Itsuwaribito

Gr 9 Up—A young charlatan decides to tell lies in order to save people's lives in this shonen manga. As a child, Utsuho told the truth to a group of bandits, leading to the deaths of his family members, and he has pledged never to speak honestly again. But when bandits take away his second home and kill the man who raised him, he decides that he can lie to protect people, and he pledges to become an itsuwaribito, or a master thief. After being joined by a super-cute tanuki (a racoonlike animal in Japanese folklore), Utsuho takes on other itsuwaribito, who destroy lives rather than saving them. The action and fast-talking are sure to be a hit, but the combination of graphic violence and the hyper-cute sidekick is somewhat off-putting. Manga readers who like adventure, especially through trickery, will enjoy the protagonist's continual lies, and the cliff-hanger ending will bring fans back for volume two. It's a solid beginning for a new series, but not a stand-out, and as such is only needed in libraries where readers can never get enough manga.—Alana Joli Abbott, formerly at James Blackstone Memorial Library, Branford, CT