Dana
This review will be for the whole series; read at your own risk!
Read 12 volumes
Arina Tanemura is my favorite manga artist and it took me forever to start this one! I actually have a German edition of volume 1! Sakura Hime is a pretty good start! I like that the couple confesses and “gets together” fairly quickly as opposed to her other series. I'm curious to see how the overall plot runs!
Edit 8/14/22: I finished the series!! I'm surprised at how it turned out (more characters died than I expected from Arina Tanemura) but it ended well I think! A bit rushed but I still enjoyed it!
This review will be for the whole series; read at your own risk!
Read 2 volumes
This series is speaking straight to my book loving soul! I'm so excited to see where Theo goes! But the librarians are so badass and I love it so far! The art is also stunning!
Come on Theo you can do it! I love his new friends and I can't wait to see what happens!
Are you a coward or are you a librarian?
Obviously I needed to read this after finding out its a sapphic story about rebel librarians.
And it was just as good as it promised.
Esther is our plucky heroine who's been raised completely sheltered but had a torrid secret affair with a woman who was recently hung for having Unapproved Materials. She believes that she's all alone in her attraction to women until she stashes herself on the Librarian's cart and dives headfirst into a world of trouble.
I loved seeing Esther learn and grow as a human through this book. I liked that she decided to be a better person after each experience, especially when she fails. This is a short story at less than 100 pages, but it packed a lot. I could read another novel about Esther and Cye's adventures!
Overall, a great short story for fans of westerns, rebels, and queers!
4.5 rounded up for Bonedog.
I loved this. This is a great fairytale-ish story about a 30 year old almost nun who sets out to save her sister from an evil Prince. Along the way she creates this beautifully flawed found family of a dog made out of bones, a cranky (but powerful) dust-wife, a great hulking man with a soft heart, and a kindly fairy god mother who's terrible at blessings but excellent at curses.
I loved their family dynamic and teasing. It made me so warm inside! And I also loved Marra so fiercely. She is such a good main character because she's dense and slow but fiercely loyal and brave. She's a perfect princess to me. I loved the whole cast of characters!
The plot is... simple. It's laid out fairly straightforward and isn't big on twists. It was well done of course, but if you're looking for a huge plot twist, this isn't it. The plot is fine; not too complicated but not too easy. I still really enjoyed it even if I wasn't ever surprised.
Overall, fantastic shorter story! Love, love, loved it.
The art was really what drew me to this book but occasionally it got a bit muddled for me and I couldn't tell what was going on. Add that to a kinda odd storyline with a time jump and I was fairly lost. But the art was just absolutely stunning and every page was so well done. I did like the ending along with Amelia's character growth.
Overall, a solid graphic novel for any adventurous middle schooler.
Cute story about a young woman who goes in search of Baba Yaga in order to be her assistant. Masha doesn't feel like she fits into her family, especially now that her father is remarrying. She misses her grandmother and runs away to have her own adventure. Baba Yaga tasks Masha with various tests during which she finds her own creative solutions and in the end... Masha goes off with Baba Yaga.
The end felt kinda weird and off... like her dad was just chill leaving her behind? I got he was a bad father, but that was kinda... brutual. Anyway, the art is nice but I didn't care for the ending.
Pretty good but the art is rather simple at times and hard to follow and it shoves you into the action with little background and leaves you to figure it out. Also felt a bit childish but since it's aimed for kids, makes sense. Overall, a good monster hunting graphic novel for readers moving into J fiction.
A delicious tale about a Taiwanese girl moving to America and wanting to bring her beloved grandmother for a visit. To do that, she sets a goal to win a cooking competition for the cash prize and learns about herself and her culture through food. I really liked Cici's determination and drive to learn. I was so happy for her in the end and I just hope that she pursued cooking in her future. I liked seeing her complicated new relationships with the American kids and how she dealt with the incredible pressure her family put on her.
Overall, wonderful story with a wonderful message wrapped up in delicious food!
