Young expecting parents Sara and Kouta Takano are trying to plan out everything perfectly for their first child. As we open up, Sara is eight weeks pregnant. They begin by reading as many parenting books as possible, which leads into Sara purchasing many books from parents who have raised remarkable children. The two even make a list of the type of lessons and extracurricular activities they want their child to pursue. Eventually, they find out they are having a girl. One day, Sara hears devastating news on her TV: Malala Yousafzai has been shot, and the world she's been building for her unborn daughter comes crumbling down. Her anxiety about bringing a girl up to become courageous is suddenly called into question.
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Zoe, a fledgling witch from a secluded island, was told from a young age that people on the mainland would persecute her and burn her at the stake. One day, she and her friend, Shishka, sneak away and discover the mainland is unlike what it was reported to be. Instead, Zoe meets and falls in love with Clive, a kindhearted young man who takes them in. Clive tragically dies soon after their wedding, leaving Zoe lost and in a sea of anguish. Zoe also meets a scarab beetle named Eliza in the same predicament. The two take comfort in each other’s grief, discover that Shishka is also a widow, and all three decide to study magic in earnest to find a way to bring their partners back to life.
Four women close to thirty live together, and they're all in very different places in their lives. Shuu works hard at her day job and is mostly waiting for love to find her spontaneously, but she’s feeling the pressure to marry as those around her are finding relationships. Mii is a guitarist and has been seeing the drummer in her band, but he drops a bombshell on her that makes her question where their relationship is and where it’s headed. Eika is solidly a career woman who continuously takes on big projects, and she doesn’t let anyone doubt her ability to handle the workload. Shio used to work at a large, successful corporation, but the long hours and stress were not what she was looking for in life.
Booklist review
Sara's Rating: 7/10 Suitability Level: Grades 7-12 Publisher: LOVE x LOVE (TOKYOPOP) Publication Date: September 24, 2024 ISBN: 9781427879233 (Paperback) Tags: Rating: 7/10, Suitability: Middle School, Suitability: High School, Manga, Music, School Life, Friendship, TOKYOPOP 
Illustrated by Shūhei Kamo
In a future that seems much closer to reality than science fiction, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is aided by private company Blume Japan and its powerful data-collection system, J-ctOS, to help fight, predict, and solve crimes. Some of this doesn’t sit well with Inspector Goda, who thinks J-ctOS incapable of chasing down leads who leave behind no data points. To complicate things further, a cyber activist group known as DEDSEC takes an interest in Goda because he may not be as dumb as all cops, and might prove useful in the fight against corrupt artificial intelligence. 
There’s been a murder in the human world, and the animal who did it used an illegal substance that hid its scent. The wolves start their investigation, but making things more difficult is the wolf Chiaki and his partner Hagiri. Chiaki may have had some of the substance from a badger they apprehended in volume two, and Hagiri is a weird wolf who likes cats a bit too much. Mixed up into all of this is a little kitten Hagiri is trying to save from the wolves and the Bakeneko cat clan.
Illustrated by Haruki Niwa
Since a tragic traffic accident took both her parents at a young age, Alice has lived with her aunt and uncle and their many children. She aspires to go to high school, but her grumpy uncle has made it very clear that he has neither the patience for her, nor the funds to keep up with her dreams. After seeing an ad in a paper for new maikos in her home city of Kyoto, Alice jumps at the chance to return and possibly escape her family, find a new job, and potentially reconnect with a childhood friend. But, the Kyoto she finds upon arrival is now what she expects. Everything is slightly off - streets and shrines aren’t where she expects; no one seems to pay for anything with money; and, there are anthropomorphized animals talking to her. She then finds out that her reasons for becoming a maiko are not pure enough. Alice must find a profession that will fulfill her life’s purpose, or she’ll risk being expelled from this Kyoto before being reunited with her friend, or worse, suffer even more dire consequences. 
Manpachi and Momoji the Badger travel to the mountain where Manpachi was born, but Momoji also knowingly takes Manpachi away from Senzou and endangers him. When the two get to the mountain, all the creatures are sleeping and covered in snow. The two are almost immediately attacked by a dormouse in human form, who accused the two of them of disturbing the mountain’s restorative sleep. Before the dormice can fully attack Manpachi and Momoji, the goddess of the mountain reveals herself and explains why she has put everyone in a sleeping state. Manpachi give the goddess a kind of pep talk, and she has restored faith in her abilities. Later, the wolf pack investigates a murder of a cat, and suspects an illegal substance was used to cover rhe murderer’s tracks. They question Momoji and find out a stash of the substance was stolen from him when the wolves first apprehended him.
Senzou the black fox was a terribly powerful bakemono - a magical beast - but he was finally brought down by the sun goddess and a legion of wolves. He was imprisoned for 300 years while the goddess siphoned his power away. Now, he’s been released, and he must serve out his penance: raise a little tanuki to be a good servant of the gods, or be constantly tormented by a magical pearl necklace that delivers pain kind of like a shock collar. In addition to raising the tanuki, whom he calls Manpachi, the pair must help 8 million gods with whatever problems they have.
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.
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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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