Inuyasha (Manga Series)

Takahashi, R. (2003). Inuyasha. San Francisco, CA: Viz Comics. ISBN [Vol. 1]: 1-56931-947-2

Interest Level: 13 to 18
Subjects/Themes: Manga/Anime, Friendship, Fantasy, Romance, Action/Adventure, Monsters/Demons, Past and Present, High School

Plot: Kagome, a modern Japanese high school student, can travel back and forth to feudal Japan through a well at her family's shrine.  In feudal Japan, Kagome comes across Inuyasha who is sealed to a tree and releases him.  Inuyasha, a half dog demon and half human hybrid, was sealed to the tree by the priestess Kikyo whom Kagome is the reincarnation of.  Kagome brought back with her the Sacred Four Souls Jewel which Kikyo had tried to destroy.  Now monsters keep attacking her trying to steal the jewel for its power.  The jewel is accidentally shattered and now Kagome must search the land to find the jewel shards and prevent them from being used for evil.  Inuyasha decides to travel with Kagome because she is the only one who can sense the hidden shards and he wants the power of the jewel for himself.  Their travels form a friendship and an almost romance complicated by the fact that Inuyasha was in love with Kikyo before he met Kagome.  They gather a group of friends (a lecherous monk, a sweet child like fox demon, and a demon slayer) who help them in their search.   

Personal Thoughts: This anime is for older teens as it does have some suggestive situations, violence, and alcohol or tobacco use.  The series is of the shonen manga genre which means it is primarily targeted towards a junior high and high school boy demographic with lots of action, humor, and camaraderie.  The illustrations in each volume are well detailed and composed of black and white sketchings.  There is also a "ani-manga" version of the series that uses color scenes from the anime cartoon based on the same storyline.  This manga is a constant battle between good and evil.  A lot of unfortunate events happen to the different characters that help to form who they are and how they act.  There is a lot of action and subtle romance throughout the series.  The cartoon anime series is very closely based on the manga.

Awards:
Shogakukan Manga Award for best shōnen title of the year (2002)

Similar Materials: Fruits Basket [My Review]; Naruto Series Anime & Manga;

The Wide-Awake Princess (Book)

Baker, E. D. (2010). The wide-awake princess. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 978-1-59990-487-0

Interest Level: Ages 10 and 14
Genre: Fantasy Fiction
Subjects/Themes: Magic, Medieval Worlds, Princesses/Princes,

Plot: Annie is the younger daughter of the King and Queen of Treecrest and blessed by a fairy to never be affected by magic.  Unfortunately she also neutralizes any magic she touches which causes most people to avoid Annie in case she makes the magic that keeps them beautiful or lucky to fade.  Their older daughter, Princess Gwen, was blessed with beauty but cursed to sleep 100 years after touching a spinning wheel.  Gwen finally touches one on her 16th birthday and everyone in the castle but Annie ends up falling asleep.  Worried about invaders taking over the kingdom while her family sleeps, Annie goes in search of a prince to kiss Gwen awake early.  Annie starts searching the nearby kingdoms to round up all the princes she can find in order to increase the odds of one being Gwen's true love and break the curse.

Personal Thoughts: Baker is a great author, mostly specializing in fairytale remakes.  The Wide-Awake Princess is mostly a spin-off of the sleeping beauty tale but it also has touches from the princess and the pea tale, the Rapunzel tale, and the Hansel and Gretel tale.  Annie is a strong female character who uses her brain and due to her lack of magic is pretty self-sufficient compared to other characters in the book.  Liam, Annie's companion on her quest, is a prince in disguise and also quite resourceful.  The characters and their relationships with one another are realistic.  Annie's relationship with her family is strained because they fear her draining their magic.  Liam also has problems with his family.  The other characters that Annie meets in her travels are all different types of kind, mean, greedy, selfish, fake, depressed and excited.  A Must Read for fantasy and fairytale fans.

Other Books by the Author: The Frog Princess (2002); Once Upon A Curse (2004); Wings: A Fairy Tale (2008)

Author's Website: E.D. Baker's Book Website

Graceling (Book)

Cashore, K. (2008). Graceling. Orlando, FL: Harcourt. ISBN: 978-0-15-206396-2


Interest Level: Ages 13 and Up
Genre: Fantasy Fiction
Subjects/Themes: Magic, Medieval Worlds, Princesses, Romance, Violence/War, Politics

Plot: Katsa is the niece of King Randa of the Middluns, but that's not why people fear her.  They fear her because she is Graced with the art of killing.  A Grace is something people are born knowing how to do perfectly like magic.  Katsa's uncle uses her Grace in order to enforce his rules, scare those who question him, and to kill his enemies.  But Katsa also works to keep peace between the kingdoms, she has formed a secret Council spread throughout all the kingdoms that works to help innocent people.  Then Prince Po, seemingly Graced with the art of hand-to-hand combat, comes to court looking for his grandfather only to find out Katsa's secret.  This starts Katsa on the path of taking back control of her life, publicly standing up to her uncle, and eventually joining Po on his quest to find out more about what happened to his grandfather.

