Kevin Keller: Drive Me Crazy is very episodic. In the first chapter, each of the characters has to present a report on an inspirational figure, and Kevin chooses George Takei. Takei finds out about his report and decides to pay Riverdale High a visit. In the second chapter, Kevin has some car problems that complicate a date at the drive-in movie theater. In the third chapter, Kevin is now dating his first ever boyfriend, Devon, but there's just one problem: Devon isn't out yet. In the fourth chapter, Kevin's secret admirer is back (his first appearance was in a previous volume I haven't read), and both he and Kevin are starring in Veronica's musical. Devon, meanwhile, struggles with jealousy.

This is apparently the second (?) Kevin Keller volume - I thought about getting the previous one through ILL first but instead decided to just jump in.

This read much more like the original Archie comics than the Archie and Jughead reboots did, despite being more in-your-face about its progressive aspects. I found the art style to be a bit creepy, with everyone smiling 90% of the time, the dialogue was stiff and not particularly well written, and the stories beat readers over the head with their messages.

Kevin Keller is the first openly gay character in the Archie Comics universe, and it's great that he exists. It's also nice that he's not the sole gay person in Riverdale, although he seems to be the only gay guy that anyone is dating. In this one volume, Kevin goes on dates with three different guys and meets a fourth guy who was his secret admirer in a past volume. I was somewhat confused when Kevin said that Devon was his first boyfriend ever, since I'd thought Todd (in Chapter 2) was Kevin's boyfriend, and it seemed like Brian (in Chapter 1) might have been a past boyfriend of Kevin's.

It was great that Kevin got a few stories that weren't solely focused on him being gay - his car borrowing troubles and date at the drive-in were a nice examples of this. Unfortunately, there were times when I felt like Kevin was more of a big gay after school special. The end of the George Takei chapter and the "oh no, my boyfriend is in the closet" chapters were particularly glaring examples. The George Takei stuff was corny, but the stuff in Chapter 3, with Devon, struck me as being potentially painful for some readers.

Kevin began dating Devon knowing that Devon was still in the closet because his parents were homophobic and wouldn't support him the way Kevin's parents did. However, Kevin hadn't even arrived at their first date before he started to have problems with their relationship. He hated that he had to drive out of his way to meet Devon and that they had to be secretive. When kids at school started to find out, Devon said some hurtful (and extremely dated - "I'm not fruity or light in the loafers, as they say!") things to try to reestablish himself as definitely not gay. (Okay, seriously, I had to google "light in the loafers." Does anyone who is not in their 70s even use that phrase anymore?)

Things between Kevin and Devon devolved to the point where Kevin said he couldn't date anyone who was still in the closet. And yeah, he has the right to decide what's best for himself when it comes to relationships, but I disliked that the "happy" resolution to their relationship woes involved

Oh, and one thing I noticed: although I'm pretty sure that even the original Archie comics allowed its characters to kiss on-page, the most Kevin did with anyone was hold hands or hug. After a bit of googling, I discovered that Kevin does get an on-page kiss later on in the series, so that's good. If two heterosexual characters can kiss on-page and still be considered sickeningly wholesome, two gay characters should be able to do the same. Although, from what I've read, Kevin's kiss results in him having to deal with a homophobic stranger's complaints.

I don't intend to read more of this series, although I do have a Kevin Keller novel in my collection that I plan on reading eventually.

Extras:

Six pages of full-color illustrations of Kevin, Betty, and Veronica acting as fashion models.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

It's Book Fair time at my kids' school, so I will be working shifts throughout the week. We have a table just for Dave Pilkey books (he's the author of Captain Underpants and Dog-Man graphic novels and my son LOVES his work; I hate the Captain but enjoy reading along with my son when he picks up a Dog-Man book - go figure). 

This week it's all about the graphic novels I picked out from OverDrive to fill the book prompts for some of the holidays in the 24 Festive Tasks game. One graphic novel is coming from my TBR and I am working on finishing a mystery for the game as well.

