Roll On: Rick Hansen Wheels Around the World is a children's picture book written by Ainslie Manson and illustrated by Ron Lightburn. It follows Rick Roll On: Rick Hansen Wheels Around the World is a children's picture book written by Ainslie Manson and illustrated by Ron Lightburn. It follows Rick Hansen on his Man in Motion World Tour, highlighting a few stops on his 26-month epic tour.
Richard Marvin Hansen is a Canadian track and field athlete, activist, and philanthropist for people with disabilities. Following a pickup truck accident at the age of fifteen, Hansen sustained a spinal cord injury and became a paraplegic.
Manson's text is rather simplistic, straightforward, and informative. Focusing more on the Man in Motion Tour than a biography, the narrative stops at various points along the tour and describes some of the interactions that Hanson had. Backmatter includes a list of facts and a letter from Hansen himself. Lightburn’s bright and enchanting illustrations depicted the text rather well.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. After a brief mention on how Hansen became wheelchair-bound, the narrative goes straight into his Man in Motion World Tour (21 March 1985–23 May 1987). A handful stops where highlighted throughout his two-year tour – mostly of children with disabilities and raising awareness for spinal injury research.
All in all, Roll On: Rick Hansen Wheels Around the World is wonderful children picture book of the Man in Motion World Tour and the man centered on it....more
The Cancer Journals is a collection of prose, poems, and selected journal entries written by Audre Lorde with an introduction by Tracy K. Smith. It deThe Cancer Journals is a collection of prose, poems, and selected journal entries written by Audre Lorde with an introduction by Tracy K. Smith. It deals with her struggle with breast cancer and relates it to her strong advocacy and identity in certain social issues such as lesbian, civil rights, and feminist issues.
Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, at least in my part of the world, I thought it would apropos to read this now. Furthermore, this year (2021) my mother celebrates five years remission from her battle with breast cancer.
Audre Lorde was an American writer, feminist, womanist, librarian, and civil rights activist. She was a self-described black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet, who dedicated both her life and her creative talent to confronting and addressing injustices of racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia.
In her mid-40s, Lorde was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a radical mastectomy. Through prose, poems, and selected journal entries beginning six months after the surgery, the author explores the anger, pain, and fear that her illness wrought. Her recovery was characterized by resistance and learning to love her body again.
Lorde confronts tough questions, including the role of holistic and alternative treatments and whether her cancer and its recurrence were preventable. She writes of eschewing "superficial spirituality" and repeatedly rejecting the use of prosthesis because it felt like "a lie" at precisely the time she was seeking new ways of strength and trying to find the courage to tell the truth.
The Cancer Journals is written extremely well – it is far from perfect, but comes rather close. After many decades, this collection remains a raw reckoning with illness and death as well as a challenge to the conventional expectations of women with cancer. Universally, Lorde's rage and the clarity that follows offer readers a blueprint for facing mortality and living boldly in the little time we have. In short, it is an empowering compilation, which is equal parts heartbreaking, beautiful, and timeless.
This particular edition contains an introduction by Tracy K. Smith. Smith explores the inner thoughts of Lorde and how her collection of prose, poetry, and journal entries impacted the ways women and eventually the medical industry views women with breast cancer.
All in all, The Cancer Journals showcases Lorde's big heart and fierce mind in this deeply personal and deeply political collection....more
Silent Days, Silent Dreams is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Allen Say. It is an imagined biography in words and pictures of theSilent Days, Silent Dreams is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Allen Say. It is an imagined biography in words and pictures of the self-taught artist James Castle.
James Castle was an American artist born in Garden Valley, Idaho. Although Castle did not know about the art world outside of his small community, his work ran parallel to the development of 20th-century art history.
