Karakuri Odette: Volume 1    by Julietta Suzuki Order:  USA  Can TOKYOPOP, 2009 (2009) Paperback      Reviewed by Ricki Marking-Camuto Stories of androids and robots are not uncommon in manga, but they are in shojo manga. However, Julietta Suzuki has penned a delightful tale of an android girl who wants to be human. Karakuri Odette follows her adventures. Odette lives with Professor Yashizawa, her creator. While she is happy at home, she wants to experience what other fifteen-year-old girls would experience – namely, school. Once at school, she must quickly learn how to navigate friends, enemies, and emotions if she wants to go undetected in the fishbowl world of high school. Of course, this leads to many mishaps that just serve to make Odette more endearing. I admit I was a little skeptical at first about Odette Karakuri. I am not the biggest fan of sci-fi, especially sci-fi involving robots, but Suzuki's art looked cute, so I thought it might not be that bad. I was wrong – it was great. As Odette struggles through the pitfalls of high school, it is easy to forget that she is an android and to connect with her like any other strong high school female character. Odette is also very expressive, as facial expressions seem to be Suzuki's strongest point. Unlike most shojo artists, Suzuki does not waste time on over-elaborate backgrounds and fancy costumes, but focuses more on conveying feeling through her characters' facial expressions and body language, which really keeps the pace flowing. For anyone who is looking for a cute high school shojo manga, Karakuri Odette is a great read. Even if you are not a sci-fi fan, ignore Odette's origins and you will fall in love with Julietta Suzuki's tale. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Teens books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews