Tuesday, December 21, 2010

.Hack//Legend of the Twilight (vol. 1), by Tatsuya Hamasaki and Rei Izumi

.Hack//Legend of the Twilight, by Tatsuya Hamasaki and Rei Izumi is a spin off and a kind of sequel to the original. The main characters are Shuugo and Rena, twins, who won a contest to receive miniature avatars of the original legendary hackers, Kite and Blackrose, for the online game "The World." They log onto "The World," the most advanced online game in existence with their new characters, but soon realize something is wrong. A strange girl appears in front of Shuugo and gives him a legendary bracelet that used to belong to Kite that will grant him immeasurable powers. The true adventure starts when they set off to solve the mystery of "Twilight" along with their friends. Shuugo, Rena, and their new found friends, face several challenges with the administrators and monsters dealing with the bracelet and the mysteries of "Twilight." Shuugo and Rena must save the world, both real and virtual, by solving the mystery of "Twilight."
This is an incredible, heartwarming, action packed, comedy manga that I really loved reading. Many could pick up the basic story line of the previous parts of the story pretty well but I would recommend reading the other books first, before reading this series. All in all, this is a great book that anyone could enjoy. I would recommend this to all of my friends. The pictures are beautiful, cute, and intense when need be. .Hack//Legend of the Twilight is a fantastic book and I would advise anyone to read it.
-Reviewed by M.K., grade 9.

Monday, December 20, 2010

M or F, by Lisa Papademetriou and Chris Tebbett

In this story, M or F by Lisa Papademetriou and Chris Tebbett, Frannie Falconner is a sweet girl who is determined to make Jeffery Osborne hers. Frannie and her gay best friend, Marcus, set up a plan to bring Jeffery to her. As Jeffery and Frannie get along well through an online chat room, they have some trouble connecting in person. Later, Marcus takes this situation into his own hands and starts chatting with Jeffery without Frannie's permission. Soon, Marcus starts to fall for Jeffery. Frannie does not find out until later. Feeling betrayed, Frannie and Marcus have a fight. However, Frannie and Jeffery's dates become more awkward but Marcus was not aware of this. As more time goes by, Frannie and Marcus's friendship fall apart. Finally, Marcus cannot take it anymore and decides to tell Jeffery the truth about his feelings for him. As Marcus is overjoyed, and when he meets up with Jeffery, the truth comes out. Jeffery is shocked because his best friend was the one chatting online. In the end, Frannie finds a new, more suitable boy, Jeffery takes interest in a new girl. and Marcus and Jeffery's best friend get together. Lastly, Marcus and Frannie make up because that is what best friends are for.
In my opinion, M or F is a really fascinating book. It is very exciting but may get confusing at times. It can be confusing because you don't know what's going to happen to their relationships but in the end, everything works out well. This book opens your eyes to homosexuality. Papademetriou and Tebbett did a great job with expressing how a gay person may act or feel. It is also just a complicated love story involving homosexuals for a twist. i would recommend M or F to anyone who is interested in some light and fun reading.
-Reviewed by Anonymous, grade 9.