Horimiya, v. 15 & 16 by Hero

Horimiya, v.15 by Hero - 194 pages
Horimiya, v. 16 by Hero - 192 pages

These are the final two volumes in the Horimiya manga series.  The series ends with Hori, Miyamura, and their friends graduating high school.  It also includes a couple short stories about Hori's younger brother and friend.  
I had previously read these volumes when they first came out and was a little disappointed with them.  I decided to re-read them and see if I had a better reaction with a little time.  Unfortunately, I was still left wanting.  I wanted a better ending with more information about what they might do in the future.

Hori-san and Miyamura-kun

 

Hori-san and Miyamura-kun

by Hero and Daisuke Hagiwara

volumes 1-16 

2,771 pages

A sweet "aww"-inspiring tale of school life begins!!

At school, Kyouko Hori is known for being smart, attractive, and popular. On the other hand, her classmate, the boring, gloomy Izumi Miyamura tends to get painted as a "loser fanboy." But when a liberally pierced and tattooed (not to mention downright gorgeous) Miyamura appears unexpectedly on the doorstep of secretly plain-Jane homebody Hori, these two similarly dissimilar teenagers discover that there are multiple sides to every story...and person!

As a whole I very much enjoyed this series. It has some very sweet moments among the growing friend group. There are also some good examples of becoming more comfortable with who you are growing to be, especially when that is a very different person than who you were.

I do feel it trailed off a little vaguely there at the end, but the short after story was a nice little glimpse of the future.

Lou by Breanna Carzoo

Lou by Breanna Carzoo 32 pages Don’t miss this humorous and heartwarming picture book by debut creator Breanna Carzoo about an unlikely everyday hero: a fire hydrant! Perfect for fans of The Good Egg and The Bad Seed. Meet Lou. Lou has an important job . . . as the neighborhood toilet for dogs on their walks. Useful as he may be, he gets the feeling that deep down inside, there might be more to him than that. He just doesn’t seem to know exactly what yet. When disaster strikes, will Lou find out what he’s made of and save the day? From debut creator Breanna Carzoo comes a charming and funny story that reminds us to never let anyone—including yourself—hold you back from sharing your gifts with the world. Kids will fall in love with Lou and his journey of self-discovery as he saves the day from a fire that breaks out in an apartment building nearby. You’ll never be able to look at a fire hydrant the same way again! Anyone can be a hero, even things that think they are a toilet!! Kids will love to see the potty humor but turned to a hero in the end!

Horimya, v.15 by Hero

Horimiya, v.15 by Hero -- 178 pages

This was the latest volume in the manga series Horimiya.  This is probably one of my favorite manga series and I'm always impatiently waiting for the next volume to come out.  This volume dealt more with the secondary characters than Hori and Miyamura.  Still, I enjoyed the volume and can't wait for the next.

Horimiya volume 14

 

Horimiya Volume 14

By Hero and Daisuke Hagiwara

Pages174

The school lives of Hori-san and Miyamura-kun continue with a fight breaking out between the members of the student council. Will their friendship turn as icy as the sidewalks? 

Horimiya, v. 14 by Hero

 

Horimiya, v. 14 by Hero - 178 pages.

This was another great entry in the Horimiya manga series.  It includes stories about slippery sidewalks, Sawada's friendships, and more.

Horimiya, v. 13 by Hero

Horimiya, v. 13 by Hero - 176 pages

This volume focuses more on Hori and Miyamura's friends than the main characters themselves.  I enjoyed reading about the various side characters and fleshing out their stories.  Another great volume in the series.

Horimiya, v. 12 by Hero

Horimiya, v. 12 by Hero - 176 pages

This is the latest volume in the Horimiya manga series.  It focuses more on the side characters than on Hori-san and Miyamura.  It was another great entry in the series.

Horimiya Volume 9

Horimiya Volume 9
by Hero
176 pages

As Christmas approaches everyone is busy making arrangements for how to spend their holidays, but what is Hori to make of Miyamura's sudden proposal ??!!

Horimiya, v. 11 by Hero

Horimiya, v. 11 by Hero - 176 pages

The story of Hori, Miyamura and their friends continue with a sleepover for the guys, a fight between Hori and Miyamura, and more.
I enjoyed this volume.  Several of the stories made me laugh out loud.