The text is rather simplistic, straightforward, and informative. Say tells the haunting story of outsider artist James Castle, a deaf and autistic man whose talent was not recognized until late in his life. Backmatter includes an author's note and bibliography. Drawings done in the style of Castle accompany the story and Say also supplies pen-and-ink vignettes and anguished charcoal portraits of the bullying the man endured throughout his life.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. Narrating in the voice of Castle's nephew, it describes how Castle was born in 1899 into an Idaho farm family with no resources to help their son. He never learned to speak or read and when upset, he shrieked uncontrollably. However, he found consolation in drawing and made some 15,000 pictures, often with soot and sharpened sticks after teachers confiscated his drawing materials.
All in all, Silent Days, Silent Dreams is a remarkable and inspiring biography of an equally remarkable and inspiring life....more
The Music of Bees is a contemporary coming-of-age written by Eileen Garvin. It centers on three misfits, who come together to save the local bee populThe Music of Bees is a contemporary coming-of-age written by Eileen Garvin. It centers on three misfits, who come together to save the local bee population of Hood River, Oregon.
One night, Alice Holtzman, a hobbyist beekeeper, widower, and introvert who is beset with panic attacks, nearly runs over teenager Jake Stevenson in his wheelchair. They get to talking about her bees, and Alice surprises herself by offering the depressed Jake a place to stay so he can escape his abusive father.
Jake is soon followed by Harry Stokes, whom Alice hires for some carpentry work and offers a free room in her bunkhouse. After Alice is slighted for an overdue promotion, she quits her job and the three turn their attention to stopping the pesticide conglomerate SupraGro, known for decimating bee populations in other states.
The Music of Bees is written rather well. After a slow start, the SupraGro plot gives some structure to the novel, but also weighs it down by distracting from the heart of the story: the three characters and their personal growth. The bees are an obvious metaphor – single minded creatures that each work tirelessly for the whole, but it works, and Garvin uses the metaphor rather well.
All in all, The Music of Bees is about the power of friendship, compassion in the face of loss, and finding the courage to start over when things don't turn out as planned....more
How to Build a Hug: Temple Grandin and Her Amazing Squeeze Machine is a children's picture book written by the team of Amy Guglielmo and Jacqueline ToHow to Build a Hug: Temple Grandin and Her Amazing Squeeze Machine is a children's picture book written by the team of Amy Guglielmo and Jacqueline Tourville and illustrated by Giselle Potter. It is a picture book explores Temple Grandin’s first innovation, a personalized hug mach.
Mary Temple Grandin is an American scientist and activist. She is a prominent proponent for the humane treatment of livestock for slaughter and author of more than sixty scientific papers on animal behavior. She is a consultant to the livestock industry on animal behavior, and an autism spokesperson. She is one of the first individuals on the autism spectrum to document the insights she gained from her personal experience of autism.
Guglielmo and Tourville's text is rather simplistic, straightforward, and informative. It gently presents the story behind Grandin's "squeeze machine," describing Grandin's childhood love of building and design, as well as her sensitivities. Backmatter elaborates on Grandin's life, career, and contributions to autism awareness. Potter's warm illustrations feature human and animal figures that are reminiscent of folk art dolls while showing Grandin's discomfort with outside stimulation.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. It describes how Grandin was really sensitive to touches from itchy woolen socks to hugs. She discovered that external pressure placed on her body made her feel secure. As an adult, Grandin observed how cows are placed in squeeze chutes to calm them during veterinary exams, which led Grandin to design her own hug machine.
All in all, How to Build a Hug: Temple Grandin and Her Amazing Squeeze Machine is a lovely biography of someone on the autistic spectrum in Temple Grandin....more
Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist is an autobiographical memoir written by Judith Heumann with Kristen Joiner. It iBeing Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist is an autobiographical memoir written by Judith Heumann with Kristen Joiner. It is centered on a driving force in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act and a look back on a long career of activism.
This book serves as an entry (A true story written by an author with a disability) in the Toronto Public Library Advanced Reading Challenge 2021. This criterion was rather difficult for me to find – especially the true story part. Eventually, I fell back to my trusty backup plan, which is to read a biography written by a person with a disability and found this book.