To finish: A Sip Before Dying for Door 1 (ROYGBIP on the cover)

To Start/Finish:

The Called Us Enemy for Door 2 (Graphic novel written by a Japanese-American author)

Walking Wounded for Door 6 (not revealed yet)

The Best We Could Do for Door 24 (traveling to a faraway place)

What a week…

The past few years applying to BEA was like trying to get refugee status or something. They wanted everything except my grandmother’s phone number.  I understood the point: lots of people were stocking up on ARCs and selling them- even advertising them prior to actually getting them.   Couple of years ago there was a woman who brought her kids to a trade show just to help her snag extra copies to sell.  Heck, a woman was just caught trying to sell Leigh Bardugo’s ARC on eBay for $200 the same day it was given out!!!  So, yeah- I get it…

…so you can imagine my surprise when my application was rejected.

That took a moment to process.  I’d been attending since 2010, and had even been a VIP Attendee; the only one I missed was that one time they went to Chicago.  And now I wouldn’t be attending this year’s either.

When I contacted them via the handy link they provided to inquire what the issue might be- had I possibly neglected to provide some info, etc- I got the stock response: “…it’s our event… we reserve the right to refuse anyone… all decisions are final… blahblahblah.” Not what I asked, but whatever, yo.  And hey- they still invited me to register for BookCon!

*sigh* Aiight… I haven’t been to BookCon since they initially rolled it out- and lemme tell you, that first one was probably how the term “shitshow” got coined.  It’s been a few years, so how bad could it possibly be now?  (More on that in another blog) And it was relatively cheap, so- what the hell?  I’d still have the week off beforehand.

By Wednesday I’d remembered something: when I first started attending BEA in 2010 they also had onsite registration at the Javitz Center.  Then a friend of mine also advised me to try it, so I trekked out to the Javitz and wouldn’t ya know- I got right in with no problem!!!  Yep- after giving me a bunch of bullshit online they let me sign up on the spot anyways.  Only difference was the $50 I would’ve saved via Online Early Registration.

Amazing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few of the usual YA publishers were set up in the atrium looking to snag your attention before you got caught up in all the madness.

 

 

 

 

I’m not the only one who’ll tell you the quality of BEA has declined the last few years.   This one was stark in its degradation: fewer small/indie/self publishers, less swag, even fewer author booths & signing sessions from the big guys.  I didn’t bother with any of the panels, sessions or lectures- there really wasn’t any new information to pick up from them.  A big problem was the layout of the floor.  What used to be a strict, linear structure was jumbled and cross-combined: 1200 & 1300 numbered booth in the 1400 rows, etc.

It didn’t help that an entire wing of was taken up by something called UnBound: vendors selling all the knickknacks & chotchke you see in bookstores- mugs, pens, candles, etc.

 

 

 

 

Most of the usual suspects were present- Hachette, Penguin, Simon & Shuster, Macmillian, Shadow Mountain, Sourcebooks, Black Stone- but I was surprised to see this spot by Granity Studios, Kobe Bryant’s indie.  The books looked really interesting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of the smaller vendors like Vesuvian were off on the side, but never seemed to be around.  Went by their booth three times to check them out- and no one was there!  Not a good look, fellas.

Best moment came when I was trying to find the line to stand in for an ARC drop only to discover George Takei was signing previews of his memoir graphic novel about his time in American Concentration Camps during WWII.  Got to shake his hand (twice) and chat with him for about a minute & a half! (apologies for that to everyone in line)

Second best moment came at the end of a long, kinda disappointing day.  Hachette reissued a book from just a few years ago- think I still have the ARC- complete with the same campaign: free beer! Granted- they were Coronas, but at that point you take what you can get!  In fact, a few spots were doing it: mimosas, fruit & veggie snacks and whatnot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

All in all, it was memorable only for what it lacked in comparison to previous years.

I originally read and reviewed the hardcover book, checked out from my library, but the publisher is now offering an e-book version so I am basing my review on the new e-book, released March 10, 2015. I was able to read this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I have completely re-written this review, however Amazon is still showing my original review date from 2014 even after deleting the original and submitting a new review.

