Alice in Borderland

High schooler Ryohei Arisu fights a constant struggle against crushing anxiety over his grades, social standing, and potential for future success. One night, he and his two best friends—a hormonal goofball named Chota, and big, brooding Karube—witness an unexpected fireworks display over the city. When the display ends, they find the city around them overgrown and seemingly abandoned. Ryohei wonders if they've been transported to a wonderful dreamland where he'll be free of worry until an unseen enemy forces the three friends to compete in a complex trivia game where wrong answers are punished with volleys of flaming arrows. Miraculously, they survive…only to discover they'll be forced to compete in life-or-death competitions each and every day, for as long as their captors see fit. VERDICT Aso proves a master of suspense and visual storytelling, especially over the course of a sequence depicting a game of tag through a sprawling apartment complex, complicated by the presence of a hulking, gun-toting serial killer wearing a terrifying horse mask. This first volume, which is the inspiration for a hit Netflix series, should have readers clamoring for future installments. Copyright 2022 Library Journal.

High schooler Ryohei Arisu fights a constant struggle against crushing anxiety over his grades, social standing, and potential for future success. One night, he and his two best friends—a hormonal goofball named Chota, and big, brooding Karube—witness an unexpected fireworks display over the city. When the display ends, they find the city around them overgrown and seemingly abandoned. Ryohei wonders if they've been transported to a wonderful dreamland where he'll be free of worry until an unseen enemy forces the three friends to compete in a complex trivia game where wrong answers are punished with volleys of flaming arrows. Miraculously, they survive…only to discover they'll be forced to compete in life-or-death competitions each and every day, for as long as their captors see fit. VERDICT Aso proves a master of suspense and visual storytelling, especially over the course of a sequence depicting a game of tag through a sprawling apartment complex, complicated by the presence of a hulking, gun-toting serial killer wearing a terrifying horse mask. This first volume, which is the inspiration for a hit Netflix series, should have readers clamoring for future installments. Copyright 2022 Library Journal.

"Eighteen-year-old Ryohei Arisu is sick of his life. School sucks, his love life is a joke, and his future feels like impending doom. As he struggles to exist in a world that can't be bothered with him, Ryohei feels like everything would be better if he were anywhere else. When a strange fireworks show transports him and his friends to a parallel world, Ryohei thinks all his wishes have come true. But this new world isn't an empty paradise, it's a vicious game. And the only way to survive is to play. Thefirst game starts with a bang, but Ryohei manages to beat the clock and save his friends. It's a short-lived victory, however, as they discover that winning only earns them a few days' grace period. If they want to get home, they're going to have to start playing a lot harder"--

An action-packed thriller and source of the hit Netflix drama where the only way to survive is to play the game!Eighteen-year-old Ryohei Arisu is sick of his life. School sucks, his love life is a joke, and his future feels like impending doom. As he struggles to exist in a world that can’t be bothered with him, Ryohei feels like everything would be better if he were anywhere else. When a strange fireworks show transports him and his friends to a parallel world, Ryohei thinks all his wishes have come true. But this new world isn’t an empty paradise, it’s a vicious game. And the only way to survive is to play.The first game starts with a bang, but Ryohei manages to beat the clock and save his friends. It’s a short-lived victory, however, as they discover that winning only earns them a few days’ grace period. If they want to get home, they’re going to have to start playing a lot harder.