Judith "Judy" Ellen Heumann is an American disability rights activist. She is recognized internationally as a leader in the disability community. Heumann is a lifelong civil rights advocate for people with disabilities. Her work with governments and non-governmental organizations, non-profits, and various other disability interest groups, has produced significant contributions since the 1970s to the development of human rights legislation and policies benefiting children and adults with disabilities.
Recognizing that Americans with disabilities were generally invisible in the daily life of society, Heumann, who was paralyzed by polio at 18 months in 1949, fought for inclusion in everyday activities, believing it was the government’s responsibility to ensure that everyone could participate equally in society.
Fighting to go to elementary school in Brooklyn after being called a fire hazard, she first attended a segregated special education class before attending regular high school. Heumann attended Long Island University, where she led various student protests and won a lawsuit against the New York City Board of Education for denying her a teacher’s license because of her condition.
In 1977, she helped organize a 24-day sit-in at the San Francisco office of U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, which pressured the Carter administration to finally execute protections for disabled people, eventually leading to passage of the American with Disabilities Act.
Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist is written rather well. In this empowering debut, disability rights activist Heumann reveals her indomitable spirit as she battled prejudice and discrimination to gain equal opportunity. Heumann's memoir, which is in equal parts a history lesson on disability rights activism in the United States and an intimate look at her life from childhood to present, centers on ideas of disability rights, community, access and equity, independence, autonomy, and disability pride.
All in all, Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist is a welcome account of politics in action, and for the best of causes....more
Good Kings Bad Kings is a contemporary novel written by Susan Nussbaum. Nussbaum makes her fiction debut with a scathing look at life inside an institGood Kings Bad Kings is a contemporary novel written by Susan Nussbaum. Nussbaum makes her fiction debut with a scathing look at life inside an institution for disabled juveniles.
Woven from short individual chapters in first-person narrative, at first it reads like a series of darkly funny, often frightening character sketches. As the narrative progresses, however, the darker side of the facility’s management and desire for profit emerges.
From Yessenia (transferred from Juvie), to Mia (keeping a horrifying secret), to Ricky and Joanne (devoted and determined to make a positive difference), to Michelle (working for the management company and slowly growing aware of what her job entails), these individuals are complicated, funny, heartbreaking, and inspiring. How they are pushed beyond breaking points and emerge into the wider world is captivating.
Good Kings Bad Kings is written rather well. Nussbaum's obvious gifts as a playwright make this read more like a performance piece than a novel. Some of the cadence and vernacular choices can distract, as can the use of the present tense, but the book offers insight into the lives of those hidden away from the public, and it will have readers questioning the system’s choices and the public's complacency.
All in all, Good Kings Bad Kings is well-meaning, well-written and well-plotted, with qualified justice for some of the bad guys and hope for a few of the oppressed....more
I Am Not a Label: 34 Disabled Artists, Thinkers, Athletes and Activists from Past and Present is a children's picture book written by Cerrie Burnell aI Am Not a Label: 34 Disabled Artists, Thinkers, Athletes and Activists from Past and Present is a children's picture book written by Cerrie Burnell and illustrated by Lauren Mark Baldo. It is a collection of illustrated profiles of thirty-four prominent people from around the world that happens to be disabled in one manner or another.
Burnell's text is rather simplistic, straightforward, and informative. Burnell, who was born without a hand, introduces a multiracial group of thirty-four noteworthy disabled people from around the world, using simple language and a straightforward, upbeat tone. Backmatter includes glossary, index, and extra resources. Baldo's energetic, warmly hued illustrations depict the subjects rather well.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. It is an anthology of biographical portraits about thirty-four noteworthy disabled people from around the world.
