Manga Review: The Golden Sheep, Volume 1, by Kaori Ozaki

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Vertical Comics

Release Date: September 2019

Volumes: 3.

Spoilers?: Hints.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Golden Sheep features story and art by Kaori Ozaki the author of The Gods Lie. “They say if you write down your wish, bury it under Sheep Tower and then dig it up after 7 years and 7 months, your wish will come true…” Tsugu Miikura, a high schooler who loves to play guitar, due to family circumstances, moved away from the rural town where she had spent her childhood. After several years, she’s back in her old hometown. She reunites with her childhood friends—Sora, Yuushin, and Asari—the friends she’d buried a time capsule with back in elementary school. Tsugu is overjoyed to be with her friends once more, but the bonds that she thought would never change have in fact started to grow major cracks…

Review:

I didn't know what I was getting into when I started this volume.

The volume starts in a very drastic place, and then goes backwards a bit. We meet Tsugu, who moved away from her hometown and best friends when she was younger, and is suddenly able to move back. There've been some family circumstance changes, and now that she's back, she wants everything to be the same. At first, it feels like it could be. But, slowly, the pieces of teen angst and change start showing through.

There are some very serious themes explored in this volume. Bullying, in particular, is harsh and awful, and we even get to see two different sides of it. And suicide, though I won't go into detail on that one, but warning none the less.

Tsugu is really the bright spot of this so far. She's optimistic, but also blunt and doesn't hide from things. When she discovers what's happening with Sora, she doesn't hide from it, and she doesn't shy from being there for him.

This volume took a very dark turn for a while in this volume. It's realistically harsh, and I definitely think it's well done in that. It's realistic in how it portrays being a teenager, too, while also being thoughtful about it.

I'm also glad to say that things seem to be looking up at the end of the volume, though. And knowing this is a short series, I'm hopeful that it won't go too dark and dreary in the end.

Novel Review: A Monster Calls: Inspired by an Idea from Siobhan Dowd, by Patrick Ness and Illustrated by Jim Kay

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy, grief

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Release Date: 2013

Spoilers?: Light.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Teaser Tuesday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

An unflinching, darkly funny, and deeply moving story of a boy, his seriously ill mother, and an unexpected monstrous visitor.

At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting-- he's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It's ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth. From the final idea of award-winning author Siobhan Dowd-- whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself-- Patrick Ness has spun a haunting and darkly funny novel of mischief, loss, and monsters both real and imagined.

The Cover:

The cover is dark and haunting, using the same artwork as throughout the book, which I think is actually very fitting. Thinking back on the book, it doesn't particularly feel like those adjectives, and yet the artwork feels very fitting to the story anyway.

Review:

Conor's mother has cancer, again, and she's doing worse than she used to. At the same time, Conor's being bullied at school, and now his grandmother is visiting again, and they don't really get along, either. During all of this, Conor suddenly starts seeing this giant monster at night, causing destruction and conflicts, and telling him these twisted stories.

I really liked the way that Conor meets the monster, how he's absolutely not afraid of him; he's facing much scarier things, and I love the meaning behind that. The stories that the monster tells him, too; they're unique and with a surprise ending each time, which Conor hates, and I love them. They're dark sometimes, and thoughtful, and very important to what Conor needs to learn. It's similar to the meaning behind his bullying, and how he kind of needed Harry to do these things. Their fight was very satisfying, honestly, and it needed to happen. I understood Conor's need, too, for things to go back to normal, for him to feel normal and be treated fairly, not pitied.

This story was really heartbreaking, honestly. Conor's struggle was hard and honest and rough, and no one around him was truly seeing it. The ending, too... It's heartbreaking, and his final confrontation with the monster was honest and brutal, and it made me cry.

These kinds of stories are just brutal, and sad, and necessary. This was a beautiful story, honestly, so thoughtful and well-written and meaningful. I'm glad I finally read it, and I think it's a very important story for a lot of people; that some people might need this exact story.

Manga Review: So Cute It Hurts!!, Volume 6, by Go Ikeyamada

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: April 2016

Volumes: 15.

