Teacher has tried to keep Shiva isolated from the other Outsiders, but when one seeks her out it raises questions that can’t be ignored.
This second volume of the self-described “tranquil fairy tale” builds nicely off of the first, with interesting, foreboding things happening around a perfectly paced snapshot of Shiva and her Teacher’s ongoing everyday adventures. The cliffhanger of last volume is handled well, with just enough answers to move the plot along and several things kept mysterious to keep reader’s curiosity high. There are moments of danger and worry tinged with genuine emotion, and as I’ve previously praised the characters are relatable despite the fantastical, dystopian setting.
I continue to adore the art style and the atmosphere it helps create, although the (intentionally) fuzzy visual detail on outsiders can make it a little hard to follow action scenes. Overall though the various happenings can be consistently tracked from a story perspective.
This installment is just as good as the first, and if The Girl from the Other Side can keep this level of quality up I’ll be reading it for as long as it goes.
Derailments of Thought 