Fantastic story about a young girl trying to save her farm (and family) from a beautiful and mysterious salt witch. I liked Vonceil a lot! And the story was really interesting and had me on the edge of my seat. I was confused a bit by the ending but I liked it. It was just the sort of magic it had all along.
A solid follow up to [b:Stepping Stones 42424403 Stepping Stones Lucy Knisley https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1570320411l/42424403.SX50.jpg 66131366]! This one is more focused on love and relationships. Jen wonders why friendships have to change when its a boy and girl involved. She isn't interested in dating or boys or kissing at all, when everyone expects her to be. I like that she was able to maintain her friendships through the book even when the going got tough. I'm also hoping the bully turns around since they seem to have drawing in common.
Really needed a little review of what happened in book one to get back into this one. But book two picks up right where one left off and gets you back into the action. We see our “villain” and learn some shocking twists. It was an okay follow up and I think I would have liked it more if I had book three to finish out the series with... unless it's more than three books.
Overall, the series is good, but best to wait until they're all out to fully enjoy the whole story.
Did I really just get teary-eyed at a Middle School graphic novel? Yes, yes I did.
I felt so bad for Imogene; she was faced with all these tough choices and situations and she did what she thought was best at the time, even if it was really poor choices. But she learned and grew and I was so proud of her in the end! I loved her faire-mily!
Super cute graphic novel about a girl joining band just to go on the end of year trip to a convention where her favorite author will be making an appearance. I loved that Scout gave it her all in the end and chose band and her friends over her favorite author. And the little at the end made it all worth it!
Overall, a great pick for a story about friendship, responsibilities, and the power of anime music~
Super cute, colorful, and heartwarming story about being yourself at all costs.
Taylor is an alien princess being forced to live undercover as a human boy on Earth. Oddly enough, this apparently takes place in the same world as Superman? This is published by DC Comics so I shouldn't be too surprised (and he never makes an actual appearance). Taylor just wants to start living as herself and throw away the mask she's forced to wear. She starts to gain the confidence to do that when she meets Kat, the new girl in town. Kat shows her that being herself is the most beautiful thing to be.
I think this is a super important comic; for trans girls to see themselves being represented as the beautiful stars they are. About not hiding, and facing your fears. Beautiful story that I'm glad I ordered for my library's collection.
I really liked Ethan M. Aldridge's past works, [b:Estranged 31193404 Estranged (Estranged, #1) Ethan M. Aldridge https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1511472336l/31193404.SY75.jpg 51838813] and [b:The Changeling King 41212409 The Changeling King (Estranged, #2) Ethan M. Aldridge https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1550080671l/41212409.SY75.jpg 64405657], so I was looking forward to this one! It was really good!Alto is the youngest son of the legendary hero, Brightblade. He also just wants to be a bard. I liked his journey, even when he frustrated me. He was quite childish and sheltered and has a long way to grow, but he has good friends by his side. I wish there was a second book! I want to see Alto grow and learn more!
This review will be for the whole series; read at your own risk!
Read 1 volume
Inuyasha is one of my all-time favorite anime/mangas ever so I clearly had high hopes for Yashahime! And it really starts out with a bang. I love seeing all my favorite characters as adults and I'm so interested in seeing how the three girls do on their quest!
I was a hardcore SessRin shipper back in the day, so this also just made me so excited. I can't wait to see the two again!
3.5 rounded down
Overall, meh. It's not bad, but not good. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is really explained. What was the deal with the cracks? What was the stone? Why did it have that effect?
Characters were fine but not very well fleshed out. The parents were just nasty. To each other, to their kids, to the opposite families. The “rivalry” was weak for that level of hatred for each other.
I dunno, I guess I expected more because I've read a string of Asian mythology retellings that were incredible and this was fairly average. It's just okay.
This review will be for the whole series; read at your own risk!
Read 1 volume
Super cute start to a new isekai. Keina's life support fails and now she's in her favorite VRMMORPG, Leadale, but 200 years in the future. She now is making a name for herself and figuring out how to truly live.
So far it's cute but there's not much plot. Looking forward to more volumes. Gives ‘Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear' vibes.