The final (until the next one is written) book in the Landover series! I couldn’t believe how disinterested I was in Ben and Willow’s storyline. I wanted to spend much more time with Nightshade and Mistaya or Abernathy, Quester, and Elizabeth. Maybe that’s because I feel like Willow and Ben have gone about as far as they can go as characters. They do reveal some very personal secrets to each other in this book, but they’re always accepting of each others’ (mostly Ben’s) faults. Mistaya, on the other hand, gets to hear Nightshade’s history, though somewhat edited, and they develop a strange friendship that you know can only be doomed in the end. I think that Terry Brooks has some real potential with his villains, but we spend so much time with the heroes of the story, who are fairly bland in comparison, that we hardly ever get the villains’ perspective. More Nightshade!

Maybe it’s just the move to Washington, but it was very cool to see Abernathy and Quester set in a local environment for me as a reader. I was hoping Elizabeth would reappear in the series, but the potential relationship between herself and Abernathy gets dumped by the wayside for Ben and Willow’s story. grumble

Okay, I’m complaining a lot. I did like this book, but I never felt pressed to keep reading, so I started and stopped several times along the way. The side characters her are much improved and, while it’s not my favorite Landover book, I thought it was a good one.

The final (until the next one is written) book in the Landover series! I couldn’t believe how disinterested I was in Ben and Willow’s storyline. I wanted to spend much more time with Nightshade and Mistaya or Abernathy, Quester, and Elizabeth. Maybe that’s because I feel like Willow and Ben have gone about as far as they can go as characters. They do reveal some very personal secrets to each other in this book, but they’re always accepting of each others’ (mostly Ben’s) faults. Mistaya, on the other hand, gets to hear Nightshade’s history, though somewhat edited, and they develop a strange friendship that you know can only be doomed in the end. I think that Terry Brooks has some real potential with his villains, but we spend so much time with the heroes of the story, who are fairly bland in comparison, that we hardly ever get the villains’ perspective. More Nightshade!

Maybe it’s just the move to Washington, but it was very cool to see Abernathy and Quester set in a local environment for me as a reader. I was hoping Elizabeth would reappear in the series, but the potential relationship between herself and Abernathy gets dumped by the wayside for Ben and Willow’s story. grumble

Okay, I’m complaining a lot. I did like this book, but I never felt pressed to keep reading, so I started and stopped several times along the way. The side characters her are much improved and, while it’s not my favorite Landover book, I thought it was a good one.

Bravely marching forward towards the end of the series… but not there yet! Spoilers for those who haven’t read this far, of course, blah blah blah…

Another major turning point, not just for Light, but for Kira, Near, Mello, and the Japanese task force. The task force’s last attempt to storm Mello and his mafia gang’s hideout failed miserably, thanks to interference from shinigami Sidoh. But when Light’s father, Soichiro, unexpectedly makes the deal with Ryuk for shinigami eyes, they’re able to break into the hideout and corner Mello. But he isn’t L’s heir just because of his scary looks… Mello manages to escape, taking Soichiro out in the process. We discover that there’s a spy for Mello in the SPK’s midst (Near seems well aware of who it is). Mello and Near form a shaky partnership by sharing information and then separate to see who can catch Kira first and avenge L’s death. The U.S. decides to take no action against Kira. Good old Demegawa of Sakura TV is proclaimed the spokesman of Kira, driving crowds into a frenzy as they hunt down those who would go against Kira (watch out SPK!). And Near sows seeds of mistrust (doesn’t that sound fancy?) in the Japanese task force. WHEW!

This was actually a pretty cool volume. Like I said in my last review, I really enjoy watching Mello because he seems best at catching Light off-guard. It’s nice to have some emotion register for these characters – and it was sad to see Soichiro pass on. Watching Light at his father’s side as he dies, you really understand the depths he’s sunk to as Kira. Soichiro’s last moments are spent being pressured by Light to write Mello’s name in the Death Note, and he refuses. We also see that Kira has been accepted by several world powers and is becoming more and more revered by the people. You have to wonder, though, if a man like Demegawa has been chosen to be the voice of Kira, what sort of corruption will he bring to Light’s ideals.

Are there other people out there who feel like Matsuda needs to be slapped a few times? He’s so trusting, it would be sad if it weren’t so annoying.

I got the feeling some bad stuff is about to go down! If you haven’t read the previous volumes of Death Note, there’s spoilers ahead…

The third Kira. Higuchi, has been tracked down and this volume opens with him surrounded by police, including L and Light. When he reveals the secrets of the Death Note, police confiscate it and are suddenly able to see the shinigami, Rem. Light also comes into contact with the Death Note and all of his memories return, revealing an elaborate plot that started several volumes back. Without letting go of the Death Note, Light must kill Higuchi or risk losing all his memories again. As this volume goes on, there’s a huge plot twist that leads to Light’s biggest victory yet…

Unlike many other Death Note volumes, this one plunges into the action with the tense standoff between Higuchi and the police. The task force must grapple with the fact that they’re dealing with a supernatural being, but they seem to accept Rem and the Death Note’s properties fairly quickly. If you were ever on the fence with liking Light or not, this volume will probably push you over the edge… before it’s finished, a few major characters will be gone and the story will have advanced to the year 2009. We learn more about L and Watari’s background and meet two of L’s protegies. This is a major turning point in the series!

