The Limit Vol. 1 by Keiko Suenobu
Author Biography:
Keiko Suenobu is a female Japanese shōjo manga artist from Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka. In 2006, Suenobu's manga series, Life won the Kodansha Manga Award for best shōjo manga. Information retrieved from Goodreads.com.
Published by: Vertical
ISBN: 193565456X
Genre: Action
Reading Level: Grades 9 and Up
Reader’s Annotation:
Mizuki Konno has adopted the strength in numbers concept, believing if she gets along with the herd at school and doesn't stand out she should be able to ride life out easily until college. This principle holds true until one day the bus she and her classmates are riding falls off a cliff, killing all but a handful of students and stranding them in the wild. Now Mizuki’s inaction at school may result in her death as the survivors circle each other, unsure of whom to trust.
Plot Summary:
Mizuki Konno is a borderline popular girl. Though she hangs out with the “higher class” girls in school, she doesn't stand out too much and is little more than a background face – much to her pleasure. Mizuki would rather enjoy an easy life among the elite, making as few waves as possible to not be noticed. If she was, after all, who knows what kind of torment she would have to endure? The result, however, is Mizuki has few close friends to support her if she ever needed them.
One day the class embarks on a field trip and Mizuki assumes her standard role of follower. The bus driver, however, falls asleep at the wheel, running the bus off the road and off a cliff into the wilderness. Mizuki is knocked unconscious and wakes up several hours later to find herself in hell. Nearly everyone she knew or was acquainted with – the popular girl she served included – is dead. Mizuki manages to scramble out of the wreckage and immediately tries to use her cell phone to call for help, but cannot receive service. Mizuki meets up with four other girls who survived the wreck, but none of them are from the same group and each one distrusts the other.
The situation goes from bad to worse as one girl, who was frequently tortured at school, finds a small hand sickle and uses it to assert her dominance. Sick of the other girls, their petty definitions of popularity, and her own status as an outcast, the girl creates a pecking order with herself at the top, and the others beneath her in a makeshift serfdom. As the girl grows increasingly unstable, everyone’s survival seems less and less certain.
Critical Evaluation:
Suenobu takes cues from other popular authors when crafting The Limit. The concept of pitting teenagers who distrust or hate each other has been written about several times in the past, from The Hunger Games to The Lord of the Flies. How Suenobu handles it, however, is what makes this graphic novel shine. Using highly detailed art, Suenobu is able to demonstrate the fear, hatred, and cowardice of each of the girls who just want to be rescued and return to their former lives. She also flirts with the idea of how such an event could be perceived as an act of God by those who were tortured by the ruling class. The story is tense, and with each character being those you can both sympathize with and be repelled by, The Limit is a great read.
Curriculum Ties:
Challenge Issues:
Defensive Maneuvers:
Book Talk Ideas:
After a major accident, you've been stranded with a bunch of people you don't know and some you absolutely hate. With very little supplies to live on and with no clue when rescue will come, what will you do? Will you cooperate, or try to take control of the group?
Why This Book?
Suenobu takes elements from popular and classic novels and mashes them together into an easily digestible visual form. Fans of action and manga will likely enjoy this read, and it can be used to introduce those readers to other novels such as The Lord of the Flies and The Hunger Games.
Keiko Suenobu is a female Japanese shōjo manga artist from Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka. In 2006, Suenobu's manga series, Life won the Kodansha Manga Award for best shōjo manga. Information retrieved from Goodreads.com.
Published by: Vertical
ISBN: 193565456X
Genre: Action
Reading Level: Grades 9 and Up
Reader’s Annotation:
Mizuki Konno has adopted the strength in numbers concept, believing if she gets along with the herd at school and doesn't stand out she should be able to ride life out easily until college. This principle holds true until one day the bus she and her classmates are riding falls off a cliff, killing all but a handful of students and stranding them in the wild. Now Mizuki’s inaction at school may result in her death as the survivors circle each other, unsure of whom to trust.
Plot Summary:
Mizuki Konno is a borderline popular girl. Though she hangs out with the “higher class” girls in school, she doesn't stand out too much and is little more than a background face – much to her pleasure. Mizuki would rather enjoy an easy life among the elite, making as few waves as possible to not be noticed. If she was, after all, who knows what kind of torment she would have to endure? The result, however, is Mizuki has few close friends to support her if she ever needed them.
One day the class embarks on a field trip and Mizuki assumes her standard role of follower. The bus driver, however, falls asleep at the wheel, running the bus off the road and off a cliff into the wilderness. Mizuki is knocked unconscious and wakes up several hours later to find herself in hell. Nearly everyone she knew or was acquainted with – the popular girl she served included – is dead. Mizuki manages to scramble out of the wreckage and immediately tries to use her cell phone to call for help, but cannot receive service. Mizuki meets up with four other girls who survived the wreck, but none of them are from the same group and each one distrusts the other.
The situation goes from bad to worse as one girl, who was frequently tortured at school, finds a small hand sickle and uses it to assert her dominance. Sick of the other girls, their petty definitions of popularity, and her own status as an outcast, the girl creates a pecking order with herself at the top, and the others beneath her in a makeshift serfdom. As the girl grows increasingly unstable, everyone’s survival seems less and less certain.
Critical Evaluation:
Suenobu takes cues from other popular authors when crafting The Limit. The concept of pitting teenagers who distrust or hate each other has been written about several times in the past, from The Hunger Games to The Lord of the Flies. How Suenobu handles it, however, is what makes this graphic novel shine. Using highly detailed art, Suenobu is able to demonstrate the fear, hatred, and cowardice of each of the girls who just want to be rescued and return to their former lives. She also flirts with the idea of how such an event could be perceived as an act of God by those who were tortured by the ruling class. The story is tense, and with each character being those you can both sympathize with and be repelled by, The Limit is a great read.
Curriculum Ties:
- Social Status
- Bullying
- Survival tactics
Challenge Issues:
- Violence
Defensive Maneuvers:
- Have the library's collection policy on hand and memorized. Even though you may have it committed to memory, being able to show specific provisions as proof with strengthen your position.
- Be familiar with the book. Having great knowledge of it will prove you understand the content and the way the challenged matters interact with each other.
- Cite any awards the book may have. Though the patron may disagree with the book, showing that it is well known and seen as having great literary merit will strengthen your defense.
- Have a few reviews ready from respected sources such as Amazon or VOYA. At the very least, you can prove you understand the material and reviews will corroborate that.
- Have a strong idea WHY that item is in the library. Explain its merits, who the intended audience is, and so on.
- State your library's commitment to providing intellectual freedom as written in the Library Bill of Rights.
- Stay calm. Getting defensive or hot under the collar will only weaken your position.
- And finally, be open to discussion and LISTEN. Even if you do not agree with the patron, their concerns are still legitimate and you should show that you are engaged with them. Listening to their concerns may be enough to take the edge off.
Book Talk Ideas:
After a major accident, you've been stranded with a bunch of people you don't know and some you absolutely hate. With very little supplies to live on and with no clue when rescue will come, what will you do? Will you cooperate, or try to take control of the group?
Why This Book?
Suenobu takes elements from popular and classic novels and mashes them together into an easily digestible visual form. Fans of action and manga will likely enjoy this read, and it can be used to introduce those readers to other novels such as The Lord of the Flies and The Hunger Games.