After rescuing a crow, a girl is invited to a magical school in Japan. I loved how thoroughly the forms of magic represented in this graphic novel explored Japanese culture and history. The representation of discrimination against Hana's new best friend, a Korean student whose family runs a shrine, also felt really meaningful. I think teens will enjoy this as a very different take on magic schools than what we've seen before.

In this story we get to follow Hana, a “magicik-less” student, who gets enrolled in the Benten School of Esoterics, Her new school is full of adventure and typical high school shenanigans. Hana bonds very quickly with a friend she meets on the train and by the end of the story, they’ve cracked the mystery that’s been surrounding the school for months.

I really enjoyed the emphasis that Hana placed on not taking anyone’s crap anymore and stepping up to classmates. When she called out other students during lunch for their lack of taste buds, I howled. It was such a good comeback. All of the teachers were very cool and accepting of Hana and they seemed to strive to treat her the same as other students who had more of a background in magic.

I’m really curious if this will be a standalone story or if the writer intends to expand on the story. The setting and buildup of the school/staff was very interesting and I found myself wanting to know more about the schools history.

Overall, this was a very cute story about new beginnings and forming new friendships. I can’t wait to reread this when it comes out in full-color!

Thanks so much to the publisher for the DRC!