And so this series reaches it's satisfying end! What a ride! I just skimmed back over my manga goodreads shelf and by my count I've started around 170 different manga series. This is only the 25th series I have ever read to the end, and I think it might be the longest I've ever finished. It took Akiko Higashimura around 9 years to draw the approximately 3,000 pages that make up this story. Even knowing that she worked with a large team of assistants, I am deeply impressed. One thing I noticed is that it looks like she switched to inking digitally for this final volume. I'm not sure many readers who aren't cartoonists themselves would notice, but the quality of the line art does change a bit. The size of the lettering also increases quite a bit from the previous book to this one, but again, I only noticed this because I really pouring over it. I don't begrudge Higashimura switching to a (hopefully) faster art style at the end of this amazing run. I am inspired by the humor and genuine heart of this story, it makes me want to write something equally sweet for all-age readers.

This is such a charming nonfiction book written by a Seattle librarian reporting on the mundane but delightful sights that can be seen in an normal city on any normal day. It outlines specific walks you can take in various Seattle neighborhoods, but the author encourages the reader to wander off the map and make your own routes. I love the things that author highlights: a dog in a scarf, the shape of signposts and gates, a historic building facade, a majestic tree. The world is full of little joys, and it's well worth the time to go outside and find them!

This is a beautiful, strange collection of short comic stories. Almost every one contains a sci-fi or fantasy twist somewhere in it. My favorites were the ones in which these fantastic elements took over the whole story by the end. In "Pleasure Palace", an older Southeast Asian woman on vacation tells a rude young American man a fairy tale, which may or may not be her own tragic past as a queen in exile from her own kingdom, and the death of her female lover. In "Swandive", a nonbinary master's degree student befriends a trans scholar at an academic conference. They are both Desi, and together they build a dream city in which people they love, and people who look like them, can thrive. In "Love Song", a young girl has encounters with increasingly larger magical beings. The collection also contains stories of privileged and unhappy New Yorkers- "Come Back To Me", "Meena and Aparna" and "I can see it in you" all focus on women who seem unsatisfied with their lives. I definitely recommend this collection, though some stories are uncomfortable, all are worth reading.

For me this was a 5 star book on the art, 2.5 on the text. I'm glad this book exists, and I do think it's a good resource- I'm just not sure how engaging a child would find it, because it's not a story, it's a set of explanations of terms. But, still a good book for a first grade classroom!

This is a wonderful, beautifully drawn memoir. Robin is the daughter of a single mother who struggled against South Korea's conservative society to create a happy life for their small family. The summer after 8th grade, Robin travels with her mother to Alabama on what she believes will be a two week trip at most. Shockingly, Robin's mother tells her that they will be moving permanently to America and that she is marrying a man Robin has never met. Robin is devastated- she didn't even get to say goodbye to her friends, and she didn't pack her art supplies or her extensive comic collection. She is thrown into an American high school even though she speaks very little English. Robin struggles to keep up in classes, finding comfort in one friendly teacher and the slow trickle of letters from South Korea. Eventually she is enrolled in an after school comics class and she makes her friend new friend. The last chapter follows Robin into young adulthood, when new realizations help her to finally understand why her mother made the decision that felt at the time like the end of her world.

Sexy and tender by turns, this comic tells the story of two women who meet as servants in an Edwardian English manor house, and quickly develop feelings for each other. Their young relationship is endangered when one of them is offered a different position in London. They have a dream of living together and opening up a shop. That dream seems impossible until several gifts and mentors offer them aid. The book's epilogue shows an alternate universe in which the couple live together in the present day- a very sweet note at the closing of an already endearing story.