Spoilers?: Light.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository.

Volume: 1. 5. 7.

Goodreads Synopsis:

The Kobayashi twins, Megumu and Mitsuru, were named after historical figures, but only Megumu has grown up with a taste for history. So when Mitsuru is in danger of losing his weekends to extra history classes, he convinces his sister to swap clothes with him and ace his tests! After all, how hard can it be for them to play each other?

Megumu is considering a career as a manga artist, but as Mitsuru so helpfully points out, her drawing skills could use a lot of improvement. That doesn’t dim her enthusiasm, and she vows to practice drawing every day. But her first sketching session in a park is interrupted by an intense young man who goes ballistic when he sees the portrait of Aoi in her sketchbook! Who is this stranger, and why does he want to destroy her boyfriend?!

Review:

I don't love this series. I just don't.

There's some real cuteness between Mego and Aoi in the beginning. We get a glimpse of Mitsuru and Azusa's relationship, and how it's slowly growing for each of them. Azusa is getting bullied, and Misturu steps in protectively, at the same time that Mego wants to be there to protect Aoi, so they switch again.

The major point here, though, is that there's a new character. And he has a vendetta against Aoi. He pursues Mego at first, to get to Aoi, and she doesn't take that quite so well.

There's good and bad with this series. It is still ringing at high and low moments in every volume, just enough that I don't quite mind reading more but I'm not loving it. I just want it to get better.

Manga Review: A Silent Voice, Volume 5, by Yoshitoki Oima

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: January 2016

Volumes: 7.

Spoilers?: Light.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository.

Volume: 1. 4. 6.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Years ago, Shoya Ishida led his peers in tormenting a hearing-impaired classmate, Shoko Nishimiya. When she transfers schools, Shoya finds he has gone from bully to bullied, and is left completely alone. Now Shoya struggles to redeem himself in Shoko's eyes and to face the classmates who turned on him. He learns sign language to apologise to Shoko for his behaviour, and so begins a relationship that will change his and Shoko's lives forever.

Review:

My god, this series!

Shoya’s past is fully revealed in this volume. The friendships he was slowly starting to form with his classmates, and the ones he had with the others, blow up in his face. Old hurts are shouted at each other, betrayals, and blaming. It’s pretty bad. And to say that Shoya handles it badly would be putting it lightly. He doesn’t.

I will say I’m surprised by Satoshi. He didn’t stand out much in the previous book, but he has a pretty strong personality, and he has a contrasting point of view to bullying as Shoya does.

After that, Shoya is left alone, with only Shoko at his side. She’s confused by what happened, but ultimately feels terrible, taking the blame on herself. Shoya is just sulking and being a depressing mope about it.

And all of this leads up to the ending. It’s horrible. It’s a terrible turn of events, and I can’t believe this is where they’re ending it. Ugh.

I need to read the next one immediately.

Novel Review: Random by Tom Leveen

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Genre: YA Realistic; Suicide, Cyberbullying

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Release Date: 2014

Spoilers?: Not really.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Teaser Tuesday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Who's the real victim here? This tense and gripping exploration of cyberbullying and teen suicide is perfect for fans of Before I Fall and Thirteen Reasons Why.

Late at night Tori receives a random phone call. It's a wrong number. But the caller seems to want to talk, so she stays on the line.

He asks for a single thing—one reason not to kill himself.

The request plunges her into confusion. Because if this random caller actually does what he plans, he'll be the second person connected to Tori to take his own life. And the first just might land her in jail. After her Facebook page became Exhibit A in a tragic national news story about cyberbullying, Tori can't help but suspect the caller is a fraud. But what if he’s not? Her words alone may hold the power of life or death.

With the clock ticking, Tori has little time to save a stranger—and maybe redeem herself—leading to a startling conclusion that changes everything…

The Cover:

I really like this cover. It portrays the subject really well, it's eye-catching. I think the model being a boy works, since the victim was, but mainly because the person who calls Tori is also a boy. I really like the tag-line, too. It's perfect for this.

