Hikaru No Go, Volume 9

Hikaru No Go, Volume 9
By: Yumi Hotta
Reviewed by: David B., 18

Rating:   It was amazing!

I just recently started reading the manga Hikaru No Go and I love it. It's about a boy named Hikaru Shindo who's ambition is to become one of the best Go players in Japan. He is aided by a master go-playing spirit, Fujiwara-no-Sai, who can only be seen by Hikaru. In volume 9, Shindo's friends help strengthen his skills as a go player by frequenting go-salons. On one such occasion, Hikaru accidently insults another expert player and the situation can only be resolved through a game of Go. Since both players are respected for their exceptional skill at the game, the reader doesn't necessarily believe the main character will win. You just have to wait till the end to find out. Hikaru No Go shows us that even if your as young as 14 years old, you can commit to accomplishing your dreams at any age. The art is remarkable, and the story telling is well-paced, easy to read and suspensefull aswell as funny.


Recommended to: Old and new manga fans alike.

Tokyo Mew Mew Vol.1

Tokyo Mew Mew Vol.1
By: Mia Ikumi
Reviewed by: Alexy B., 14

Rating:   Really liked it.

I read this when I was a lot younger but I really liked it. This is a adorable manga about these people that have an animal in them and when evil comes they turn into there animal and save the world. the main character eleven year old Ichigo, goes on her first date with the cutest boy in school when she gets into a bizarre accident that leaves her altered DNA.

Recommended to: Teens

Keith Haring

Keith Haring
By: Elisabeth Sussman, Keith Haring

Reviewed by: Alexy B., 14

Rating:   Really liked it.

This book shows his work at an exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Recommended to: Teens

Inuyasha Volume 1

Inuyasha Volume I
By: Rumiko Takahashi
Reviewed by: Alexy B., 14

Rating:   Really liked it.

 I really this popular series. This book follows the half demon InuYasha, and a teenager from Tokyo, Kagome Higurashi, who is transported to the Sengoku period, where she meets him.


Recommended to: Teens

The 14th Dalai Lama: A Manga Biography

The 14th Dalai Lama: A Manga Biography
By: Tetsu Saiwai
Reviewed by: Alexy B., 14
Rating: Really liked it.

This is a nicely illustrated graphic novel. It's the basic biography of the Dalai Lama. It had lots of information.

Recommended to: Teens

Black Cat: The Man Called Black Cat, Vol. 1

Black Cat: The Man Called Black Cat, Vol. 1
By: Kentaro Yabuki
Reviewed by: Alexy B., 14
Rating: It was alright...

This story is about two bounty hunters.  One being Train, who is an interesting hero who kept me laughing. It's a good story, and it's funny.  There was excitement, and drama..without it being too dramatic.


Recommended to: Teens

BLEACH 1: Strawberry and the Soul Reapers

BLEACH 1: Strawberry and the Soul Reapers
By: Tite Kubo
Reviewed by: Alexy B., 14
Rating: Really liked it

I really enjoyed this book.  This book  tells the story of Ichigo Kurosaki an ordinary 15-year-old high school student. Except for his special ability to see ghosts. So when a teenage girl materializes through his bedroom wall named Rukia, who is a shinigami (soul reaper) who is hunting a Hollow (an evil spirit that consumes souls).


Recommended to: Teens

The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan, Vol. 1

The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan, Vol. 1
By: Nagaru Tanigawa
Reviewed by: Alexy B., 14
Rating: It was alright...

This spin-off of the Haruhi Suzumiya series takes place in the world described in the fourth Haruhi novel, when for a few short days Haruhi Suzumiya's time and space-altering powers vanish and she and the bizarre members of the SOS Brigade become normal students. In this world, Kyon and Ryouko are members of the Literature Club headed by a bashful Yuki Nagato, whose tale of high school romance is about to begin.  This book was ok...it had a lot going on.

Recommended to: Teens

The Otaku Encyclopedia: An Insider's Guide to the Subculture of Cool Japan

The Otaku Encyclopedia: An Insider's Guide to the Subculture of Cool Japan
By: Patrick W. Galbraith, Frederik Schodt
Reviewed by: Alexy B., 14
Rating: Really liked it

An essential guide to any Anime or Manga fan. This book was very helpful. It included a lot of things I'd never heard of at all. This book is a great reference guide to this Japanese culture.