Ho hum! More Death Note – after awhile, these volumes start to blur together. Either I’m reading them too fast and too close together or they’re reiterating the plotting and twists and turns of disguising themselves and their motives. Spoilers again for people who haven’t read this far…

So here we are in a world dominated by Kira and his growing numbers of supporters. We ended the last volume with Mello (one of L’s heirs) and his gang kidnapping Sayu (Light’s sister – remember her?) and holding her ransom for a Death Note. With much hemming and hawing, they do indeed make the trade with the task force (specifically Soichiro). Meanwhile, we learn that Ryuk has not been terribly forthcoming with information. Over the years, he’s never once mentioned that he stole one of his Death Notes from another shinigami, Sidoh. Sidoh realizes that he needs to write another human’s name in the Death Note if he wants to extend his life, and goes on a search to find the owner. Light must contend with this shinigami interfering with his plans while also trying to outmanuever Mello and Near.

Unlike vol. 7, we’re back to the slow-paced opening, overly elaborate plans, and eventual rise in action half-way through. I’m really liking Mello, perhaps because his weakness is that he’s overly emotional, unpredictable, and competitive. He contrasts Light, who seems to have grown comfortable in his position as Kira and L. If you feel for anyone in this series, it’s for Soichiro and Misa – Misa has been neglected by Light since she first met him and she still sticks by his side. This isn’t one of the best volumes out there, but you do get to learn more about Mello and Near, which is a welcome break from Light. I miss L!!!

Oh, and have a chocolate bar handy while you’re reading. You’ll want so much chocolate!

If you haven’t read the previous volumes of Death Note, I’d really recommend that you do. Spoilers ahead!

A third Kira has appeared, complicating an already impossible case. L’s main suspects, Light and Misa, have already been subjected to confinement and the killings have gone on without them. Light has given up the Death Note, lost his memories of his actions as Kira, and is now on the task force to find Kira, even though he’s spending every minute handcuffed to L. As the task force closes in on the Yotsuba group and begins to eliminate suspects, Misa plays a vital roll in the investigation – one which leads to her learning about the Death Note, Rem, and the third Kira’s identity!

So the action slowed down considerably in the last volume. If you thought there was a lot of talking and speculation in previous Death Notes, you ain’t seen nothing yet! L is working overtime as he tries to discover the third Kira’s identity while also questioning Light and Misa and using their relationship to his advantage. Adding to this is Misa’s general silliness – even trapped in L’s headquarters, she’s only focused on dating Light.

In fact, the start of this volume is much more light-hearted (forgive the pun?) than previous ones. The drawing style, the dialogue, and the interactions between characters are brighter and somewhat tongue-in-cheek. Perhaps that’s because we don’t have to see Light grimacing and sneering all the time? Come to think of it, this really does show you a Light that’s uncorrupted and unaffected by the Death Note. He will occasionally acknowledge that he makes the most sense as a suspect, and it makes him nervous and angry that he could be capable of such actions. Even when he’s missing his memories of being Kira, I don’t really like Light, but this gives us a chance to see the sort of personality the Death Note can draw out.

So after all that complaining about how slow this volume is, I will say that the action picks up drastically about 3/4ths of the way through. You’ll definitely want to have the next volume on hand when you finish this one!

There are several reviews that sum the book up very well, so I won’t take a lot of time doing it. The short version is that high school junior Naomi Porter takes a fall down her school’s stairs and the resulting bump causes her to lose the past four years’ worth of memories. The book is divided into three sections, pertaining to Naomi’s memories (or lack thereof), her attitude towards life, and her relationships with Ace (her boyfriend), James (the enigmatic and exquisite brooding guy that discovers her on the stairs), and Will (her best friend who supposedly knows everything about her).

The tone and style of this story felt so perfect. I wish I could write like this. None of the characters were far beyond belief, and Zevin creates a story where you can feel for each character, even the jerks. Yes, it’s a love story, but it’s more a story about remembering and forgetting people, relationships, and yourself. It doesn’t hammer any messages home, but gives you a year of Naomi’s life and how she reconciles herself with her past and makes choices for how she’ll live her life. It’s beautiful and funny and sweet and sad. I think that’s something all books should try to be. I don’t know that I’m really doing the book justice, so I’ll just say that you should go out and read this book!

On a side note, one of the characters deals with depression. This was probably one of the hardest parts of the book to read. Zevin does such an excellent job of showing that transitions from “normal” as this character stops taking medication. You feel badly for Naomi, who puts herself in a fairly dangerous situation, as well as this character, who seems to be falling apart while desperately trying to keep things together. I really appreciate the way that Zevin handles this part of her story.

