The Girl from the Other Side: Deluxe Edition 1 - Book Review

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When I heard that Nagabe's manga series The Girl From the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún was going to be getting a deluxe hardback edition, I knew that I was going to have to make space on my bookshelf for it. The Girl from the Other Side was written and illustrated by Nagabe. It tells the story of a land split into two kingdoms: The Outside, where monsters roam the land, inflicted with a blight that can curse with a single touch, and the Inside, where humans live in safety from the Outsiders.

The story follows Teacher, an Outsider, who finds a little girl named Shiva abandoned in the Outside and decides to take her in. The two of them quickly become a family unit. Teacher cares for Shiva, makes her meals and watches over her, all the while trying not to touch her and reassuring her that her auntie will come back one day and take her home. The truth is Teacher doesn't know that to be true, and suspects that Shiva might have been abandoned by her auntie on purpose in the Outside. After Shiva sneaks away from Teacher to try and find her auntie, she attracts the attention of a group of soldiers from the Inside, who suspect that she might be a monster in disguise. Teacher saves her Shiva from the soldiers, but is left feeling tormented by unanswered questions. What is the secret of The Girl from the Other Side?

The Girl from the Other Side Deluxe Edition is such a beautiful book. I was really impressed with what a high quality product it was. It has a nice firm spine, good quality paper, beautiful illustrations, and a stunning hardback front and back cover. The front cover of the book has the title of the book in gold lettering and a picture of Teacher and Shiva having a tea party together surrounded by a border of twisting gold vines and white blooming flowers. The spine of the book has the title in more gold lettering and a picture of Teacher and Shiva. The back of the book has a single gold flower pressed into the centre. The book features Nagabe's haunting black and white illustrations with dashes of colour added to some pages. This isn't a book that will have the pages fall out of its spine or the front cover illustration peel and rub off. It will last a long time on your bookshelf.

It was really interesting re-reading The Girl from the Other Side for the first time since I finished the series. I was able to spot a lot of clues that hinted to the truth of her origin which made me sad. This was such a great series. I love how Nagabe was able to weave beautiful moments together with elements of dark fantasy horror. It is a modern fairytale masterpiece.

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