Teen Review: Naruto, vol. 58: Naruto vs Itachi by Masashi Kishimoto

Our teen reviews are back! Today's recommendation is from a manga-lovin' teen: Naruto, vol. 58: Naruto vs Itachi.

Want to see your own review here? Fill out our What Did You Just Read form today!

What did you read? 

Naruto, vol. 58 by Masashi Kishimoto.

I'd say this book was *mostly* about...

War;Ninja.

This book's main character(s)...

Inspired me.

If others were interested in this book, I'd tell them...

Check it out RIGHT NOW.

Book Summary: 

Naruto is a young shinobi with an incorrigible knack for mischief. He's got a wild sense of humor, but Naruto is completely serious about his mission to be the world's greatest ninja!

Kearsten's Book Club Wrap-Up: Ms. Marvel by G. Willow Wilson

It's been awhile, but Kearsten really wanted to share our book club experience last night wherein we discussed the first volume in the trade comics superhero series Ms. Marvel: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson.

Kamala Khan is an ordinary girl from Jersey City -- until she's suddenly empowered with extraordinary gifts. But who truly is the new Ms. Marvel? Teenager? Muslim? Inhuman? When Kamala discovers the dangers of her newfound powers, she unlocks a secret behind them, as well. Is Kamala ready to wield these immense new gifts? Or will the weight of the legacy before her be too much to bear?

Our discussion rambled all over the place, from superhero costuming (as in, "what a relief it is that Kamala isn't wearing a tiny leotard with combat boobs and boots!") to strict parenting. However, the most interesting part of the meeting came as we approached the topic of racism.  We talked about the unkindness Kamala faces in her story, and the way Kamala fans used her image to defuse racist ads in San Francisco, which then led to ways in which book club members have seen and faced racism in their own lives. 

We also had a bit of time left to talk about the creators' reasons for creating Kamala, and to discuss her importance in the comics world.

Already read Ms. Marvel: No Normal?  Why not try one of these teen-recommended titles?

Ms. Marvel: Generation Why (Vol. 2) by G. Willow Wilson. Who is the Inventor, and what does he want with the all-new Ms. Marvel and all her friends? Maybe Wolverine can help! Kamala may be fan-girling out when her favourite (okay maybe Top Five) super hero shows up, but that won't stop her from protecting her hometown. Then, Kamala crosses paths with Inhumanity for the first time - by meeting the royal dog, Lockjaw! Every girl wants a puppy, but this one may be too much of a handful, even for a super hero with embiggening powers.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer. As plague ravages the overcrowded Earth, observed by a ruthless lunar people, Cinder, a gifted mechanic and cyborg, becomes involved with handsome Prince Kai and must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect the world in this futuristic take on the Cinderella story.








I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai. When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education. On Tuesday October 9, 2012, she almost paid the ultimate price.

Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King. Overburdened by his parents' bickering and a bully's attacks, fifteen-year-old Lucky Linderman begins dreaming of being with his grandfather, who went missing during the Vietnam War, but during a visit to Arizona, his aunt and uncle and their beautiful neighbor, Ginny, help him find a new perspective.








Captain Marvel: In Pursuit of Flight by Kelly Sue DeConnick. Carol Danvers is back. After changing her superhero name, Captain Marvel tries to live up to the legacy of her fallen predecessor, while facing a time-traveling adventure that's intricately linked with the woman who inspired her military career.









What Stands in a Storm by Kim Cross. Weaving together heart-wrenching stories with immersive reporting and dramatic storytelling, a gripping account of a weather event in April 2011 that saw a record 358 tornadoes rip through 21 states in three days shows how things that tear our world apart also reveal what holds us together.








Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story (Vol. 1) by Nobuhiro Watsuki. In the 11th year of Meiji, in the middle of Tokyo, the tale begins. Himura Kenshin, a humble "rurouni," or wandering swordsman, comes to the aid of Kamiya Kaoru, a young woman struggling to defend her father's school of swordsmanship against attacks by the infamous Hitokiri Battosai. But neither Kenshin nor Battosai are quite what they seem...

