In the second volume of Shimura Takako's superb coming-of-age story, ourtransgendered protagonists, Shuichi and Yoshino, have entered the sixth grade.Shuichi spends a precious gift of cash from his grandmother on a special presentfor himself, a purchase that triggers a chain of events in which his sisterMaho learns his secret, and Shuichi inadvertently steals the heart of a boyMaho in interested in.
The "woman" who showed so much interest in Yoshino (when she was wearing a boy's school uniform) in volume one reappears with "her" boyfriend, and becomes a mentor and friend to the twochildren. And the kids go on a class trip that is a rite of passage Shuichi would rather pass up. Shuichi is called a "faggot"by another boy, and the dramatic nature in which Saori comes to Shuichi's defense leads the two to discover a sharedfondness for Anne of Green Gables. But despite his propensity to cry (a propensity noted repeatedly by his more outgoing sister), Shuichi finds strength and courage he didn't know he had.
A sophisticated work translated with sophistication by veteran translator and comics scholar Matt Thorn.
