Sarah K.

Bio

I'm Sarah, a senior Shelby Whippet and OSU Mansfield part-timer. I'll typically read or listen to anything once, but specifically enjoy novels written between the 1920s and '70s, speculative fiction, high fantasy and autobiographies. My other interests include doodling, helping out behind the scenes of theatrical productions, playing indie games (although I am terrible at them), subjecting myself to sad animated films, and perpetually searching for new music...

Book Review

Perfect Escape by Jennifer Brown

"I had nobody to blame but myself," concludes Kendra, capricious protagonist of Jennifer Brown's summer contribution to the young adult road trip subgenre Perfect Escape. "All of it was my fault." Such self-aware confessions seem to be a more or less guaranteed part of the late-night-freeway passenger seat novel, as are the colorful, conflicted characters who find themselves driving the distance--here, a magnetic boy whose severe OCD dominates his every waking moment, a sister whose perfect academic record to rival her older sibling's individuality is about to go up in flames (should the classmates who once needed her information sell their own to the authorities), and a teen mom who stands at the crossroads between undefined autonomy and clear resignation. It is Brown's subtle insight into domestic dysfunction that sets her book apart: there may be reconciliation, but in real life the starting-over line is often drawn less than straight. Her characters occasionally fall back on their old ways of thinking when approached with obstacle after obstacle, seemingly contradicting the genre-guaranteed theme of change, yet that is exactly what makes them appeal all the more.

Featured Book Cover Artist

Name: Jillian Tamaki

Home Base: Brooklyn, NY

Alma Mater: Alberta College of Art and Design

Occupation: Freelance Illustrator, Instructor at School of Visual Arts

Websites: jilliantamaki.com (portfolio) / blog.jilliantamaki.com (sketchblog)

Young Adult lit recently covered: Akata Witch (2011, Nnedi Okorafor), SKIM (2008, co-created with Mariko Tamaki)

5 facts about the artist:

1.) She counts The New Yorker, Bloomberg Businessweek, Marvel, Nickelodeon, and WIRED among her clients--just to name a few.
2.) She is the creator of the webcomic SuperMutant Magic Academy.
3.) She attended the same college as digital painter Sam Weber of sampaints.com, who is also her husband.
4.) She worked at BioWare, the well-known Canadian video game developer, for several years.
5.) Her work is surprisingly affordable! Need a copy of Emma, The Secret Garden, or Black Beauty for class? Snag a Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition from Amazon for under $12.  Admire the colorful, hand-embroidered cover, and bask in the admiration of all your peers.

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