Heart Transplant

This unique illustrated story just came to the library today from cataloging. I picked it up because Vachss is typically an adult author and we placed this book in teen. Heart Transplant by Andrew Vachss is a hard hitting look at bullying and how one adopted grandfather helps his grandson break out of the pattern of being bullied. Not for the faint of heart whatsoever, Sean's family life is the pits. His mom is drunk, his "daddy" is abusive, and then one day he comes home to find them murdered. Pop, his "daddy" Brian's father, comes in and takes Sean under his care. Through his guidance, Sean discovers a home that he can belong to and a Pop he loves. The oversized nature of this book allows the artwork to flow with the text. Some of art uses sequential art which is why we placed it in the graphic novel section of the library, but most are sprawling vivid images. The book ends with an essay called The Rules of Engagement by Zak Mucha that takes a nonfiction look at bullying.

So here is a book that at first glance would fit in well with the adult graphic novels. But after reading it, I think it is perfect for the teen area since it takes a look at a hard topic that effects teens too frequently.

12 Days of Teen Lit: 4 Struggling Artists

12 Days of Teen Lit hits the home stretch with: 

4 Struggling Artists

Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral. In a love story told in photographs and drawings, Glory, a brilliant piano prodigy, is drawn to Frank, an artistic new boy, and the farther she falls, the deeper she spirals into madness until the only song she is able to play is "Chopsticks."

Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge. When Paige Turner and her family move to New York City from rural Virginia, she tries to make sense of her new life through her sketchbook, and it helps bring her true personality into the open, a process that is equal parts terrifying and rewarding

Wanderlove by  Kirsten Hubbard. Bria, an aspiring artist just graduated from high school, takes off for Central America's La Ruta Maya, rediscovering her talents and finding love.

Zero by Tom Leveen. After graduating from a Phoenix, Arizona, high school, aspiring artist Amanda "Zero" Walsh unexpectedly begins a relationship with a drummer in a punk rock band, which helps her come to terms with her feelings about herself, her falling out with her best friend, and her parents' personal problems.

DC's New 52

So in case you aren't a comics nerd like me (and Merideth), DC Comics (publishers of Batman and Superman) did a big relaunch of their characters. The relaunch was supposed to open the door to new readers without having to figure out back story and such. I wasn't expecting much honestly when I heard about it, but then again, I'm much more of a manga nerd than a superhero nerd.

During lunch this month I've been catching up with graphic novels. I've read great ones and mediocre ones. Some I'll blog about later on; some I'll quietly forget that I ever read them. I picked up two graphic novels of the new 52 so far to read and one I really, really liked and want to share.

Batman Volume 1: The Court of Owls is not a graphic novel you can read without knowing who the characters are. But most likely if you don't know who Batman is, you aren't going to be picking this up to read anyway! I adore the Batman concept and movies, but I've never been a superhero graphic novel reader. Something about too much text and not very pretty artwork (for my tastes that is!). But I really wanted to read this one. Batman is dark and dreary and this one is totally the case.

The urban legend of the Court of Owls is, well, legendary in Gotham City. Batman has never placed any stock in it until now. Gruesome murders will make him question everything he knows and believes about his city. And he quickly becomes the next target as both Bruce Wayne and Batman. Dark, twisted, and mind blowing in different places. There's one page in my copy that is completely upside down. I think it may have been a publishing mistake, but I need to double check other copies because it worked sooo well with the storytelling. So if it's not a mistake I will think it's absolutely creative genius. :)

Some people may not love the blockiness of the characters, but I sort of like the chiseled designs. A great mystery (though beware it does end in a cliffhanger which will make you want to go and buy the single issues rather than wait for the graphic novel!) with very little superhero-y things to get annoyed at. I gotta tell you, I really loved the book. On my goodreads page I gave it 5 stars. That's only the 2nd book this year that has gotten 5 stars. Take a chance on this superhero if you like stories dark and gritty, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Banned Books Week: Sidescrollers

This week is Banned Books Week. No, it doesn't mean a week to go out and ban books, but is actually an awareness campaign about the materials that have been challenged or banned in libraries--both public and school--or removed from reading lists in schools throughout the nation. for more information about Banned Books Week, check out this website on it.

