Beautiful and thought-provoking; questions unanswered will linger in readers' minds.
A young American teen, son of a Japanese immigrant and an American soldier killed in combat, goes to Japan with his mother for an extended visit and begins to grapple with sophisticated cultural complexities.
The graphic novel opens with a familiar Japanese legend about a shape-changing tanuki trickster spirit. The story cuts to New York City, where Ichiro and his mother prepare for their trip. Ichiro has been very close to his American grandfather, who has schooled him in the worst kinds of American jingoism. First his mother, then his Japanese grandfather began to share the legends and history of Japan, both positive and negative, with Ichiro. A nighttime pursuit of a persimmon-thieving tanuki turns into a surreal odyssey that takes Ichiro deep into the mythic realm of Japanese folklore. Inzana’s graphic style is, at first glance, far more Western than Japanese-influenced; there is no look of manga in his figures. But his compositions and his brushwork, particularly exquisite transitional spreads between episodes, echo classical Japanese art, and his depiction of the Japanese Otherworld will seem familiar to anyone who has seen a Miyazaki film. Ichiro's realistic and mythic journeys combine to give both him and readers a better understanding of the importance of both understanding and overcoming history.
Beautiful and thought-provoking; questions unanswered will linger in readers' minds. (Graphic novel. 12 & up)Pub Date: March 20, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-547-25269-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2012
PROFILES
A refreshing fantasy for readers looking for more friendship and adventure, less romance.
From orphan to assassin-in-training to...savior of the kingdom?
Sirscha is focused on becoming the next queen’s Shadow. Training for the past four years, she has endured grueling trials and humiliations to prove herself among the elite. Less than a month from graduation, however, she intercepts a message that sets off a chain of events that derails her plans. Set on an unexpected path, Sirscha discovers new abilities and finds kinship with the persecuted shamanborn, those with elemental magic whom she once would have hunted down. If she can maintain some control, her powers may be able to help heal the rot in the kingdom, but Sirscha will ultimately question her loyalty to her queen and country. While the story skirts the “orphans of mysterious origins” trope, Sirscha’s path to discovery and acceptance is thoughtful and heartfelt. It is also refreshing to see a character too busy kicking butt to stop for romance. This is not an Asian fantasy per se but a fantastical adventure with some Asian touches, indicated through descriptions of landscape and food. Characters are described with a range of skin tones from deep bronze to gray. Also, it is implied that same-sex marriage is accepted as a given.
A refreshing fantasy for readers looking for more friendship and adventure, less romance. (glossary) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: June 23, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-62414-9245
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A twisty and spooky debut.
Six teens use witchery and myth to try to reverse a town’s legacy.
As Halloween approaches, six young people’s paths converge in Haelsford, Florida: Logan Wyatt, a new witch student who still struggles to do basic spells; Jailah Simmons, Thalia Blackwood, and Iris Keaton-Foster, who form a clique of powerful witches dubbed the Red Three; and Trent Hogarth and Mathew Beaumont, two mundanes—those with no magical ability—who live in the cursed town of Haelsford and attend Hammersmitt School for Exceptional Young Men. Logan is relatively new at Mesmortes Coven Academy, but even newbies know of the entrancing Red Three and lust to be a part of their circle. To Logan’s surprise, she’s the one they’ve set their sights on, inviting her into their fold just a few weeks before Haelsford’s yearly hex brings deadly Wolves to its streets. Some readers may find the six perspectives jarring, while others will revel in the quick switches among different points of view as Haelsford’s central mystery unfolds. Necromancer Iris and greenwitch Thalia steal the show with spellbinding backstories and conflicts with others characters, while the rest feel less memorable by comparison. Most main characters are Black; Mathew and Logan are White. Trent and Jailah are queer.
A twisty and spooky debut. (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: July 26, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-75896-2
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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