Rating: 5/5
I loved this book. Unintentionally, I read the whole thing in one sitting. The artwork is just beautiful, and the characters were interesting to me.
The main character, Rori Lane, is a half-Irish, half-Japanese teenage girl who just moved to Tokyo to live with her mom. It wasn't clear what happened with the father, but that will probably be touched on later in the story. Rori's isolation is shown really well though. Her situation begins to change when she realizes she is seeing things that other people don't. It is equal parts about this young woman finding a place to belong and learning about her family, which appears like it will be important down the road.
I already mentioned the fantastic artwork. The other great thing about this book is how it taps into Japanese culture and mythology. The foreword describes how the creative team brings Tokyo to life, but that is really only one part of what is going on here. Rori's abilities and the creatures she encounters tie into the long history of Japanese stories. These elements mixed with a bit of action kept the book moving at a great pace. It was cool to see how the creator's interpreted these elements, especially in the illustrations.
The colors made the pages pop for me. Sometimes they are used subtly, particularly near the beginning of the story. I feel like this book sets the stage really well for the whole series. I will be reading more of this one.
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