Banning and challenging books happen throughout the country and teen books in particular get challenged the most. "Why?", you might ask. It's mostly about protecting young readers. At least, that's the justification that it given typically.

Take for example, Sidescrollers by Matthew Loux. This Great Graphic Novel for Teens list winner is about three teen gamers who end up in an adventure like a video game and combating a bully by the end. This title was pulled from a ninth grade summer reading list in Connecticut due to the "profanity and sexual references" contained in the graphic novel. When one parent says that they don't want their teen to read something--we call that good parenting and applaud the parent for taking an interest in their teen's reading. That's not what happened in this case. One parent complained and said that it's not appropriate for any of the teens to read it for this assignment (which, by the way, there were other titles to choose from). When this occurs, it takes away the rights of the student and the parents to choose what is appropriate for their own teen. That's what we call banned books.

Anyway, today is the first of my posts on challenged teen books in hopes that the posts may strike an interest in celebrating your own right to read which is what Banned Books Week is all about.

I'm back with Scott Pilgrim

I'm finally back! I've been away from the library for a few months, so I did not post anything here. But now that I'm back, I'm ready to start writing about great teen books! To start off--Scott Pilgrim!


I originally read volume one when it came out in black and white. I was a bit hard on it because of my own snobbiness of graphic novel reading. I had a conversation with someone from the publisher about the release of it and he called it Oni’s first Manga. Now for me, the manga snob that I am, that raised my hackles. Japanese comics are manga. Everything else that plays on the manga trends are manga-style in my point of view. So I had a skewed first reading. I read it, thought “meh” and bought it for my library. It didn’t circulate that well, so I figured that my opinion was justified with my library users lack of interest.


Flash forward a few years and the movie is released. I adored the movie. Went with my husband and just really enjoyed it. Now every time it's on cable I end up watching it again. Seriously, I watched again two weeks ago. I have probably seen it somewhere in the ballpark of twenty times. I haven't even watched Harry Potter that much (and if you know me, you know how much I adore HP). I felt I needed to give the books another try, but alas, I've been a lazy reader for the past several years.


Since I was on maternity leave and had a bit of time on my hands (you know, between taking care of my two kids and re-watching all of Grey's Anatomy). Netgalley had this e-book to preview. Lo and behold, Scott Pilgrim is now in his full-color glory.


Now you know my frame of reference for when I began Scott Pilgrim once again.


This time around I could see the manga influences within the story. Not in the artwork really, but in the story sequencing. That part I still felt was “meh”—corny cheeseball since shonen action isn’t my thing. What I really enjoyed was the late nineties vibe I had while reading it. I graduated high school in ‘95. I was into the indie rock scene and poetry readings in coffeehouses, so Scott Pilgrim’s scene would have been my kind of scene.




The characters are the other reason the series works so well. Scott is the ultimate slacker but that’s okay since we adore him anyway. Wallace is my favorite character. I’ll just say that I would love to see a story all about Wallace because he’s just that awesome.


I always like to see if a graphic novel being re-released in color enhances the story for me or not.
Since I'm a manga reader at heart, I usually feel like it's not needed. There are some instances though that it made sense or added another layer to the book. Take for instance, Bone by Jeff Smith. Originally in black and white, but Graphix brought it back out in color. The symbolism in the colors added another layer of meaning to discuss. I appreciated it. Does Scott Pilgrim's color do that too? Not specifically. It becomes more fun-filled with colors and the color brings out the characters’ more indie hipness.


In addition to the color, the back twenty or so pages of the book are a real gem for fans of the series. The author’s thoughts on the character designs, history of the characters and how the story reflected the author's life, and much more are detailed in the behind the scenes section.


I'm glad I got around to re-reading the book. I'll probably be buying this version of Scott for the library to try the series again. With the influence of the movie being on cable practically every other week, I think more readers will be interested in trying it out if they see it on the shelves. Thanks to Oni Press for giving the e-book to me to preview through NetGalley.

