Customer Reviews

New Bad Girl in Town (Serenity #1)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Being a christian otaku, I was completely psyched to see this book in a Family Christian Store catalog. At first, the CG'ed pages made me feel disapointed. Some of the slang seems over the top, but it seems to tone down. Serenity's ideas of God are pretty common. And just this first book is enough to pull you in. Even if it's not perfect, its certainly enough. This book is made for teens. So expect some cursing (although its edited out, but the idea is shown, Serenity see's no reason not to mouth off when she's angry)and there's also an attempt to have sex (though it doesn't get even close). Realism is a very STRONG point. And this series is very promising and IMO long awaited.
Time for Christianity to break into comics! :D So check it out.

Serenity Harper is hard-core. She is a teenager in trouble with the law. One more mistake and she will be in jail, a fact mentioned several times. After moving to a new high school, Serenity's bad attitude cause her many trips to the principal's office. She hangs with a tough crowd. But one group of people aim to make her a better person. Derek, Kimberly, and the Prayer Club try to reach past her tough exterior to help the lonely person inside. Can they succeed?

Serenity is a Christian comic book. It reads quick and easily while showing readers that they need to help others. It also shows that people just need someone to believe in them.

Finally a Christian book that isn't occutic or has inapporiate content! As a 15 yrs. teenager, I found this to be somewhat hip. The first few pages are slow and pathetic (quote "check out the new tassle." in other words, check out the new girl. What is up with that? I don't know anyone who talks like that!!) Also, starting the first frame with an absolutly pathetic pun is not a smart thing to do, especially if you want people to read this!! The lingo was kinda stupid, but the art was beautifully done, even though this is an american manga. Overall a great comic, but I would only read this just so you can understand what the heck is going on in the second one.

The need for a way to openly reach teens and tweens about touchy subjects is real and relevant. In "Serenity," issues are openly discussed without blame or arrogance. For those who have children who have not yet had to deal with real life issues such as lying, stealing, etc. this can be used as a way to open an honest discussion.

Colorful pages manage to capture the audience which allows the book to read quickly. Written in an easy colloquial language, there is cute humor with every page turn!

Very enjoyable with content parents or children can find interesting.

I disagree with another reviewer over not liking the book because of a single word, "manga." In Japan, all comics (even American) are considered manga. Let's not let a simple word get in the way of a teen/tween discovering a useful tool for what can sometimes be a scary world.

But to state simply: It's cute, fun, and I think many people will enjoy this series!

My kids REALLY enjoy these books and they come to me with LOTS of questions about the characters and why they do certain things. I OWN 10 of these books and LOVE THEM! You don't have to be into Japanese art or Manga or even know what those terms are...

I work with youth full time and THIS is the way that many of them act. The questions presented are ones that they have, the situations are realistic and in REAL LIFE, these are the kind of characters I have in my youth group. They are relational for kids in the teenage and tweenage years, but are not written for Suzie Sunday School as their crowd. They are aimed at presenting the Gospel to kids who would normally not even be interested. Serenity accepts Christ in Book SIX but it is important to see what it took to get her there.

BOTTOM LINE: This series IS racey, to reach the "right crowd" but not inappropriately so. The topics are edgy, but not anything that teens and tweens aren't experiencing in your OWN living rooms and schools. They are also inexpensive and entertaining, but not for us, 20's to 30's. Those that didn't think thre was adequate character development or that the characters were flat, you're right...but you should probably be reading something more on level!

Serenity is a rebellious high-schooler who somehow always finds herself in the midst of some kind of trouble. She's angry, has a horrible attitude, & is the antithesis of the teen most parents would want their child to befriend. That is, until a local church youth group, who's members attend the same high school as Serenity, decide to make her their "project".

Finally!!! Some manga I feel comfortable giving my step-daughter, 13. She really got into the Yuyu Hakusho books, to which she was introduced by a friend. Neither my husband or myself ever really approved of the Yuyu Hakusho books, but she loved the artwork. When I saw these, I snatched them up. I read through the first one & greatly appreciated the ideas & morals presented. We gave step-daughter the first book in this series for Christmas, & she loves it! She bought the third book at Borders, but couldn't find the second one. (She's getting that for her birthday.)

The one (possible) drawback is that these books read from front to back, like most western books, instead of back to front, like many Japanime books. I mention it simply b/c step-daughter drew it to my attention.

