Suzunari!, Vol. 1 (v. 1)
Grade 7–9—One day, Kaede suddenly has a new sister. Suzu looks exactly like Kaede, except that she has cat ears and a bigger bosom. She also worships Kaede. Who is she? The book doesn't offer many answers. Instead, it focuses on the gag of having an adoring, catlike sister. Suzu sleeps 18 hours a day, hates the rain, and snuggles up to an exasperated Kaede in bed. The illustrations are crisp and simple, but are confined to small panels. There are two vertical strips to a page, and each one has a separate heading. These headings break the flow of the story, which is baffling enough already. Though the sisters are 15, they seem much younger, and this discrepancy would seem appropriate for a younger audience if there was not so much attention paid to Suzu's large chest. The first few pages are in color, and depict Suzu nude. This wacky shojo may be a little too offbeat to appeal to many readers.—Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn Public Library, NYCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.