YAwesome

Title: The Secret Notes of Lady Kanoko Author: Ririko Tsujita Publisher: Tokyo Pop Pub. Date: Dec. 28, 2010 Pgs.: 208

Kanoko is a middle school student who loves to observe her classmates.  She takes notes on them, enjoys watching the drama, and knows all their secrets.  She is, as she likes to say, an objective observer.  So what will happen when she gets entangled in a love triangle she’s been observing?

Kanoko could not be more awesome in my book.  She is hilarious, clever, and loyal, although she claims she is just curious.  Kanoko has been wronged in the past by a girl she thought was her friend and because of that believes all girls are devious.  She wants to unmask them, even if its just for her notebook.  When she begins talking to three of the people she is observing, she ends up sort of becoming friends with them and watching her try to trust her new female friend is very sweet.

Kanoko attends a different middle school in each chapter, due to her father’s work.  At each new school, people are friendly to her, but she would rather uncover their secrets and not become entangled.  I find her to be a really refreshing character.  She loves scandal, as long as it is someone else’s, but she will step up if she sees someone being hurt unfairly.  I also appreciate how she calls out girls on their competitive antics.  Its something that goes on a lot in middle schools all over and Kanoko is happy to point out how fake some people can be, making this a manga that a lot of girls will relate to and enjoy.

The artwork is pretty typical of shojo style manga and complements the story well.  The drawings of Kanoko, however, make it stand out.  She is often portrayed with hilariously mischievous grins on her face and other funny expressions.  She is a really stand out character, both physically and mentally.  I can’t wait to see where the story goes in future volumes and in the sequel series, in which she goes to high school.

Review and Graphics by Abby Porter

There are so many kick butt heroines out there lately.  We here at YAwesome want to help you find the best of the best, so here are our favorites.

1.  Katsa from “Graceling” -- Not only is she “graced” with the ability to kill someone with her pinky, she is smart, independent, and kind.  Having been oppressed and manipulated for years, she finally breaks free and dominates in some of the best action sequences I’ve ever read.  I cannot wait for the sequel “Bitterblue”, due out this spring.

2.  Karou from “The Daughter of Smoke and Bone” -- This girl is just awesome.  She is gorgeous, talented, strong, and loving.  She loves her family and friends with an intensity that is both admirable and a little scary.  Karou doesn’t give up and is smart enough to think of a way to get done whatever she wants done.

3.  Taylor Markham from “Jellicoe Road” -- I may be a bit biased on this one because I love this book so much, Taylor is awesome.  She is clever and does what she needs to do in her life.  She takes care of her school in its war against the townies and the military academy boys even as her life is falling apart.  Taylor is extremely strong emotionally and impressively capable at handling her business.  Basically I want to adopt her and tell her that no one will ever lie to her again.  She’d probably punch me though.

4.  Azalea from “Entwined” -- You have to give this girl props.  The oldest of twelve sisters, Azalea is forced to take charge of her siblings when her mother dies and her father, the king, goes off to war and pretends that nothing is wrong.  Despite her devastating loss, Azalea keeps her cool and takes cares of all her sisters, helping them cope with the loss of the mother and spending a year of their life in mourning, which means no dancing.  She is creative and inventive and manages to keep her sisters calm, which, considering her outspoken sister Bramble, is a difficult task.  She owns up to it when she makes a mistake and is all-around admirable.

5.  Kyoko from “Skip Beat” -- Kyoko has had it rough.  All her life she has been in love with her childhood friend Sho, who is now a famous singer.  She gave up going to high school to follow him to Tokyo and see to his every need while he was following his dream, only to find out he was using her and making fun of her behind her back.  And hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.  Kyoko leaves him and strikes out on her own path to stardom to make him regret how he treated her, using her anger to keep her motivated.  She is very sweet and silly with the people she cares about, but is surprisingly strong and scary when it comes to revenge.  Plus, she turns out to be an awesome actress and meets someone even awesomer than Sho.

Don’t agree?  Mad I left out Katniss?  Other additions?  Comment and let me know!

Review and Images by Abby Porter

Title: Bad Island Author: Doug TenNapel Publisher: GRAPHIX Pub. Date: Aug. 1, 2011 Pgs. 224

Bad Island tells the stories of two sons, each in a different time and on a different planet.  Both feel disrespected by their parents and wish for more freedom.  In “another time and place”, an unnamed alien prince is desperate to help his father win a war to save his people and that of an enslaved race, but his father thinks he is too young.   In present time (and on earth), Reese does not want to go on the family vacation.  A whole week of boating around with his family out in the middle of the ocean with no internet or cell phone?  No thank you.  But once the boat crashes on an island and Reese discovers they aren’t alone, he must help save his family from some strange, creepy creatures.

This graphic was both creepy and really fun to read.  Reese’s sister Janie is my favorite character.  She was hilarious and a very authentic younger sister character.  Reese’s parents are stereotypically busy and crazy before the beginning of a trip and don’t see that their kids are frustrated with them.  Reese was very “teenager-y” at the beginning of the book, whining and trying to hang out with his friends and avoid his family.  The only part of the book that didn’t make sense was why Reese was so angry.  He says at one point early on that he had intended to run away, but we never really get a sense of what was wrong.  Despite being busy, it’s clear that his parents love him and take good care of him.  But maybe I’m misunderstanding him just like they do.

Take it from me, parents just don't understand.

I always love TenNapel’s artwork, particularly in this.  He made excellent color choices to depict the battle scenes and differentiate between the two worlds.  The boat crash pages are especially effective with the use of swirling lines and no panels separating the images.  They are chaotic and gorgeous.  The creatures inhabiting the island are all fascinating to see.  Some look like rocks, others look a bit like the jawas from Star Wars.  They are all really interesting and add something to the strangeness of the family’s isolation.

This story is a fun read, but its also a great story of a family coming together.  Each person must realize their own strength and work together if they are going to get off the island.  TenNapel has written another awesome YA graphic that is both funny and intelligent.

Review and Graphics by Abby Porter

Title: xxxHolic Author: CLAMP Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: Aug. 27, 2004 Pgs.: 208

Kimihiro Watanuki sees ghosts and spirits.  He stumbles into a shop and meets a woman named Yuko who claims that she grants wishes.  She promises to grant his wish of getting rid of his power if he agrees to work in her shop to earn it.  Yuko’s shop is crazy and you never know what is going to happen next.  Poor Kimihiro encounters some strange things and is given some very odd jobs, but maybe he is starting to like working with Yuko?

This story is adorably strange.  Kimihiro meets lots of crazy people and is learning morals along the way, but its not overly didactic.  Mostly, he is learning about people through Yuko.  Despite Yuko’s seemingly carefree approach to each job, she turns out to be very wise and kind.  She is mysterious, but also very silly.  The interesting thing about this shojo manga is the reversal of the roles.  Yuko is always teasing and posing for each drawing, which is usually the role performed by the “bishie”, or hot guy, in the story.  CLAMP’s art style is, as usual, so gorgeous and is really a perfect addition to this manga.  Yuko, in particular, is drawn beautifully, and each page is eye-catching.

I have only read volume one so far, but I am looking forward to reading more.   I am guessing that I already know, at least in part, what the arc of the overall story is, but each chapter tells a really fascinating story about a person’s “wish” and usually ties in something with the supernatural.  I can’t wait to see how the story develops.

Review and Graphics by Abby Porter