The above cover image is courtesy of barnesnandnoble.com.

Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”

A young woman looks back fourteen years to her tumultuous teen years.  In this time of transition and discovery, Ann Uekusa’s parents divorce and, she returns with her mother, Miwako, to Shimane, the village where Miwako grew up.  Her mother commits suicide, and Ann falls into a deep depression.  It is with the help of friends that Ann comes to enjoy life again.

In Sand Chronicles, Vol. 3, 16-year-old Ann returns to Shimane for the summer, after spending a year with her formerly estranged father.  Ann can’t wait to reconnect with her boyfriend, Daigo Kitamura, but her other friends may be getting in the way.  Wealthy heir Fuji Tsukishima kissed Ann, and now, she can’t forget the kiss or stand to be around Fuji.  Meanwhile, Shika, Fuji’s younger sister, is having her own issues – dark secrets from her past are driving her into the arms of anyone who will be a friend.

THE LOWDOWN:  Having won the prestigious Shogakugan Manga Award, Sand Chronicles (Sunadokei in Japan) isn’t your typical shoujo (girls’ comics) love story.  Quite frankly, Sand Chronicles, at times, borders on the extraordinary.  Everything feels so real and absolutely genuine:  the budding urge of teen sex, the confusion of friendship becoming unwanted or surprising love, the suffocating obligations and tedious bonds of family, and the isolation of not fitting in with other people.  Speaking of the ties that bind: manga-ka (creator) Hinako Ashihara ensnares her readers and drags them into this rich, sumptuous teenage drama.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  No, Sand Chronicles is not mere soap opera, but a drama with adult sensibilities, weighty subject matter, and heartfelt emotions.

A