Monkey High!: Volume 1
by Shouko Akira
Published 2008 by Viz Media

Paperback, English. ISBN: 9781421515182

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Jacket Notes:

It's hard enough fitting in at a new school while dealing with family problems. Will Haruna remain jaded and distance herself from everyone around her? Or will Masaru win her over with his monkey magic? Young adult.

REVIEW: Publisher's Weekly 01/07/2008

Can style propel well-worn subject matter into something much more substantive? Reading the first chapter of this manga brings up that question. The story of a pretty young girl named Haruna transferring to a new school starts off in a manner familiar to anyone with any experience reading fiction based on a high school setting. She doesn't fit in with any of the established high school cliques and compares high school to a mountain populated with monkeys: both value hierarchy. What better way to illustrate the students' hierarchy than the ever-popular idea of a high school musical? Haruna starts challenging the social system when she chooses nerdy Masaru for a role over the school's resident lady-killer. Akira's always attractive illustrations of teenage romance set the book apart. Scenes between Haruna and Masaru have a delicate look. There are figures in silhouette and beams of light shining through when Haruna finds herself falling for the boy she compares to a baby monkey. Despite the title, Akira never resorts to the "chibi" style. Her characters are all forceful and strong-looking. and her technical skills keep the familiar material fresh. (Mar.)

09/01/2008 REVIEW: School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-Haruna sees the students in her new school, with their cliques and power struggles, as acting like monkeys on a mountain. She wants to keep to herself, but because she's beautiful, the boys start vying for her attention and the girls are getting jealous. Atsuyuki is usually the center of attention, so he assumes that Haruna will fall for him. However, his friend Macharu is mesmerized by her, and over time she grows to care for him, too. When she tells him her theory, he asks how she fits into it. It is his honesty that first begins to crack Haruna's armor, and it creates the first step of their surprising relationship. The other students are preoccupied with this drama, which seems to indicate that either they watch too many soap operas or that they don't see too many transfer students. The artwork is lively and bright, and the romantic scenes are filled with the prerequisite bright shining eyes and glowing snowflakes, moonbeams, etc. Readers who get caught up in the couple's first fight, first hand-holding, and first kiss will wait breathlessly for the other volumes in this series.-Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library

InuYasha, Volume 35
by Rumiko Takahashi
Published 2008 by Viz Media

Paperback, English. ISBN: 9781421518305

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Jacket Notes:

Kagome is a modern Japanese high school girl. Never the type to believe in myths and legends, her view dramatically changes when she's pulled out of her own time and into another. There, in Japan's past, Kagome discovers more than a few of those old legends are true.

The Gentlemen's Alliance Cross: Volume 1
by Arina Tanemura
Published 2007 by Viz Media

Paperback, English. ISBN: 9781421511832

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Jacket Notes:

The prestigious Kamiya family gave their daughter Haine away for adoption to the successful Otomiya family in exchange for a loan. Haine is appointed to the student council of the exclusive Imperial Academy, a private school for the aristocracy, and soon finds herself struggling to find her place among the many secrets of its elite members. Older teens.

REVIEW: Publisher's Weekly 03/26/2007

As collateral for her family's business debt, Haine has been taken in by the Otomiyas and sent to a fancy rich kids' school where she's at the bottom of the ladder. Still, she's outrageously cheery and somewhat simpleminded. She's also in love with the new student council president and school leader, but their differences in status mean she has to work hard to reach his class (in more than one sense). It's an old-fashioned premise-child swaps as business deals-that might fit in better in an old superhero title than in a modern shojo title. Haine's crush mostly ignores her, but why shouldn't he? She doesn't have much to recommend her, just unthinking determination. Tanemura's busy pages leave little white space, and the characters, drawn in stereotypical cute style, can be difficult to tell apart. All this overheated broad comedy-at one point, student outcasts let loose snakes on the council members-would be more palatable if the story didn't pretend to be set in a realistic present. Fans of Tanemura's previous hits,Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne andFull Moon , will doubtless find more to enjoy in this energetic but broadly comic story.(Mar.)

The Prince of Tennis, Volume 27
by Takeshi Konomi
Published 2008 by Viz Media

Paperback, English. ISBN: 9781421516493

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Jacket Notes:

Four-time consecutive U.S. Junior Tournament champ Ryoma Echizen comes to Seishun Academy to further his reign as The Prince of Tennis. His skill is matched only by his attitude--irking some but impressing all as he leads his team to the Nationals and beyond.