Nightschool: The Weirn Books Collector's Edition, Vol. 1

Nightschool: The Weirn Books #1-2

by Svetlana Chmakova

Schools may lock up for the night, but class is in session for an entirely different set of students. In the Nightschool, vampires, werewolves, and weirns (a particular breed of witch) learn the fundamentals of everything from calculus to spell casting. Alex is a young weirn who has always been homeschooled, but when her sister, Sarah, vanishes and all memory and evidence of her existence is erased, Alex is determined to get to the bottom of it. What better place to start her investigation than the Nightschool where Sarah used to work? But when Alex discovers that sneaking into the Nightschool isn't as simple as it seems, she enrolls as a student. Is she prepared for what she might find?

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Young Adult, Graphic Novels, Paranormal, Middle Grade, Supernatural

394 pages, Paperback

First published May 26, 2020

About the author

Svetlana Chmakova (Russian: Светлана Шмакова) (born 1979 in Russia) is a comic creator. She is best known for Dramacon, an original English-language (OEL) manga spanning three volumes and published in North America by Tokyopop. Her other work includes the 2-page The Adventures of CG for CosmoGIRL! magazine and the webcomic Chasing Rainbows for Girlamatic. Though born in Russia, she immigrated to Canada, where she graduated from the Sheridan College Classical Animation program, in 2002. She then began to publish her manga on the Internet, where her works were found by CosmoGirl! magazine.

Reviews

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nightschool: The Weirn Books Collector's Edition, Volume 1 by Svetlana Chmakova collects volumes one and two of a four volume English language manga published in 2009. You might think schools lock up at six PM, but some schools stay open for an entirely different student body. Handling the switch over are the two keepers, the Day Keeper and the Night Keeper, that is until the Night Keeper goes missing.

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[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really, really hoping that I was just burned out on paranormal YA and middle grade when I read this back in 2009 (when it first came out), because I love the Berrybrook series. Sadly I was not, and this just isn't that good.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting premise. There are only four volumes of this so I'm curious to see if the author wraps up all the loose ends. I will definitely be finishing this series.

[Mercedez · Rating 5 out of 5]

(4.5/5 stars)

Nightschool: The Weirn Books Vol. 1 offers a lot for nostalgic readers and new fans. With an engaging plot, eye-catching art, a diverse cast, and overall well-executed writing, it’s a solid OEL (Original English Language) manga title for both young and seasoned readers. Over the past decade, it’s aged quite well, though it still keeps its late 2000s-era lingo, which might be charming to some, and not to others. Still, it’s an easy recommend as Nightschool demonstrates the power of OEL manga and Chmakova’s skills, even a decade later.

[kristine ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was such a fun read and i can't wait to see what happens next ... the amount of theories i have ... the amount of questions i have. i hate that i put myself in a book buying ban lmao

[Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

*4.5/5

[Brooke Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this manga. It reminded me of my middle school days where I would eat stories like this up. The dialogue did feel clunky and unbelivable at times, which is why I knocked down a star.

[SugarKitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

6 stars!!
I don't even know how to describe how awesome this book was. Definitely recommend it!!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting world building, but I can't say fully how I feel about it until I finish the next book since it does end abruptly.

[Liam + Tax · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sure it's edgy but it's really good

[Mave · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the diversity, there isn't that much in this type of media. As much as people say there is, there isn't. The range of diversity adds to the enjoyment, because poc, specifically black people have been left out of magical stories for years and years.

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve never seen a book like this with this many black characters. It was awesome to see!

While the book centers a white character with the typical story of her being crazy good at magic that should take longer to master, I was entertained. That’s always the plot of these kinds of stories, except there’s people of color that actually seem to matter and be powerful in their own right. So, that makes this more enjoyable to read.

I am hoping it doesn’t lean more into Ronee and Teresa being “mean girls”. Ronee is painted as an HBIC and Teresa was treated poorly by Nic’s girlfriend. I’m hoping we see more of Ronee’s humanity later and the interactions between Teresa and the other Hunters painted her as softer, thankfully.

Sarah, Alex’s guardian, is in trouble and she enrolls in the Nightschool for magical children in order to investigate. As she deals with this, the Hunters, led by the Teacher, are chasing after a weirn (?) who’s causing trouble and has harmed 2 of their own.

