Satoko and Nada by Yupechika

Satoko and Nada by Yupechika is a lovely, slice-of-life story about (funnily enough) Satoko and Nada, two students attending college in the US. (Satoko is from Japan and Nada is from Saudi Arabia.) This is a friendship story, made deeper with two people from different cultures learning about each other, including information about their countries, religions, customs, and food. The readers especially learn a lot about Muslim culture through Satoko learning about Nada, but it never feels didactic, only eminently readable.

This manga is structured into very short vignettes--each page is basically a micro-chapter. It absolutely works and feels like a linear narrative. I was quickly turning pages, excited for what would happen next!

I'm calling this 4-volume series a must buy for Middle School. Even though the characters are college-aged, the story is still a nice fit for middle school and touches on themes that our students are extremely interested in: friendship, navigating differences, and being in a new place! It also fills a probable void on many of our manga shelves--a friendship story spanning cultures, races, and religions. It's beautiful. Buy it. ♥