#ComicsWednesday: Princess Jellyfish by Akiko Higashimura

When I'm stressed, something that always helps me relax is to watch a video of jellyfish swimming. They're both comical and elegant, and if I ever win the lottery, I'm going to Palau to swim in the lake filled with jellyfish that don't sting you. It's safe to say that I like jellyfish, probably a bit more than most people, but compared to Tsukimi, the main character of Princess Jellyfish by Akiko Higashimura, I'm barely a fan.

When Tsukimi was young her mother took her to see jellyfish in an aquarium, which happened to be their last outing together before her mother became very ill and died. Tsukimi clings tightly to the joy of her visit to the aquarium by learning everything she can about jellyfish. Unfortunately, an obsession with jellyfish combined with severe social anxiety means that Tsukimi grows up to be an otaku (a geek or nerd, think Big Bang Theory).

Luckily, Tsukimi finds her community within Amamizukan, a shared house for women in Tokyo. All of the residents are women, all are socially awkward and unfashionable, and each has her own unique and all-consuming passion. Society refers to them as fujoshi (meaning female otaku). They call themselves "amars" or "nuns" because the last thing that brings them together is that they live "a life with no use for men."

One night after a particularly disappointing social failure, Tsukimi visits a neighborhood aquarium shop to talk to the small spotted jellyfish in the window display, whom she's named Clara. However, Tsukimi discovers that a moon jellyfish has been added to Clara's tank, creating a dangerous situation for her favorite jellyfish. Tsukimi draws on every ounce of bravery she possesses and confronts the fashionable young man working in the shop to save Clara's life. It's not enough, until a stylish young woman passing by steps in and negotiates a diplomatic solution that results in Tsukimi taking Clara home to Amamizukan, along with her knight in shining, six-inch stilettos.

In the morning, Tsukimi discovers that her rescuer is actually a stylish young man in drag named Kuranosuke (or Kurako when dressed as a woman). Friendship, politics, romance, makeovers, a fight against gentrification, and hijinks ensue, all blending together to form an upbeat and charming story told over the course of eight double-size volumes.

Like many manga that we see in English translation, part of the story has been adapted to a one-season anime, which I can also recommend. However, before you take on either version of this story I should warn you that one character is drugged and led to believe that he was raped by the main antagonist of the series. It's a disturbing enough event that some might prefer to avoid this otherwise enjoyable story.

~Sarah, Adult Services

Staff Review: A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline

Christina Baker Kline, author of the runaway bestseller Orphan Train, is back with a fine new novel, A Piece of the World. The impetus for this new work was Kline's interest in painter Andrew Wyeth's relationship with a considerably older woman, a native Mainer named Anna Christina Olson. Christina, as she was known, is the subject of Wyeth's most famous painting, 1948's Christina's World, and in her new novel, Kline brings the enigmatic Christina to life.

She does a bang-up job of it too, alternating chapters that propel us through Christina's young adulthood with chapters narrating her initial introduction to Wyeth (when she is 46 and he just 22) and their ensuing friendship. At age 46, Christina's life is solitary and hard. She lives without electricity or running water and has suffered since childhood from an undiagnosed condition that eventually reduces her to crawling on her arms, dragging her legs behind her.

Crushed by a huge romantic disappointment in her youth, Christina spends the bulk of her days caring for her crumbling old farmhouse and her brother Alvaro, who works their farm. Their days are not often visited by joy. Enter the energetic and idealistic Andy Wyeth, who is artistically intrigued by the Olson house, its occupants, and the surrounding landscape. Soon he is painting there every day, which he continues to do for the next thirty years, often painting Christina and Alvaro. Not included in the book but adding to its poignancy is the fact that upon his death at age 91, the famous and wealthy Andrew Wyeth, happily married with his own large family, chose to be buried beside Christina and Alvaro in their humble family plot.

Kline paints her characters with the same magical precision Wyeth's paintings are known for. She paints the landscape uncommonly well too, vividly evoking the sometimes-harsh, always beautiful Maine coast. Most touching of all, Kline imbues the physically disabled Christina with dignity and grace, the very qualities Wyeth ascribes to the awkward woman in his paintings. Christina's life was difficult, her days filled with pain, but she enjoyed 30 years of friendship with a remarkable man and was immortalized in one of the world's most famous works of art.

~Ann, Adult Services

#ComicsWednesday: Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 by David Petersen

When I was in fourth grade, I discovered the Redwall series by Brian Jacques. I devoured them, reading what my library had and then begging for my own copies. I continued to read them until the last book was published in 2011, just after Jacques had passed away. When I needed a medieval fantasy series about sword-wielding mice to fill the Redwall-shaped hole in my heart, Mouse Guard stepped in. Specifically, the first volume: Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 with story and art by David Petersen.

In this volume we are introduced to the characters and world of the Mouse Guard series. Our main trio, Lieam, Kenzie, and Saxon, are members of the eponymous Mouse Guard. The story involves espionage, intrigue, crabs, a mouse with a peg leg, a giant snake, and much more. The world-building in this series is, in my opinion, perfect. Petersen's art creates a rich and vibrant atmosphere, and his style is fairly unique.

The Mouse Guard series by David Petersen is one of the best comic series I have ever read, hands down. The art is beautiful, the story is intriguing, and the world is immersive. This comic is truly an all-ages comic, though the publisher recommends it for ages 8 and up. You can find it in both the general Graphic Novels section and the children's Graphic Novels section here at Carnegie-Stout. And if you like Mouse Guard, do me a favor and check out Redwall, won't you?

-- Libby, Youth Services