Fairy Tail: Volume 11 by Hiro Mashima

During the past couple of volumes of Fairy Tail, Erza has been trying to overcome her struggles such as her being forced to sacrifice her life for her old guild master. In this story of Fairy Tail, Erza meets her childhood friend Jellal. Jellal is now considered an enemy of Erza since he wants to fight her in battle but instead of something like that, their battle is going against each other in a board game. The conflict of this is other innocent members of the Fairy Tail guild can get dragged into this by getting severely injured or possibly facing death. Shall Erza game on or game over?

Volume 10 may not be so interesting but this one has gained its respect back. This story was very intense while I was skimming over the splash pages. In almost every splash page I turned to, there were intense battle scenes between Jellal and Erza and I wasn't able to tell who was going to win. When I got this typical manga off the bookshelf at one of the public libraries, I assumed this story was going to be nasty based on how the cover looked (which is why you never judge a book by its cover). It made me feel like I was going to get very bored off of reading the first few pages in which that has been something I had done before. This manga should be read by a thirteen-year-old since that's what almost every volume is labeled for when it refers to age range.

Reviewed by Hannah Rachel, Grade 10
Central Library

Fairy Tail: Volume 10 by Hiro Mashima

Asides from Loke, Erza Scarlet is one of the most powerful celestial wizards of the Fairy Tail guild. She has a past that she would never want to share because back then, she was a slave and the Tower of Heaven is a device that is forced to be built. Of course, Erza has been in other guilds before as well but she must lose her life for her old master which is a lot similar to some sort of sacrifice because of the period when she was a slave. The members of Fairy Tail must attend this mission to save her.

The cover is colorful just like in the previous volume but the story didn't seem to catch my attention this time. I think this is something a typical author would write about in his or her stories. I have seen the battles that Erza has faced during these few chapters but it still wasn't too appealing. The author should've added more battle scenes where Erza had to fight her master to keep her life. Or also, he could've made Erza's past a little more interesting and creative. I noticed how in every volume, there is a different character each time on the book spine. Since this is a volume containing a basic story, I would most likely recommend this to a twelve-year-old. If the book cover and the plot seem child-friendly, then I think this will be considered most compatible with this age range.

Reviewed by Hannah Rachel, Grade 10
Central Library

Fairy Tail: Volume 9 by Hiro Mashima

Lucy ends up disappearing out of the Fairy Tail guild in a very random manner meaning Natsu and everyone else begins to wonder where she currently is. She becomes undecided if she should come back or not and during this scene, she encounters former guild member Loke. Loke was one of the most powerful celestial wizards while he was currently still in Fairy Tail and Lucy sees that his life might have to end because he needs to be saved from danger. Will Lucy help this young poor wizard or let life go on the way it must?

I think this volume is kind of the same as any other but this one had a story that is a lot similar to a typical fairy tale itself. The cover looks colorful, especially since it is very very pink. It also looked child-friendly despite the actual story being a bit too violent. The scene where Loke is about to lose his life had quite some flashing graphics even though it is black and white. When the story temporarily ends, I like how there are extras at the back of each volume in which a reader can enjoy the passion of reading manga a bit longer. This volume, in particular, is something I would recommend to a fourteen-year-old because there isn't a lot of explicit or inappropriate content in my personal opinion.

Reviewed by Hannah Rachel, Grade 10
Central Library