Napkin Scribbles

Title-Tomie 3

Author-Junji Ito

Year of Publication-2001 (translated from Japanese 2006)

Series Title-Tomie

Series Status-Complete (1997-2001)

Book In Series-3

Total In Series-3

Summary-Sequel to Tomie 2. The youngest brother gets the dirty task of disposing of Tomie’s corpse and accidentally makes 4 more of her. A young boy living on the beach meets Tomie in a tide pool and his life is ruined. After being driven mad by Tomie a young man takes her pulverized body and makes it into sake. A hired babysitter is locked in with Tomie during a fire and loses her mind. A young man mourning his girlfriend is brought to a Tomie centric cult. A former top model who had his life ruined by Tomie plots for decades to make her grow old and enlists the older sister of one of his clones. However his plan goes wrong at the very last minute after the block of concrete Tomie is encased in has a crack.

Pros-Has an ending instead of going on indefinitely. The final three chapters all being connected. Short hair Tomie and kimono Tomie are both a treat. Tomie returning to the beach after a long time.

Cons-I’m holding out hope that one day Tomie Takeover will be translated.

Author-Junji Ito

Year of Publication-1997 (translated from Japanese 2001)

Series Title-Tomie

Series Status-Complete (1997-2001)

Book In Series-2

Total In Series-3

Summary-Sequel to Tomie 1. Tsukiko is confronted again by Tomie for a final fight. A trio of hikers find Tomie abandoned by her boyfriend with disastrous consequences. A man peddling strange bundles tosses them into a waterfall when confronted by the villagers unleashing a new wave of Tomie. A promising new painter finds his muse in Tomie. A young man finds Tomie and soon involved in a fight. A high school girl finds a box full of hair in her father’s desk and shares it with her friend. An old couple adopt Tomie after finding her passed out in the yard and for a while the small family is happy.

Pros-Tomie is at her peak beauty in this volume. Here we have solid proof Tomie is a parasite. After the waterfall episode all subsequent appearances of Tomie are all different. The many appearances of Tomie with different looks and personalities.

Cons-I’ve always wondered what happened to some of characters like Chie who lived through their encounter. Mr. Takagi made his last appearance and vanished.

Author-Junji Ito

Year of Publication-1997 (translated from Japanese 2001)

Series Title-Tomie

Series Status-Complete (1997-2001)

Book In Series-1

Total In Series-3

Summary-Tomie is a beautiful young girl hunted by death. During a school trip she accidentally falls to her death, but the day after the funeral arrives to school like nothing happened driving her classmates and teacher Mr. Takagi mad. Three years later Mr. Takagi has escaped a mental institution and Tomie is back to terrorize Yukiko who is ill in the hospital by poisoning her friend Tadashi against her. But when Tadashi kills Tomie she is able to return once again using Yukiko as a base. Tsukiko is a student photographer who makes a quick buck selling girls photos of their crushes while nursing her own crush on Yamazaki. And of course Tomie is there to thwart her and gets Tsukiko suspended, but now Tomie’s influence is growing and she’s able to get boys to do what she wants including Yamazaki. Playing the part of the nice guy Tomie visits Tsukiko when her ability to reproduce begins without her knowledge and Tomie’s minions meaning to cut off the growth cut her head off. Tsukiko is the first person to really get in Tomie’s way and she’s willing to do anything include manipulating her own blood under the carpet to get rid of her.

Pros-Ito’s less polished art style suits these early Tomie stories. I’m hoping one day Tsukiko will come back. Takagi being a reoccurring antagonist. The first two chapters being connected, and the next two, and the following two.

Cons-What happened to Reiko? I’m assuming Tomie used her the same way she used Yukiko.

Title-Good Wives

Author-Louisa May Alcott

Year of Publication-1869

Series Title-Little Women

Series Status-Complete (1868-1869)

Book In Series-2

Total In Series-2

Summary-Sequel to Little Women. Three years have passed and Meg is married to John Brooke who used to be Laurie’s tutor. Jo is now a published writer and while Beth’s health never fully recovered she keeps herself busy at home while Amy continues her artistic endeavors. But of course not everything is rosy. Meg is overwhelmed with being the perfect housewife and with the births of twins Demi and Daisey she’s all but pulling her hair out. Laurie has confessed his love for Jo and been rejected from which their friendship will eventually recover, but not be the same. Beth has peace with her impending death to the shock of her family and is ready to be well at last. And Amy has taken Jo’s long sought after spot in a trip to Europe where she reconnects with Laurie’s English friends and finds a love of her own. So with Meg occupied with her own family, Beth at rest, and Amy in Europe with Laurie the only March sister still at home is Jo. Her own brief trip to Europe will have Jo cross paths with Friedrich Bhaer a German professor and widower who fills the hole in Jo’s heart and will be the beginning of her happily ever after.

