I received this book as a digital ARC from the publishers through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This graphic novel with beautiful art follows a young girl named Elle starting at a new middle school. I will start with what I did like about this book: it has a gorgeous art style with vibrant characters and unique design, and I love stories about a tight-knit group of childhood friends. I always love the fast-pacedness of a graphic novel, but it would have been nice to see Elle and her friends grow closer through the story instead of showing it quickly through a two-page spread of pictures. Thought it was adorable and I could see her friends cared for her, it happened so quickly that it didn't feel like the five had really formed any tangible bonds. Luckily, their characterization was consistent and their supporting Elle helped them grow closer in a more organic way. 

I liked the variation of Elle's different personalities and their worlds within her mind. However, inaccurate depictions of disassociative identity disorder (DID), formerly known as multiple personality disorder, can be really harmful to those who deal with the disorder daily. You cannot be born with DID or have it injected into you through a science experiment; it is caused by trauma, usually occuring during childhood. I was hoping this would be a contemporary story and was excited for a story where kids with DID might be able to see themselves, but the mystery surrounding Elle's birth makes me worried this is yet another story using a personality disorder for shock effect or a plot device without doing proper research and thinking of the ramifications. I'm equally worried that Elle's black & blue-haired alter will fall into the harmful stereotype of people with DID having violent alters in later volumes. Elle(s) is beautiful, but unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone because of this. 

This book absolutely destroyed me in the best possible way. This entire story is beautiful, from the breathtaking cover to the deep, winding story between its pages. The twists and turns took me on a journey, and I continue to be blown away by Joan He's work. I had high expectations after her amazing debut, and she completely went above and beyond!

This dystopian thriller with a focus on ecosystem and science follows two sisters: Cee, who has been trapped on an island for three years with no memories except the need to find her sister, and Kasey, a girl living in an eco-city floating above earth as a refuge against climate change. The dual POV switches between the sisters, with Cee's being told in first person and Kasey's being told in third person. This was a really interesting decision that was pulled off very well and really helped the two POVs be completely distinct. It also lent itself incredibly well to the characterization of the two girls. It's easy for readers to become attached to the first-person, charismatic POV of Cee, who follows a familiar dystopian storyline of a main character who does everything they can for their younger sibling, but in this book, Kasey is the one who controls the story. I loved seeing how tropes were turned on their head and again, the twists and turns?! None of the comp titles to this book lie!

I loved how different the two sisters were, and the side characters surrounding them were so real. You will never see side characters who are only there to further the main character's journey from He. In fact, you're far more likely to have side characters working against them! I loved how the sisters tangled with the boys in their lives as well, and though this story certainly does not have a completely happy ending, it felt so real. This truly was the book I've been waiting for, even though it broke my heart into an unmanageable number of pieces. Will I ever recover? Most likely not, but that's the beauty of Joan He's writing.

Speaking of, I am again stunned by Joan He's poetic prose. There are definitely passages I had to re-read to understand, but there are infinitely more that I re-read because the words were just so beautiful. Each phrase seems to be chosen so carefully to immerses you into the world even more. This book was crafted so perfectly and I am completely in love with it. I can't recommend it enough. This has joined her first book as one of my favorite books of all time and I WILL be yelling at people to read it before, during, and long after release day!!

I received a digital ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

*Digital ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.* 

Those Snow White Notes follows a sixteen-year-old boy, Setsu, who loses his creative spark for his chosen instrument, the shamisen, after his grandfather passes away. He moves to Tokyo from the countryside in order to find it again, and his paths cross with an aspiring actress, Yuna, who's working part-time as a hostess. This was originally published in a magazine as a one-shot, which probably explains the incoherence of everything past the first 125 pages. 

I had actually considered DNFing soon after I finished the first chapter, Track 0, but I was so close I decided I might as well finish... which kind of just gave me more reasons why I didn't vibe with this book. The tone switched from dark, slow sequences of emotion and sadness to wild, over-the-top humor wildly, and I couldn't tell whether or not the story was taking itself seriously. It was strange to have moments where Setsu reflected on his inspiration or his grandfather near really weird exchanges, like the part where Umeko did a weird BDSM punishment on her nineteen-year-old son, which left a strange taste in my mouth. I understand that she was purposefully portrayed as a bad mother, but she constantly made her sons uncomfortable with no consequences and her whole character bothered me since she was made out to be a joke character. In a story that's supposed to be humorous and not serious, I can understand her character, but since I was taking Those Snow White Notes seriously she seemed really out of place and borderline abusive. 

