returning to Kansas, Dorothy Gale has realized that the dreary fields of Kansas don’t compare to the vibrant landscapes of Oz. And although she’s happy to be reunited with Aunt Em, she misses her friends from the yellow brick road. But most of all, Dorothy misses the fame and the adventure. In Kansas she’s just another prairie girl, but in Oz she was a hero. So Dorothy is willing to do anything to get back, because there really is no place like Oz. But returning to the land she left comes at a price, and after Dorothy is through with it, Oz will never be the same.

Dorothy Must Die UPCOMING RELEASE DATE 

Tuesday April 1, 2014

Review: No Place Like Oz is more than just a novella with added content to attach to a full fledged novel. It is almost 200 pages and a complete story on its own. After finishing this novella, I immediately pre-ordered Dorothy Must Die. I was intrigued by the upcoming book already just based on the hype and the source material, but this novella has got me completely hooked. 

The famous Dorothy Gale is back in Kansas and life just isn't what it used to be now that she knows there's a whole world of magic out there, just over the rainbow, out of reach. She receives a mysterious gift on her 16th birthday and finds herself on a whole new adventure. I won't spoil the story any more than that, but the places this story goes are wonderful.  

No matter your familiarity with Oz, you will enjoy the magic in this novella. For those diehard Oz fans, characters from the original books make appearances. And for those who have only seen the movie, you may be slightly confused by some name changes and subtle differences, but all the differences are explained in the context of the book to allow easy access for those unfamiliar with L. Frank Baum's books. There weren't ruby slippers in the original novel. The silver shoes were made more vibrant to showcase the revolutionary technicolor of the 1939 film. 

If you are a fan of retellings or continuations of classic tales, I think you'll like this. There are some darker themes in this than the source material. It seems like the first full book in the series will continue that darker feel. If you are planning on reading Dorothy Must Die on its release, I suggest checking out this novella first. I give this novella a 5/5. 

--PAUL