I discovered a fascinating gem in the graphic novel section--Bayou, Volume 1 by Jeremy Love. Set in the rural South, pre-civil rights era, our main character is Lee, the young daughter of a sharecropper. Her mother died in the bayou long ago--the juke joint where she sang was blown away in a hurricane, no trace of it or any of the people inside ever to be found again. Lee's happy with her daddy and with her best friend, Lily, but there's no ignoring the racial tension that divides her family from her white friend. As the book progresses, this tension and the resulting violence are the key points of the story.

The book begins with Lee diving into the bayou to help recover the body of a young black boy who was lynched after whistling at a white woman. When she finds the body, she sees the ghost of the boy in the water. After that Lee sees many a strange thing. Are they ghosts? Ghouls? Some have physical form, some don't seem to. It's not clear what's going on in the bayou, but it's obvious something supernatural is afoot. Lee and Lily's friendship grows cold when Lily loses her expensive necklace and, afraid of being beaten by her mother, accuses Lee of stealing the jewelry. Lee's daddy won't stand up for her and tries to explain that this is the way things are, and the time to fight hasn't come yet. This doesn't sit well with Lee, and it sits even worse when Lily goes missing and Lee's daddy is accused. Lee knows her daddy could hang. She also knows her daddy had nothing to do with Lily's disappearance. In fact, Lee herself witnessed what happened to Lily--and it involves the creepy denizens of the bayou. Lee decides that now is indeed the time to fight, and she's the one to save her daddy's life.

The art is gorgeous. The story is super weird. This makes for a great combination. The book is an odd-shaped size, the content is simultaneously fascinating and horrifying, the humor that lightens the tone of the book can be described with words like "quirky" or "just plain strange." Those are just the ingredients I need to recommend it.

Great Graphic Novels for Teens

This past weekend and early this week, librarians from across the country met in Dallas to talk books and libraries. YALSA (the Young Adult Library Association) releases committee created lists on materials published in the past year that are for teens. There's the Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers List, the Best Fiction for Young Adults List, and the Great Graphic Novels for Teens list that I use every year to pick up the handful of titles that I may have missed while ordering.


This year's Great Graphic Novels list left me feeling rather blah about the list. It's not that it's a bad list, because it is a good list of quality graphic novels. It just isn't a list people should order willy nilly from since it doesn't feel it took popularity into consideration at all which teen appeal is part of the criteria for the inclusion on the list. Maybe I'm being too hard on the list--maybe the most popular graphic novels of 2011 weren't nominated. Maybe the committee decided not to consider books from the middle of a series. I don't know. I wasn't on the committee. All I know is that if I ordered the vast majority of these titles, I'd be weeding them out of my library system in two years with very little if any circulations.



Now that I've vented--I thought I'd share the titles from the list we do own and think will have appeal--as well as gave you some of the comments that my teens in the Ani-Manga Club made about the titles in general.


First up--Gandhi: A Manga Biography by Kazuki Ebine. When I mentioned this title--the comments were: Who is he? Is he Indian? Was he Buddha? Weirdly enough they were flummoxed by the idea of nonfiction manga.


Feynman by Jim Ottaviani. The synopsis provided by YALSA reads "The life and times of the world's smartest man." One teen's response was "I thought Sheldon Cooper was the smartest man alive." (FYI--Sheldon Cooper is a character on the Big Bang Theory)


Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol. All about a girl who befriends a ghost at her school. This was one of the titles picked up and browsed through by a teen at yesterday's meeting.


Laddertop by Orson Scott Card and Emily Janice Card. A manga style space school story. I thought it might have some appeal to the teens in the program, but not really. I don't think it was the artwork, but more my teens weren't into the whole space school idea.


Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge. New girl in town Paige uses her sketchbook to make sense of her new life. This one was also picked up at the program to take home.


Blue Exorcist by Kazue Kato. Finally a manga that actually is popular on this list!!! Uber popular, this is a great action shonen title.