Like Umeko, Yuna's boyfriend was a character that deeply bothered me. He was horrible and seemed to bounce back after Track 0 with no repercussions. Honestly, so much of what bothered me about the story came after the original one-shot, so it probably just didn't need a continuation. I certainly won't be continuing with the series, though I thank the publishers for the ARC. 

 *Digital ARC received from the publishers through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

She's My Knight was such a sweet, funny manga, and it instantly brightened my day! This shoujo follows Ichinose, who has been the most popular, attractive boy since he was born, but he meets his match in Mogami, his taller female classmate who is more popular and charming than him— and he has the most obvious, adorable crush on. I loved how this manga reversed the blushy, tsundere girl-in-love and the suave, cool prince charming tropes around to have Ichinose be the flustered, unsure character and Mogami be the oblivious, attractive (and taller!!) love interest. Regarding the other characters, while I would have loved to see more development from the side characters Miyoshi and Nikaido, or any development for Mogami's unnamed friend, I liked their comic relief and them teasing Ichinose about his crush. No shoujo is complete without a meddling side cast!

One of my favorite things about this manga was the wall-breaking. The meta jokes about shoujo romance added to the humor a lot, but the way the panels were set up was very dynamic and really kept your eyes moving. This was truly an adorable trope reversal story, and I'm really looking forward to the next volume!

This sports manga follows a boy, Isagi, who is chosen as one of the 300 best high school strikers in Japan and taken to the Blue Lock facility— a wild sports experiment that takes training to a whole new level in order to find a single striker who can bring Japan the world cup. 

This manga, despite not being my cup of tea, subverts the teamwork and friendship trope apparent in sports manga in a very interesting way. If someone was looking for that kind of story, they would like Blue Lock very much. The artstyle is sharp and creepy at times too, which lends itself well to the psychological aspect of this story. 

One thing keeping my rating at three stars is that I didn't enjoy how much Anri's body was objectified in this story. In many panels, the way the comic signaled that she was the one speaking was by a close-up of her breasts, and many thought bubbles are dedicated to others sexualizing her in their heads. As the book's only female character, I would have liked to see her passion and ingenuity be more important than her body. 

Otherwise, this was just not a manga that I personally enjoyed. As I mentioned earlier, someone looking for a sports story that subverts tropes and has a lot of thriller elements would like this a lot. I won't be continuing, but I appreciate being provided an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Cheer Up was such a sweet, wholesome comic, and I really enjoyed it! There are so many cute dynamics and tropes here that I just adored: childhood friends to estranged back to friends to lovers (!!!!), aggressive short gf with tall sunshine gf, sapphics, sports, supportive friends, and more all wrapped up in the cutest art style! I loved the diversity and rep in this comic, and I really hope there's a sequel because if so, I need it now. 

I especially loved Bebe's storyline, and I appreciated how the comic showed her dealing with her too-supportive friends and dealing with her overprotective parents. I wish some things had been more directly addressed, such as a few specific comments and her parent's proposed punishment for getting average grades in her history class, but overall I like how her story ended up with both her parents and her friend groups. 

The moments with the squad and Annie and Bebe together were so fluffy and sweet, and overall the conversations about support, expectations, and relationships were really important and heartwarming. I also loved how diverse the bodies of everyone in the novel were! There was such a wide variety in size, height, and fashion sense that really warmed my heart. I can't wait to see more from all of the creators involved. 

 I was given an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this guide as a start for casual cosplayers who are more into mainstream fandoms, or really just Disney. It does offer tips readers can apply to characters from different fandoms, and also offers tips for different styles and takes on the cosplay... but they're pretty much all Disney characters. The vibrant pictures of the models serve as a great visual starter for new closet cosplayers, but it would have been nice to see more diverse models and body types in the guide. I think retitling this book to be more clearly about Disneybounding would serve it much better, and be less disappointing for new casual cosplayers looking for a guide to help with casual cosplaying for anime, video game, or book characters. I was at least expecting a wide variety of fandoms, not just Disney. Since Disneybounding is Everdeen's specialty, it would make the book stand out more if it was a guide on Disney bounding and not casual closet cosplay in general (though some of the outfits in the book do use wigs, which defeats the purpose of it being casual).

Organization-wise, the book was divided up well. The "Bad Company" section, marked as being for "the best Disney villains," got a bit confusing since out of the 10 casual cosplays featured, only three were actually villains as the description said. Maybe it would have been better to label the section based on lesser-known Disney characters. I also have a huge problem with Everdeen using the g-slur in reference to Esmerelda and hope it'll be taken out of the final book and replaced with the proper term.

Overall, this book wasn't what I was expecting. However, it will be good for people who want to get into Disneybounding and casual cosplay that way, so with a change of title, it could reach its intended audience much better.