Manga Mondays: Library Wars Vol. 7

   Manga Mondays is a meme hosted by Alison at Alison Can Read where bloggers can share their passion for reading mangas. It's a great place to get new manga titles to try and to meet new bloggers. Now that I'm at a stand-still for the Nana manga series, I'm trying to catch up on some of my other ongoing manga series. Today I'll be reviewing the seventh volume of the Library Wars.

Description (from Goodreads):  Hikaru's big brother is working for the enemy, and he wants to reunite with Hikaru. Meanwhile, someone is posting negative reviews on the library's website, and Kasahara intends to find out who. Later, personal issues are set aside when the Library Forces find out about a book burning on their home turf!

Review: The Library Wars is a hit or miss manga series for me. I honestly don't care much for the comedy, romance or fighting, but I am interested on the different political scenarios that are involved with libraries, particularly that of censorship and library patron's rights. Volume 7 has a much serious and direct, giving us an ample amount of suspense and intrigue to hold our attention more so than the previous lighthearted volumes.
  The plot this time around focuses on the ethics of censorship and partisan politics within the library system. Freedom of speech, whether or not libraries should become a government agency rather than a public good, and book burning are all dealt with and for the most part quite well in the book. Each issue is tackled separately though they all come together in the end.
  Though there isn't much growth in the romantic, relationship department, we do get to know more about the  sibling bond between Hikaru and his old older brother. Hikaru has always been seen as a serious, distant competitor, but we get to see a more human and three dimensional aspect to him when he expresses his concerns about the library rights which are completely against his brother's pro-censorship faction. The tension and suspense picks up nicely in a cliffhanger where poor Iku is unknowingly found in the middle of a book burning scandal which may or may not have been organized by Hikaru's brother. Iku must use her wits and her instructor Dojo's advice to prove her innocence.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is some language and adult themes. Recommended for teens and adults only.

If you like this book try: Library Wars Vol. 8 by Kiiro Yumi,