Pros-Flowed better than Little Women. The Amy/Laurie romance felt more natural than Jo/Laurie. The March sisters to how they were at the beginning of Little Women compared to the end of Good Wives. The ending was solid and didn’t call for additional books (yes I’m referring to the messes that are Jo’s Boys and Little Men).

Cons-Beth deserved better. The idea of Jo marrying anyone still has me confused.

Author-Louisa May Alcott

Year of Publication-1868

Series Title-Little Women

Series Status-Complete (1868-1869)

Book In Series-1

Total In Series-2

Summary-As the American Civil War raged the four March sisters sit together on Christmas. Meg the eldest at 16 dreams of a family of her own, Jo is the next oldest at 15 and is all arms and legs and big aspires to become an author, Beth is next at 13 and is the quietest happy with her cats and homey chores, and the youngest is 12 year old Amy a bit of a diva and a blooming artist. With their father gone to war the girls stay home and mind their mother which includes giving up Christmas breakfast for a poor family with the promise of a good dinner later. Neighbors with the March sisters is Theodore Laurence known as Laurie who lives with his grandfather a crotchety old man who really only has a soft spot for his grandson and Beth who be gifts his piano too. As the year rolls on the sisters mature and learn how to be little women with lessons from sticking with your morals and not becoming a plaything for others to accommodating others to the serious threat of death. Meg meets her sweetheart Laurie’s tutor John Brooke while Jo and Laurie’s friendship deepens. Amy learns how to treat others better and Beth’s health betrays her after she nurses a sick baby. When their father returns home the March family is once again complete and ready to start fresh.

Pros-Having Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy very different from each other from appearance to personality to wants. No explicit romance between Jo and Laurie. The character development between all four sisters. Laurie’s presence also doesn’t cause tension between the sisters since he’s the token boy. The eventual romance between Meg and John Brooke.

Cons-Felt a little episodic which made it tricky to summarize.

Title-The Dark Half

Author-Stephen King

Year of Publication-1989

Summary-The sparrows are flying again. Thad Beaumont is finally taking his life back from his alter ego George Stark. Stark has been Thad’s life longer than anyone including Thad knows. Almost 30 years ago Thad had brain surgery to remove a tumor, but it wasn’t a tumor the surgeon took. It was a cluster of teeth, an eye, and other tissues which had things gone differently would have formed Thad’s twin brother. But George Stark came to be another way as Thad’s pen name and now that Thad has decided to write only under his own name Stark isn’t happy. So with Thad and his wife Liz oblivious and happy with their twin children William and Wendy the murderous rampage of George Stark begins. Almost immediately Stark realizes without Thad he will fall apart and go back to wherever it is he came from. He needs Thad to write another George Stark novel and he isn’t going to let Thad’s agent or the magazine interviewer or Sheriff Alan Pangborn get his way. George Stark is a self described high octane son of a bitch and Thad is about to find out what that means.

Pros-The use of twin characters. References to the events of The Dead Zone and Cujo. The imagery when the sparrows took Stark away. At some angles the eye on the cover looks scared and at some look angry mirroring Thad and Stark.

Cons-Thad is very passive what’s happening up until the last minute. Found a typo.

Title-Never Lie

Author-Freida McFadden

Year of Publication-2022

Summary-Tricia and Ethan have been married 6 months and are still in the honeymoon phase while they search for a house. But currently they’re snowbound in one of their prospects; a mansion once owned by the famous psychiatrist Adrienne Hale who disappeared three years ago right after her book was published. The finger was pointed at her boyfriend Luke whose life was subsequently ruined. Now stuck in the house all Tricia wants to do is leave even though Ethan is already in love. She doesn’t like that there’s food in the kitchen and no cell service. But is the mystery of Adrienne Hale really a secret? Before her disappearance she was blackmailed by a patient known as EJ and enlisted Luke to help her take care of the problem. Then there’s another patient called PL who survived a horrific triple murder and became the basis of Adrienne’s book. While she searches the house for a supposed intruder Tricia finds Doctor Hale’s library of patient tapes giving her a picture of the vanished doctor. It isn’t just Adrienne who has secrets. And it’s easier to keep a secret when fewer people know.

Pros-At first it looks pretty obvious who EJ is. Tricia and Ethan are better matched than they first appear. Splitting the narration between Adrienne and Tricia. Everything is interconnected.

Cons-The reveal on what happened to Adrienne was lackluster.

