Happy Book Birthday, Kusunoki's Flunking Her High School Glow-Up by Mitsuki Mii!

 

KUSUNOKI'S FLUNKING HER HIGH SCHOOL GLOW-UP,

VOL. 1

by Mitsuki Mii

Kodansha

YA Romance   /    Manga

192 pages

   

Keisuke Shizuki might have been an outcast in middle school, but not anymore. The trauma of being rejected by his first crush left Shizuki with a phobia of pretty girls and the drive to remake himself and start high school new looks, new friends, new confidence. That is, as long as he avoids the cuties and anyone who knows anything about his past. Unfortunately for him, the prettiest girl at his new school just happens to be his former middle school classmate and another ex-outcast, Shizuka Kusunoki. Unlike Shizuki, Kusunoki still lacks the social skills to make the most of her new appearance-and she wants Shizuki's help. But helping Kusunoki will mean spending a lot of time around a beauty, and drawing some not-so-welcome attention…

GOODREADS

MY TIDBITS

With a lovely lightness, this is a cute romance, which tackles issues surrounding self-imaging and friendship.

Keisuke was at the bottom of the social ladder in middle school, but he's got things covered to hit high school with new zing. He might not be popular, and that's great. Middle ground all the way! This works nicely until the hottest girl in the class asks him for help. It turns out that she was the library nerd, who sat across from him in the library during middle school...and she's really changed to master high school. Now, she's about to mess up his middle-of-the-road bliss and he's not sure what to do about it.

This is a pretty straight forward read with a simple plot. And that's great. Keisuke is happy as a 'normal' kid in high school, which is refreshing to see. He carries a little bullying baggage from middle school, and it's this which marks the theme of the book: how to handle going from a nothing to normal and if it works. There's a little humor sprinkled in, and while this is a romance (I think), it definitely is slow burn. There are a couple of side characters, but this stays to the minimum and keeps the concentration on the two main characters. 

It's an easy read with enjoyable graphics, and great for a lazy moment of relaxation.