This is worth it if only for the Tales of Ribaldry. Unfortunately, it’s lacking the intro where Abraham Lincoln visits Tom Hanks in a pain-induced hallucination. In fact, it seems to be missing a lot of the skits that were on the VHS version of the Best of Tom Hanks. But I’d pay for it just to see the randy tale of a boot black!

Fruits Basket is coming to a close and there are a lot of storylines to tie together and clear up. Volume 20 was a little jarring as it tried to incorporate these storylines, flashbacks, and characters’ personal thoughts and feelings. It reveals important back-stories for Kyo and Akito, while leaving us with some cliff-hangers. As I read it, I found myself needing to go back every few pages and review as sentences were broken up by panels of memories or inner thoughts. It was a little annoying, but part of that is that the pacing is so fast, you can’t help but quickly flip to the next page and keep reading, even if you aren’t absorbing it all. It’s an emotional volume and serious (even Takaya comments in the two side columns that the mood shouldn’t be interrupted), and requires some reflection afterwards.

Okay, so down to business! This part has spoilers, so watch out! The opening was a little weak – Tohru’s still struggling with her feelings for Kyo replacing her feelings for her mother, and the fear that she’ll disappear if Tohru lets herself really love Kyo. Kagura avoids Tohru at first, but when Rin and Tohru talk about these feelings, Kagura can’t help but burst in and fight with Tohru, ordering her to tell Kyo. This felt out of place, but it did show that Tohru isn’t willing to apologize to Kagura after the fight, so we’ve seen that she’s grown a little stronger.

The meat and potatoes of this story deals with Ren and Akito’s past, particularly involving Akira’s love for his wife and his daughter. We get an idea of just how warped Ren is – she was jealous of Akito before she was born, when the zodiac first called attention to the pregnancy. Ren didn’t have an easy marriage or pregnancy, but she also never gave Akito a chance. We also get to see the involvement of the old woman (does she even have a name?) who’s watched over Akito and the Sohma household since Akira was around. She was the one to Akito the mysterious box she treasures and we learn its history. In an act that could have been kind and meant to comfort, she did a great deal of damage to Akito after her father’s death. Fruits Basket seems to live off of those moments of potential kindness that only hurt people more when that hope is taken away.

In the midst of learning Akito’s history, Momiji is freed from the curse – it’s not the happy moment we all expected, but rather one of sadness, because now Momiji doesn’t belong anywhere. His immediate family doesn’t recognize him and he’s no longer a part of the zodiac. He still loves Tohru, but he doesn’t get in the way of the love Kyo and Tohru feel for each other. And yet, you still feel that if anyone of the Sohmas has a chance at happiness, it’s Momiji. Unfortunately, this means confronting Akito. Momiji no longer feels the bond, and that sets Akito off, resulting in one of the cliffhangers – dum dum dummmm. Even as we leave Akito, we see another member of the zodiac’s curse breaking, with mixed feelings.

Towards the end, we pick up with Kyo and Tohru. Both have been urged, by Momiji and Kagura, to confess their feelings to each other. But before that, Kyo must tell Tohru a secret he’s been harboring since the beginning of the series (and it makes things make SO much more sense). Not only did he know her mother, but he was also connected to her death. Kyo could have prevented her from dying, but at the risk of exposing the family secret. And thus, another cliffhanger.

So now we wait another couple of months before the next Fruits Basket. Time to reread the old volumes! Man, this was a long review!

Allen Walker, an exorcist sworn to destroy evil spirits called akuma, is once again sent out to collect “innocence,” a weapon against akuma. This time he and fellow exorcist Lenalee are dispatched to a rewinding city, where it’s been October 9th for more than a month. Only one woman in the city, a klutz named Miranda Lotto, is aware that the day keeps repeating itself. But there are also akuma wandering the city, and a mysterious girl who claims to be part of an organization called The Clan of Noah.

So I wasn’t too happy with the last volume of D. Gray-Man. The third volume was an improvement, though there’s still a lot of silliness in the first chapter. Once the story actually settles down and gets started (boo giant robots going crazy!), you begin to feel comfortable with the characters and the artwork. There are less of the constant jumps between fighting and dialog, unlike volume 2. The characters also develop more, particularly Miranda, who moves from being a side character to someone we’ll see further in the storyline (I hope!). Road Kamelot, a member of the Clan of Noah, was something of an eye-sore to me – she looks a lot like Sora from Kingdom Hearts, in his Nightmare before Christmas attire, but with a mini-skirt and black-and-white socks. The umbrella and some of the weapons/doors that Road uses look like they were taken straight out of Kingdom Hearts, so that bugged me.

Overall, I think the storyline progressed more and the artwork really improved – though I still don’t think it’s as good as the very first volume. Miranda was the character in this book that really kept my attention, and I hope to see here again. Onward to the next volume, I suppose!