Stepping on Roses, Vol. 1

Gr 10 Up—Sumi Kitamura dreams of rice and roses. But then she must wake up to her real life. When her irresponsible brother disappears once again, she must come up with 2000 yen to pay off his debt and feed the orphans whom he keeps bringing home. She is left with no choice but to consider prostitution. Enter Soichiro, a handsome and temperamental man who willingly offers to buy her for the exorbitant amount that she needs. But the money comes at a much higher price than Sumi anticipated. She must marry Soichiro and become a lady of high society in a matter of days. He warns that she must never love him and that he will never love her. But her heart already belongs to someone else. Set in 1892 during the Meiji Era in Japan, this manga is reminiscent of My Fair Lady meets the ever-popular love-triangle story. Sumi is a wonderfully written character—the Eliza Doolittle darling of the manga set. All of the characters are delightfully expressive, and Ueda cleverly uses action words to convey sound effects. A helpful glossary puts some of the terms mentioned in the story into context. A wonderfully enthralling love story.—Kimberly Castle, Medina County District Library, OH