After her parents get divorced, Ann Uekusa and her mother move from Tokyo to rural Shimane. Accustomed to the anonymity of city living, Ann can't get used to the almost overbearing kindness of the people in her mother's hometown. But when personal tragedy strikes, Ann discovers how much she needs that kindness.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Delicate mood and generous empathy help this teen-girl romance cross cultural boundaries. Twelve-year-old Ann feels disoriented when her newly divorced mother leaves Tokyo and moves back to her village and less-than-sympathetic parents. Ann has trouble adjusting to rural culture—where, for example, cute wild bunnies are not pets but food. However, the townspeople, especially rabbit-hunting young Daigo, offer Ann friendship and support after her mother commits suicide. As they go to summer camp with other young teenagers two years later, Ann and Daigo still are close, but Ann worries about losing him to a rival while she also obsesses about when she'll begin having regular periods. Some of the plot complications are predictable, such as lonely rich-kid Fuji beginning to cast yearning glances at Ann, and some of the characters' concerns may seem trivial to grownups. But Ashihara's art is quietly lovely, especially winter scenes with the air swirling with snowflakes or when a summer night is full of fireflies. Her script treats all the characters with gentle respect. The translation ignores differences in regional dialects, missing some clumsiness in conversations, but this manga still succeeds in showing the delight as well as the awkwardness of developing relationships. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From School Library Journal
Grade 8 Up—After her parents' divorce, 12-year-old Ann and her mother move from Tokyo to the country to live with her grandmother. Shortly thereafter Ann's mother, plagued by depression and a drinking problem, kills herself. Ann finds comfort in her new friends Fuji and Daigo. By age 14, she has developed a huge crush on Daigo and become closer to Fuji, who has caught his philandering mother with another man. The teen worries about her period, which stopped right after her mother died. This is a sensitive story about the passing of time and the many rites of passage of adolescence. The characters are drawn with flowing lines and luminous eyes, adding to the book's wistful, contemplative tone.—Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn Public Library, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Slice of Life shoujo done right,
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This review is from: Sand Chronicles, Vol. 1 (Paperback)
The first Shojo Beat magazine I ever bought contained the second chapter of this series. I had bought the magazine because one of my favorite series, Honey and Clover, Vol. 1 had started to be serialized in the magazine.I expected "Honey & Clover" to be awesome, but I didn't expect the little slice of life gem that is Sand Chronicles Vol. 1 (Sand Chronicles). The story is told as a flashback by Ann Uekusa, the main character. It is a part of a shoujo genre that doesn't involve magical powers, robot boyfriends, or being sent to the past. It is very clearly a slice of life story that starts when Ann (at 12) and her mother are moving back to her mother's small hometown from Tokyo. Anyone who has ever gone from living in a large city where anonymity is worn like underwear to a small town where everyone not only knows your name but almost everything else will be able to relate to Ann's sense of unease. But like any good story, there is a trigger that causes the character to change their mind and in "Sand Chronicles", the trigger is tragic with a realistic impact on its young cast. The biggest strength of "Sand Chronicles" is its main lead, Ann. She's likable and easy to relate to. She gets angry, upset, confused and embarrassed. She's also fun and funny. And with Ann at its center, this is a story that feels unique in its details but familiar in its sentiment: Losing a loved one, feeling awkward, discovering first love, finding good friends, etc. and it hits the right notes at almost every plot turn. Overall, with its understated art, compelling story and engaging heroine, this may be the series that I was hoping to find now that Tramps Like Us Volume 14 (Tramps Like Us (Graphic Novels)) is coming to a close in Feb 2008. On the strength of Vol 1, I will be looking forward to Sand Chronicles, Vol. 2 (Sand Chronicles) in May 2008.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
GreenBeanTeenQueen Reviews,
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This review is from: Sand Chronicles, Vol. 1 (Paperback)
This summer, I've had a teen volunteer who every day brings me a new manga to read. I've read some series-at least a couple of volumes, those long series are too hard for me to keep track of-but for Sand Chronicles I'll make the effort to know when the newest release is out.Sand Chronicles may sound like a simple story of friendship and first love, but there is so much emotion and depth packed into each volume. You get to know each character and you really learn to care deeply for each one. I love the artwork in this series. I'm not an expert on manga art in any way, but I love the way Hinako Ashihara draws emotions onto her characters faces. The settings around them are always beautifully drawn out and I feel myself transported into their world. If you haven't given manga a try, Sand Chronicles is a good series to try. It's easy to follow, has a contemporary storyline, and relateable characters. It's a beautiful coming of age story. Each volume Ann and friends grow up and you get to experience their growth with them. In some ways, Sand Chronicles makes me think of what Sarah Dessen's novels would be like if they were manga.
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Sands of Time,
This review is from: Sand Chronicles, Vol. 1 (Paperback)
"Sand Chronicles" is a story that follows a young girl, Ann, and her friends as they grow from children to adults. At the beginning of the first volume, Ann moves to rural Shimane with her mother after her parents' divorce. Everyone in town already knows her by her connection to her mother, and at first, Ann finds the small community stifling. Soon, however, she makes friends with a boy named Daigo and the rich siblings, Fuji and Shika. But just when she's starting to settle in, trajedy strikes, and Ann has to rely on her new friendships for support.I like the characters in "Sand Chronicles" pretty well, especially Ann. I thought she started off a weak, but she does gain strength over the course of the manga. I find her romance with Daigo a little lacking, though. It started off well, but soon became too dramatic. Ann's relationship with Daigo has a life-or-death urgency in her eyes. This kind of consuming love is understandable for a young girl, though, and it helps capture the youth of the characters. It also changes as Ann grows older and learns to be more self-reliant. The major theme in "Sand Chronicles" is time. The manga tracks the progression of seasons and years, and there are many symbols that refer to the flow of time. "That day never comes again," Ann muses at the beginning of the first chapter, and that sentiment is repeated several times by different characters. "Sand Chronicles" reminds me very much of the Japanese poetry form of Haiku, which focuses on the fleeting nature of time and life while using seasonal symbols. This is important for Western readers to keep in mind. I think that most would be able to understand the symbols anyway, but you get a deeper appreciation for the manga when you can see the strong Japanese ideology in it. The art in "Sand Chronicles" is delicate and beautiful. The characters are look nice, and their facial expressions show lots of emotion. I also enjoy the backgrounds, which focus on the beauty found in nature. I read this manga in "Shojo Beat," but I have flipped through the graphic novel, and the author's notes were more interesting than in most. I especially enjoyed the research she did on the real sand museum in Nara. "Sand Chronicles" is a pretty thoughtful manga. It's not as insightful as "Honey and Clover" (also excellent), but I think this is because the characters are younger. The story is seen through Ann's eyes, and her youth often makes things seem more complicated and dire than they are. This is not necessarily a bad thing, though, as it does a good job portraying what it feels like to be a young girl. And as the story progresses, Ann's way of thinking starts to mature. I can't quite give it five stars because of my lack of interest in the romance, but other than that, this is a top-quality manga. A must read for shojo fans. *If you like this, you may also like: Honey and Clover, Volume 1 (v. 1) We Were There, Vol. 1
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