Mentioned are: Ludwig van Beethoven, Gustav Kirchhoff, Henri Matisse, Eliza Suggs, Helen Keller, Frida Kahlo, John Nash, Stephen Hawking, Temple Grandin, Stevie Wonder, Nabil Shaban, Terry Fox, Peter Dinklage, Catalina Devandas, Wanda Diaz-Merced, Victor Pineda, Arunima Sinha, Abraham Lincoln, Demi Lovato, Matt Haig, Redouan Ait Chitt, Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, Farida Bedwei, Jonas Jacobsson, Trischa Zorn, Ade Adepitan, Stella Young, Lady Gaga, Naoki Higashida, Isabella Springmuhl Tejada, Aaron Philip, Michelle Akers, Lil Wayne, and Dynamo.
All in all, I Am Not a Label: 34 Disabled Artists, Thinkers, Athletes and Activists from Past and Present is a wonderful collection of inspirational profiles of people that changed the world, who happened to be disabled....more
Yolk is a contemporary young adult novel written by Mary H.K. Choi. A young woman struggles with body image, sexuality, identity issues, and her placeYolk is a contemporary young adult novel written by Mary H.K. Choi. A young woman struggles with body image, sexuality, identity issues, and her place in the world.
Ambitious older sister June and impulsive Jayne Baek had a love-hate relationship throughout their Texas childhood, and though they both now live in New York City, they've become fully estranged.
June is a corporate success, working in hedge funds, while Jayne attends fashion design school and struggles to make it to class. The silence between the two ends, however, when June reveals that she has cancer. For the first time, Jayne, always protected by her older sibling, plays the supportive role, cooking and cleaning June's posh Manhattan apartment.
Yolk is written rather well. Insightful and intricately constructed, Choi's novel provides a tender look at the sisters' layered bond while addressing aspects of Jayne's experience, including sibling resentment, anxious efforts to navigate relationships, and a long-term eating disorder. The narrative takes its time unfolding amid running social commentary, but worth the wait, as the result is an appreciably personal-feeling narrative about cultural identity, mental and physical health, and siblinghood's complications.
All in all, Yolk is written rather well with a narrative that is intense, raw, and textured....more
Eliza and Her Monsters is a contemporary, young adult, romance novel written by Francesca Zappia. It centers on Eliza Mirk, an anxiety-plagued weirdo,Eliza and Her Monsters is a contemporary, young adult, romance novel written by Francesca Zappia. It centers on Eliza Mirk, an anxiety-plagued weirdo, who is the creator of an astonishingly successful webcomic and a nonentity in her high school.
This book serves as an entry (A book about fame) in the Toronto Public Library Advanced Reading Challenge 2021. This was the first book that came up that peak my interest when I Google the challenge in the search engine.
Eliza Mirk, 18, has a secret – one that only her immediate family knows: she is LadyConstellation, the creator of the hugely popular webcomic Monstrous Sea. Eliza's plan is to quietly finish high school and the comic, then head off to college where she won't be known as the weird, friendless girl. However, things don't go as planned after she meets Wallace, a diehard fan of Monstrous Sea and an equally broken fan fiction writer.
Eliza and Her Monsters is written extremely well – it is far from perfect, but comes awfully close. Zappia uses her own illustrated Monstrous Sea panels to punctuate elements of the narrative and to show how Eliza and Wallace find solace in fandom. LadyConstellation is eventually outed, painfully and publicly, causing Eliza to spiral into depression, self-harm, and thoughts of suicide. Zappia's lighter approach to these topics doesn't diminish the strength of this sensitive and compassionate story or the message mirrored in the themes of the webcomic: there are monsters in the world, both real and imaginary, and without support systems, those monsters can cause great harm.
All in all, Eliza and Her Monsters is written extremely well and is a wrenching depiction of depression and anxiety, respectful to fandom, online-only friendships, and the benefits and dangers of internet fame....more
The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism is an autobiographical novel written by Naoki Higashida, a nonverbal autistiThe Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism is an autobiographical novel written by Naoki Higashida, a nonverbal autistic person from Japan and translated by K.A. Yoshida and David Mitchell.
