Book Jacket
A family with an ancient curse...And the girl who will change their lives forever...
It's Valentine's Day and you know what that means--lots of chocolates for the cutest boys at school! In this case it's a pretty close tie between hot-headed Kyo Sohma and "Prince Charming" Yuki Sohma. Of course the kind-hearted Tohru, guest of the Sohma family, has chocolates for everyone! But when White Day comes around, what will the Sohma family give her in return?
Review
One reason I love manga is that I learn about Japanese culture without even trying. For instance, the idea that girls hand-make chocolates for cute boys on Valentine's Day? Fascinating (and nerve-wracking if you're a girl with a crush, I'd imagine)! I wonder why boys get showered with gifts in Japan while girls typically get the gifts in America? Thoughts to think!
The Fruits Basket cast of characters expands a little bit more in volume three with the addition of Haru, whose zodiac form is the ox. And that is another thing I love about this series: turning into an ox might be cool, but Haru's form is actually a cow (like Hatori's potentially epic form of dragon actually being...a seahorse, heh heh). Takaya never allows her characters to be too awesome before cutting them down to size.
In this volume we also meet a future zodiac's mother: Okami, who runs the spring spa as the concubine, I mean, concierge (oh, Momiji). My friends and I found her absolutely hysterical when we watched the anime--her violent apologies begged to be repeated in real-world situations, and often were. She's less funny in the mana, which only proves that certain comedic gags appeal to different mediums.
Four out of five ping pong battles.
Release Date: June 2004
Reading Level: Grade 7+
Where In Dunlap Public Library's Collection: Not yet a part of Dunlap's collection.
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