September 23, 2025 by Abrams Fanfare
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Ever since she visited her Nainai in San Francisco for the summer in Super Boba Cafe and found out about her grandmother's secret job, Aria has been having nightmares. Not only that, but she has developed the ability to control water! Her parents don't believe her, so won't let her travel the 300 miles from Burbank to spend time with Nainai, but when she calls her grandmother, Nainai is able to make her parents see reason, and Aria is soon back in San Francisco. The two go to visit Rano, the monster living under the city to whom Nainai feeds boba, and find that the nightmares do have a tie to him. Rano was in thrall to a sea captain who made him damage ships, and in order to stop this activity, Rano hid himself under the city. He caused earthquakes because he was hungry, and boba is the only thing that satisfies his appetite other than prairie dogs! Now, he longs to go back to the sea, and hopes that Aria and her new powers can help him. Nainai and Aria come up with a plan to encase Rano in a water bubble and travel through the sewer system out to the bay so he can go home. This works fairly well until they are almost hit by a train! Aria's powers wane, and she needs more boba, but neither she nor Nainai can leave. Jay, whom the grandmother has employed in her cafe, managed to follow Hoshi, the prarie dog, whom Aria sends back home wrapped in a scarf that Jay has crocheted for her. He brings boba, but some of it is spilled onto the sewer floor. Nainai saves Aria from having to eat it, and uses her powers to help Rano out to sea. It's an exhausting process, but Nainai is glad that after 40 years of middle of the night trips to feed Rano, she is now free. Or is she? As Aria and her grandmother are relaxing, two mysterious people show up at their door, asking for help.
Strengths: Aria and her grandmother have such a great time together, eating San Francisco delicacies, making boba, and dealing with supernatural monsters! Jay is a fun character, and I'm glad he was finally let in on their secret. The monsters back story is believable, and it's good to see that they are able to return him to his home, even though they run into some snags. Who knew that boba had so many powers? It's fun to travel around San Francisco, and we get to visit landmarks like the bridge and Chinatown.
Weaknesses: There was something about the monster that I found weirdly creepy when I felt as if I was supposed to like him a lot more. Something about the eyes? I'm also still confused about the presence of the prairie dogs, but that is completely a "me" thing.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like fantasy graphic novels like
Yogis and Truong's The Awakening Storm or Nguyen's Anzu and the Realm of Darkness. I bought the first book, so will most likely purchase this as well.
Weaknesses: There was something about the monster that I found weirdly creepy when I felt as if I was supposed to like him a lot more. Something about the eyes? I'm also still confused about the presence of the prairie dogs, but that is completely a "me" thing.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like fantasy graphic novels like
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