Review:

I don’t know how I feel about this book. It definitely dealt with a tough, serious subject, so maybe that’s how it should be.

Tori, and her supposed friends, is being accused of cyberbullying and pushing a classmate into killing himself. And when she gets a strange call in the middle of the night, from some guy claiming to be looking for a reason not to kill himself, she’s forced to look at things a little differently.

Tori is definitely an unlikable character. She doesn’t feel she’s at fault, she’s extremely selfish and self-centered, and doesn’t really even feel very sympathetic about what happened. She just wants it to go away. I did not like her in the beginning, but I appreciate how well her voice was done. I believed her, completely, that she believed herself. Leveen really knows how to write a unique voice.

I liked the twist at the end. I think it just makes the call seem that much more important, and I like what they did to try and make her realize what had happened and who she had become. I also think, though, that her sudden change in thought was a little sudden. I think she still has a ways to go before she’s really changed, and I do think that was realized, though.

This is definitely a book worth picking up. The perspective, the subject and the way it was handled, I think it was all well done. And I look forward to reading his other books.

Manga Review: A Silent Voice, Volume 3, by Yoshitoki Oima

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

Release Date: September 2015

Volumes: 7

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 2. 4.

Goodreads Synopsis:

ARE YOU AFRAID OF HER?

Shoya’s decided to do everything he can to make up for how terribly he treated Shoko, his former classmate who can’t hear. But more than the challenge of learning to communicate, it means facing a past he thought he’d left behind forever. Now a reunion with old friends will transform Shoya, and his relationship with Shoko.

Review:

This volume explores more of Shoya and Shoko’s past, with the reintroduction of two of their past classmates. Shoya goes looking when Shoko asks, and it’s all brought on by his awkward inability to be honest and upfront with her.

Shoko is reunited with the one girl who was nice to her, but who transferred out before any of the real bad stuff happened. And this forms a real friendship between, and a surprise for Shoya, as he finds himself feeling left out. He wants to be the one at her side, even if he denies it.

Then Shoya runs into the girl that was at his side in school, just as mean as he was, goading him on. And while Shoya is trying to move past that, be better, she’s just the same as she was then.

Then there’s the ending, and that’s just bad. Poor Shoko, and dumb Shoya.

I can’t wait for the next one.

Manga Review: My Hero Academia, Volume 1, by Kohei Horikoshi

Rating (Out of 5): ~3

Publisher: Shonen Jump (VIZ Media)

Release Date: August 4, 2015

Volumes: 5+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

What would the world be like if 80 percent of the population manifested superpowers called “Quirks” at age four? Heroes and villains would be battling it out everywhere! Being a hero would mean learning to use your power, but where would you go to study? The Hero Academy of course! But what would you do if you were one of the 20 percent who were born Quirkless?

Middle school student Izuku Midoriya wants to be a hero more than anything, but he hasn’t got an ounce of power in him. With no chance of ever getting into the prestigious U.A. High School for budding heroes, his life is looking more and more like a dead end. Then an encounter with All Might, the greatest hero of them all, gives him a chance to change his destiny…

Review:

Midoriya lives in a world where everyone has a superpower and is striving to be a hero. Except for him. Which means he’s bullied. But he also wants to be a superhero so badly that he knows everything about them, has books filled with notes, and has a bit of a hero-streak in him.

Midoriya is a great main character for this story. He’s smart, has been picked on and cries easy, and he just wants to be a superhero. The scenes we get of him as a child just hurt my heart, that poor little boy. I just want to hug him.

And then he finally gets his chance.

There are a bunch of different characters as well, and a lot of neat powers. There’s All Might, the biggest superhero that helps Midoriya, who’s real identity is a secret. There’s Bakugo, who bullies Midoriya, and wants to be the meanest villain around. Tenya, a guy who relies on his smarts in conversation, who I think is kind of great. Then there’s Ochako, the girl that befriends Midoriya, and she’s nice. And their teacher, who is the toughest teacher around and will fail everyone if he wants to.

I like the premise of this series, and this volume was really enjoyable. The group of characters are a lot of fun, and I’m actually interested to read more.