Off*beat Volume 2

by Jen Lee Quick

Book Overview

Colin has called Tory on just what exactly he's up to, but can Tory admit the truth to him when he can't even admit it to himself? Friendships begin to grow and flower as the connection between the two boys deepens, and Mandy becomes a real friend to rely on. But Colin's not the only one with secrets to protect.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1598161334
• ISBN13: 9781598161335
• Release Date: November 2006
• Publisher: TokyoPop
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.0" x 7.4"

Customer Reviews

even better than the first!

i loved the first book, and volume 2 was even better! there is now a more prominent yaoi vibe as circumstance brings the two boys into closer orbit. (though for the few non-yaoi fans, it is not significant enough to put fear in your little hearts). the storytelling and characterizations are, once again, top notch. thank god for manga that lets you involve your brain! beautiful, detailed illustrations and environments abound. consistently wonderful drawing. off*beat is definitely one of THE best series on my shelf. worth the purchase a thousand times over.

Continuing delight

This, the second volume in the series, continues to delight me as much as the first did. The principal characters, Tory and Colin, are developed even further and we discover new things about them even as they start to discover things about each other. For example, in this volume we learn that Tory's obsessive observation and note-taking began when his mother left his father, a man with whom he apparently did not have a good relationship. And we also learn that there are things about Colin that Colin himself doesn't even know, things he hopes Tory might be able to shed some light on. One of the things that makes this series so strong is that Quick's characters are complex and she doesn't make things easy or simple for them. Another is in how she reminds us of just how intensely we feel things at that age. Tory's ecstatic reaction to being given Colin's phone number is soon followed by obsessive preparation for their upcoming study session and anxiety over wanting everything to be perfect and over possibly saying or doing the wrong thing. And yet another thing Quick excels at is showing how feelings and words, even earnestly felt ones, get misconstrued or misinterpreted; all part of the adolescent experience. And of course the mysteries of just who or what Colin is and what exactly Project Gaia is continue to deepen, as does the boys' growing awareness of - and questioning of - their attraction to each other. My only problem with this volume is that the third volume hasn't been published yet and so I now face months of waiting for it to appear. But given how good the first two volumes were, I'm certain it will be worth the wait.

The OEL that Pwns.

The absolute best thing about Off*beat? It doesn't try to ride on the wave of manga popularity. I don't like many OEL because try as I might to give it a fair chance,it's quite difficult to escape the "manga wannabe" suspicion i get in the back of the mind. And with such poor efforts such as "Bizenghast" and "Return to Labyrinth", the feeling can sadly seem justified at times. But Off*beat in no way tries to ape manga. It comes into its own style superbly, shrugging off most of the manga sterotypes that make other OEL look knock-offish. So no chibis, no girly-bodied doll boys, no melodramatic oubursts with flowers in the background, etc. Instead, there's tall-ish New York boys wearing loose clothes like kids you see in school, acting as vague and secretive as teen boys are supposed to be. The plot unwravels thouroughly, slowly. The boys are warily aware of each other. Tory has a personal need to decipher Colin's enigma. Colin tries to exploit this when he notices. They both awkwardly grapple with the question if they're drawn to more than just each others' mystery. This kind of development is a little gritty, very honest, and throughly different. Details require a little interpretative thinking on the readers part. The art is crisp and bold, with rightly proportioned males set in a rightly portrayed cityscape(complete with trash in the street!) All in all, it pawns gratuitous cuteness. And answering the question that all Off*beat 1 fans have...yes, Tory and Colin get closer in this book, and yes, they have several touching moments to show that off. :-)

WoW.

Okay, this book is better than the first! Trust me, it's worth your money. BTW Colin officialy scares the crap out of me!!!!