Recommended to: Otaku Fans

Vampire Knight Volume 1

Vampire Knight Volume 1
By: Matsuri Hino
Reviewed by: Alexy B., 14
Rating: Really liked it

This is a graphic novel worth reading. Yuki Cross is a guardian at Cross Academy, a school established by Yuki's adopted father. Yuki along with her companion guardian, Zero Kiryu, are responsible for keeping the Day Class and Night Class members separate, in part, to maintain the secret of the school, which is that the members of the Night Class are vampires. Great book..had to continue to then Volume#2.

Recommended to: Teens

Yotsuba&! Volume 1

Yotsuba&! Volume 1
By: Azuma Kiyohiko
Reviewed by: Alexy B., 14
Rating: Really liked it

The main character, a green-haired little girl named Yotsuba, completely lives in her own world.  She's so cute. She waves at people through the door of the moving van, as she and her father, Koiwai, are on their way to their new home. This manga is  cute, funny, and the art is very pretty.  Its a feel good book and will leave you feeling cheerful.


Recommended to: Teens

Bunny Drop, Volume 1

Bunny Drop, Volume 1
By: Yumi Unita
Reviewed by: Alexy B., 14
Rating: Really liked it

This book was really good.  The plot was also a bit of a surprise. Daikichi is a 30 year old bachelor that has been going about his life as always until the day his grandfather dies. He goes to show his respects, only to discover that his grandfather had a life he'd never suspected. His grandfather had a mysterious mistress that is nowhere to be seen, the only evidence of which is the shy child Rin. Daikichi's other family members treat her as if she was an embarrassment, but it is only Daikichi that volunteers to care for this girl when everyone else comes up with nothing but excuses. Little does he know that taking in little Rin will be one of the most challenging but rewarding tasks he's ever set upon.


Recommended to: Teens

Baby and Me, Volume 1

Baby and Me, Volume 1
By: Marimo Ragawa
Reviewed by: Alexy B., 14
Rating: Really liked it

It has become Takuya's job to look after his baby brother Minoru, since his mother passed away. While their father works he struggles with his brother.  This book was good.  It did have some funny but also sad parts.  Takuya has to sacrifice a lot for his family, including a normal childhood.


Recommended to: Teens

Ranma ½ Volume 1

Ranma ½ Volume 1

By: Rumiko Takahashi
Reviewed by: Alexy B., 14
Rating: It was amazing!

Ranma has fallen into a cursed spring and now turns into a girl every time he's doused with cold water. Hot water will turn him back into a boy. This series is a little silly but fun to read. It is so funny and action packed.

Recommended to: Teens

The Giver

The Giver
By: Lois Lowry
Reviewed by: JNoto, 14
Rating: It was amazing!

Sameness. That’s what rules Jonas’s world. The world where children have the same birthday, are colorblind, and have no individuality, much less know what independence is. But when Jonas becomes a Twelve, he is selected to be the Receiver of Memory. During his training he discovers what the world used to be – all the sadness, happiness, regret, loneliness, even color. And the more he learns, the more he wishes to escape to Elsewhere. But can he do it? Can he break free of the monotonous lifestyle he’s grown up in? This book is very perceptive. I’m sure that everyone has, at one point of their life, wondered what the world would be like if everyone thought the same. This book covers one possibility of that notion, and it’s very well written and developed.

Vampire Knight (series)

Vampire Knight (series)

By: Matsuri Hino
Reviewed by: IchiruFanGurrl, 15

Rating: It was amazing!



I've never really been into to manga series before, I read a couple (Sailor Moon, Tokyo Mew Mew to name a few) but I've never been able to read one obsessively with only eating, sleeping while reading that until I came across Vampire Knight. Matsuri Hino's manga series is hands down the best manga series I've ever read. It starts out ten years ago when a young girl is almost eaten by a vampire but is save by a beautiful stranger. Ten years later its starts at a private boarding school called Cross Academy, where two classes co-exist with one another the Day Class and the Night Class but the beautiful Night Class have a secret, they are all vampires. The young girl who life was saved that day was adopted by the Headmaster and given the name 'Yuki' she and her childhood friend Zero guard the Day Class from finding out the Night Class secret but soon Yuki discovers Zero's dark secret that he's been keeping for four years.

