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For You In Full Blossom, Hisaya Nakajo's shojo manga series known as Hana-Kimi has been a hit since it first appeared as a serial in the Japanese magazine Flowers and Dreams. Hana-Kimi has been published in English by VIZ Media in a series of books from Volume 1 through Volume 23 which was released in the US in April 2008.
For the uninitiated, manga is Japanese for comics or print cartoons, and shojo means young girl. The Hana-Kimi books are what I would describe as graphic novels.
The series tells the story of Mizuki Ashiya, a Japanese-American girl living in the US. She is a track and field athlete who sees a high jump competitor, Izumi Sano, on TV and she crushes on him big time. Eventually, she transfers to a Japanese high school, Osaka Gakuen, so she can attend school with Sano but it turns out to be an all-boys school. Undeterred, Mizuki disguises herself as a boy. To add to the drama Mizuki and Sano are not only classmates but roomates. Mizuki must face the challenge of hiding her secret in the classroom, locker room, and her bedroom. Mizuki's classmates, and the odd school nurse, have some interesting reactions to the new transfer student who looks like a very pretty boy. There are love triangles involving various "hot" characters, hormones rage, there are drunken kisses and the occasional gay teacher. It is an engaging story-line told with humor.
Most of the series (from Volume 4 on) details the events of Mizuki's second year at Osaka. The first three volumes explore her first year as she adjusts and it is significant because it settles the issue whether or not she is able to remain in Osaka.
These books are enormously popular with young teens, but some parents may find the subject matter inappropriate for that age group.
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