The thrill of competition takes the spotlight in this intense series installment.
Rivalries heat up as a Japanese amateur singer strives to master her skills quickly.
Hikaru and Ran have made it past auditions and are officially in the running for a fresh, performance-focused idol group. They find themselves among 40 girls who have two days to prove their singing and dancing skills before half the group is eliminated. Hikaru, who’s never danced professionally, watches closely as the other girls audition and uses her observations of both their talents and deficiencies to inform her own performance. Meanwhile, Ran is trying to figure out how to distinguish herself after failing to stand out in her previous idol group. After an intense elimination, the 20 remaining girls are grouped into teams, with amateurs working alongside veteran performers to prove their ability to take critique, improve their talents, and save themselves from elimination. This second entry in the manga series, originally published in Japan, focuses heavily on the philosophical underpinnings of creative performance, highlighting talent, tension, and the drive to excel. Other competitors are introduced and given more distinct personalities, including Kaede, a former backup dancer for another idol group, and Hikaru’s bold, encouraging roommate, Amina. Older mentors for the group provide voices of wisdom and encourage Hikaru to reflect on what really makes her performances shine. Hikaru’s roommate and vocal coach both have brown skin.
The thrill of competition takes the spotlight in this intense series installment. (Graphic fiction. 9-15)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781546141013
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
Fast-paced and plot-driven.
In his latest, prolific author Gratz takes on Hitler’s Olympic Games.
When 13-year-old American gymnast Evie Harris arrives in Berlin to compete in the 1936 Olympic Games, she has one goal: stardom. If she can bring home a gold medal like her friend, the famous equestrian-turned-Hollywood-star Mary Brooks, she might be able to lift her family out of their Dust Bowl poverty. But someone slips a strange note under Evie’s door, and soon she’s dodging Heinz Fischer, the Hitler Youth member assigned to host her, and meeting strangers who want to make use of her gymnastic skills—to rob a bank. As the games progress, Evie begins to see the moral issues behind their sparkling facade—the antisemitism and racism inherent in Nazi ideology and the way Hitler is using the competition to support and promote these beliefs. And she also agrees to rob the bank. Gratz goes big on the Mission Impossible–style heist, which takes center stage over the actual competitions, other than Jesse Owens’ famous long jump. A lengthy and detailed author’s note provides valuable historical context, including places where Gratz adapted the facts for storytelling purposes (although there’s no mention of the fact that before 1952, Olympic equestrian sports were limited to male military officers). With an emphasis on the plot, many of the characters feel defined primarily by how they’re suffering under the Nazis, such as the fictional diver Ursula Diop, who was involuntarily sterilized for being biracial.
Fast-paced and plot-driven. (Historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781338736106
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
Brava!
From award winner Telgemeier (Smile, 2010), a pitch-perfect graphic novel portrayal of a middle school musical, adroitly capturing the drama both on and offstage.
Seventh-grader Callie Marin is over-the-moon to be on stage crew again this year for Eucalyptus Middle School’s production of Moon over Mississippi. Callie's just getting over popular baseball jock and eighth-grader Greg, who crushed her when he left Callie to return to his girlfriend, Bonnie, the stuck-up star of the play. Callie's healing heart is quickly captured by Justin and Jesse Mendocino, the two very cute twins who are working on the play with her. Equally determined to make the best sets possible with a shoestring budget and to get one of the Mendocino boys to notice her, the immensely likable Callie will find this to be an extremely drama-filled experience indeed. The palpably engaging and whip-smart characterization ensures that the charisma and camaraderie run high among those working on the production. When Greg snubs Callie in the halls and misses her reference to Guys and Dolls, one of her friends assuredly tells her, "Don't worry, Cal. We’re the cool kids….He's the dork." With the clear, stylish art, the strongly appealing characters and just the right pinch of drama, this book will undoubtedly make readers stand up and cheer.
Brava! (Graphic fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-32698-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
SEEN & HEARD
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