The girl from the other side deluxe vol 3 by nagabe

This deluxe volume collects volumes 7-9 of the individual tankobon books. 

The soldiers from the Inside are onto Shiva and Teacher’s new hiding spot, so Teacher must make some difficult choices to get back to the cabin and protect Shiva. To his utter horror, he discovers a black spot growing on Shiva, who he thought to be immune to the curse. He sacrifices much and trusts in the word of the other Outsiders in order to save her, but that doesn’t stop her from being captured after all. Once Inside, Shiva is almost offered as a sacrifice in a ritual to the god of the Insiders, but she is spared by the King’s conscious. The King then learns some disturbing truths about his deity and the nature of the curse itself. Shiva manages an escape with the help of a loyal Insider, and she’s determined to find Teacher again and go back to the way things were before.

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Sometimes, a series builds up so much that when the inner workings are finally revealed, it’s a little bit of a let down. That’s how I felt in this volume finally figuring out who Mother and Father are in the religious pantheon, and some of the reason for why they want Shiva so badly. The mythology behind this society is interesting, but I had filled in the blanks myself throughout all the previous volumes and was satisfied with what I had come up with. Some readers might appreciate Nagabe finally getting to some answers about why this world is the way it is and what is special about Shiva, so this isn’t to say that this series has totally failed. I still adore it’s dark and twisties and the creepy, sketchy art, and I'm definitely still a fan, but there's a risk to revealing world mechanics so late into a series.

​Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 7-12

Reviews of previous volumes in this series: vol 1, vol 2, vol 3, vols 4-6

Publisher: Seven Seas
Publication Date: April 25, 2023
ISBN: 9781638588092 (Hardcover)

Tags: Rating: 8/10, Suitability: Middle School, Suitability: High School, Manga, Supernatural, Survival, ​Seven Seas