 School Library Journal review
Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 9-12 Publisher: Yen Press Publication Date: December 17, 2024 ISBN: 9781975380120 (Paperback) Tags: Rating: 8/10, Suitability: High School, Manga, Family, Grief, Romance, Yen Press
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Hiroto is a pretty carefree 29-year-old, except he finds it difficult to talk to attractive women around his own age. He has no problem befriending older ladies, including an 81-year-old former lunch lady he affectionately calls Granny. He has dinner at her house twice a week until she suddenly dies of a heart attack and leaves her two-bedroom house to him. When Hiroto’s cousin Nat comes to live with him as she attends art school, the two learn to live together and figure out what it means to be adults in their various stages of life - Nat as a struggling college student with social anxiety, and Hiroto trying to figure out his purpose in life.
Akira is mostly an average high school student who, on an outing looking for an out of stock manga, gets caught up in a skirmish that changes his life. He boards a subway and finds himself in a confrontation between an actual extra-terrestrial and the Alien Management Organization, the group tasked with making sure aliens follow the rule of law while they’re on Planet Earth. One of those officers is none other than Akita’s handsome and physically fit classmate, Sho Tenkubashi! Instead of wiping his memory and sending him on his way, The AMO decides to enlist Akira despite having no training and no physical prowess to match Sho. What could he possibly bring to the table?
One summer, Hikaru went up into the mountain, but what returned might not be Hikaru. Yoshiki doesn’t want to believe his best friend is dead, but he has a suspicion that whatever this thing is, isn’t his friend Hikaru. This creature might have all of Hikaru’s mannerisms and memories, but it’s not his best friend. However, is being around this thing better than not having Hikaru at all? Yoshiki receives several warnings from the townsfolk that what he’s with is evil, that he shouldn’t get too close, but the conflict in him only grows.
John is an outcast who hasn’t had many friends, so when the dazzling Stevenson twins took a liking to him, he became mesmerized. Twins Jekyll and Hyde were always charismatic and well loved, but John seems to be the only one who could accurately tell them apart. When the untimely death of one twin leaves a devastating hole for the other, John diligently works to uncover secrets the twins kept from each other and the world.
Reiji is trapped in his small town life. His brother is a shut-in who constantly berates their mother; his grandmother is suffering from dementia and is the main reason his mother is so tired; and his mom sets him up with a construction job for after high school, effectively killing any aspirations he had of leaving. One night, while out buying food, Reiji realizes that the shop clerk is actually Nagi Aoe, a famous idol singer from a band he enjoys escaping to. She asks him for a tour around town, which he gives her on the back of his bike. At one point, while stopped in a bridge overlooking the town's river, she asks Reiji if he’ll enter a suicide pact with her, similarly to the heroes in a tragic story based on the town. They wind up back at her house where she takes his virginity. Afterwards, Reiji can’t stop thinking about her, her wish to die, and whether he would be better off dead as well.
One year for his birthday, Yuta's mother gives him a smartphone and requests that he record her often, as she is dying and won't know which moment will be her last. Yuta complies and tries to capture as many memories as he can, but he can't bring himself to go into the hospital to see her last breath. Then, he runs from the building just in time for it to explode. Then, we realize we are in a theater and have been watching a movie Yuta put together of all the footage of his mother, and he's debuting it in front of his classmates. Most of them are horrified, and Yuta takes their criticism very harshly. He runs to the roof with the intention of killing himself, but instead meets Eri, a girl who loved his film but believes he can make a better one. The two of them spend many days in Eri's secret hideout, watching movies together, until Yuta gets the inspiration to make his second film. This film also has a surprise twist, as Yuta can't help himself.
 Booklist review
Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 9-12 Publisher: VIZ Media Publication Date: September 20, 2022 ISBN: 9781974734641 (Paperback) Tags: Rating: 8/10, Suitability: High School, Manga, Friendship, Grief, Art, VIZ Media 
Illustrated by Luca Panciroli & Ryan Showers, colored by Pamela Poggiali & Heather Breckel, lettered by Joel Rodriguez & Jacob Bascle
Lawrence, a professor of theology, loses his son to a drug overdose. He finds the grief too much to bear, and he has a nagging feeling that his son's soul is lost, that he needs his father on the other side to help guide the way. As Lawrence crosses over, he meets with his departed father who tries to counsel Lawrence away from seeking vengeance on those he feel is responsible for his son’s death. Lawrence's father gives him a staff that he hopes he will use for good, but he instead uses it for revenge. Along the way, he gets a companion - a fierce wolf who follows his lead and seems to want revenge as well. 
Illustrated by Hippolyte
A young man and his younger sister flee their home in The Low Country, which is being ravaged by violent bandits, and try to immigrate to the High Country and on to another place they call The Other World. Along the way, they are kidnapped by an ogre who forces them to work in his factory or risk being eaten. Upon escaping the factory, the siblings and two other refugees travel together, all trying to make it to a better life. The story is told through the interview of the Older Brother, who is being evaluated for whether he can enter a country or not, and he is surrounded by the shadows and memories of his loved ones who he’s lost along the way. |
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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