I’m most intrigued by the Hunters and the Teacher. Their world is interesting and it appears they only chase supernatural creatures and magic users that violate the “treaty”. So, it’s not your typical magic hunter - the Hunters have skills of their own. To be honest, I kind of wish the story was from their POV, but it’s split pretty well where you get their story. I liked seeing Marina bond with the Hunters.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the artwork. And I'm so happy to finally have been able to read all the books - I came across volume 1 in a manga library at Anime Central a few years back and kept meaning to track the series down. And then, there it was, in two collector volumes, at the bookstore!

So, there were some things I wasn't as much a fan of. There are enough hints of the world to keep up with the story, but there were details I badly wanted to know that only turned up in a quick, two-page summary/glossary at the end of the series. And at times, the fight scenes got a little hard to follow, at least for me. I would love to know more about some of the characters, but you just don't get time to really know many of them, with such a short series.

Still, it was a very entertaining read and I'm happy to have it in my collection now.

[Michelle Mease · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually really liked this series, Nightschool: The Weirn Books. It is a fun , fast, enjoyable read.
If you have never read manga , this would be a great starter series. Plus the format is jot like normal manga where you feel like you are reading the book backwards. This one you read like a normal book/graphic novel.

This series about a girl, Alex, whose sister, Sarah, works at the Nightschool, for Vampires, Werewolves, and Weirn. She does homeschooling instead of going to this school. She a weirn. Sarah is at school one night and she disappears and no one can remember her except for Alex. So, she decides to go to Nightschool and enroll so she find out what happened to her sister.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alex, a weirn (magic user) enrolls in the Night School her sister taught in to find out why she disappeared. The night school is for vampires, magic users, and magical beings (maybe, a mermaid shows up at one point but it's a little unclear).

In another story a group of Hunters (humans, maybe, with magic, who hunt and kill vampires and others who break the treaty) are having issues with the shape shifters because the shifters weren't taking care of the Seer the Hunters gave them.

So far there are a lot of questions and not many answers, but I do love magic schools and all the story lines are interesting, if very confusing.

[Hadiqa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm glad I found both the volumes in one book. I liked the art but I think the story was somewhat ok. I liked how the book started showing a bond between two sisters. I think volume 1 was more enjoyable for me among the two. Most of the time the book is mostly blabbering and the author tried to add important information among those blabbering dialogues was a little off-putting IMO. I would like somewhat blabbering and funny conversation here and there but they were there on most of the pages :(

[Parker Nunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Svetlana’s Berrybrook Middle School series was a favorite growing up, but I didn’t even realize it was the same author till I had finished this series- my mom had the two collectors editions sitting around, and sometime in 2020 I was like “damn this looks cool” so naturally I read them both and became obsessed. I’ve reread this series so many times I have a specific song associated with it- well, more like any song by Shiloh Dynasty, purely because I had a random YouTube playlist of his music on repeat while I read. Btw, pairs well with tea and a dark room.

[-moonprismpower- · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting storyline... I like the premise and the supernatural aspect. There’s a lot of characters too...
The main character, Alex is a sassy little 13 year old girl. I like her!

There’s a lot going on so I’m curious on how it’s going to be wrapped up in 2 more volumes (one more collector’s edition).

This collector’s edition is nice. I like the art on the covers and the pages are of great quality. There’s some color pages inside as well!

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this because it was filled with Chmakova's humor and style, but dark and creepy too. I really hope she one day continues this series (beyond the recent middle grade installment) because I wanted more. I read both volumes and was left with so much more I wanted to know (even after the little guide at the end of volume 2). But I'm giving it 5 stars because I loved what WAS there.

[Robert Pierson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had read a little bit of this when I was younger but the magazine I was reading it it went out of print so when I found it again I was really happy because I remember liking it so much when I was younger but now not so much it’s not a bad story but it’s not really great either I think if I was younger I might like it again cause I’m don’t think I’m the target audience their work was OK though.

[Lara Goldstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was SO GOOD. I've enjoyed Svetlana's normal school series, but I discovered this accidentally and I'm in love. It makes me want to go on a manga/anime binge for the first time in ages. Very excited for the second volume.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Check out my review at No Flying No Tights

[Kellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyable! I picked this up because the synopsis sounded interesting and I am glad that I did. Cannot wait to read volume 2.

[Ela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the quick easy story telling style and the art style reminds me of the early 20s art in shows such as Totally skies with a anine twist.

[Kamiella · Rating 1 out of 5]

Seems as though it’s for a younger audience, middle school age I would say. The design and the art work is absolutely amazing but the book was not for me.

[Ali Suchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually pretty good. Reminded me heavily of early 2000's cartoons and comedy style. Fun stuff if you like mysteries and magic.