Mangaman by Barry Lyga and Colleen Doran. Basic premise: manga character falls into the real world and tries to survive the typical American high school life. I wanted to like it, but as one teen told me, "The artwork is really busy."


Bride's Story by Kaoru Mori. I love this one, but the teen appeal is lacking in it. Seriously how many teens do you know really want to read a book about a 19th century arranged marriage?


Axe Cop by Malachai Nicolle and Ethan Nicolle. This is what happens when an artist asks his young brother what the story should be--an axe wielding cop with a dinosaur sidekick. This one was passed around by several of the guys in the ani-manga club yesterday.


Wandering Son by Takako Shimura. This gentle story is about a boy who wants to be a girl and a girl who wants to be a boy. Personally, I haven't read another book that is so well done in it's depiction. But the teens in my group called it "Boring!" :(




Bad Island by Doug TenNapel. Family vacation becomes a shipwreck survival story. Bold colorful artwork stood out to the teens yesterday.

Bake Sale by Sara Varon. Cupcake and his best friend Eggplant run a bakery together. This is a fun title, but feels young to me.

Ruse: The Victorian Guide to Murder by Mark Waid. This is a reissue of a long out of print detective story that I adored when it first came out. Think Sherlock Holmes with a female assistant who's smart and hiding special powers. I think more teens will find this one since the Sherlock Holmes films have been popular.

So that's just a handful of the titles. Next up the Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers. I always end up having issues with them too! :)

Kristin always accuses me of reading "snooty" graphic novels. I suppose she will think this one is snooty too, but I would not label it as such. Neil Gaiman says it's "a masterpiece." I would not label it as such either. Which is not to say Anya's Ghost isn't very good. I thought it was pretty well done, though "masterpiece" stretches things a bit for me.

Anya is a Russian immigrant, a teenage girl who has finally shed her accent along with some extra pounds, learned how to dress like an American, and gotten into a prep school--a third-rate prep school, but a prep school nonetheless. She's a typical teenager with an annoying younger brother who has an odd tendency to bury things in the backyard, an embarrassing mother, and a less than satisfactory social life. She's carrying a torch for a basketball star at her school, and he, naturally, is dating a leggy blonde perfect girl who never gets a zit. As Anya puts it, "I just wish she'd get a zit or something to prove that she's full of pus like all the rest of us." Life is dissatisfying in an ordinary way until the day Anya falls down an old well in the middle of the woods and encounters the ghost of Emily Reilly, who fell down the same well during the first World War and whose bones still remain down there. Anya, unlike Emily, is rescued, and because she has brought a single finger bone out of the well with her, rescues Emily's ghost too. (The ghost has to stay with her bones, so she haunts Anya.) At first Anya finds her annoying, then useful as Emily spies on the basketball star and helps Anya cheat on her tests. However, having a ghost around isn't all it's cracked up to be, and Anya's original feelings of sympathy for her newfound friend lessen as Emily's ghost begins to go through some disturbing changes.

The artwork is good and the panels are easy to follow. I've heard that some readers dislike graphic novels because their panels are hard to decipher. This won't be the case with Anya's Ghost. I like the style of the art with its crisp lines. All of the story's done in black and white. The plot kept me interested and I liked the point of view of an Americanized immigrant. Anya's American nature is contrasted to Dima, the nerdy Russian boy who's tormented at school and whom Anya tries to ditch as often as possible. Mostly, though, I liked Anya. At the very end of the story, I felt the author began to moralize a bit, and this felt like it didn't match the rest of the tone. Dima faded out of the story line as did the "perfect" girlfriend of the basketball star, and those were two story lines I wanted to continue. I wonder if a sequel is in the works, because I felt like the story was ever so slightly unfinished, though it doesn't exactly set itself up for a continuation either. All in all, I'd give it eight out of ten stars, and that's not bad. Not a masterpiece, but definitely enjoyable and worth the read.

