Miki Falls: Winter
Grade 7 Up–The final volume of the series reveals the reasons behind Miki's crash through a window at the very beginning of the first volume,Miki Falls: Spring(HarperTeen, 2007). Readers are returned to that moment of tension, when the teen has chosen to flee–possibly causing herself great physical harm–rather than give in to the demands of the Deliverers. Hiro and Miki are hoping to start life outside the confines of the Deliverers' Rules. But just as they are on the cusp of success, all seems lost once again. Crilley does not allow his characters to take the easy way out, and Miki's stubbornness remains her constant virtue: she is unwilling to give up on her love, which she knows to be true, no matter what. The author makes ample use of panel styles, letting the art flow beyond panel boundaries and across pages, including one gorgeous spread. He makes excellent use of the space, sometimes allowing one panel to flow at the bottom of two pages with storytelling panels above it, often allowing bits of the art, faces in particular, to overlap from one moment to the next. Teens will find much in Miki to admire, and they will identify with a happy ending achieved only at a great price.–Alana Abbott, James Blackstone Memorial Library, Branford, CTCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.