Library Wars: Love and War Vol. 1

Library Wars: Love and War - volume 1
by Kiiro Yumi
illustrated by Hiro Arikawa

Fight for your right to read!

In the near future, the federal government creates a committee to rid society of books it deems unsuitable. The libraries vow to protect their collections, and with the help of local governments, form a military group to defend themselves---the Library Forces! Iku Kasahara has dreamed of joining the Library Defense Force ever since one of its soldiers stepped in to protect her favorite book from being confiscated in a bookstore when she was younger. But now that she’s finally a recruit, she’s finding her dream job to be a bit of a nightmare. Especially since her hard-hearted drill instructor seems to have it out for her! (description taken from Amazon.com)

I am not much of a graphic novel reader. I find that I am just not interested in a lot of the story lines OR when there is a lot going on I sometimes have trouble following the order of the panels and I get confused. So, I tend to shy away from reading them personally, though I order a ton for the Library based on reviews and requests from the teens.

When I saw the plot for this new series, though, I was immediately intrigued enough to pick it up. The idea that the whole story is based around the Freedom of Information act that Libraries uphold...that Librarians have gone militant to fight for peoples' right to read...AWESOME! This is what I fantasize about sometimes when I get asked questions like "What kind of superhero would you want to be?" (HUGE GRIN)

Bonus - the characters are cool and their interactions are downright funny. The drawing was good and the panels were pretty easy to follow. (There were a few spots where I started to go the wrong way, but I figured it out quickly.)

Now, I really just want to go out and read volumes 2-4, but I have to wait until we get them into the Library, since no one else owns them... :(

Yay! I found a manga series that I like. :)