Personal Thoughts: A great fantasy book! It has recieved "Starred Reviews" from Booklist, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal.  The book is divided into three sections that discuss Katsa's life growing up under her uncle's rule, her travels and romance with Po, and her quest to save Princess Bitterblue.  The book is filled with with all sorts of action scenes as should be expected from Katsa's Grace.  A few older concepts for readers to be aware of is that it is stated that Katsa and Po do become lovers, though no details are given.  There is also a lot of violence and killling in the action scenes, though the lack of gory details balances it out.  Katsa is a protector of the weak and strives to teach them to protect themselves.  A lot of good themes about friendship, loyalty, justice, and survival.  A Must Read!

Awards:

Amelia Bloomer List for Young Adult Fiction (2009)

Booklist Editors' Choice - Books for Youth - Older Readers Category (2008)

Mythopoeic Award for Children's Literature (2009)

School Library Journal Best Books (2008)

YALSA Best Books for Young Adults (2009)

Other Books by the Author: Fire (2009)
Author's Website: Kristin Cashore Website

Dealing with Dragons (Book)

Wrede, P. (1990). Dealing with dragons. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. ISBN: 0-606-01813-1

Interest Level: Ages 10 to 16
Genre: Fantasy Fiction
Subjects/Themes: Animals, Magic, Medieval Worlds, Wizards, Princesses, Humor,

Plot: Cimerone is the seventh princess of a very traditional royal family and is expected to do proper princess things such as learn embroidery, dance at balls and marry a prince.  The only problem is that Cimerone doesn't like any normal princess activities.  Instead of getting married to a prince, Cimerone runs away following the advice of a talking frog.  She volunteers as a dragon's princess where she cooks and cleans for the dragon Kazul.  Cimerone is allowed to cook, learn Latin and magic to her heart's delight and  is finally happy.  Now all she needs to do is convince the knights and princes to stop trying to rescue her and find out why those magic hungry wizards are snooping around and life would be perfect.  

Personal Thoughts: I love this series.  It has strong female characters that break out of traditional roles to find happiness.  Cimerone and Kazul both use logic, thinking and a little magic to outwit their opponents.  There is enough action and humor in every chapter for any tween.  The story's world is one where the traditional fairy tales are expected in everyday normal life.  For tweens who love this series, I suggest other fairytale spin offs such as Ella Enchanted and The Fairy's Mistake by Levine for tweens and The Five Hundred Kingdoms series by Lackey for older teens or adults.   

Series Info: Book One of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles
Sequel: Searching for Dragons (1991)

Awards:
Minnesota Book Award (1991)
YALSA 100 Best Books of 1950 to 2000

Other Books by the Author: Lyra Series; Frontier Magic Series; Kate and Cecelia Series;
Author's Website: Patricia C. Wrede Offical Website

The Girl, the Dragon, and the Wild Magic (Book)

Luckett, Dave. (2003). The girl, the dragon, and the wild magic. New York, NY: Scholastic. ISBN: 0-439-41187-4.

Interest Level: Ages 8 to 12
Genre: Fantasy Fiction
Subjects/Themes: Animals, Magic, Medieval Worlds, Academic Problems, Fitting In,

Plot: Rhianna is failing magic school.  She like things to make sense and magic just doesn't.  Then the wizard Northstar comes to the village to inspect why the magic is starting to fail. He declares that Rhianna has a magic so strong and rare that its sucking up all the magic around her.  Northstar makes Rhianna his apprentice and begins teaching her how to control her Wild Talent.  But some people are jealous and don't think that Rhianna deserves to be his apprentice.  And if that wasn't problem enough, a dragon has just landed in the village.

Personal Thoughts: A sweet and easy read for younger tweens interested in magic and not old enough for the Harry Potter Series.  At just 118 pages, this book is a good choice for children who need a 100 page chapter book.  Rhianna has to deal with being made fun of and bullied first because she's terrible at magic in a world where magic is everything.  Then because of jealousy that she of all people has such a rare talent and gets picked as an apprentice.  Rhianna is a smart young girl and shows both courage and smarts when facing the dragon.  The rest of the series is just as short and sweet as the first book.     

Note: This entry refers to the United States reprint.  Dave Luckett's books were originally published in Australia.
Series Info: Book One of the Rhianna Chronicles
Sequel: The Girl, the Apprentice, and the Dogs of Iron (2004)


Other Books by the Author: School of Magic Series; Tenabran Trilogy;