This story is told from the perspective of the mother of two young sons, narrated as if she is writing a letter or a diary entry, possibly to their father. The older of the two sons, who is in high school, constantly "slips up" and mentions things that makes the mom think he's gay. He will say things like "when I get a boyfriend -- I mean girlfriend!" The mom records their interactions as she tries to piece together who her son may have a crush on. She also wonders how the younger son feels and if he has put it together yet or not. The father isn't home much because of his job, but the mom wonders how the dad would react to knowing his oldest is gay. In the end, the mom hopes her son will tell her when he's ready, but she decides not to pry or force him to admit anything he isn't ready for.

Sakura continues to collect Clow cards with her fabulous outfits, only in this volume, she has a rival: Syaoran, a transfer student from Hong Kong who seems to hate Sakura right off the bat. Kero figures out that Syaoran is a descendant of Clow on his mother’s side, and thinks he has a claim over Clow’s cards and magic. However, since Sakura released the deck, Syaoran can’t collect the cards on her behalf. Some of the cards in this volume are more difficult to capture. Sakura runs into an entirely different card - one that she has to call by its name in order to capture. There’s also another thing about Syaoran - he also seems to like Yukito, making him Sakura’s rival for magic and love.

Futaba and Taichi discuss their future plans, specifically what colleges they'd like to attend. Futaba confesses that she would like to do something with flowers, but also knows she's currently not very skilled with growing things. She tells Taichi that she would like it if they could go to college together, but this life-altering decision isn't often one to make based off of a relationship. Masumi runs in to Toma's sister-in-law, Akiko, and the two have a very meaningful conversation about happiness and being accepted by other people. Masumi admits to being a lesbian, and asks if Akiko would be able to accept such a confession from her on child, or even Toma. At the end of the school's festival day, Mami Yagihara convinces Toma to let her do his makeup, in a totally manly way of course. Mami confesses her love for Toma, but says she wants to be friends and not let her feelings spoil their ability to hang out. Toma tells Mami who he's in love with, but there's an eavesdropper who makes sure Toma's confession isn't private.

Book 1: The Flight of the Prince, illustrated by Michael Dialynas

Wynd is trying to be the typical boy in Pipetown - one of the last human settlements that has strict laws against anything magical or with “weirdblood.” Meanwhile, the king is on his deathbed, daily making his son promise to uphold the Blood Laws that have kept the humans of Pipetown safe from magical infection.  The prince decides this isn’t the way he wants to rule, and he sneaks out in the middle of the night to find his uncle, The Duke, who has a much nicer outlook on magical folk.  The king calls back his best enforcer, The Bandaged Man, to root out any other weirdbloods, and, of course, Wynd catches his attention.  Wynd's adoptive mother plans the Prince's escape out of Pipetown in exchange for bringing Wynd to safety, but the plan doesn't go quite as expected. Wynd, his adoptive sister Oakley, Prince Yorik, and Yorik's trusted friend Thorn try to escape the pursuit of the King's Men, and begin to see the world maybe isn't what they thought it was.

Long ago, witches were persecuted and killed and blamed for all the wrong in society.   Those who survived the fires of the stakes became the power behind many countries, allying themselves with kings and world rulers in order to stay alive.  Now, these witches are indispensable and must be trained at an elite school.  Alice is a top witch at the school, and she gets paired up with Mari, a seemingly talentless, nearly human who fails at everything and falls asleep in class constantly. While mentoring Mari, Alice discovers Mari’s immense power: she can resurrect. The other students become jealous of the amount of time Alice is spending with Mari, so they summon a demon to get rid of her.  What they didn’t anticipate is that Alice may have started falling in love with Mari, which is forbidden for witches - they’ll lose their powers if they ever fall in love!

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
​
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.