This book serves as an entry (A character with a disability) in The 52 Book Challenge 2021. This book has been on my TBR List for a while now and I thought it would be the perfect time to read it for this challenge.
Naoki Higashida was born in Kimitsu, Japan in 1992. Diagnosed with severe autism when he was five, he subsequently learned to communicate using a handmade alphabet grid and began to write poems and short stories.
Just thirteen years old, effectively unable to speak, Higashida used a special alphabet grid to compose this slim, informative book, which provides an unprecedented look into the mind of a young person with autism.
Constructed in a series of questions and answers, interspersed with short fictional stories, Higashida gallantly attempts to explain why he and others with autism do the things they do, which often confound caretakers and onlookers. He bare his heart by putting forth the questions people ask, or long to ask and providing insight into the life of someone with autism.
The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism is written rather well. Higashida often achieves a clarity and wisdom that is surprising for such a young person. Other times the reader is reminded of his age, when he earnestly pleads on behalf of himself and others with autism for understanding and patience. The result is a mixture of invaluable anecdotal information, practical advice and whimsical self-expression.
All in all, The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism is a wonderful memoir and useful to anyone struggling to understand autism will be grateful for it....more
All the Way to the Top: How One Girl's Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything is a biographical children's picture book written by AAll the Way to the Top: How One Girl's Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything is a biographical children's picture book written by Annette Bay Pimentel and illustrated by Nabigal-Nayagam Haider Ali with a forward by Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins. It center on Jennifer Keelan, girl with cerebral palsy fights for the 1990 passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Jennifer Keelan was born with cerebral palsy and started her life of activism for disability rights at the age of six. At age eight, she climbed out of her wheelchair and up the steps of the US Capital Building during the Capital Crawl, in support of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Pimentel's text is rather simplistic, straightforward, and informative. In clear, accessible prose, Pimentel relates the story of Jennifer Keelan-Chaffin's activism in the disability rights movement, culminating in the Capitol Crawl on Mar. 12, 1990. Backmatter includes supplemental material, which contextualizes the disability rights movement, bibliography, and timeline. Ali's creamily textured digital illustrations were done rather well and capture the narrative equally as well.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. As a child who uses a wheelchair, Jennifer faces obstacles, from curbs that are like a cliff to exclusionary classmates. Even at an early age, she knew that this was wrong and does something about – even climbing the stairs of the US Capital Building. Alongside adult activists with disabilities, Jennifer hauled herself up the steps of the U.S. Capitol to advocate for passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, after which Congress at long last passed the bill.
All in all, All the Way to the Top: How One Girl's Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything is a great tribute to an activist in Jennifer Keelan-Chaffin and shows that one could be one at any age....more
Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century is an anthology of thirty-seven personal essays collected and edited by AlicDisability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century is an anthology of thirty-seven personal essays collected and edited by Alice Wong, a self-described "disabled activist" brings together diverse perspectives in an anthology published on the 30th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
For the most part, I rather like most if not all of these contributions. Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century is an anthology that collected thirty-seven personal essays that explore being disabled in the twenty-first century. The book is divided into four sections. "Being" captures writings that explain the daily challenges of wrestling with a disability. In "Becoming," the essays focus less on defining a specific disability and more on how the contributors have figured out how to follow a life-affirming path. "Doing" displays the accomplishments that affect not only the anthologists, but also society at large. The final section, "Connecting," illuminates how those labeled as disabled find ways to transcend isolation.
Like most anthologies there are weaker contributions and Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century may be the exception. Granted it is far from perfect and there are some personal essays better than others, but the meaning throughout the essays permutated through such minor problems, which didn't detract my overall enjoyment of the anthology.
