Sand Chronicles v.1 by Hinako Ashihara – 200 pages
The sand in the title refers to the passage of time, like
sand in an hourglass, a symbol that figures throughout the first volume of this
manga. Told in flashback, young Ann
moves with her mother into her grandmother’s house in the snowy ancestral
village. Ann makes some friends, but her
mother has difficulties, and weak and haunted by the past, goes away alone to
die. As Ann ages into her teenage years,
romance begins to blossom among her and her group of friends. Equal parts humorous and sad, Sand Chronicles
reflects on the choices we make, and how they can lead us to regret over the
passage of time. Happy moments that
cannot be regained live on as memories.
Expressive characters display a wide range of feeling in a moving story
of growing up.
