Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Promise, Part 2

by Gene Luen Yang Illustrated by Gurihiru 3 stars Continues the story established in Part 1. I checked out the first two books from the library together and didn’t realize there was a third book, so I was thinking this would wrap up more quickly. Still, this one offers a nice break from the major…

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Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Promise, Part 1

by Gene Luen Yang Illustrated by Gurihiru 3 stars This graphic novel spin-off picks up where the show left off. Aang and Katara are getting all cutesy, giving Sokka major “oogies”. Toph has started a school for metalbending. And Zuko has become the new Fire Lord, establishing the Harmony Restoration Movement to remove Fire Nation…

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My New Life as a Cat Vol. 1 by Konomi Wagata

Translated by Molly Rabbitt 3 stars After a near-death experience, Nao wakes up… as a cat. His human body is in a coma and he has no idea how he wound up in his new form. While he tries to figure it out, he’s taken in by a high school classmate, Chika, and renamed Nyao….

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Nate’s Lucky Day (Yo-Kai Watch #1) by Noriyuki Konishi

Translated by Tetsuichiro Miyaki 3 stars A fun manga with plenty of humor. I enjoyed watching the show so thought I’d give the manga a try. In the first volume, we’re introduced to Nate, shown how he meets his yokai butler, Whisper, and how he befriends various yokai including the ever-popular Jibanyan. As with the…

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Polar Bear Café: Volume 1 by Aloha Higa

2.5 stars A cute manga with plenty of puns in both Japanese and English. Fun slice-of-life adventures featuring Polar Bear, Panda, and all their friends. I have not watched the anime of this, but honestly if you have some non-traditional entity running a café, there’s a good chance I’m going to want to read it….

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Be Gay, Do Comics

Featuring Dorian Alexander, Archie Bongiovanni, Sage Coffey, Shelby Criswell, Dylan Edwards, Julia Bernhard, JB Brager, Rosa Colon Guerra, Max Dlabick, Trinidad Escobar, Mady G, Alex Graudins, Binglin Hu, Shing Yin Khor, Kazimir Lee, Melanie Gillman, Levi Hastings, Robyn Jordan, Maia Kobabe, Matt Lubchansky, Mariah-Rose Marie, Jason Michaels, Sfe R. Monster, Breena Nunez, Elisabet Run, Ria…

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Kimchi, Kimchi Every Day by Erica Kim

3 stars A sweet picture book dedicated to the versatility of kimchi. Follow the character through each day of the week as she enjoys a different dish featuring kimchi. Told in simple and catchy rhymes, this is a soothing and fun read. The art style is so cute. Kim used cut paper on hanji to…

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Komi Can’t Communicate by Tomohito Oda

Translated by John Werry 2 stars Tadano just wants to blend in at school. But when he meets Komi and discovers her difficulty talking to people, he resolves to help her, even when it puts unwanted attention on him. For me, this one was just okay. Based on the title, I assumed the story followed…

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American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

4 stars A powerful story with unforgettable characters. Alternating between three tales, follow three very different characters as they try to fit into the world around them. Jin Wang is the only Chinese-American student in a school that never lets him forget he’s different. The Monkey King masters various skills in order to distance himself…

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Wei Skates On by Nathan Chen

Illustrated by Lorraine Nam 5 stars A fantastic story about accepting your mistakes, working hard, and finding joy in doing what you love. A nice message that winning isn’t everything. The story doesn’t deny that winning feels good. But the emphasis is on doing what you love, trying your best, and making yourself proud. The…

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