“Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me” by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell is a graphic novel following the main character Freddy Riley, a highschool girl who’s girlfriend, Laura Dean, won’t stop breaking up with her.

Laura is popular, good looking, and supposedly the perfect girl. But Freddy’s been trapped in a toxic relationship with her, and always ends up coming back to her despite their many break-ups. Freddy’s best friend, Doodle, tries to get her out of this relationship many times, but Freddy grows cold towards her instead. Freddy’s other friends, Eric and Buddy, are also concerned for her. She seeks help from a journal columnist, Anna Vice, and Seek-her, who is a curious medium. Freddy is told to break up with Laura, but doesn’t know how. “I think I know now why the words “‘love’” and “‘punch’” go together so often. Seriously, it’s a punch.”

Laura never seems to devote herself to Freddy and often leaves her alone at parties while she dances with someone else. Laura can also be rude, but Freddy’s convinced herself that Laura makes her feel good. When she and Doodle head out of a party, Freddy meets Vi working at a donut shop. Later in the story, Vi and Freddy become friends and Vi gives her the push she needs to fix her current situation. 

While this is happening, Doodle is going through a rough time and needs Freddy around. But she’s so caught up with Laura she doesn’t realise Doodle feels the way she does. Freddy finally realizes she needs to pay more attention to the person who cares about her and less attention to Laura. 

This series has been praised by many authors and was definitely worth reading. I enjoyed the characters and the story seemed very real. It’s a really good book, and I liked it a lot. 

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The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night-time, by Mark Haddon, is a national bestseller and winner of the Whitbread Book of The Year Award. The genre of this book is realistic fiction, and the recommended audience is age 13 and up. This story follows Chrisopher Boone, a 15 year old with Asperger’s syndrome. Christopher lives in Swindon, England with his father, and his pet rat, Toby. 

Christopher has always enjoyed the color red, dogs, space, math, and mysteries stories (specifically Sherlock Holmes). Little did he know that one day he would be writing a story about his own mystery. One night as Christopher was walking around, he discovers that his neighbor’s dog has been killed with a pitchfork. Determined to figure out who is responsible for this murder, Christopher embarks on a journey that teaches him about self-discovery, bravery, and the truth. 

A prominent theme in this story is bravery, which is something that Christopher learns a lot about throughout the book. An example of when Christopher had a lot of bravery was when he was trying to question people on his street to see if they knew who killed the dog. This was a huge feat for Christopher because he does not like talking to people, especially strangers. “I do not like strangers because I do not like people I have never met before. They are hard to understand.” Another example is when Christopher has to travel to London, which is also difficult for him because he’s never traveled on his own and there are many things that could go wrong.

 Overall, this story could be enjoyed by many different people,  but you might enjoy it especially if you like realistic fiction or mystery. There is nothing that I disliked about this book and I’m only giving it 4 out of 5 stars because I wish the ending was longer.

Today I’m reviewing, “Behind The Scenes!!!” by Bisco Hatori, the author of the famous manga “Ouran High School Host Club.” The story’s protagonist is the very anxious and pessimistic Ranmaru Kurisu. 
 
After just settling in to his first year in college, Ranmaru is caught off guard by zombies near the area he’s relaxing in. They’re not real, granted, but despite that fact Ranmaru is still frightened. Ranmaru later finds out it was a movie shoot for his college’s group, the “Art Squad.” 
 
In order to repay the group for messing up their shoot, its seemingly hostile leader, Ryuji Goda, says Ranmaru has to help fix and clean up their props. Ranmaru has always been very crafty and artistic, unlike the rest of his family. Seeing his skills, Ryuji lets him join the Art Squad. The following books consist of Ranmaru and the group’s different film projects and people they meet along the way.
 
The other characters in the story are Ruka Enjoji who is a third year economics major, and is a kind and caring character who always tries her hardest to make sure everyone’s okay. She is also part of the Art Squad.
 
Another character is Maasa Rokubu, a gore obsessed second year marketing major also in the Art Squad. She’s one of my favorite characters, and she seems pretty creepy but is actually very kind.
 
Some other Art Squad members are Tomu Tenba and Izumi Samura. Tomu is an energetic first year Humanities and Science major, while Izumi is a calm and friendly third year economics major.
 
My opinion: 
 
I really enjoy this series. I have yet to read all the books, but I’m halfway through volume three. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys the “slice of life” genre. I can personally relate to Ranmaru in the way that he’s always thinking about past conversations and worrying that he could of said something wrong. This book is very funny, but it’s also very warm feeling. My favorite line in volume one is when Izumi says, “Ranmaru’s negativity might be some kind of talent.” I don’t know why, but that line cracks me up.

​“the gods lie.”written and illustrated by Kaori Ozaki is a manga that takes place in Japan. The story follows Natsuru Nanao who is an 11 year-old boy who ends up spending his summer with Rio Suzumura, a tall and quiet girl. Natsuru lives alone with his mother who is a writer. He has a passion for soccer but is sad when his coach ends having to go to the hospital. The team gets a new coach, but Natsuru is not looking forward to soccer camp as much. 
 
A few days before summer vacation, Natsuru finds a stray kitten. He brings it home to take care of it, but his mom doesn’t allow it, as she is allergic to cats. Natsuru brings the cat outside and runs into Rio and her younger brother, Yuuta. Rio announces that she’ll take care of the cat, but she had to stop for groceries first and asks Natsuru to tag along. Natsuru brings the cat to Rio’s house, and soon finds out that Rio and her brother live alone. Their father abandoned them and they don’t have a mother. 
 
When Natsuru has to go to soccer camp a few days later, he packs all his things and goes out. He sits on the bench where his bus was supposed to arrive, and decides he doesn’t want to go. Rio and Yuuta find Natsuru who says he can’t go home because his mother thinks he’s at soccer camp. Rio invites Natsuru to live at her house. That’s how Natsuru spent his summer vacation. Eventually his mom finds out about soccer camp, and Natsuru has to go home. 
 
My opinion: I really, really like this book. I wish there was a sequel, but at the same time I feel like the ending was just fine. This manga made me cry, so I’d have to say it’s a pretty sad story. Overall, it was written very well and the art is beautiful.