This autobiography of George Takei is a great look at one of the most famous Asian actors during his early career, as well as an in-depth look at how it was to be on Star Trek, TOS (The Original Series). Takei's personality shines through the book, giving it charm and class while sharing personal stories of his life on and off-screen and sharing stories of his interactions and friendships with the Star Trek cast.

TO THE STARS first takes us into Takei's past, and how living in an internment camp in WWII made him the person he is today. We forget, when teaching children about WWII, that the US also put it's own citizens into camps. While they may not have been death camps, this people lost everything they owned, were separated from family and treated like second class citizens, even after the camps closed and they were "allowed" to live like normal people again. This autobiography touches on what George Takei experienced in those camps, and the impressions it made on him.

Once free from the internment camp, we are shown Takei trying to become himself instead of what others wanted him to be. From the beginning, he wanted to be an actor. His parents supported him in this, encouraging him to get a degree that would be useful even if the acting career didn't take off. Luckily for us, Takei struggled through the early auditions, sometimes-mediocre plays, and "I'll do anything!" movies and ended up working with Eugene Roddenberry on making Star Trek into the cult hit it is today. Takei also shares how Roddenberry constantly pushed for Sulu to have more of a speaking part, to go more deeply into Sulu's character, and to encourage the show's producers to show strong characters, regardless of their race or gender. George Takei's autobiography also shows his life after Star Trek, and how he became involved in politics.

TO THE STARS concludes with Gene Roddenberry's death in 1991, with the closing of a door in Star Trek's history. Though there is so much more about George Takei's life - post 90s - that would be exciting to read about, especially his work in the LGBT community and with Allegiance, this autobiography delivers exactly what was promised: George Takei's journey to boldly go where no man has gone before.

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If you enjoyed my review, please help me share it by marking it as being helpful on Amazon. I have included the link to the Amazon review in the Source section at the bottom of this review.

Because Takei is just amazing.   Absolutely amazing!   As a man who simply is caring, sensitive, intelligent, as an activist, as an actor.   As someone who is willing to laugh at himself, and who does so with a grace that humbles me.   Much of this is both laugh out loud funny and informative, which is exactly what he says he hopes for with his Facebook posts.   He wants to make people both laugh and think. 

He has some good points.   He calls out Grammar Nazis and Doubters - and I agree with him to some degree.   I will occasionally point out grammatical errors in posts, but mostly only my friends.   If they're learning/learned English as a second language and I know this, I only correct them if they make it known by asking me - either in a public or private post.   If I know they'd want to know in a review, or suspect it, I'll mention it.   But a post by a person who does not make their living off the English language?   Off writing?  I tend to not notice as much, or get as aggravated by the errors.   (Once you've published the book commercially, though, grammar errors aggravate me.   A lot.)

He also has some valid points about humor: at some point, humor is going to offend, and we have to learn how to laugh at ourselves.   To laugh in the face of tragedy, even, sometimes.   To stay sane.   To deal with that shit.   And Takei is impressive: he deals with so much, lets so much roll of his back...

Why didn't I give this a higher rating then?   As much as I loved the points he made, this book was pretty fractured.   It didn't make a coherent whole, although each chapter taken separately was - for the most part - pretty tight.   There were a couple where I felt frustrated because it was being pulled in so many directions.   I would have preferred either something more streamlined, or for him to do each chapter by subject to make it more cohesive. 

Then again, this book is worth the read just for the story - pictures included - about how the Spider-Man harness had a hilarious effect on emphasizing his junk.   It was just another example of how even-tempered he is, and  how he can laugh at himself.   There's a lot here, a lot of information, a lot of insight into this fabulous man.   (And, yes, dammit!   He would be the best gay Asian uncle ever!   And he says something to this effect at the end of the book.)

In the end, 100% worth the read, even if it is a bit fractured. 

PS - watch the video in the source.   Takei making a 'whole package' joke is awesome!