A Perfect Day for Love Letters by George Asakura YP FIC ASAKURA

Five manga stories of anonymous love letters and the bonds that are formed from them. A young librarian hunts in books for hidden love letters from an unlikely source, a girl finds a love letter from the toughest guy in school, anonymous love letters help a troubled young woman confront the past, a girl tries to solve the mystery of a love letter with several suspects, and a mailman sends love letters to help a blind woman come back to life.

This is pretty straight forward shojo (romance comics) fare. Boys and girls that seem to hate each other at first fall in love, love seem impossible but overcomes the odds, love is the most important thing ever!!!, etc. The art is good with a straightforward style that will be familiar to any manga fan, but not exceptional. None of the characters are very deep, because they are only around for one comic a piece. That being said, even though this is a straight forward shojo manga that doesn’t do much new, it is still a really good read. The stories all move very quickly, but they don’t feel rushed. Shojo fans should find themselves liking these characters and rooting for them. What makes it work best is that if you don’t like a particular story it’s over fast! So while it will be unlikey to win over any shojo haters, the shojo fans should dig it!

Punkzilla by Adam Rapp

Punkzilla is considered an epistolary novel, which is a story told through documents. In this case, Punkzilla’s (Jamie is his real name.) story is told through letters. He is conversing with his brother, Peter (referred to as “P”), who is dying of cancer. Jamie is writing to him on a bus on his way from Portland, Oregon to Memphis, Tennessee to see his brother before he dies. Jamie writes his brother of the adventures and experiences he has while on this cross-country journey. Travelling by bus is pretty sketchy, which is made abundantly clear based on the things Jamie sees while staying at seedy motels, stopped at eerie bus stations, and with the bevy of oddballs who accompany him on his journey. Jamie’s language is blunt, lucid, at times raw, but still poetic as he describes his current adventure and his memories. This is also an emotional journey for Jamie as he tries to reach his brother in time. The reader is fully in-tunes with his roller coaster of emotions as he travels across the country.

This book is dark, edgy, and contains some graphic content, which is typical of Adam Rapp’s work. I would recommend Punkzilla for older teens (Grades 10 & up).

Author Adam Rapp is a novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. Other books written by Rapp available in the Moore Young Adult collection are: Under the wolf, Under the Dog; 33 Snowfish; Little Chicago, The Buffalo Tree; and Missing the Piano.