I loved this book. It has a touch of anime to it, especially with a talking cat involved. The ending was sweet. The reader gets immersed in the world of a middle grader adjusting to a new home in a new country.

What a great book on being the new student. Not only is Lilico new to the school, she is also new to the culture and has to find her way around. She continues to have a great attitude, and does not let the bullies win. This novel is a great read for those who are feeling left out or lonely.

I can see what we're going for here. A kid with definite culture clash, desperate to fit in with her new peers and mortified by her parent's adherence to their traditions. It has a lot of potential but the actual writing is a bit cluttered and unfocused. We spend too much time in the protagonist's head, sharing her thoughts instead of letting it be driven by action.

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Misako plays basketball with her good friends, but when her family moves from Japan to New York City, she misses being on the team. Her parents are excited to go to a new city, but they are soon busy with their own adjustments. At her private school, Misako runs afoul of the captain of the basketball team, Emma, and doesn't want to stand up to her and get on the team. She does manage to make two friends, Nala and Henry. Nala is interested in Japanese culture, especially Harajuku fashion-- she has a huge collection of wigs and a lot of kawaii clothing. Emma is mean to her as well. When Emma thaws a bit towards her and may let her on the team, Misako distances herself from Nala and even goes shopping with the basketball girls on Nala's birthday. Nicco, Misako's cat, starts to talk to her, saying that he is her spirit guide, and tries to guide her through these difficulties at school. Misako also befriends the captain of the boys' basketball team (whose name I can't remember and couldn't find in the E ARC), and the two start a tentative romance. Once Misako gets on the team, she has to juggle working towards the championship with her new romance and her friendship with Nala.
Stengths: I appreciated the fact that while Misako wasn't thrilled about moving, but was open to trying to enjoy her new life. There's plenty of friend drama, boy drama, and cat drama for young readers who enjoy that sort of thing more than those of us who are old and wizened. The illustrations are bright and colorful and very anime like. I'm not buying any manga series, but will get this in a prebind.
Weaknesses: So. Much. Drama. It went on a bit too much for my liking, and there were lots of tears and rehashing of wrongs done. Young readers will love this, but it made the book seem very long to me.
What I really think: This wasn't my favorite (the sparkling eyes, the emotional extremes, the constant changing of Nala's wigs, the talking cat), but my students will love this. For some reason, manga and very strange fashions became the in thing over the summer, so this will never make it back to the shelves before getting checked out again.

A graphic novel (manga specifically!) about friendship and fitting in with super cute illustrations.

This is a fun graphic novel full of basketball, new friends, and drama. Lilico and her family move from Japan to New York and understandably she's upset. She's going to miss her friends and basketball teammates. We get to see Lilico make new friends, gain confidence, and go through some growing pains. The story was realistic, without the drama being too overdone. The art is colorful and fun. Some of the text didn't flow that great and felt disjointed, which sometimes ruined the flow of the story. Overall a fun middle grade read.

Loved Bounce Back. Lilico is dreaming about winning the basketball final with her teammates in Osaka Japan until her dream is obliterated by her parents announcement that their family is moving to America. Lilico’s teammates agree she will be missed but are hopeful that she will wow people in America with her basketball skills. They give her a special present as a going away gift. Unfortunately, fitting in at her new high school is nearly impossible. No one knows her, or cares to know her and the new basketball team wants nothing to do with her. Eventually she befriends two eccentric classmates Henry and Nala. They become fast friends. Trying to play basketball and balance a social life becomes hard for Lilico that’s when her cat, Nicco, plays a big role. This book was a fun read and had some really good lessons about valuing friendship and yourself. Loved the illustrations in this book as well, they really brought the characters thoughts and emotions to life.

A very cute story about moving to a new country and finding your place in middle school. I really loved the backmatter about how to draw the characters and what supplies the author uses to draw, that was very a very neat idea. It makes sense that the author teaches art!