Last Quarter, Volume 1

September 15, 2024
Grades 9-12 A haunting mystery romance that transcends time and death, this classic work by the renowned mangaka Yazawa, best known for megahits Nana and Paradise Kiss, is finally available in English. When Mizuki meets the mysterious Adam, the pair have an irresistible connection. Abandoning school, work, and her family, Mizuki lives with the English musician in a mansion for two weeks--until he vanishes. When he invites her to join him, tragedy strikes. The story shifts to Hotaru, a young girl who has just come out of an accident and remembers seeing a young girl--a girl readers will quickly recognize. It's a tangled mystery, and readers will have to work out what has happened to Mizuki alongside Hotaru and her friends, as well as the origin of the tragedy that has entangled all these characters. This is a beautifully illustrated and dreamy manga from a master of the format, which will sweep readers into its emotional tide as eloquently as a tortured song of doomed love.

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October 1, 2024

Gr 9 Up-Dissatisfied with her home life, high school student Mizuki runs away and winds up meeting a dashing, foreign guitarist named Adam in a park. Their music-filled whirlwind romance is cut short, and Mizuki runs off to help elementary student Hotaru search for her cat in a dream-space. The next day, Hotaru continues her search and finds the same girl in an abandoned mansion, though she's the only one who can see her, and the girl can't remember anything except the song Adam would repeatedly sing to her. The narrative follows Hotaru and her friends as they search for clues about the girl's life, while simultaneously sorting out their own teenage lives, including first crushes and processing some of their personal grief. While most of this story is innocent and beautiful, it can be intense; there are a few moments of domestic assault seen on the page, and the characters have yet to address the behavior and the rationalization given by the end of Volume 1. Fans of Yazawa's other works will recognize her signature art style-retro fashion choices, large eyes and lips, and many an updo with curls-but the supernatural storyline is a different choice for Yazawa. VERDICT This supernatural mystery comes with moments of intensity, but nonetheless makes for an interesting read.-Sara Smith

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