Shoulder-A-Coffin, Kuro Volume 2

School Library Journal

Gr 6 Up

Using the traditional yonkoma (four-panel) style of Japanese comic strips, Kiyuduki weaves an offbeat yarn of a girl in search of-something. Accompanied by her bat Sen and her "catgirl" sidekicks Nikuju and Sanju, tomboyish Kuro rambles across a gothic, turn-of-the-century European landscape meeting other outcasts and eccentrics. However, it slowly becomes clear that her journey is no lighthearted stroll; a chance encounter with another young girl in an abandoned village has irrevocably altered Kuro's fate-and the coffin she shoulders will likely be her own unless she can somehow remove the curse she now carries. Despite its dark and ominous undertone, the book is humorous, and the narrative is loosely plotted and moves at a leisurely comic-strip pace. Much like the plot, the attractive artwork succeeds in being both cute and eerie at the same time. The book is sure to please both horror readers and fans of dark comedy.-Dave Inabnitt, Brooklyn Public Library, NY