Day one of the "Goth Girl Rising" Blog Tour:

Plot Summarry:

Time is a funny thing in the hospital. In the mental ward. You lose track of it easily.

After six months in the Maryland Mental Health Unit, Kyra Sellers, a.k.a. Goth Girl, is going home.

Unfortunately, she’s about to find out that while she was away, she lost track of more than time.

Things seem normal at first. Roger’s his typical, pain-in-the-ass fatherly self. Jecca and Simone and the rest of the goth crowd still do their thing. And Kyra is back in black, feeling good, and ready to make up with the only person who’s ever appreciated her for who she really is.

But then she sees him. Fanboy. Transcended from everything he was into someone she barely recognizes.

And the anger and memories come rushing back.

Fanboy. The Spermling. Miss Powell. Roger.

Her mother.

There’s so much to do to people when you’re angry.

Kyra’s about to get very busy.

Seeing I've been far too occupied with college homework and work on "Death Seer," four individuals shall be offering their review of Barry Lyga's newest novel "Goth Girl Rising." To those who are unaware of Barry Lyga's works, I highly recommend all his books because his books are effective in conveying their intended messages. And also all his books are highly entertaining and contain the great amount of quotable quotes that will ultimately stick with you for a long period of time.

Be sure to check my blog every day this week for a review of Barry Lyga's other books. And also just for your knowledge, today's the official release date of "Goth Girl Rising," even though Amazon and a host of other online outlets shipped copies three or four weeks in advance. Anyways, that's my only input for this review. My special guests shall be overtaking this review.


First Take on the Book (from Princess Cordelia)

"Excuse me for a bit; I've recently returned from one of Angel's missions. And those migraine inducing vision thingies that those "Powers that aren't" sent me really puts a strain on my thought process. So hope you don't mind my occasional incoherent comment about the book "Goth Girl Rising. The one theme in which I especially loved was the author's effectiveness in furthering Kyra's development. Within the first novel, we're only shown one dimension of her character from Fanboy's perspective. From Kyra's perspective, we're able to see her conundrum of thoughts related to everything that unfolds in her life. This helps the reader to finally feel some sympathy for the character we once thought to be a very malevolent, yet misguided person.

Kyra felt like someone I know like either Angel or the Gorugula. Though she might be a tad bit irritating like Darla and confusing like the detached Druscilla. Her feelings seemed natural to those who've gone through the hell of high school. As some know, my high school was a literal hell. In my honest opinion, I believe Barry Lyga writes better female characters than male characters. Since every thought and action of Kyra seemed authenticated and Kyra possessed more personality than some of his male protagonists. I hope Barry Lyga writes from a female perspective more often because Kyra truly breathed some fresh air into a setting which was starting to grow old.

Anyways, I loved the book and even handed it to Angel, knowing he would appreciate this book, being as he is a bit of a softy. I have to go now and fight some ghastly demons in this skimpy dress of mine. Let's hope I don't get too much carnage on this, especially the hand crafted tiara."


Second take on the book: (Gambit)

"Why am I being commissioned to write this review? Can't I simply just say it was excellent even if everything within the novel seemed resolved far too easily. Though I'm relieved that the ending was ambiguous enough to forgive the ending which seemed to be an easy one. Delving into the misguided Kyra's head was definitely awkward for someone like me to read. Especially her references to some of the women related things that I'm only familiar with when Rogue whines about them on occasion. Saying this might be a bit out of character for me. But I found Fanboy to be a tad bit infuriating towards the middle of the book. His tendency to ignore Goth Girl's input on things frustrated me as much as Kyra. I thought I'd never be able to understand the thought process of a female. Yet, reading the scenes between Kyra and fanboy caused me to realize that our thoughts are similar to those of females. In all, we're not much different from the other. The book was engaging and has helped me to feel more sympathetic towards the identity conflicts of teens and aided in having more patience with Rogue during one of her tirades. Thanks to Barry Lyga, I'm on the road to gaining more understand to the workings of a female and having more of an ability to see they're equal to us in many ways. Also just as Kyra mentions within the middle of the novel, no male should perceive any female as being an object for them to play with. All in all, great book and nice allusions to "Sandman," one of my favorite reads."

Third Take:(Boy Struggling with mire)
"Being one of the Gashycrumb Tinies, I'm destined to die sometime after finishing this review. I read this book while struggling to stay atop the mire I've been forced to eternally walk. Till I become greatly exhausted and meet my fated end. One of the elements I appreciated was Kyra's struggle with the concept of death. Since I'm accustomed to death and am afraid of the unforeseen elements of it, I really identified with Kyra and understood every doubt she had about death. These passages greatly resonated with me and really eased my fear of death. I know inevitably I'll die someday. At least,I can lead out a meaningful life while fighting against the mire of life. Death's only frightening for those who have not lived a life where you've shown compassion to others and tried your best to fight against the mire.

Many young adult writers or other writers avoid writing about death because it's a hard topic for any human being to grapple with and write about. Luckily this book approached the topic in a manner that's easy for anyone to relate with.

Maybe I will write more reviews sometime. That's if, the mire does not catch up to me in the next month or year."

Fourth Take:(Miniature Kyra)

"I may be a miniaturized Kyra but I still retain her spunk and her personality. If you want one of your own mini Kyras, be sure to check out this awesome offer. These Kyras shall hopefully aid in the betterment of society since we're not afraid to speak the truth. I was very satisfied with this book because it finally allowed me the opportunity to reveal all my doubts and insecurities, which were formerly hidden due to Fanboy's biased views. I finally was able to appear as someone who was not nefarious or entirely angst ridden. Instead I was shown in favorable light and portrayed to readers as someone whose struggling just as much as other teens and adults with finding my place within this crazy world. One of the story's elements I loved was the unfinished poem about my mother's death and how each new element of the poem ultimately matched with my developing feelings surrounding the entire incident. I won't offer any more information about this unique piece of the story as it'd reveal one of my core conflicts for myself throughout the novel. Hopefully we'll see more books from my perspective or other females from Brookside High School. Because whether Barry Lyga will ever admit it or not, he has really taken great care in writing a well shaped female character. If Joss Whedon were to see this story, he would definitely be proud about the fact that there are other males like himself who are not afraid to write strong female characters which members of any gender can identify with.

Be sure to check in tomorrow for a review of "Wolverine's Worst Day Ever!," the first of Barry Lyga's youth X-men series!"