So Cute It Hurts Vol. 1 by Go Ikeyamada

Twins, a girl and a boy. They are just so cute. Mitsuru, the boy, likes girls and they love him. He is popular and a strong fighter. Megumu (or Mego), the girl, is a history nerd and gamer. She has two otaku friends who share her interests. Neither twin has ever found true love.

Mitsuru and Mego go to different schools; his all boys and hers all girls. Mitsuru has a week of history quizzes that he needs to pass and Mego is good at history, so he thinks they should trade places for a week. She is reluctant, but has no choice when Mitsuru leaves early for school dressed as her (leaving his clothes and a wig for her to use).

The quizzes are forgotten as the story moves at a rapid pace with the brother and sister having their own adventures in each other's place. The brother's school is a rough place where the meeker Mego quickly runs into trouble thanks to her brother. Mitsuru finds Mego's friends confusing, but nice. He takes on the reigning queen of the school to protect a shy girl being bullied.

Both twins may have found their true loves in accidental encounters but now must interact with them as members of the same sex. How will it all be sorted out? I can't wait for future volumes to find out.

One must not question the improbability of it all and just fall right in with this fun, wacky story.

Did I mention there's a guy with an eye patch?

For more info, check out the Indianapolis Public Library catalog.

Message to Adolf Parts 1 and 2 by Osamu Tezuka

This is an amazing complex story set in Japan and Germany in the 1930s and 40s during the time of the Nazi regime and World War II. There are three Adolfs in the story. One is Adolf Hitler. The other two start out as young boys in Japan. One is a Jewish boy whose family owns a German bakery. Having always lived in Japan, he feels like he is Japanese even though he was born in Germany. The other Adolf's father is a German official living in Japan and his mother is Japanese.

Each boy struggles with the rise of the Third Reich as Jews become persecuted
throughout Europe and life in Japan becomes affected. Friendships are tested and loyalties questioned as the Nazis become more powerful and Hitler's views spread. After the United States enters the war, the Japanese people must deal with rationing and bombing raids. This portrayal of every day struggles I found fascinating. It is not a view we often see when learning about the 'enemy.'




A thread throughout the story involves secret documents that some believe could bring down Hitler. The documents pass through many hands and are hidden and secretly moved about throughout the country. People will torture and kill to obtain the documents before they become public.

You have no idea how much more I want to share from one of the best graphic novels I have ever read, but it would spoil key elements of the intricate plot. There is action mixed with deeper questions of identity and loyalty to country and race. There are moments of humor, too; mostly in the forms of character overreactions to situation (as depicted in the way the characters are drawn). These reactions are very much in the manga tradition. No surprise since the author is a pioneer of manga and anime.

Make no mistake, this is the Holocaust and the Nazi persecution of the Jewish people is graphically portrayed. It is not just the actual violence, but the thought of how human beings were treated that is sickening.

For more info about these books, check out the Indianapolis Public Library catalog for part part 1 and part 2.

Battle Royale by Koushun Takami

Think, the Hunger Games, only brutal. In all fairness, this story came before the Hunger Games. It also is only similar in the overall concept of young people being thrown into a situation by their government where they must fight to the death.

In this case, 40 members of a junior high class think they are going on a field trip but wake up in a class room on an island as part of 'the Program.' Everyone in the country of Greater East Asia knows about the annual program since the results are broadcast. Still it is shocking to awake and realize the other students sitting next to you will be killed in the next few hours.

Shuya can't believe that anyone in his class would be willing to kill anyone else. Maybe if they all get together and refuse to participate they can all stop this insane exercise. He teams up with Noriko, the girl his friend had a crush on. He feels compelled to look after her even when she is hurt.

After being released on the island, the students take different paths over the next few days. Some scheme to escape. Some want to destroy the leaders who are making them do it. Some are just hiding hoping it ends soon. Others, in spite of what Shuya may hope, are ready to kill others to win.

The center of the story revolves around Shuya, Noriko and the mysterious loner Shogo as they work together to survive. All the students are mentioned, many in detailed sections describing their own schemes to survive; others are only mentioned at the moment of their deaths.

This is a gripping story for those who don't mind graphic descriptions of violence committed by young people.

For more information about this book, check out the Indianapolis Public Library catalog.