Read it before you See it

Okay, I'm going to be perfectly honest. I only read Cowboys and Aliens because I like Daniel Craig and I wanted to know more about the movie. If you have no idea about the movie then you can watch the trailer. After watching the trailer and reading the graphic novel I think the movie diverges away from some of the story.

The basic premise is that in 1870s Arizona (think Wild West), aliens crash land and try to take over the primitive life as slaves. Intriguing premise, great opening pages from the view point of both the White Men and the Aliens as conquerors. Then the actual story begins: Zeke and Verity are protectors of a wagon train leading them through the treacherous wilderness to their new life in Silver City. When Zeke goes for reinforcements at the fort, an alien ship crash lands nearby. Once the aliens disembark they begin systematically destroying those that challenge them. Only partnering with the local Apache tribe and using human ingenuity can save them.

And let's be honest, who wouldn't love to see if human ingenuity would beat out superior technological weapons?

Havoc

The sequel to Malice was eagerly awaited by this reader. I was very anxious to see whether the friends left behind were going to be rescued. I wanted to find out whether Tall Jake would be defeated and would receive the justice he deserved.

Seth's single minded mission to rescue Kady sometimes seemed a little unreal but it certainly was endearing. I think that readers would like to think they would have the resourcefulness and bravery to save their friends if they found themselves in a similar situation.

The action was pretty much nonstop. There were some pretty scary moments especially when they encountered Tall Jake's horrific Deadhouse creations. One or two of the characters who were introduced in this sequel added to the drama and brought in some interesting elements to the battle in Malice. Once again, I think that anyone who enjoyed Malice will be satisfied with Havoc.

I have to confess that once I got halfway through, I kept making excuses to stop reading and then put off picking it up again. I just did not want to finish reading the book, knowing that it was the end. I wanted to keep visiting Malice and find out how that world would fare. I wish it could have gone on for at least another two books. But once the last page or two was read, I did accept that the story had to end and there was no more. Perhaps that speaks to the talent of the writer leaving the audience wanting more or that I just have gotten so darn used to reading series (LOL). Anyway, I did enjoy Havoc and would recommend it to readers who like something different. You do have to Malice before you tackle Havoc. Happy Reading!

Grammy's 2011

So I'm a sucker for awards shows. I don't know why--especially since I seem to live in the bubble of having a toddler, so I'm not aware of what else is going on but Yo Gabba Gabba and Handy Manny (he got a new tool!) But I love live music and so does Charlie (my son), so I thought we'd watch the Grammy's together. While I personally thought that Eminem should have won a lot more than he did and Lady Antebellum were REALLY lucky this year. Anyway... I started thinking, you know we have music CDs, right? I could tell you that we have most of the Grammy winners on CD, but they're all checked out. Instead, I thought I'd mention some books about the stars who won and performed on Sunday.



The one I'm most excited about is Lady Gaga Critical Mass Fashion by Elizabeth Goodman. This new book is all about the Gaga look. If you are fascinated by Lady Gaga and her fashion, then you'll want to see this book. We also have biographies on Lady Gaga housed in our adult collection that you'll want to see.


Speaking of our adult collection, did you know that Jay-Z has an autobiography that is on the New York Times Bestseller list? Decoded looks at his lyrics and his life.


And for a completely different style of reading--a graphic novel about Eminem! Eminem: in My Skin by Barnaby Legg came out in 2004, so this is Slim Shady style Eminem, not Recovery Eminem.


Alright, so there's some reading for you to catch up on while you wait for the Oscar's later this month!

Lightning Thief

Wow, I've posted three days in a row. I'm on a streak! Anyway, today I thought I'd write about another graphic novel that I just read: The Lightning Thief.

We all know what The Lightning Thief is about, right? If not--where have you been? I was asked to review this book for a library journal recently. Okay, so I've read the book, listened to the book, watched the movie, and now have read the graphic novel. What do I think about it? Well, the novel is still the best way to be introduced to the story, but this graphic novel is a pretty good adaptation of the story (better than the movie, for sure!). Besides the fact that Percy looks to be 16-20 in this book instead of the 12 he's supposed to be, the artwork is realistic and well done.

