Girls Of Summer
by Nancy Thayer

Much like her other books, a charming romance set on Nantucket. Fun but predictable.
 
 

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun Vol 10
by Izumi Tsubaki

I didn't care about high school or have a particularly good or bad time, so reading about it doesn't bother me. That said, some of the things that happen in GSNK made me feel kind of nostalgic. Dunking on the guy your friend likes because you don't understand why she likes him (and dunking on her in the process) happened so much when I was in high school; we judged each other more on the people our friends wanted to date than the friends themselves. So I could definitely relate to Sakura's friends making fun of Nozaki and dismissing him as uninteresting while suggesting that including him in activities is a way to guarantee Sakura would join in. Unless things take a serious turn, this series is definitely going to stay a comfort series!
 
 

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun Vol 9
by Izumi Tsubaki

I could completely sympathize with the fear and horror the characters felt when they were unexpectedly confronted with improv actors- and their frustration when they didn't do well! Improv is already one of my greatest fears ?? I'm no good on the spot! Turning things around and picking outrageously specific scenarios because it's fun and to make life difficult for the people who ambushed you sure feels relatable!
 
 

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun Vol 8
by Izumi Tsubaki

The jock-nerd divide didn't really exist in my high school, at least not in my class. There was way too much overlap, and there were so few people, everybody just kind of hung out. But if it *had* existed, it probably would have been more aggressive than one of the "nerds" getting flustered and confused about one of the jocks possibly having non-sports interests. The empty-headed jock isn't a nice stereotype, but Wakamatsu is so earnest and hopeful that he's still fun to read.
 
 

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun Vol 7
by Izumi Tsubaki

The panic Nozaki feels every time his real life friends start to have relationships he doesn't want the characters in his story to have- or the reverse!- is one of the less common running gags, but it's one of my favorites. So few people realize that's what he did, and some of his friends have their heads so far in the clouds, they probably never will. Having your head in the clouds isn't exclusive to high schoolers though ??
 
 

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun Vol 6
by Izumi Tsubaki

This series does pull back and reveals SUPER well. A character will announce he has to go be brave and do something he doesn't want to do, only to show up in the next panel begging one of his friends to go with him. And everybody is so ridiculous about what they're competitive about. Pretending to be someone's girlfriend is fine, but if you're part of the drama club, you need to be convincing- that sort of thinking is so fun to read!
 
 

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun Vol 5
by Izumi Tsubaki

The running gag of people mistaking one of the girls for a boy because she's called the Prince and nobody bothers to correct them is really cute. Nobody is that fussed about Kashima wearing a boy's uniform or surprised that the other girls like to spend time with her. She's just doing her thing, and the only reason anyone has a problem with her is that she's usually late for her after school activity. The excitement high schoolers would have for a pillow fight where you actually fight was the sort of reaction that would get people in class in trouble.
 
 

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun Vol 4
by Izumi Tsubaki

Every chapter and volume are such concentrated chaos! I love the sort of teenage lateral thinking that leads to things like a kid deciding a twist in a manga would be revealing that one character has been sitting on another one's shoulders, the roller coaster of emotions that comes with being the victim of a series of lighthearted pranks by a friend, and getting excited about a box of plain rice actually having curry under the rice. It all reads like exaggerated but normal teenage fun.
 
 

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun Vol 3
by Izumi Tsubaki

The group of friends playing out a mixer was such ridiculous chaos; I love how even though the characters are exaggerated, the way they act and heckle each other is so much like my friends'. Trying to give a gift to somebody you like but not being able to isn't something that happened to anyone I know, but it was still fun to see Sakura struggle to get Nozaki's attention because he was so busy enjoying the romance.
 
 

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun Vol 2
by Izumi Tsubaki

The whole series is so fun! A high school guy trying to fit into a girl's uniform so he can take reference photos for drawings only to realize he's way too big for the size he tried to put on and deciding to add "a little spice" to his story about everyday school kids by introducing an alien character felt exactly like the goofy sort of things my friends would have done.