Louanne Jacobs (Children's Literature)
Shojo manga meets American narrative meets science fiction/fantasy/mythology. That is the only way to describe this outstanding book, first in a four-part series to be followed by Miki Falls: Summer. In this book the author/illustrator has merged the best of manga styling with a left-to-right narrative-driven American graphic novel format. He then fuses those elements with comic book panels and slices and dices the panels into a new art form, guiding the reader’s eye toward both visual and literary revelations. American readers will easily identify with Miki. She is a typical Japanese teenage girl who goes to school, engages in after-school activities, and shops and gossips with her best friend. She also falls for the dark, handsome, and mysterious new guy at school who, though he seems to be interested, spurns all advances. As he pushes her away, Miki redoubles her efforts to win her new love interest. When it turns out that he is hiding a secret darker and more dangerous than expected, Miki must make a decision which could alter her life forever. 2007, HarperTempest/HarperCollins, $7.99. Ages 12 to 17.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2007 (Vol. 75, No. 7))
A young girl's journey into love evolves with the seasons in the stellar first volume of a quartet. Miki is an extremely likable 17-year-old girl, who, like most teenaged girls, wishes she were more assertive. Unlike her fanciful friends, Miki believes that there are more important things in the world than boys . . . until she meets Hiro. Handsome, brooding and mysterious, Hiro is a man of many secrets, and may be the only one who can never truly be with Miki. When she refuses to relinquish her conquest of him, Miki stumbles upon why Hiro is so enigmatic—and her feelings for him become all-consuming. Complex characters combine with masterful, expressive art culminating in an arresting new series for teen readers. The soft, gentle romance between Miki and Hiro is brilliantly juxtaposed with the darker elements of the story creating a salient tension between the two, and crescendos in the next volume entitled Summer (ISBN: 978-0-06-084617-6). A stark departure from Crilley's previous Akiko series, Miki Falls is a ruminative look at a love and a richly developed labyrinth of fantasy and secrets. 2007, HarperTempest, 176p. Category: Graphic novel. Ages 12 to 16. © 2007 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

George Galuschak (KLIATT Review, July 2007 (Vol. 41, No. 4))
Miki Yoshida is a normal girl beginning her senior year in high school. One day, an errant arrow changes the course of her life forever. The arrow in question, which Miki shoots into a rice paddy, leads to a chance encounter with Hiro Sakurai, the new guy in town. Even though everyone thinks Hiro is a jerk, Miki decides to get to know him better. When gift baskets fail she resorts to the tried-and-true method of getting in his face until he acknowledges her existence. They become friends, but Hiro ends their friendship when Miki catches a glimpse of the dark secret he is hiding in his basement. Miki decides that Hiro has no right keeping secrets from her; she breaks into his house and confronts him. Hiro has no choice but to tell her the truth: he is a Deliverer, a quasi-celestial being entrusted with ensuring that love doesn’t die out on Earth. Miki Falls: Spring is the first of a four-part storyline. This graphic novel follows the standard shojo formula: plucky, strong-willed girl meets handsome guy harboring a mysterious secret. The plot is fast-paced and entertaining, beginning with a cliffhanger--Miki throwing herself out a window--and never looking back. The b/w art emphasizes the characters’ facial features and looks like it came straight from the artist’s sketchbook. If I didn’t believe in true love I would point out that many of Miki’s actions could be considered stalking. Miki Falls: Spring contains light suspense and lots of non-sexual talk about romance, and is recommended for collections catering to girls (ages 12 and up), especially junior high school girls. Category: Graphic Novels. KLIATT Codes: JS--Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2007, HarperCollins, 176p. illus., $7.99. Ages 12 to 18.

April Spisak (The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, July 2007 (Vol. 60, No. 11))
In this manga-influenced graphic novel, Miki is beginning her senior year in high school, and she is desperate for something new in her life. A stand-offish (and gorgeous) new student, Hiro, presents a challenge for Miki, but she is determined not only to befriend him but also to uncover the reasons for his constant spying on people. After doing some spying herself, Miki learns that Hiro is a Deliverer, one of few chosen to control the limited flow of love in the world; by accepting this fate, Hiro became a non-human, sacrificing his own normal life to serve this role. After learning this secret, Miki should have had her memory erased, but her stubbornness is such that even powerful magic cannot deter her. Rather than being angry, Hiro seems relieved to have a friend who knows his secret, and the first novel in the series ends quietly, with the two pursuing their bond. A seven-page introduction before the title page seems to set up the main climax of the whole series, which makes for a slightly confusing start for this particular outing. However, as with his middle-grade Akiko series, Crilley’s gripping and well-written plot and intriguing characters will easily lure readers back to see the series through. The black-and-white illustrations, softened with crosshatching and smoky grayshading, augment the text effectively: the art reflects the humor and emotional depth in Miko’s story that is occasionally missing in her fact-heavy past-tense narration. Romance readers will appreciate the elegant and well-developed magical twist to the typical boy-meets-girl story: a boy who has forsworn his own love so that he may manage it for others, and the girl who is determined to find a loophole around this vow while not risking the balance of love in the world. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2007, HarperTeen, 165p., $7.99. Grades 7-9.

Amy Fiske (VOYA, June 2007 (Vol. 30, No. 2))
Miki Falls: Spring begins with a jolt as a young girl throws herself through a third-story window to escape a mysterious group of people. With the reader's attention firmly captured in this graphic novel, the narrative shifts to recounting the events that led to Miki's fall. Miki, a typical senior, begins a new school year and promptly falls for Hiro, the mysterious, unavailable new boy at school, who spends much of his time following people and taking notes. He rudely rebuffs Miki's attempts at friendship, but Miki persists. Despite the odds, they develop a tentative friendship, albeit one hampered by Hiro's strange behavior and refusal to discuss it. Through persistent surveillance, Miki discovers Hiro's secret, which simultaneously draws them closer and threatens to tear them apart. Volume one ends, leaving the reader eagerly anticipating volume two. Miki Falls: Summer picks up right where Spring leaves off. Miki has discovered Hiro's role as a Deliverer, a secret group that safeguards the finite amount of love in the world. His job is to capture dying love from couples about to break up and to deliver it to a new couple, who will, he hopes, nurture and protect it. The narrative tension that drives this series is the relationship between Miki and Hiro. Miki is closer to Hiro than any human is supposed to get to a Deliverer, which causes a few problems. When Miki's closest friend becomes the focus of Hiro's professional attention, Miki interferes, with unpleasant consequences. Universal themes of love, friendship, loyalty, and sacrifice neatly combine with the tempestuous swirl of teenage relationship drama. What initially appears to be a typical tale of a girl blindly pursuing an unavailable boy develops into an intriguing, complex story. Crilley uses mystery to drive the narrative and creates characters that the reader will care about. The black-and-white, manga-style art is beautiful; Crilley is equally talented at creating expressive characters as he is at drawing lush landscapes. Although a bit more text-heavy than most manga, the description and dialogue flesh out the story and create a sort of hybrid of Japanese- and American-style comics that will appeal to fans of shojo manga and romantic fiction. This series manages to be all these things and more. Given its content, it will appeal to fans of teen romantic fiction who would not normally read graphic novels. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P J S G (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Graphic Novel Format). 2007, HarperCollins, 176p., $7.99 Trade pb. Ages 12 to 18.