Jean Little "From Anna"

Buy the book "From Anna"

 Good books for girls age 10-15.

«From Anna» is a story of Jean Little, Canadian author, about the life of a German family on the eve of the World War II.

The book is partly autobiographical, Jean Little, as well as her little heroine, had bad eyesight, studying, at the same time, in a regular school. Autobiographical touch is felt everywhere: in the manner of narration, in the author's apparent sympathy for Anna, in profound and masterfully described Anna’s inner world.

The book is built on a simple, well known and the win-win principle: sad beginning and happy ending on Christmas night. The action takes place in Germany during the Great Depression, in an atmosphere of general insecurity and fear for the future, which automatically makes the story very realistic. Subsequent emigration to Canada also looks very authentic, despite the fact that the process of moving to Canada is covered without much detail.

Reading about the relationships of Anna with her father gives you the most positive emotions. Her farther is perhaps the only one who sees the true nature of the girl. He is, without any doubt, right when calling her "special", because the child differs really from other children, not only by impaired vision. Anna is a very intelligent child with a rich imagination and capacity for empathy. However, all this can manifest only in appropriate circumstances, which are gradually created when, finally, it becomes clear that Anna has a very poor vision.

The child starts to see the world through the glasses prescribed for her and over time understands better both the world and her own personality. By the end of the book Anna transforms from an intimidated by everyone, shy and awkward child into a gentle girl with the ability to bestow love and tenderness on her nearest and dearest. Her family notices the changes and discovers the new Anna.

The book "From Anna" in the literal sense offers the side of the never experienced world. A good warm feeling remains long in your soul after reading this good book. Buy the book "From Anna"

Kajio Shinji and Tsuruta Kenji «Memories of Emanon»

Menories of Emanon

good manga for girls - 16+

This seinen manga is written in the genre of science fiction with a dramatic and philosophical bent.

Emanon is an assumed name of the manga’s heroine, it is the invert of the words «noname». She presents herself as Emanon when she meets a young student on whose behalf the story is narrated. Emanon is a seventeen years old girl who often behaves like a child. She has a sense of humor and charisma, which at once attracted the youth. Emanon tells him an incredible story that she is the repository of 3 billion years of memory on the world’s existence. These memories are transferred in her family from generation to generation at the DNA level, and the one who passes that memory recalls afterwards nothing but his or her own life. Emanon recognizes that she did not understand immediately what was happening to her, whether these memories she saw were real or just a hallucination.

Graphics of "Memories of Emanon" deserve special attention. You should start with the fact that the  manga artist used a specifically casual style of drawing in which the jagged lines and fragmented hatches were used. However, characters and detailed backgrounds are at a very high level. Most striking is how realistic the scenery looks even if the drawing is negligent. It should be noted that a lot of attention was paid to the backgrounds and scenery, which in today's manga does not happen very often. Characters’ design does not give rise to any comment. Highly detailed and realistic style is perfectly executed, especially considering that the graphics are in the same careless style, like large strokes. In this sense, the graphic style is in harmony with the artistic means that the author used in the story. The only thing that may be considered as a “minus” is the lack of emotional facial expressions of characters, although this does not interfere with the perception of the story.

Laura Wolf "Diary of a Mad Bride"

Her wedding is the most important event in the life of any woman. The majority of women says so.

It just happens that the heroine of “Diary of a Mad Bride" by Laura Wolf, Amy Thomas, does not support the above statement. She says sarcastically that brides infected by the virus called "wedding fever" do not trigger any feelings except pity and laughter, and certainly not jealousy. She thinks so until the very moment her handsome prince, Stephen, makes her a marriage proposition. What happens next? Oh, the real "wedding fever", which Amy continues to deny. She tries to combine the preparations for the marriage with her job and other important matters; she solves family and money problems. Armed with a guide for weddings’ preparations and a pre-marriage to-do-list, she tries to follow the plan and not to panic too much.

Amy Thomas with all her misadventures, her peculiar logic and the insane desire to appear a strong business woman holding everything under control, makes you smile. And when the earth seems to give away under her feet, then she makes you feel sorry. However, you respect Amy for her desire to achieve whatever was intended - not every woman has such willpower or obstinacy. In the course of the story Amy regrets her actions a thousand times, but does not change the path that was initially chosen.

How to stop being nervous if the recently married girlfriend, Mandy, is increasingly turning into a chicken-hen, and sprinkles with tips; Amy’s mother offers an old and absolutely awful, smelling of mothballs, wedding dress; shoes of a desired model cannot be found for an affordable price?

The book is ironic and sometimes sarcastic, showing to readers what a marriage can actually do to a girl, how it can throw a girl off the track. And Amy Thomas is an excellent example of the most "gone mad" brides.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Manga - The Girl Who Leapt Trough Time

good manga for girls - for all ages

Manga "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" was created based on the book of the same name written by Yasutaka Tsutsui and released in 1972. Two movies were filmed later and an animation film was issued in 2006, almost simultaneously with the one-volume book of comics.

The main character of this famous story is Makoto Konno, a seventeen year old schoolgirl, who accidentally got the ability to move through time. Otherwise, she is no different from other high school students. She is not clear abot her future. More like a boy, Makoto loves to play baseball with her two best friends – Chiaki and Kousuke. These friends often make fun of Makoto, but they really care about her. The girl is a bit clumsy and always rushes somewhere, since she is late all the time.

One day, Makoto has an accident: she cannot slow down in front of a train. Only by some miracle of luck did she stay alive, and she performs a dizzying leap in time. With that, it all begins...

Nobody in this manga tries to save the world, at least, in the usual sense. But for Makoto her friends and her life are also a world that needs help and salvation. Throughout the story Makoto learns from her mistakes, and if at the beginning she takes the lessons rather lightly, by the end of the story a very grown-up girl is presented to readers.

The manga's characters are revealed perfectly, not least due to emotional facial expressions of characters. It should be noted that the graphics, though drawn in a typical way for modern Japanese comics, captures your attention by a very well drawn atmosphere of the school routine.

This manga is primarily about love. That does not mean in any way that there is nothing other than a school romance diluted by some time travels. "Girl Who Leapt Through Time" is a story about how important the time is and what value it has in human life.