Here's the latest series pulling on my nostalgia and purse strings alike.  Kodansha has released an anniversary edition of Cardcaptor Sakura in hardback, and of course I need to get all of them.

​Fourth-grader Sakura Kinomoto, with her latent magical ability, accidentally sets free a deck of magical cards, called Clow Cards, from inside a book in her father’s study. She’s also awakened “Cerberus,” nicknamed Kero-San, the Guardian of the Seal, who gives Sakura the key to the book and the ability to capture the cards again. These cards have gone out into the world and will wreck havoc in their own ways depending on their magical affinity. Sakura must capture the cards and use their abilities to capture even more cards. 

My Life in Transition is a second anthology of Kaye’s web comic, Up and Out, chronicling her life as a transgender woman. Kaye publishes nearly one three-panel comic a day, and this collection is roughly six months of her life. In it, Kaye explores dating as a trans woman, both men and women, and healing after a long-term relationship ends. Kaye also shows instances of people misgendering her, and the anxiety and dysmorphia that often follows. Kaye also navigates friendships and builds personal boundaries with friends, romantic partners, and work. Kaye also struggles with her bio family who is not supportive and exhibits transphobia. A friend suggests a chosen family - building a family of people who are supportive and positive influences. Kaye builds a chosen family of other trans individuals and friends who see Kate for who she is.

Vol 1: Bright World

​Amparo is a teen prankster, desperately trying to impress the super-smart Iolanthe, but succeeding in only stressing out their mother and abuela. When a talking cat comes to Amparo's bedroom, Amparo becomes convinced that the magical cat can grant them their wish: to be a better person Unfortunately, the magical cat is a better trickster than Amparo, and steals their name and identity. The former Amparo is doomed to Bright World, a vibrant, terrifying land squished in between the mortal world and what lies beyond. Fierce creatures feed on humans and use memories as currency, and it's all former-Amparo can do to survive! They become an indentured servant to cafe owner, Mimi, who dubs them "Paola," but Paola soon finds a new master - El Ciervo, a creepy "doctor" who specializes in performing medical procedures on humans. Now "Fawn," Amparo must fight their way out of Bright World and back to their life before they become a demon only worthy of Bright World.

Illustrated by Meaghan Carter, letters by Joamette Gill
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Ash and his new friends from the Pride Club stumble upon a spell that transports them to the world of Koretris. What Ash believed to be a novel written by his absent mother turned out to be an entire world filled with magical creatures. Koretris is a haven for girls, so how did Ash get here? It turns out that Koretris is in trouble - threatened by The Scourge - and the citizens hope that Ash has the same magical gifts as his mother. The friends must save the queen and Koretris, and Ash must embrace his true self if he is to save everyone.

Louie is a fierce, passionate high schooler who cares deeply for her struggling small town. Southborough is a tourist destination made famous by a sasquatch sighting decades ago. Businesses have depended upon the tourist income for survival, but traffic to Southborough has slowed in recent years. The town has become a target for a tech mogul who begins buying up businesses and properties as a future headquarters location. Louie’ dads own Squatch Burger, a local eatery, and the latest target of Start-up.com’s land grab. Louie makes it her mission to save her dads’ business, and her entire town, from disappearing forever.

Eric Bittle is now team captain, and his secret boyfriend, Jack Zimmerman plays for an NHL team, the Falcons! Bitty and Jack have to navigate a long-distance relationship, and dating in secret starts to take its role on Bitty. He doesn’t want to jeopardize Jack’s career in a sport that is not known for being accepting of LGBTQ+ lifestyles. Slowly, the couple start to come out within their safe spaces, like to their friend group and a few other key people. Jack’s team manager believes the Falcons will be supportive, and she turns out to be right. Time marches on, and it’s suddenly Bitty’s senior year. He has a tough time breaking in one of the freshmen who can’t seem to come to terms with who he is. Bitty has to repair damage done to his relationship with his parents with the way they found out about Him dating Jack. When it’s time to write his senior thesis, Bitty’s supportive housemates disconnect the oven and warn every kitchen on campus not to let him come bake until his writing is finished. Not only does he have that looming over his head, but championships are fast approaching, and a win could validate everything Bitty has built and expressed over the last four years at Samwell.

Thirteen-year-old Tiến reads fairy tales to his mother, Helen, to help her practice her English as she works as a seamstress. Woven through the fairy tales are memories Helen has of immigrating with her husband. The fairy tales are variations on the story of Cinderella. The first is about a maiden named Alera who is promised to the Old Man in the Sea to repay her father’s debts. She demands three impossibly beautiful dresses as payment, then escapes his clutches after receiving them. She wakes up on a distant shore and finds a new family in the kitchens of a palace. The kind prince has a ball for his birthday, and Alera wears one of her beautiful dresses. Of course, she catches the eye of the prince.

In between reading stories Tiến attends school and tries to navigate his crush on one of his best friends, Julian. His other best friend, Claire, encourages Tiến to tell Julian and his family that he is gay, but Tiến can’t find the words to express it in Vietnamese in order to tell his parents. Outside pressures make Tiến feel ashamed of his feelings, so will he ever find the courage to tell his mother?

It turns out Futaba’s firework show admission to Tai-Chan worked out in the end, as the two decide to start dating. The second trimester starts, and the two have to navigate how to be boyfriend and girlfriend at school. To complicate things, Yagihara has decided she wants to be better friends with Tai-Chan. She has a reputation for stealing boyfriends, so Masumi and Futaba question the two about their budding friendship. This leads to Yagihara bearing her soul about how misinterpreted she’s been her whole life.

Adaptation of the novel by the same name. Illustrated by Celia Moscote. 
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19-year ole Juliet has a summer internship set up with Portland author Harlow Brisbane, creator of a modern feminist handbook that Juliet finds inspiring. So just before leaving the Bronx and departing on this journey, Juliet comes out to her Puerto Rican family, to mixed success. Her mother thinks it’s all a phase, even though Juliet has been dating her current girlfriend for a year. With that goodbye placing her, Juliet takes off on a journey of self-discovery and acceptance, of learning about the diversity of queer culture, and confronting white fragility and racism.

Vol 5: Warchild, illustrated by Sana Takeda
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Maika’s bleeding heart gets her involved in a major battle between the Federation and the Arcanics at the city of Ravenna.  It turns out, she is exactly the warrior that the city needs to quell the chaos and start organizing who can fight. Kippa is tasked with helping out with the city’s children, and her miscalculation leads to a terrible tragedy. The Cumaean witches reveal they have created six abominations, powerful magic users that they crafted into unquestioning warriors.  The six wreck havoc on Ravenna.  But, their presence is not all welcome.  The leader of the Federation forces, someone Maika knows from her past, is not at all happy with how the witches created these warriors.  Elsewhere, The Dawn Court's Warlord and her wife, the Baroness of the Dusk Court, make their own contributions to the battles of the Arcanics, and they vie for control from each other over the vast Dawn Court airship fleet.