The plot is very suspenseful and every chapter you just turn the pages keep wondering what will happen next, there a lot of romantic tension in throughout the series especially between Yuki, Zero and Kaname (the vampire who saved Yuki.) But there are a lot of other romantic triangles throughout it that keep you guessing and wondering who will end up with you. There's a lot of drama, shocks and revelations that keep you guessing and things you won't except. Its a very dark and bloody story that can be rather sad at some point which you can really sympathetic with the characters especially Zero, Kaname, Ruka, Shizuka and others to name a few but it really makes them humane and realitisc seeing these 'perfect' vampires dealing with problems and emotions we go though everyday. Jealously, Power, Drama, Revenge, Love, Family, Betrayal, Greed. Though some parts are actually funny in especially The Headmaster and Aido but really are the characters have their quirks. Its a plot-driven drama-horror story.
 
I especially like Matsuri Hino's characters, Yuki is probably one of my favorite heroines, she very strong willed and caring toward others, she has a strong heart and you really watch her grow throughout the series. Kaname is a character that defiantly keeps you going throughout each volume. His mysterious vibe and shocking revelations makes you wonder what is his true motive is and keeps you until the last the volume. I don't really know about Zero but he's a very twisted, mysterious character who you can sympathetic with him making him surprisingly human (which is kinda ironic.) The side characters really shine with their different personalities and developed past. The villains are evil but Matsuri Hino always back up the story to kinda explain why they are evil and it makes you sad but that one one of the great things about her manga is that you can love all her characters without feeling remorse for them.

The art is so beautiful and very detail, I am really amazed at her artwork and the clothes are just as beautiful the characters are all very design beautifully and the school, the town, just beautiful.

I really would recommend this to anyone who love vampires or Gothic tales, actually I would recommend this to anyone! Its really amazing and just pulls you in.

Just Read It!!!


Recommended to: Any Manga Fan, Vampire Fans, Gohtic Fans, really anyone :)

Ouran High School Host Club

Ouran High School Host Club

By:Bisco Hatori
Reviewed by: JNoto, 13

Rating: It was amazing!



Meet the Host Club of the rich and prestigious Ouran Academy, a place where girls with too much time on their hands can mingle and be entertained (don't worry, it's nothing bad) by guys who also have too much time on their hands. When Haruhi Fujioka, a middle-class scholarship student, accidently breaks a vase worth ¥8,000,000, she finds herself at the mercy of the Host Club. Can she cope with keeping her identity secret while being a host and entertaining guests? And who knows, maybe Cupid will throw in some romance along the way...

Oh my goodness, I love this manga/anime/drama series. My sister and I could NOT stop laughing while we watched the anime. Seriously, if you are an otaku and for some reason have NEVER watched/read this before, DO IT NOW!!

I would recommend this to:EVERYONE, but mostly to those who enjoy manga or anime or both.

Confessions (Kokuhaku)

Confessions (Kokuhaku)

By:Tetsuya Nakashima
Reviewed by: JNoto, 13

Rating: It was amazing!



This startling dramatic thriller chronicles a teacher's revenge over the death of her young daughter. She subtly and gradually tortures her students, whom she believes to have murdered her daughter, despite police saying that she drowned after falling into the school pool. Will justice prevail? Will she get her redemption?

Oh. My. Freaking. Goodness. I love this movie! I can barely find the words to express how good it was. I rarely get emotionaly during movies or stories, and even if I do I can only spare a tear or two. But THIS movie-oh, man- I was silently bawling at the end. Their so many twists and subplots and lies and-it's just SO AMAZING. It MUST be watched.

I would recommend this to: EVERYONE!! It's too good of a movie to NOT be watched!

Fever 1793

Fever, 1973

By: Laurie Halse Anderson
Reviewed by: Sathvik, 15

Your Rating: It was alright

It is a good book but is is very lengthy & it takes the fun out of it.

Vampire Knight, Vol. 1

Vampire Knight, Vol. 1

By: Matsuri Hino
Reviewed by: Jessy, 17
Rating: Really liked it


I really enjoyed this manga. It was almost as good as Fruits Basket. :P


Recommended to: All Manga lovers :]