Captivated, by You

Gr 9 Up–This stand-alone volume contains several different story lines following characters who are loosely connected to one another. We see them attending their high school and generally going about their lives. The chapters tend to borrow one character from the previous chapter to tell a semi-related story in the next chapter. Some of the stories are adorable and endearing, while others can be spooky or even heartbreaking. This loose association may leave readers wondering what the overall message or theme of the book is, but this may just be a set of fun stories with no discernible deeper meaning. Wayama does touch upon some major themes of adolescence, such as acceptance, bullying, and friendship, among others, but that seems to be the main reason these stories were collected. The illustrations are sparsely detailed, but each of the main characters in the story is pleasantly designed and unique.