Title-The Five

Author-Hallie Rubenhold

Year of Publication-2019

Summary-In 1887 Queen Victoria is celebrating her Golden Jubilee and the festivities are rampant. But the next year a nightmare will come to London in the form of a faceless man known to history as Jack the Ripper. But he’s of no importance right now. The ones of importance are his five canonical victims Mary Ann ‘Polly’ Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elisabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly. History remembers them as ‘only prostitutes’ which with few exceptions is an outright lie. Polly Nicholas married young and had a happy life with her husband up until her alcohol addiction got the better of her. Annie Chapman the daughter of a soldier married older than most women of the time, but like her father struggled again with alcohol. Catherine Eddowes came from a big family and was the only woman out of the five abused by her husband. Elisabeth Stride and Mary Jane Kelly did sell their bodies, but for different reasons and while Elisabeth tried to break her cycle of abuse by marrying a man who was kind to her Mary Jane became angry and bitter at only 25. Why would the Ripper choose these five? Because they were vulnerable and society counted them as unpersons and for whatever reason may it be that the Ripper was a coward are heart or because it was easy pickings all five women were killed while they slept. As in life while they were unable to break away from substance abuse and poverty Polly, Annie, Elisabeth, Catherine, and Mary Jane are almost forgotten by history in favor of their murderer. “The victims of Jack the Ripper were never “just prostitutes”; they were daughters, wives, mothers, sisters, and lovers. They were women. They were human beings, and surely that in itself is enough.” Nonfiction.

Pros-As always pictures with my nonfiction. No focus on Jack the Ripper. Including the birth and death dates of each woman. When you see London society at this time it’s no wonder all five women were in the circumstances they were in. This was basically a character study of the five canonical victims of Jack the Ripper that explained their background and lives and how they became a target.

Cons-I will never by a fan of footnotes. Compared to the previous 4 there wasn’t as much information on Mary Jane.

Title-The Tenant

Author-Freida McFadden

Year of Publication-2025

Summary-Blake is on the top of the world. He has his dream job as VP of marketing, his dream girl Krista she of the delicious snickerdoodles, and his dream home in New York. For one week at least and then Blake is fired when his boss accuses him of selling company secrets. Now with only Krista's income it's decided they need a tenant to move in which Blake is dreading. After many flops Whitney arrives and she checks all the boxes. At least for another week and then just as Blake suspected Whitney is making his life hell. But this is going beyond her eating his cereal and using all his shampoo. Blake has found rotten food left around the kitchen and suspects Whitney has some kind of hidden sinister plans. So when Krista leaves him suspecting Blake of sleeping with Whitney it's his drive to win Krista back that sends Blake down the rabbit hole of false identities and lies.

Pros-Has the classic McFadden twist. Don't trust any of the characters. The retelling of the previous events from Krista's point of view. Up until the last minute the story feels neatly wrapped up. Starts out as a fairly basic roommate from hell scenario.

Cons-Blake oozes toxic masculinity. The part with Whitney just happening to have Krista's true identity felt like a reach.

Title-The Stand-In

Author-Lily Chu

Year of Publication-2021

Summary-Gracie is in a pinch. She’s lost her job after her creepy boss caught her out and about during a supposed sick day and during that same day she was mistaken for Chinese superstar Wei Fangli and photographed by the paparazzi. And Gracie needs a job to pay for her mom’s private room in an assisted care home while waiting for a spot in a Chinese oriented home. But thanks to her matching face with Wei Fangli Gracie is about to get the opportunity of a life time. Because her lookalike is in town for 2 months and is exhausted from work and public appearances and has decided to hire Gracie to be her double. The only one not excited is Sam who’s been friends with Fangli for years and doesn’t think Gracie is up to the job. With $150,000 on the line which is more than enough to take care of her mom Gracie takes the job. But as Gracie perfects her Fangli act she discovers not only does she have a possible game changing planning app in development she’s falling in love with Sam which is defendant no-no. And every time Gracie visits her mom who is sinking more and more into Alzheimer’s she starts to hear about her past in China. Gracie’s Cinderella story is about to take a turn, but to get her happy ending she will need to stop being people pleaser Gracie and do what makes her happy.

Pros-I had some Prince and the Pauper vibes. Including Gracie’s development of her app Eppy. Gracie did have instant attraction towards Sam, but there was no instalove. There’s some pretty strong hints about the real relationship between Gracie and Fangli.

Cons-Content Warning: workplace sexual harassment and racism. The tired old trope of THE BIG MISUNDERSTANDING. I don’t understand in the beginning why Gracie didn’t try very hard with being Fangli since she needed the money.

Title-The Original of Laura

Author-Vladimir Nabokov

Year of Publication-2009

Summary-Written during Nabokov’s final illness after an accident in Switzerland while pursuing his hobby of butterfly hunting Laura follows Flora a young woman cheating on her older husband Philip. While Flora’s youth before Philip if partially explained the index cards Nabokov used for his writing also drift into his own personal thoughts that aren’t always clear and are often morbid. Finally in the end it is unclear if we are with Flora and Philip or with their creature as he struggles to finish a final story before the curtain drops.

Pros-Keeping the index cards Nabokov used as well as the typed text. Was Hubert H. Hubert meant to be a reference to Lolita’s Humbert? I don’t know if this is a pro or not, but you can tell sometimes where Nabokov was less lucid.

Cons-The first 50 or so pages are very discombobulated.