Title: The Color of Heaven
Author: Kim Dong-Hwa
Book #: 3rd of Trilogy
Publisher: First Second
Publish Date: September 1st 2009
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback
Date Read: September 23rd 2013
Rating: ★★★★★ / out of 5
"You can hide things from the world, but you can never hide things from time."
Summary:
As Ehwa grew from a girl to a young woman in The Color of Earth and The Color of Water, she began to understand and experience love and relationships, with her mother as a model and confidante. Now, in the heartwarming conclusion to this lyrically written and delicately drawn trilogy, Ehwa's true love comes at last, and as her mother looks on, she takes the final steps towards becoming an adult.
(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)
Review:
I think this was a perfect conclusion to the trilogy. I loved seeing both Ehwa and her mother grow together over the course of these books and I'm glad that the both got the endings they deserved.
Overall, definitely a quick and enjoyable manga that is perfect for avid graphic novel readers as well as beginners.
Quotes:
"A wound on your skin can be easily healed with ointments, but a wound of the heart needs a good cry to start healing."
"I would rather crawl on my knees searching, than sit and wait, or lie down and wait."
"Since when is love a sin?"
"For nine months, a mother carries and nourishes her daughter in her stomach, then gives birth to her. It's a happy occasion, but the mother's left feeling sadly empty inside. But I realized today that, after raising her within my love and embrace and sending her off in marriage, this day is just as sad and leaves me just as empty as the one when I first gave birth to her."
On My Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/719472108
Title: The Color of Water
Author: Kim Dong-Hwa
Book #: 2nd of Trilogy
Publisher: First Second
Publish Date: June 9th 2009
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback
Date Read: September 15th 2013
Rating: ★★★★★ / out of 5
A man who becomes enchanted by the flower's fragrance stays only for a fleeting moment, but a man who comes because of love stays for a lifetime.
Summary:
When Ehwa goes to the town festival, she meets a handsome young wrestler named Duksam who’s eager to catch her eye. After he wins the festival wrestling championship, he and Ehwa begin to meet, sneaking spare moments to be together. But a shadow falls on their romance when Master Cho sends Duksam away and asks for Ehwa’s hand in marriage himself It is then that Ehwa discovers the pain of heartbreak – and that love is always complicated.
(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)
Review:
As we see Ehwa grow older in this second volume, we also see her explorations and discoveries in the world of love and sex. While slightly less innocent than the first book, Ehwa is still a very relate-able protagonist and a very remarkable young woman. Her and her mother's romances are heart-warming and fragile things, and we see them connect in a new way as they both test the waters in the possibilities of true love.
Overall, I would very much so recommend this series! I think it is a very good coming-of-age story.
Pages:
To come!
On My Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/719467752
Title: The Color of Earth
Author: Kim Dong-Hwa
Book #: 1st of Trilogy
Publisher: First Second
Publish Date: March 31st 2009
Pages: 312
Format: Paperback
Date Read : September 14th 2013
Rating: ★★★★★ / out of 5
I came hoping to see those eyes, but instead I return with my heart, leaving behind only flowers.
Summary:
Ehwa grows up helping her widowed mother run the local tavern, watching as their customers – both neighbors and strangers – look down on her mother for her single lifestyle. Their social status isolates Ehwa and her mother from the rest of the people in their quiet country village. But as she gets older and sees her mother fall in love again, Ehwa slowly begins to open up to the possibility of love in her life.
(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)
Review:
Despite the fact that this book is sexual graphic, which I would normally not like in a YA book, there is something to innocent and timeless about this story that I fell completely in love.
Overall, this is the perfect coming of age story, as well as one for first loves.
Pages:
On My Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/719415145
