GROG - Naruto Vol. 1

Title: Naruto Vol. 1
Author: Masashi Kishimoto

Illustrator: Masashi Kishimoto
Copyright: 2003 (1999 Japan)

Price: $7.95

ISBN: 978-1-56931-900-0
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Summary: Prankster and trickster Naruto wants to become an adult. Unfortunately, his desire for attention has stopped him from being able to graduate school and become an “adult.” Naruto also harbors a secret that is linked into what happened to the town 12 years ago. In this first volume, Naruto does eventually graduate from school, but only after proving himself a more capable ninja than was first thought and after his secret is revealed.
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Thoughts: In my first exposure to this, I really thought it was stupid and immature. Reading Naruto from the beginning, though, I find Naruto is a likable character. You can’t help but hope that he gets either the respect and/or the title that he is after. It is hard to tell if Naruto believes his connection to the town’s past or not as he is only focused on becoming the best Ninja. Overall, this title is a funny and interesting read. I can easily understand why teens like this title, but I would not recommend for anyone under the age of 13.

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Will Teens Like It? Yes, popularity of Shonen Jump (which this is published under) and how many times teens have asked for this proves so.

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Things to be aware of: “Ninja Centerfold” – Naruto’s transformation trick is to turn into a nude (yet important stuff is hidden) female. Language, such as “crap.”
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Bonus:

Reviewed library copy.

GROG - Love*Com Vol. 8 and 9

Title: Love*Com (Lovely Complex) Vol. 8, 9
Author: Aya Nakahara

Illustrator: Aya Nakahara
Copyright: 2008 (Japanese 2001)

Price: $8.99 each

ISBN: Vol. 8 – 978-1-4215-1741-4

Vol. 9 – 978-1-4215-1742-1
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Summary: Tall Risa Koizumi and short Atsushi Otani are finally dating! The problem? They can’t seem to move from being friends to being a couple. Mainly, this is due to Risa’s lack of experience of being a girlfriend (or rather, no experience at all). In volume 8, Risa and Otani finally go on a date to an arcade, but just as things seem to finally be working out, Otani’s next door neighbor, Mimi, declares that she loves Otani and will fight Risa for his love. In volume 9, Otani seems to have no problem telling others he loves Risa, but never seems to tell her. This issue causes Risa to ditch Otani and go to the school festival with Haruka. 
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Thoughts: I absolutely love the play on the covers for volume 8 and 9 as each person is the central focus with their two love interests. Unfortunately, I’m growing weary of the series. Risa is a fun character, but she doesn’t seem to have the drive to focus on her future. She lives for the moment and when all of her friends begin focusing on their futures, it really shows how immature Risa is. Plus, Otani continues to berate her and call her “useless”, “lame”, and many other demeaning things. Though it’s helping her realize her problems, she doesn’t seem to get better. When it can’t seem to get worse, Otani pulls a romantic moment and all is well…for a moment.

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Will Teens Like It? Probably. It covers a lot of insecurities teens have and almost every character has an aspect of your close friends in there, magnified.

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Things to be aware of: Nothing really. No sex. No nudity. No foul language. Just immature language. A major plus it is so clean.
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Bonus: I first picked this series up because of a review I saw on TeenReads.com. Luckily, I’m not the only one reading this currently so if you want to be “spoiled” by someone else, go to Comics Worth Reading (a very good blog).

I reviewed library copies. WOO. Go Library.

GROG - Hikaruo No Go Vol. 1

Title: Hikaru No Go Vol. 1
Author: Yumi Hotta

Illustrator: Takeshi Obata
Copyright: 2004 (1998 Japan)

Price: $7.95

ISBN: 1-59116-222-x
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Summary: Hikaru Shindo is your average Japanese sixth grader looking to make an extra dollar or two. One day, as he is rooting through his grandfather’s attic, he comes upon an old, stained Go board. Only Hikaru can see the stains and as he cleans the stains, he releases the ghost of Fujiwara-no-Sai, an ancient Go master and tutor to the emperor. Hikaru, thinking that there’d be no harm, agrees to Sai becoming part of his consciousness, but Sai wants to play Go every day. How can Hikaru play Go when he doesn’t even know or like the game?
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Thoughts: Hikaru No Go is connected to the popular Manga magazine Shonen Jump. This title is a fun read, even for those who don’t know the game Go. Hikaru is your typical selfish sixth grader who is starting to discover girls, which I found really funny, despite his best friend being a girl. This title has been fairly popular and rightly so as Hikaru tries to learn what makes Go players so intense. A solid read for middle school teens.

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Will Teens Like It? Probably. There is enough stuff happening in the plot around the Go games that if teens don’t understand it, they’ll look away.

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Things to be aware of: Nothing!
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Bonus:  This is a title I’d recommend a middle school library looking into. While there are your usual teen antics, there’s nothing dirty or inappropriate.

The copy I read was a library copy.

GROG - The Eternal Smile

Title: The Eternal Smile
Author: Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim

Illustrator: Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim
Copyright: 2009

Price: $16.95

ISBN: 978-1-59643-156-0
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Summary: In three simple stories by a leading duo, three distinct characters make decisions regarding the reality of their lives. In Duncan’s Kingdom, Duncan and the other knights are challenged to find the Frog King, bring his head to the Princess, and she will marry the winner. Duncan prepares for the quest, but can’t shake a scary dream. In Gran’pa Greenbax and The Eternal Smile, we meet the frog Gran’pa Greenbax (think Disney’s Scrooge McDuck) as he comes up with another money making scheme so that he may have a pool of gold deep enough to dive into without hitting his head. In Urgent Request, Janet Oh receives an e-mail from a “Nigerian Prince” (reminiscent of the e-mail scam) and shares her information and creates a dream world of the Nigerian Prince.
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Thoughts: The Eternal Smile is a beautifully done work with three stories. It took a lot of browsing and reading before I realized that all three stories were connected in the fact that characters were facing realities they knew or did not know about. The Eternal Smile could provide a great book discussion book on the topics of reality and escaping it, especially in the third story. Overall, it was a good read and I enjoyed the work.

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Will Teens Like It? Probably not. If a school was considering purchasing this, I would say provide in a high school collection. It won’t be a high circulating book, but it will provide readers with a book that will make them think.

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Things to be aware of: brief discussion of porn in regards to virtual life/worlds; teen looks at porn (mention); brief mention of abuse
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Bonus: I did not realize that Gene Luen Yang had also won the Eisner Award for American Born Chinese (Printz winner). I was also informed by The Philosopher Musician that American Born Chinese is considered one of the best in the Indie circle.


Read and reviewed a library copy.

GROGs - The Novel is Silent

GROGs or 'Graphic Novel Reviews on the Go' is another feature you’ll find on this blog.

Developing a library graphic novel collection is difficult, at least to me. To be honest, I’ve found that while it is helpful that graphic novels are being reviewed, the reviews are not helpful. I’ve discovered that there is this difference between what a graphic novel reader thinks is cool and what a librarian thinks is good. As an avid reader, I’ve been on both sides, but have seen that this divide exists, so GROGs are my attempt to build a bridge between those that are recommended and those that are loved.

GROG reviews are basically the same as the ROGs in set-up and such. Same idea for the review, different format being reviewed.