All in all, Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century is a wonderful collection of personal essays that are bolstered by the activism that shines through, will educate and inspire readers....more
About Us: Essays from the Disability Series of the New York Times is an anthology of sixty-one essays, which was collected and edited by Peter CatapanAbout Us: Essays from the Disability Series of the New York Times is an anthology of sixty-one essays, which was collected and edited by Peter Catapano and Rosemarie Garland-Thomson. In this three score collection, disabled essayists reflect on love, joy, justice, community, and navigating daily challenges.
For the most part, I rather like most if not all of these contributions. About Us: Essays from the Disability Series of the New York Times is an anthology of some sixty essays collected from the New York Times essay section dedicated to the disabled. Sixty-one essays from varying authors are divided into eight sections: Justice, Belonging, Working, Navigating, Coping, Love, Family, and Joy. It tackles issues of equality, tolerance, about visible and invisible disabilities, and just how a disabled person or people live from day to day in a world not designed for them.
Like most anthologies there are weaker contributions, but About Us: Essays from the Disability Series of the New York Times may be the exception. It is far from perfect and some entries are more successful than others, but overall this is a solid and relevant anthology in which readers could identify and get a feeling of how the disable feel in certain situations.
All in all, About Us: Essays from the Disability Series of the New York Times is a wonderful solid collection of essays about the joys and sadness about being disabled and how far humanity has come about caring for the disabled and how much more humanity can do....more
Real, Vol. 14 continues where the previous tankōbon left off and collects the next six chapters (79–84) of the ongoing manga series.
Tomomi Nomiya contReal, Vol. 14 continues where the previous tankōbon left off and collects the next six chapters (79–84) of the ongoing manga series.
Tomomi Nomiya continues his existential exploration, which has detoured slightly when he didn't get drafted into the Lightnings. He watches the Tokyo Tigers wins their tournament and then witnessed that Anzai Yoshiki of the Lightnings improved significantly when he watches the second half of his game. He heads to Nagano to visit Yamashita Yasumi, the girl he paralyzed, to find out that despite her bump in the road, she is on track to be a professional magna artist. Nomiya feels that everyone is blazing forward and leaving him behind.
Kiyoharu Togawa enters and plays in the Ooruri Cup and easy wins the tournament as they breeze through playing Sasebo Tonkotsu, Guts Mihara, Gunma Crazy Horse, and finally the No Returns. However, despite the Tokyo Tigers winning the tournament – the team harmony, or lack thereof, may destroy them. Coincidentally, due to a drop-out, the Tokyo Tigers are invited to play in the Prime Minister Cup – a national tournament for wheelchair basketball.
Hisanobu Takahashi begins training for wheelchair basketball with the Choufu Dreams – he is dedicated to be a member of the Dreams that he continues his physical therapy with gusto. His girlfriend drops by to cut his hair and mentions that she is the new manager for the Tokyo Tigers the same time his reveals that he is trying out for the Chofu Dreams – their rivals who just happens to be attending the Prime Minister Cup tournament.
This tankōbon is written and illustrated by Takehiko Inoue. It is mainly a transitional tankōbon as things are setting up for yet another confrontation between the Tokyo Tigers and Chofu Dreams in the Prime Minister Cup – a national tournament for wheelchair basketball. Furthermore the reveal between Hisanobu Takahashi and his girlfriend was done rather nice – he revealing to be trying out for the Dreams and she becoming the new manager for the Tigers – rival teams to each other. It should be interesting how the Prime Minister Cup would shape out.
All in all, Real, Vol. 14 is a wonderful continuation to a series that seems intriguing and I cannot wait to read more....more
Real, Vol. 13 continues where the previous tankōbon left off and collects the next six chapters (73–78) of the ongoing manga series.
Hisanobu TakahashiReal, Vol. 13 continues where the previous tankōbon left off and collects the next six chapters (73–78) of the ongoing manga series.
Hisanobu Takahashi watches his friend and roommate from his physical therapy, Scorpion Shiratori makes his re-debut in the wrestling ring. He is nowhere near complete his physical therapy, but uses his outing to fight. Takahashi is in disbelief throughout the match – as how can someone who can’t walk wrestle. Throughout the match, he internally learns the meaning of strength and victory and as the tankōbon closes he approaches the Choufu Dreams and asks to join the team.