Some of the scenes I really enjoy aren't here--the trapped tunnel of love in Denver, the semi-truck ride to Vegas, and my favorite Medusa. But for the most part the adapter, Robert Venditti, kept the pacing at a breakneck speed.

So if you have already read the novel series and are waiting in line for The Lost Hero, then you should pick this graphic novel up to see another view of the Half Blood world.

Fantasy Manga

So last week was the monthly meeting of the Ani-Manga Club. This month was all about fantasy. And manga has a lot of different fantasy titles available to read! As the teens were going around the room telling about their favorite fantasy manga, we kept thinking that so many of the basic plot points were similar to other fantasy titles--both manga and novels. So here are some of the highlights of the booklist:

If you like the time traveling--or transporting to another world storyline, then you might like

Tsubasa Resevoir Chronicles by CLAMP
In this CLAMP crossover, the characters may look familiar to you, but they are completely different. Sakura is the Princess of Clow and Syaoran is her childhood friend. When Sakura's powers trigger in an archaeological dig, she loses her memories one by one in the form of feathers. With the help of Syaoran and others, she will travel through dimensions to gather them back again. This series is set to be finished this month! So start reading now!



Are post-apocalyptic fantasies more your cup of tea? Then you may find a series like Basara by Tamura Yumi more to your liking.

Born as the twin sister of a boy prophesied to be the "Child of Destiny," Sarasa lives a lonely, forgotten existence. But when her village is attacked by the Red King's Army and her brother is killed, she must face the courage to lead her people into victory masquerading as her brother the whole entire time. This long series has a lot to offer: relationships, mistaken identities, battles, war tactics, and so much more.




And last but not least, the RPG-type fantasy. This fantasy genre has the journey, the battles with magic or with creatures, and usually has more humor built into it. The creator, Ryo Mizuno best fits this category. Best known for Record of Lodoss War and Louie the Rune Soldier, his work has a mixture of the above elements. RLW is all about the quest. Louie is more of a comedy with a street brawling sorcerer at the center of the story.

Hopefully, you'll enjoy some of these titles. Next month in Ani-Manga Club we'll be discussing humor manga. We're meeting on the 14th at 4 pm, so if you're a teen and you like manga, you should come!

The Stuff of Legend

This is a very different graphic novel. The boogeyman! Give me a break! However, once I started reading it, I couldn't stop. I actually picked up the book because of the cover, the angry looking teddy bear caught my interest.

The idea of toys and a puppy going to the rescue of a boy abducted by the boogeyman was intriguing. Once the rescue party goes into the closet and into The Dark, the toys become real. When they become real, the reader gets to see the kind of personalities each one has and some are surprising and a little disturbing. But it is clear to see the all but one of the party is determined to get the boy back.

I became invested in the characters and admired their bravery and loyalty. The author has created some memorable and believable characters. The sepia drawings make the story otherworldly and almost make me believe that if I went into the "right" closet, that I would be in The Dark. A frightening prospect. I would not recommend this for anyone under the age of 8 as it would be a little too scary for younger readers.

I have already passed this on to another colleague. The Stuff of Legend is a unique graphic novel and a special one. I cannot wait to find out what happens next.

A graphic novel memoir

David Small, a Caldecott winning illustrator, recently published his memoir, Stitches. Instead of writing a prose book, he created a graphic novel to tell the story of his dysfunctional family, growing up in the Midwest in the late 1940-1950s.
His father was a radiologist and his mother was the dutiful housewife in a home filled with silence and passive aggression.

While the family life is the focus of the first part of the book, the second part is much more intriguing. When he was eleven, a growth was discovered on his neck. When he was fourteen he was operated on twice and half of his voice cords were removed rendering him virtually silent. He had cancer and he wasn't told. He didn't need to know they said when he confronts his parents later on.

I can totally understand how this memoir received all starred reviews in the library journals.Small's fantastically rendered world is both enthralling and creepy at the same time. His over active imagination comes to life in his drawings of his dreams and nightmares. His images turn from cartoony to realistic from panel to panel but completely works to tell his story. I have panels marked as some of my favorite individual panels of all time.

