 Booklist starred review
Sara's Rating: 10/10 Suitability Level: Grades 9-12 Publisher: VIZ Media Publication Date: November 5, 2024 ISBN: 9781974747245 (Paperback) Tags: Rating: 10/10, Suitability: High School, Manga, Action Adventure, Magic, Family, War, VIZ Media
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Illustrated by Chris Wildgoose, colored by Msassyk and Diana Sousa, lettered by Simon Bowland
The world is dying - scarce farmland is being fought over by orcs and a desolated human population, but now the two sworn enemy races find themselves in a tentative alliance against a more violent foe - the Vangol. In an effort to ally the races, Tara, a promising young healer and cousin to one of the most powerful orc overlords, is stationed with the human warrior Callum Battlechild and his group known as “The Last Men”. Their mission is to discover how the Vangol are finding their way so far in from the shores where they land, but to also secure the shrinking farmlands from further violence. 
Within a prison city, Chloe and her younger baby brother have been abandoned by their parents and are struggling to survive. The only thing getting them through is their mysterious neighbor who has been leaving them food. But, he's currently in the middle of planning an elaborate escape that will be perfectly covered by an oncoming snowstorm. Because of his ridiculous sense of duty, Chloe's neighbor can't abandon these kids to a life of starvation, so he drags them along on a dangerous and half-hatched escape attempt. Nothing goes according to plan -- but flash forward to ten years later, when Chloe returns to the City to search for what was lost that night, and what she is determined to take back from the city that has taken so much from her.
Vol 1: Kill Columbus, illustrated by Davide Gianfelice, colored by Joana LaFuente
In the year 2112, the Earth has been destroyed by wars, pollution, and more. Portions of the population have already taken to the skies in search of a new planet. But in the desert of Arizona, a group of Native Americans find a cave that sends them back in time. They hatch a plan to save the world and protect their ancestors, but it involves killing Christopher Columbus before he discovers America. The group chooses Tad, who is a linguist and could potentially pass as sailor, to jump back and try to find a way onto Columbus' ship, but this means leaving behind his family in the future and relying on his knowledge of history to help him navigate through the voyage of Columbus.  Booklist review
Sara's Rating: 9/10 Suitability Level: Grades 9-12 Publisher: Seven Seas Publication Date: March 28, 2023 ISBN: 9781685793203 (Paperback) Tags: Rating: 9/10, Suitability: High School, Manga, Historical Fiction, Magic, War, Seven Seas 
Freya becomes even more entangled in Nacht's dealings. It seems that the queen, the rightful heir to the royal line of Nacht, was deposed when Sigurd took control of the kingdom. Her infant son was snatched from her, and her husband, the ruling King, forced to marry a Sigurdian princess to keep the kingdom firmly under the thumb of the evil king of Sigurd. Freya has uncovered the whole plot, but wonders if the deposed queen has the strength to bring her people back to her side. Freya vows she's not doing any of this in order to force Nacht into a pact with them - she's righting wrongs, and they can come along against Sigurd in their own time.
Freya and Julius are flung into a dungeon cell, but a mysterious stranger outside their window professes to want to help them. It turns out to be the somewhat disgraced king of Nacht. He doesn’t want an alliance with Tyr because he’s afraid to cross Sigurd. His infant son has been kidnapped and is going to be given to the Sigurdian emperor as leverage. Freya vows to save the little prince, and she gets help from an unlikely source. As suspected, there’s more to the strange arrangement between the king and queen of Nacht, and certainly more to a madwoman, who, for years, has acted as the queen's executioner.
Illustrated by Ryo Mitsuya
In Menou’s world, people are often summoned from other worlds and bring great power with them. Somewhere in the distant past, this led to a cataclysmic event that wiped out and entire continent. Now, Menou and the Church she serves hunts these otherworlders down and disposes of them. When Menou meets an otherworlder she can’t kill, she is directed to bring her target back to the city-center of the Church. Nothing can be simple, however as they catch a train beset by bandits wielding guns from the Wilds. A warrior princess is also along for the ride and confronts Menou’s assistant, Momo. 
Illustrated by Lauren Knight, colored by Sofie Dodgson, flatted by Shayne Hannah Cui, lettered by Becca Carey
In this world, any woman who is past child-bearing years has been deemed useless to society and is banished to a remote island off the coast of any civilization. There, these women have made their own society and rules a-la Lord of the Flies. There is a group dedicated to helping with anyone deceased; there are the Red Hats who seem bent on destruction and domination; and there's Rosie and her friends, Lottie, and Caroline, who just want to raise chickens, have tea, and keep to themselves. Jay has been thrust into this world a little unexpectedly, having gone through early-onset menopause, and is now seen as a threat to the equally young leader of the Red Hats. There's also lots of backmatter that includes book reviews, recipes, and insights into the workings of the island. 
Illustrated by Werther Dell'edera
The War is over, and Russian soldiers evict German citizens from Prague to return to their country. In the midst of this, a puppeteer asks to tell a Russian soldier a horrifying tale, and the two sit in front of his puppet stand. The puppeteer begins with Radek, a Jewish doctor who has papers hiding his true heritage. He treats patients in the hidden basement of a shop, where one tells him of a golem whose mud lies in the rafters of the synagogue. The golem is the sworn protector of the Jewish people, and he begs Radek to help bring him to life. Being a man of science, Radek believes none of this, but finds mud in the rafters and appeases the professor with an attempt. He is stunned beyond measure to find he has risen a true golem named Yossel! |
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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