Soloist in a cage vol 1 by Shiro Moriya

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.

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The cover and initial description of this story led me to believe this was going to be a sweet story, but this turned out to be much more violent and gruesome than I expected. Chloe grows up to be quite a deadly and seething with power, which contrasts sharply with how powerless she is when we meet her. I hope we get to see more of her training and the ten years we skipped over, even if it is in flashbacks, in later volumes because that is quite the change! All of the characters around her are likewise fairly jaded and violent, as this city does not engender folks to be anything but inhuman to each other.

The illustration is what initially attracted me to this title. The line work is very solid, and there are a lot of detailed pages with some very detailed shading. The city is gritty but detailed and characters are beautifully outlined and expressive. The action sequences are almost lyrical as Chloe draws on a musical theme as she fights. 

Sara's Rating: 9/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

Publisher: Seven Seas
Publication Date: May 9, 2023
ISBN: 9781638589976 (Paperback)

​Tags: Rating: 9/10, Suitability: High School, Manga, War, Family, Seven Seas