Tomomi Nomiya and Kiyoharu Togawa do not appear in the tankōbon.
This tankōbon is written and illustrated by Takehiko Inoue. It mainly centers on Scorpion Shiratori and his backstory is fleshed out. It is an interesting read on how he became the villain of the wrestling world – hated by most of the fans and loved by a few. Through watching the fight, Takahashi learns what true strength and the meaning of victory in defeat. The tankōbon closes with Takahashi hoping to join the Choufu Dreams.
All in all, Real, Vol. 13 is a wonderful continuation to a series that seems intriguing and I cannot wait to read more....more
Real, Vol. 12 continues where the previous tankōbon left off and collects the next six chapters (67–72) of the ongoing manga series.
Kiyoharu Togawa anReal, Vol. 12 continues where the previous tankōbon left off and collects the next six chapters (67–72) of the ongoing manga series.
Kiyoharu Togawa and Mizushima Ryou go to A-Camp – a training camp for wheelchair basketball. While Kiyouhara Togawa joined on his own Mizushima Ryou was signed up by the coach of the Tigers. Kiyoharu Togawa learned some hard truths about himself – which he thinks of basketball as a one player game – thinking too much like a sprinter and not a basketball player. Through the course of the camp, he rededicates himself to love basketball more – in time for the new tournament.
Hisanobu Takahashi has a goal in mind – to play wheelchair basketball and dedicates his time in his physical therapy to further reach that goal. His mother has gotten out of the hospital from her mental breakdown and dyed her hair blond and the three spend some time together. Meanwhile, Scorpion Shiratori continues his training to be back into the ring by his goal date. The tankōbon closes with his returning wrestling match.
Tomomi Nomiya has a short cameo near the end of the tankōbon and had regressed in his existential exploration – he has gained the weight he lost during his training session for his tryouts and become listless again. However, it does seems like he has a plan of sorts.
This tankōbon is written and illustrated by Takehiko Inoue. It mainly concentrates on Kiyoharu Togawa and his expeirnces at A-Camp – the wheelchair basketball camp. He learns that he has major deficiencies in his teamwork and leadership skills and learns to overcome such deficiencies during the camp. Hisanobu Takahashi has a minor part where he found a new purpose for physical therapy and a nice outing with his family.
All in all, Real, Vol. 12 is a wonderful continuation to a series that seems intriguing and I cannot wait to read more....more
Real, Vol. 11 continues where the previous tankōbon left off and collects the next six chapters (61–66) of the ongoing manga series.
Tomomi Nomiya starReal, Vol. 11 continues where the previous tankōbon left off and collects the next six chapters (61–66) of the ongoing manga series.
Tomomi Nomiya starts his tryout for the Tokyo Lightnings, which doesn't start out too well as he is simply outmatched by the hopes of near-pro amateurs hoping to break into the professional game. So, it came to a surprise when he was chosen as one of the final ten perspectives. Their final round is to play a game with the Tokyo Lightnings and it is truly shown that while Nomiya has the heart of a pro basketball player – he doesn't have the talent and after a month without a call from the team, he thinks that he wasn't chosen.
Kiyoharu Togawa and the Tokyo Tigers makes a small cameo in the tankōbon, where Nagano Mitsuru invites Hara, an old friend from Australia, who happened to played with the Choufu Dreams, and now trains the Tigers for their upcoming tournament. Togawa is seen in the end of the tankōbon with Tomomi Nomiya a month later when there was no word from the Lightnings.
Likewise, Hisanobu Takahashi makes a small cameo in the tankōbon. He continues to stares at the basketball hoop when no one is around. The physical therapist sees this and concocts a plan to show him a wheelchair made for wheelchair basketball. With strength and endurance he finally makes it into the wheelchair and notices the great difference in it. He is challenged to control the wheelchair if he could.
