09 Mar / Translucent (vol. 2) by Kazuhiro Okamoto, translated by Heidi Plechl
How helpful to find a “For New Readers”-summary on the Table of Contents page! And it’s so thorough that if you pick up volume 2 (or any after) before volume 1, you can still enjoy this touching series about the trials and travails of early teenagehood.
Sweet Shizuka Shiroyama has “Translucent Syndrome,” a mysterious disease which causes her body to become completely translucent on a monthly cycle. As an eighth-grader, she’s at that age when just about everything is embarrassing and painful, never mind having to deal with this rare condition. Thankfully, she has two supportive classmates always ready to buoy up spirits: Okouchi (no one seems to know her first name!), the ever-popular gorgeous student body president who doesn’t suffer foolish admirers well, and Mamoru Tadami, the goofy, ever-cheerful, ready-to-help boy who can fix just about any situation out of pure good will.
Volume 2 opens with Okouchi trying to coach Tadami how to be the perfect date for Shizuka, but turns out Shizuka likes him exactly as he is. Shizuka’s overeager doctor is all but ready to see the lovebirds get closer. Tadami and Shizuka spend a near-perfect day with Shizuka’s adult friend, Keiko, who also suffers from Translucent Syndrome, and Keiko’s boyfriend. At school where Shizuka is a member of the drama club, she dreams earnestly of becoming a real actor one day, in spite of her disappearing act … literally.
Readers: Middle Grade, Young Adult
Published: 2007 (United States)