By the fifth volume of this series, enough fragments are coming together that there are a variety of comments to be made. On top of that, the cast becomes somewhat limited as three of the female characters take a road trip. This is the kind of building of the core group I think would have been more appropriate at the beginning of the series, but it is still welcome now.

The art has always varied significantly, but it is more marked in this volume than some of the others. Given the stylized nature of the series this isn’t much of a problem, though hair color and some other things seem to fluctuate scene by scene.

This volume also includes some txt spk, though thankfully only two examples. I have nothing to say, other than that the grammar kittens are dying.

Pooja’s family is seen in more detail. They’re a fun bunch to have in the story and provide a bit of relief from the relentlessly hip crowd. Though I probably haven’t known enough Indian families to comment on this, I definitely see many echoes of things I remember in their interactions. This is another example of how the series is fundamentally more authentic than much of youth literature. Presumably that will attract people who can relate, but it’s good writing regardless.

There’s a bit of a sour note in relation to that, however. Pooja gets a boyfriend, obviously against her family’s designs. Breaking out of her hierarchical family structure is obviously a good thing, but it’s unfortunate she moves from there to “first boyfriend, not her last.” American culture has enough superficial relationships and meaningless dating as it is, without encouragement from secular sources, much less Christian ones. Given that the series occasionally drifts toward the superficial in general, this is an unfortunate element.