Horimiya, v. 10 by Hero

Horimiya, v. 10 by Hero - 178 pages

This was a very cute volume in the Horimiya manga series.  It's picks up right after Christmas as Hori and Miyamura deal (or don't) deal with his declaration they should get married.  I especially liked the flashback to the beginning of Sengoku and Remi's relationship.

Horimiya, v. 09 by Hero

Horimiya, v. 09 by Hero - 178 pages

It's winter and the characters are all being affected by the cold and holidays.

The latest volume of Horimiya was a little more broken up into short stories about the various characters.  It was also a little more humorous than some of the previous volumes.  I found myself laughing out loud a couple of times.  A great entry in the series.

Horimiya, v. 7 by Hero

Horimiya, v. 7 by Hero - 178 pages

The sports festival is coming up and causing all sorts of issues for Miyamura and class president Sengoku.  Will they even show up the day of the event?

Another great volume in the series.  We meet a another classmate who turns into a friend while Tooru finally realizes someone likes him.

Horimiya, v. 2-6 by Hero

Hiromiya, v. 2 by Hero - 194 pages
Hiromiya, v. 3 by Hero - 179 pages
Hiromiya, v. 4 by Hero - 179 pages
Hiromiya, v. 5 by Hero - 194 pages
Hiromiya, v. 6 by Hero - 181 pages

This series follows two classmates with secrets -- Hori and Miyamura -- and their friends as they navigate school and relationships.

I am really enjoying this series.  I can see why it was named one of the best graphic novels for teens from 2016.  The only bad thing is that now I am caught up and will have to wait for new volumes to be published.

Horimiya, v.1 by Hero

Horimiya, v. 1 by Hero - 178 pages

At school Kyouki Hori is pretty and popular but at home she's a plain jane homebody.  On the other hand, her classmate Izumi Miyamuri is gloomy and boring at school while outside of it he's a tattooed and pierced.  When the two of them meet outside of school they strike up an usual friendship, keeping each other's secrets about their true personalities.

I really enjoyed this first book in the Horimiya series.  It introduced the main characters' personalities very well.  The hidden personalities makes for interesting reading as their interactions cause their friends to wonder what is going on with both of them.

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson - 266 pages

The villain Lord Ballister Blackheart is surprised when a young shapeshifter shows up at his door claiming to be his new sidekick.  Nimona won't take no for answer.  Together they work to bring down the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics and Blackheart's old friend the hero Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin.

This was an amusing graphic novel.  It wasn't until the end of the book that I found it out had been a web comic before being printed in text.  An interesting story for teens to read with heroes and villains often changing places.

Hero by Alethea Kontis

Hero by Alethea Kontis  282 pages

Rough-and-tumble Saturday Woodcutter thinks she's the only one of her sisters without any magic - until the day she accidentally conjures an ocean in the backyard. With her sword in tow, Saturday sets sail on a pirate ship, only to find herself kidnapped and whisked off to the top of the world. Is Saturday powerful enough to kill the mountain witch who holds her captive and save the world from sure destruction? And, as she wonders grumpily, "Did romance have to be part of the adventure?"

Legends of Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke

Legends of Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke - 220 pages

I thought this was the first book in the graphic novel series having misread the title as "The Legend of Zita the Spacegirl".  I was wrong.  It is the second book.  While I wasn't sure how Zita became lost in outer space it was a fairly easy story to pick up.  This volume tells of a robot who tries to take over Zita's life and how Zita becomes a space criminal because of it.

I found the book fun to read.  In fact, I think I will probably go back and read the first book and then the third before waiting for the fourth to be published in two years.

Mark of the Thief (Praetor War) by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Mark of the Thief (Praetor War) by Jennifer A. Nielsen, 352 pages

RELEASE DATE : FEBRUARY 25th, 2015

Meet the new Percy Jackson series -- Rome style. Adventure, action, comedy, suspense - a wonderful new read.

Hero by Alethea Kontis

Hero by Alethea Kontis - 282 pages
The Woodcutter Sisters, Book 2

Saturday can't wait for her chance at adventure.  She is the only normal one in her family of magical, enchanted children -- or so she thought.  When she accidentally creates an ocean in her backyard she is kidnapped by an evil witch who wants revenge on her brother.  Her only hope is a fellow victim, a prince under a spell to look like witch's daughter.  They must work together to defeat the witch and escape from the mountain prison.

This was a great sequel to Enchanted.  While Enchanted was a combination of several fairy tales woven together, Hero was more of an original tale.  There were elements of other tales thrown in, but they were more side characters and story lines.  I can't wait for the third book to come out.