I Wanna Be Your Girl, Vol. 1

Gr 7 Up–The bond of friendship between Hime and Akira has been strong for many years. Akira identifies as a girl. At first she kept it secret so that only Hime knew, but just as high school was starting, she transitioned to living openly as a girl. Hime loves and also wants to look after Akira, and when Akira dresses like a girl in school, Hime decides to dress like a boy in order to support her friend. But Hime’s feelings are very complicated, and she will need to unravel her own emotions and motivations to understand why she really acts the way she does. As Hime and Akira meet new potential friends and love interests, Hime has to determine if she wants to be Akira’s friend, protector, ally, or girlfriend. This is a compelling read for anyone interested in stories about challenging expectations of gender roles, one-sided love and devotion, and complicated friendships. This is a serious, emotional manga, but it is also filled with jokes and visual humor about traditional school uniforms for boys and girls, and about Hime’s comical overreactions to just about everything.