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James A. Madison High School is generally a place of school spirit and Christian ethics. When Serenity Harper hits the classroom, you can bet she’ll turn things on their head! A five foot tall bundle of sarcasm, hostility, and language that would probably make a sailor blush, this LA street kid is in serious need of help…and a friend or two.

Enter the school’s Prayer Club. This group of kids quickly makes Serenity their pet project, vowing to break through her shell and help her see a brighter side to the world. Will faith and friendship be enough to do the job?

A follower of both American comics and Japanese manga, I had high hopes for Serenity, which manages to combine both styles with a modern spin. The artwork is clearly influenced by manga, but the coloring, clothing, and dialogue all point to American influence. Throw in an inspirational message or two, and Serenity promised to be a lighthearted read that would leave me with a new outlook on life… or at least a smile or two.

Serenity started with a promising story. Take one troubled teen, put her in high school, and crazy situations will follow. Amidst the chaos, throw in a few friends to help guide Serenity back to the lighter side of life. (Though there was more than one point where the lines for good and bad were so clearly drawn, I wanted to yell out “Step away from the Dark Side, Serenity! Step away!) While such clear cut examples aren’t a bad thing, it’s obvious they’re aimed at a younger audience, one that needs a bit more of a straightforward approach for some things.

Plot aside, there were a few other things about the manga that made me feel my age. (I’m not ancient, but it’s clear that aside from being female, I don’t fit their target audience) The characters constantly used slang terms that hadn’t been created yet when I was in school. While such things make me cringe online, seeing them in hardcopy print made me shudder for the future. While a part of me would have been happier not seeing words like “dawgz” and “skoochie” used, I also know that it is part of teen culture.

Another slight problem with Serenity was the believability. While the target audience should have no problems believing some situations, I was old enough to know better. Just the idea of a trouble-maker from LA joining a new school, and quickly being taken in by the local Prayer Club, was hard for me to believe. A former native of a big city with a similar reputation to LA, I remember the clear-cut lines drawn between the average street kid and the local Christian Youth Group members. It could take years, months if you were lucky, to find acceptance by such groups. (Or even an invitation to a meeting) Maybe things have changed from my time, but personally I still found it hard to swallow. I understand it was a plot point and all, so some disbelief is required. Still, it’s probably best that Serenity is aimed at young teens.

The last problem was more an amusing annoyance than an actual problem. I realize swearing has no place in a manga like Serenity. Actually, it was refreshing to read a story of a troubled teen without cussing in every sentence. Unfortunately, a bright green censor bar was used in place of swearing. At first it was funny, but by the tenth page it was fairly annoying. By the end I actually missed the old black censor bars from television.

Personal irks aside, Serenity did live up to its claim. While I didn’t walk away with a new, inspirational look on life, I did close the manga with a smile. After trying to look at the manga from a younger viewpoint, I could see how it might greatly affect the reader. In many ways it reminded me of the old animated after school specials, the type shown on television in the early 90s. Looking back, those shows seemed cheesy to my older friends, yet at the time their message affected me. Now, with Serenity, I find myself in the old group. Parts of Serenity may seem a bit cheesy to me now, but I’m certain they will have a good impact on the younger teens they’re meant for.

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