I'm not sure I'd be reading Small's story if he had written it as a prose book. The imagery is so strong that I don't think I could visualize the family life in as good of detail as he provided in the artwork. A fascinating read--not specifically for teens, but I think given the chance they will become just as horrified at the family as I was!

Welcome to Lovecraft

Locke & Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft is a compilation of a creepy six-issue comic book story arc by horror master Joe Hill (son of Stephen King---I almost didn’t mention this because I’m sure Joe would like to make a name for himself that doesn’t also include the name of his legendary father…However, I did mention it, so…Best of luck with that Joe!) and Chilean artist Gabriel Rodriquez. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Joe Hill’s New York Times Bestseller Heart-Shaped Box, the story of an aging rock star who gets much more than he bargains for when he buys a man’s ghost online through an ebay-like website. So, when I discovered that Joe had co-created a graphic novel, I checked it out at the library as soon as I was able to get my hands on it.

Not much time is wasted before things start getting gooey (an amusing term that one of my co-workers uses to describe books or movies that are gory or gruesome). By page three, the body count begins. As the story unfolds, the reader witnesses the brutal murder of Rendell Locke by a mentally disturbed teen (Sam Lesser) who attends the school where Rendell works as a guidance counselor in San Francisco. After the funeral, Rendell’s widow and their three children (teens Tyler and Kinsey, and six-year-old Bode) move across the country to live with Rendell’s brother in the Locke family home. There, they attempt to get past the trauma and carry on with their lives. However, weirdness abounds in this spooky New England mansion…A mysterious doorway enables the spirit of anyone who passes through to leave its body, and an insidious creature beckons to Bode from inside an old forbidden well-house.

Welcome to Lovecraft is packed with surprises, including a “what the heck” ending that had me backtracking through pages to insure that I wasn’t missing something. Although the violence is intense, Hill and Rodriguez have done an amazing job of infusing a real sense of humanity into their characters…At one point, I even found myself feeling a bit sorry for Sam the psycho killer. A second compilation in the series, Head Games, is due to be released in September of this year.

Elk's Run

Elk’s Run is one of the few graphic novels in my library that is rarely checked out. Whenever I browse the collection in search of a graphic read, it always seems to be there…just waiting like a lonely shelter dog for that right person to take it home and cherish it. A couple of weeks ago, I needed something good to share during my library’s graphic novel book discussion group. So, I decided that I would let this “dog” have its day.

Author Joshua Hale Fialkov offers up a fairly intense tale of the fall of a utopian society. Elk’s Ridge is the name of a small-town community in West Virginia built by Vietnam War veterans supposedly seeking a peaceful existence for themselves and their families away from the crime and corruption of the outside world. However, when an Elk Ridge teenage boy is hit and killed by a drunk driver, the town’s bloody transformation from “Mayberry” to “Waco” is set into motion. Violence ensues and a group of teens attempts “the forbidden”…to leave Elk’s Ridge. The teens don’t get far before discovering that the intentions of the town’s founding fathers may not have been altogether harmonious.

As I finished reading Elk’s Run, I found myself hoping that more library patrons would discover this graphic novel if for nothing more than the fantastically gripping artwork. I thoroughly enjoyed the story as well, though the “fall of utopia” plot line might seem a bit tired and familiar to some readers.

Be warned, Elk’s Run is not for the squeamish. The “F” bomb is dropped repeatedly and blood flows like a river through the illustrations.

Wonder Woman: Who Is Wonder Woman

I loved the artwork, the colors are stunning, the team who did the artwork did a great job. When I was growing up and reading comic books, I wish that they had been as dynamic as this was. I was a big fan of the DC heroes and this took me back.

The storyline was interesting. I never thought about what Wonder Woman's mission was except to fight evil like all the other heroes. It was interesting to see her questioning her intentions and those to whom she supposedly owed her allegiance. I had to admire her decision and how she found herself.

I also liked that the other DC heroes made some minor appearances. Like I said, it took me back.