Mutta just got fired from his automobile design firm, but this might be the motivation he needs to finally revisit his childhood dream. His younger brother, Hibito, has already achieved the dream and is a NASA astronaut, but Mutta is the older brother and should have paved the way for his younger brother. He applies and makes it past the initial interview, but finds the training and physical tests to be pretty difficult. Mutta becomes part of a competitive group of hopefuls, and has to overcome the label of "Hibito's brother" and the misconception that he's getting special treatment or inside information because of his familial ties.
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Ascendance of a Bookworm: I'll Do Anything to become a Librarian! Part 1: If there aren't any books, I'll just have to make some!, illustrated by Suzuka
Myne continues her quest to make paper and books even though her first several experiments have failed miserably. This time, she wants to try making washi, a traditional paper method in Japan. She enlists the help of her friend Lutz, and she repays him by getting him an introduction with Mr. Otto. Lutz wants to become a traveling merchant, and Mr. Otto used to be, but instead, Otto brings along Mr. Benno, who is a merchant in town. Benno sees talent and wants to make both kids his apprentices when they are baptized in the next year, but their test will be to make paper and make him lots of money. 
Illustrated by Jo Mi-Gyeong, colored by Brittany Peer
Eve spends most of her days learning skills preparing for future tasks with her father. He continuously tells her she’s the one who is going to save the world someday. She learns science, survival skills, and swims in the ocean. Then, she wakes up. The world has been destroyed by humans, and what remains is a deadly virus that changes children, as they hit puberty, into flesh-eating monsters they call Sumers. Eve’s favorite teddy bear, who is actually a complex android named Wexler, tells her she needs to travel across the country to a vault that contains the tools to hopefully save the planet. Eve finds out so much on her journey that her parents didn’t plan for, including clones, dangerous robots, and so much more. 
Nasa and Tsukasa go on a sort of honeymoon to a hot springs with a private bath in their room, but both are too shy at the beginning to bathe in front of each other. By the end of the trip, they are able to get into the same bath but only at night with the lights off. We also finally meet someone claiming to be Tsukasa's guardian, and she chides Tsukasa for not bringing Nasa around for her approval, but gives it by the end of the conversation. When they get home, they decide to get an air conditioner for their small apartment and they find relief from the hot summer days, but they can’t agree on a temperature at night, vacillating between too hot or too cold with just a few degrees adjustment.
Twilight intrudes upon a private moment between his target, Donovan Desmond, and his son, Damien, but plants the seed of recognition. After that chapter, we get some glimpses into the lives of the other characters. We follow Yuri, Yor's brother, on a secret police mission to apprehend a journalist who is spreading lies about the country. We get a pretty hilarious chapter featuring Bond, where he has a premonition that he will die in several different was (one of which is if he eats Yor's cooking). There's also one chapter dedicated to Damien and his friends as they experience some of the wilderness of Eden Academy. In another chapter, Yor and Franky try to find a missing cat, which obviously gets more intense than it needs to. In the end, the Thorn Princess (Yor's assassin name) is given a job on a cruise ship, the same voyage Anya happens to score free tickets on, so the whole Folger Family is off on a vacation where they'll continue to try not to blow their cover in front of one another.
Illustrated by Pablo Túnica
Aella is an adventure-loving girl stuck on a tiny island where nothing interesting ever happens. Her mother often leaves her behind to go on grand voyages, and Aella dreams of the day she can join her mother on one of her adventures. When a band of Knights comes to the island claiming to be seeking the destruction of demons, Aella's inner monster is awoken. She has the spirit of a fierce demon, Xir, inside of her, which has the destructive capabilities to wipe out life as they know it. Aella and a young knight steal away to find the seer who first told of Xir's rebirth, hoping there might be a way to expel the demon from Aella. But Aella isn't the only member of the family harboring a big secret - her mother turns out to be one of the most fearsome pirates on the known seas, and she's not giving up her powerful daughter so easily. 
Illustrated by George Schall
A company in Korea specializes in creating “proxies”, life-like robots that have taken the place of some human children for families where conceiving has been difficult. A programmer, in his spare time, has possibly unlocked a key of artificial intelligence. He experiments with one unit and sends it out into the world. As she is later named, Jesse is sent to a family in Texas, where she starts to devour every book in the house, and quickly move on to the library where her mom works. She decides she wants to try going to school and being a “normal” child. Jesse’s innocence quickly gets her swept up with the wrong kids, and she finds herself an accessory to a school shooting. The programmer comes back to reclaim Jesse and raise her as his own daughter, but back in Korea, Jesse struggles with her identity and wanting to not be a girl child. Some short stories are also included that are supposed to bring more to the world of proxies 
During the Meiji era, the three brothers of the Kumo family have found work helping recapture escaped criminals. These criminals are then taken to an inescapable prison: Gokumonjo, a fortress built inside of a giant tree in the middle of a large lake. The eldest son is very strong, and the two younger ones train hard to make him proud. Soramaru, the middle son, wants to prove to his brother that he is strong enough to handle jobs, but he gets into a bit of trouble going after a former samurai who is now a criminal. The second half of the book contains the side story “Fleeting Laugher,” which takes place 600 years before. One of the Kumo’s ancestors is present. The story follows Hirari of the Abe clan, who is trying to win the heart of Botan, a shikigami who has been summoned to help seal away the powerful demon dragon, Orochi. Hirari doesn’t want take up the family charge and fight Orochi, but he finds himself in the middle of the fight between Orochi and humanity anyway.
Book 2: The Secret of the Wings, illustrated by Michael Dialynas
Wynd and his friends have escaped Pipetown, but what they've found outside the walls is a world unlike what they were told. The King of Pipetown makes an unexpected alliance with the Vamps, specifically the sister of his dear hunter, the Bandaged Man. He wants her to scare his son, but bring him back to Pipetown alive. General Zedra of the Vamps seizes on the opportunity to sew more chaos into the world and potentially settle some very old scores between her people and some of the other inhabitants of Esseriel. After the Vamps decimate the Duke's small fleet of ships, Wynd, Yorik, Oakley, and a gravely injured Thorn find themselves in the Faery city of Escalon. But, they aren't safe there for long either. 
Timiko’s mom continues her internal monologue, most likely addressing her husband, on ways she’s noticing Tomoko is probably gay but not ready to tell anyone yet. She and the younger son, Yuri, both have figured it out by now but try to support Tomoko so that one day he will be comfortable. Yuri is kinda grumpy and finds the most interesting ways to support his older brother. Mom tries to support Tomoko through his first crush, and often realizes too late that she may have said something to put Tomoko in an awkward position, but she quickly back-pedals and offers way for Tomoko to save face. She accidentally suggests Tomoko ask his crush to spend the night, but realizes and quickly corrects that the thought of being alone that long would make Tomoko uncomfortable. She briefly muses about the family and life that Tomoko could have if he were straight, but she comes to accept that the future she imagined for Tomoko probably won't look the way she thinks, and she hopes for happiness for her son.
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About MeI've been reading manga and comicbooks for years. Now, I write reviews and other helpful things for School Librarians, teachers, parents, and students. Search this site
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