Zombies Calling creator Faith Erin Hicks brings her manga-fueled art style and pop-culture sensibilities to girl's boarding schools in her latest book The War at Ellsmere. Jun is the newest scholarship student at the prestigious Ellsmere girls' boarding school - but to a lot of the privileged rich girls, scholarship student is just a code for charity case. Fortunately, Jun has an ally in the quirky Cassie, who swears the stories about the man-eating unicorn that lives in the forest outside of the school are true. Between queen bees and mythical beasts, Jun has quite the school year ahead of her.

"This satisfying one-volume story feels complete, but a little short. Jun, a junior high overachiever and working-class girl, begins attending Ellsmere, an extremely elite boarding school. She befriends her weird roommate, Cassie, who is obsessed with the woods behind the school and convinced a strange creature dwells within them. The two girls are targeted by Emily, the class bully whose goal is not only to stigmatize the freaks but also to destroy Jun's future. Although it's carefully written and likely to be a sure-fire hit with middle-school girls, the book falls flat at times. The strength of this story rests with villain Emily, but she's poorly characterized. The pace and storytelling are heavily manga-influenced, in a good way, though the artwork is similar to Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim series. The strongest part is the exciting, well-paced action sequence at the end. Hicks (Zombies Calling) is at her best when the book sticks with authenticity." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Nanami Takahashi falls for Motoharu Yano, the most popular, carefree boy in class. For Nanami, it's first love, but Yano is still grieving the death of his girlfriend who died the year before.

Nanami starts high school with high hopes of making lots of friends. She develops a crush on the enigmatic Yano, but he may have too many secrets for her to handle.

Nanami Takahashi falls for Motoharu Yano, the most popular, carefree boy in class. For Nanami, it's first love, but Yano is still grieving the death of his girlfriend who died the year before.

Yuki Obata's debut manga, Raindrops, won the Shogakukan Shinjin Comics Taisho Kasaku Award in 1998. Her current series, We Were There (Bokura ga Ita), won the 50th Shogakukan Manga Award. We Were There was also adapted into an animated television series in 2006.