This tankōbon is written and illustrated by Takehiko Inoue. It mainly concentrates on Tomomi Nomiya and his tryout for the Tokyo Lightnings. Despite all his training and his bold pronouncements, he is obviously outclassed, but doesn't let it get him down during his tryouts and did his best – making it all the way to the final round, where it seems that he is cut.
All in all, Real, Vol. 11 is a wonderful continuation to a series that seems intriguing and I cannot wait to read more....more
Real, Vol. 10 continues where the previous tankōbon left off and collects the next six chapters (55–60) of the ongoing manga series.
Tomomi Nomiya contReal, Vol. 10 continues where the previous tankōbon left off and collects the next six chapters (55–60) of the ongoing manga series.
Tomomi Nomiya continues with his training for his tryouts for the Tokyo Lightnings, he gets inspiration from his former co-worker from the moving company, Imai, who wanted to be a rockstar and has a dream to tour around Japan. Together, they made a vow to go against the normality of the world and peruse their dreams. The tankōbon ends with Tomomi Nomiya headed towards the tryouts.
Kiyoharu Togawa goes to the hospital to get his annual scan to see if his osteosasrcoma has spread. Fortunately, it hasn’t and he thinks about going to a training camp for wheelchair basketball that is being coached by an American. Furthermore, the Tokyo Tigers have been invited to play in the Flycatcher Cup, which Togawa wants to win.
Hisanobu Takahashi continues his physical therapy, but refuses to go swimming again as he almost drowned. He sneaks into the basketball court and looks up at the basket to see it looming higher than he ever imagined. Noticing this, the physical therapist invites the captain of the Choufu Dreams and the very next day Takahashi witness a wheelchair basketball game and is inspired by the sport. The tankōbon ends with Takahashi wondering if it is still possible to play basketball again in his state.
This tankōbon is written and illustrated by Takehiko Inoue. This tankōbon is written rather well, but feels like a transitional tankōbon. Nomiya continues his training and gets bolder as he heads to tryouts, Togawa continues his quest to make the Tokyo Tigers the best team, and Takahashi makes a revelation about wheelchair basketball. It all seems like a precursor to something big – hopefully something good.
All in all, Real, Vol. 10 is a wonderful continuation to a series that seems intriguing and I cannot wait to read more....more
Real, Vol. 9 continues where the previous tankōbon left off and collects the next six chapters (49–54) of the ongoing manga series.
Tomomi Nomiya contiReal, Vol. 9 continues where the previous tankōbon left off and collects the next six chapters (49–54) of the ongoing manga series.
Tomomi Nomiya continues with his existential exploration as he starts training to become a part of the Tokyo Lightnings – a basketball team. At first he was intimated by the team – especially of Anzai Yoshiki – a popular member of the team. While following the coach of the Lightnings one night, he overhears what he wants as a team member and decides to train to be that sort of player.
Hisanobu Takahashi continues his physical therapy and is surprise to learn that his roommate, Shiratori, is a famous wrestler called the Scorpion. He makes a mad goal: to be able to walk within three months, which Takahashi thinks is preposterous. He thinks the same thing when Tomomi Nomiya visits him and apologizes to being such a poor player to him and that he would be trying out for the Lightnings – another ridiculous in his mind. He also begins Physical Education, where he is learning to swim.
Kiyoharu Togawa does not make an appearance in this tankōbon except to the very end when Tomomi Nomiya challenges him to a basketball match.
This tankōbon is written and illustrated by Takehiko Inoue. I was slightly surprised that this tankōbon focused on Tomomi Nomiya and Hisanobu Takahashi again as I was thinking that it would be Kiyoharu Togawa-centric as they seem to switch perspectives. It is interesting to read about these two as one finds purpose in life and the other trying to become independent.
All in all, Real, Vol. 9 is a wonderful continuation to a series that seems intriguing and I cannot wait to read more....more
Loading...