If you've got a teen or pre-teen who loves manga but would prefer they actual read something of substance, this is the series for which you've been waiting. All the flashy artwork with none of the occultic overtones or mystical storylines. Most teens can relate to the stories presented, especially if they attend public school. Step-daughter is eagerly awaiting more releases.

i fell in love with anime and manga, but wasnt very happy with all the cursing, violence, witchcraft, and demonism.

this manga is so cool! the main character reminds me of a few of my friends at school, and this series has helped me better understand them.

if your a christian anime freak, anime/manga addict, or are a christian convinced mangas "evil" and therfor going through "anime/manga withdrawl" this is the perfect book for you!! (trust me i've been through the whole doubting thing.... followed by a two year 'withdrawl' from anime... once your hooked your much better off bugging publishers to make more christian manga or buying christian maga than getting over the whole anime/manga addiction.).
God bless.

I would like to preface this review by saying that the artist, Min Kwon (or Keiiii, as she prefers) can produce art of good quality. She's heavily influenced by manga tropes that are limiting in terms of character design but she has a good sense of pacing, panel lay out and landscape. She has art chops.

Unfortunately, that just makes the art in Serenity all the worse. The strips are garishly, and lazily coloured. The character designs are generic, the panels crowded and the line work is boring. This makes reading the strips difficult in the first place. Instead of being led from panel to panel you slug through the story, going from melodramatic moment to melodramatic moment. I imagine you can only enjoy it if Serenity entirely reflects your experiences and you are truly hungry for a comic that provides that.

This brings me to the writing. When Kwon is writing, all the characters have depth and nuance, so it's a pity she didn't have a hand in this. This book has a few evil female characters (there's the evil feminist, who is ugly, and the evil mother, who is also depicted as unattractive) who are flatly written and don't provide as intriguing antagonists. This is juxtaposed with a group of gung ho christian teens who want to be Serenity's friend so they can change her. They don't like who she is.

This doesn't make for a particularly engaging narrative.

When you're reading, it's hard not to feel a bit sorry for Serenity. Her character is presented as a gamut of personality failures, but she doesn't read like a real person. She reads like a character that was written... just to be a pain so that we can see the goodness of her rescuers. Luckily, they do have a little depth. They get annoyed with her, they have hopes an dreams. They have poorly written dialogue that is not in keeping with how teenagers speak. But, they're only invested in Serenity so they can make her like them. Which is sad. It's really quite tragic. She finally has a group of people invested in her life and they don't like her so much as wish to convert her.

Serenity is one dimensional, her christian friends are one dimensional (almost), so are all the adults in their lives. There are no characters, only plot points. Everyone fills a small role without providing any inspiration or satisfaction.

I will be honest, if you want well written, nuanced characters that are christian, try Penny and Aggie. I would not recommend this book. It's proselytizing, insulting to the intellects of your teens and entirely uninteresting. At best, poorly written but mildly entertaining, at worst a really sad story about a girl who could only be liked if she constantly changed her personality to mimic that of her social group (be they the law breaking party set or the well meaning christian kids down the road). If you think this is unfair, try to consider if you'd like it as much if Serenity was being converted to a religion other than your own, by equally well meaning teens.

Look up Haru Sari, it's by the same artist but is a much better work. She deserves some kudos for her hard work.

Actually, if you really like her maybe you should buy a copy of the book. She deserves the royalties.

I expected Serenity to be a book about a Christian teenager and how she faces "challenges" from today's secular society.

Instead, I found a powerfully emotional story of Christian propaganda. Serenity Harper is transformed from a misguided but clever girl into a proper follower of Christ through manipulation by her "friends", a term I use most loosely. These "friends" outright hate her in the beginning of the series, and only hang out with Serenity as a pretense to get her closer to their God.

From a devout Christian perspective, "Serenity" is a simple story suitable for teenagers.
From an atheist and/or former Christian perspective, "Serenity" is something much deeper, and I encourage people in this category to read this series. You will identify with Serenity, the story will resonate and hit home with you, and it will hit HARD.

I just bought all of the Serenity books for my tweenager and I am thoroughly impressed. The issues encountered are exactly what she'll be facing in the next few years, this series equips me as a parent with another tool for discussion.

And they're really well done, I'm from the generation when comics weren't always made into movies. It's nice to see a great Christian manga in print format!