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A Librarian Reads Will Supervillians Be On The Final?

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

Will Supervillains Be On The Final? Liberty Vocational Volume 1 by Naomi Novik & Yishan Li

Leah Taymore has abilities beyond mere humans. She can rearrange matter; for instance turning cement into water. Her abilities have landed her a spot at the prestigious  Liberty Vocational College. At Liberty Vocational she will learn how to be the best superhero she can be.

Unfortunately Leah is hapless and whenever she uses her powers for good the consequences are nothing but bad. On her first day she traps the senior class after turning the field they were using for an exam into cement. Next she floods her dormitory. And she never seems to make it to places on time. Although Leah has great potential she might be kicked out of school before her first week even ends!

Bu not everything is as it seems. A fellow student is secretly the son of a major supervillain and he has been manipulating Leah’s hijinks. His plan is to use her to help destroy Liberty Vocational.

Can Leah survive her first week? Will she be kicked out? You need to read this excellent first volume to find out. I’d recommend this series to anyone who likes superheroes, manga, or who needs a fun light read and it is appropriate for all ages.

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A Librarian Reads Jyu-Oh-Sei

Saturday, October 17th, 2009

jyu-oh-seiJyu-Oh-Sei by Natsumi Itsuki

Thor and Rai are twins who live on a space station in the Vulcan star system. Only the super affluent live on the space stations and those who can’t live on the stations live on the terraformed planets of the system. Only the planets are roughly terraformed and some are hostile to human life. Life is rough for the planet side humans, but rougher still for convicts who are sent to a penal planet to live out their days.

But there is a second penal planet that remains a secret to only the highest people of government. Thor and Rai, will discover this planet as they are marooned there after a hostile takeover of the government. With their parents killed in the coup the twins are further punished by being thrown in with the worse of the worse of the Vulcan penal system, and their life expectancy will be slim. On their new home plants have developed to eat human flesh, and the locals have formed clans (called rings) split on racial lines. To add to their misery the planet rotates slowly so that daytime lasts for half the year, and then the planet is plunged into darkness and winter for the other half. Thor and Rai need to find a ring to call home before night settles in. That is, if they survive the jungle.

There is only one thing keeping them going: revenge against those who assassinated their parents.

Jyu-Oh-Sei is a good sci-fi/adventure/survival story. There is plenty of action and danger on every page. There is also some slight romance, and enough humor to lighten the serious tone. Recommended to manga fans looking for a change of pace, or anyone who likes survival stories. Appropriate for ages 14 and up.

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A Librarian Reads Haruhi Suzumiya Manga

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

haruhi-suzumiya-mangaThe Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (Manga) by Nagaru Tanigawa

Kyon is just starting high school and is looking forward to being a mature young man, dating, and doing normal things. However fate has a different idea and thrusts him into a friendship with the weird girl, Haruhi Suzumiya. Kyon is defintely going to have his hands full because it turns out that Haruhi can actually control, manipulate, and create the reality around her. She has limitless god-like powers.

Except she is totally unaware of her abilities, she is depressed, and has chosen Kyon to be her BFF.

Soon Haruhi’s group of friends expands and together they form a new school interest group whose purpose is to seek out the strange and unusual. And because Haruhi’s deepest desires are to find aliens, time travelers, and telepaths,  her friends become the very things she seeks. Now Kyon is surrounded by aliens, time travelers, and telepaths, but Haruhi is oblivious to the power her friends have suddenly developed. Kyon is stuck between a rock and a hard place, because he constantly has to please Haruhi, yet now let her know her own power. If she found out her mind may not be able to handle it and destroy all of reality.

Needless to say Kyon’s high school life will be far from ordinary. :)

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is a great manga. Along with the anime version it is based on a series of Japanese young adult novels. The anime and the English translation of the first novel is out now. Highly recommended and appropriate for anyone 16 and up (it contains some mature humor).

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A Librarian Reads InuYasha

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

inuyashaInuYasha by Rumiko Takahashi

Kagome is a young school girl in the present day. One day she falls down her family’s abandoned well. Suddenly she is thrust back through time in to ancient Japan. There she meets the half-demon InuYasha who seeks the Shikon jewel, a special stone that can grant one wish to whoever has it or increase their innate powers. InuYasha seeks to become a full fledged demon and in his previous attempts he has tried anything to get it. The only person who could stop him was a woman named Kikyo, the protector of the Shikon jewel, who magically bound InuYasha to a tree forever. But in doing so Kikyo died. The Jewel was buried with her never to be seen again.

Except, Kagome is from the future, and she unknowingly has brought back the Shikon Jewel with her. Now every vile creature in ancient Japan is after her and her only ally is the disreputable InuYasha who she frees from the tree. Together they fight off demons and gods in order to protect the jewel. But matters take a turn for the worse when during one battle the jewel explodes in to hundreds of small pieces. Now their quest to protect jewel is in jeopardy, for even a small Shikon fragment can give someone enormous power. They will have to rely on one another and new friends they meet on their way in order to restore the jewel.

But can InuYasha be trusted? What is keeping him from turning his back on Kagome and stealing the power for himself? Could it be beautiful Kagome herself, who reminds InuYasha of a lost love?

InuYasha is a great manga for beginners. It has action, romance, adventure, and it keeps a lighthearted tone. Highly recommended and appropriate for readers 14 and up.

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A Librarian Reads Blank Slate

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

blank-slateBlank Slate by Aya Kanno

Zen is a handsome, dashing, and irresistible to everyone he meets. There are just two things wrong with him. First he has amnesia and cannot remember the last twenty years. Secondly, he is an unstoppable killing machine. He lives by his own whims, which usually means wreaking havoc on everyone and everything around him. If it wasn’t for his looks he would be unlovable.

But he begins to change when he meets Hakka, a young doctor who cares for a village of refugees. Hakka is everything Zen is not. He is kind, compassionate and seeks a better world for all of humanity. Hakka is so kind he takes pity on Zen and agrees to help him regain his lost memories.

Their journey is filled with intense gunfights and suspense. Will they discover Zen’s former life? What is the truth hurts? And is it worth dying for? Blank Slate is a story about being your own person no matter the cost. Like all of us, Zen seeks to be free.

Blank Slate is a quick two volume shojo manga. Reluctant readers who don’t want to dedicate themselves to reading a lengthy multi-volume manga like Naruto may prefer this short, self-contained story. It is recommended for anyone who loves action and spy fiction. It has intense scenes of gun violence, so it is appropriate for anyone 14 and up.

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