SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Manga
  • All Ages
  • Young Adult
  • Interviews
  • News

February 3, 2010 by Snow Wildsmith

Review: Natsume’s Book of Friends

February 3, 2010 by Snow Wildsmith   Leave a Comment

All his life Takashi Natsume has been able to see things that others cannot. Since his parents died after he was born, Takashi has spent his life being shipped from relative to relative, with all of them too scared of him to keep him for long. Now that he is in high school, he has finally found a home and, with the discovery of a mysterious book that belonged to his grandmother Reiko Natsume, he may be on his way to finding some answers to his mysterious ability. Like Takashi, Reiko had the ability to see yokai–spirits and demons–but she used that ability to bully those spirits, locking their names away in her book. Now Takashi must return those names to their rightful owners…dangerous beings who will do anything to get back their names.

Natsume’s Book of Friends
Yuki Midorikawa
Rated: Teen
VIZ, January 2010, ISBN 978-1-4215-3243-1
208 pages, $9.99

Midorikawa’s manga is as quiet and gentle as her main character. Takashi is an outcast who has learned, out of necessity, to be a wallflower. Imagine never knowing your parents and then add on top of that the horrors of seeing scary monsters which no one else can see. Even worse, no one believes you and they reject you for your visions. Though Takashi is now in a good home, he tries hard to be unobtrusive so that they won’t be bothered by him. His pain is never overstated, but is, none-the-less, heart-breaking. Natsume’s Book of Friends is the ironic name that Reiko gave to the book in which she wrote the stolen names, but now, with a new generation, that title takes on a new meaning. It becomes about Takashi learning to give and receive friendship–from the yokai, from his classmates, and from his new family.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

The art of this manga is in keeping with the feel of the story. Midorikawa uses very thin lines to draw in her characters, so her art appears light and airy. Though her panels are often full of details, she will step back and allow them to fill with open space or one single, powerful image at just the right moment. She uses a lot of gray and black shading, but always at appropriate places, never over-screentoning as in some shojo manga. Though this is just the first volume of the series (which is at nine volumes and counting in Japan), Midorikawa is off to an excellent start. Readers who have enjoyed other thoughtful fantasies, such as CLAMP’s xxxHolic or Yuki Urushibara’s Mushishi (both from Del Rey Manga), will also enjoy becoming friends with Natsume.

Filed under: Manga, Reviews

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Snow Wildsmith

Snow Wildsmith is a writer and former teen librarian. She has served on several committees for the American Library Association/Young Adult Library Services Association, including the 2010 Michael L. Printz Award Committee. She reviews graphic novels for Booklist, ICv2's Guide, No Flying No Tights, and Good Comics for Kids and also writes booktalks and creates recommended reading lists for Ebsco's NoveList database. Currently she is working on her first books, a nonfiction series for teens.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

January 2023

My Sister, the Cat, vol. 1 | Review

by Snow Wildsmith

January 2023

SHY, vol. 1 | Review

by Snow Wildsmith

November 2022

Romantic Killer, vol. 1 | Review

by Snow Wildsmith

October 2022

Dinosaur Sanctuary Vol. 1 | Review

by Snow Wildsmith

October 2022

No Longer Heroine, vol. 1 | Review

by Snow Wildsmith

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Surprise! Announcing CABOOSE

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Jump Into this Guest Post by Shadra Strickland About Her Latest Book: Jump In!

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

The Archie Encyclopedia | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Heavy Medal

What’s Coming in 2023, A Feedback Poll, and Goodbye for Now…

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

TLT Post: WRITING FOR YOURSELF FIRST, a guest post by author M. K. Lobb

by Karen Jensen, MLS

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

A Book 25 Years in the Making: Marla Frazee Visits The Yarn

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

The 2019 Eisner Award Nominations, Reviewed

Funny Books for Unfunny Times

Q&A: Harmony Becker, Creator of "Himawari House"

15 Returning Faces for Graphic Novels Shelves | Series Update

Be Afraid (but not too afraid): Graphic novel horror for middle grade readers

Commenting for all posts is disabled after 30 days.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2023


COPYRIGHT © 2023