'" Noah knows how to return to the Story World, and he''s hoping Aoba will meet him there! Despite her fear of that terrifying place, she can''t deny the simple truth: she wants to go back. "'

This classic yet controversial Japanese novel is available for the first time in English--a high-octane thriller about senseless youth violence that is a potent allegory of what it means to be young and survive in today's dog-eat-dog world.

As Aoba travels the Story World in search of answers, she and Red Riding Hood encounter a new Protagonist who offers them their most heartfelt dreams in the light of a burning match. But what Aoba learns about the fate of all Protagonists is far more devastating.

Hinako takes her twin brother Hikaru’s place at Shishiku Academy for boys. Fights break out every day, but there are also lots of heart-palpitating events with the boys that she never expected! And as the battle to be the boss of the school rages on, will Hikaru make it to the top? -- VIZ Media

Reads from back to front and from right to left.

The cult Japanese bestselling phenomenon! Koushun Takami's notorious high-octane thriller is based on an irresistible premise: a class of 42 junior high school students are taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian program, they are electronically collared, provided with weapons of varying potency, and sent out onto the island. If they are in the wrong part of the island at the wrong time, their collars will explode. If they band together to save themselves a collar will explode at random. If they try to escape from the island, they will be blown up. Their only chance for survival lies in killing their classmates. Criticized as violent exploitation when first published in Japan - where it then proceeded to become a runaway bestseller - BATTLE ROYALE is a Lord of the Flies for the 21st century, and a potent story of politics and survival in a dog-eat-dog world. Made into a controversial hit movie of the same name, BATTLE ROYALE is already a contemporary Japanese pulp classic, and is now available for the first time to the UK mainstream.