This review is about volume 1 of the Death Note series published by Viz Media and part of the Shonen Jump Advanced books.
The story is by Tsugumi Ohba and the art is by Takeshi Obata.
Death Note is rated for older teens.

The book is in the classic right-to-left style of most popular Japanese manga but if you're new to manga then there's a handy 'how to read' guide on the back page (or what would normally be the inside front cover).

This manga series is so popular that it has been turned into anime and even a live action movie!

Volume one is subtitled 'Boredom' and has a black cover depicting Light and the Shinigami Ryuk.

So, what is a 'Death Note'? It's a notebook of death - whoever's name is written in the book will die. They're usually used by gods of death, or Shinigami, but what would happen if one entered the human world? Read on and find out!

All the artwork is in black and white but as I became more involved with the story I hardly noticed this. Sometimes the art is very simplistic, with no background but other frames are highly detailed with every line and hair on the characters clearly shown. I think this really helps the reader to focus on what's important at the time, either the text being spoken or the expression on the characters faces.

I personally think the art is fantastic; it really portrays the emotions of the characters. The story is very well written, with many twists in the plot but it's still easy to follow. The translation from Japanese to English has been carefully thought through so that the word order and word choices all make sense.

Each chapter ends with more detailed instructions of how to use the Death Note. It's written with white text on a black background which is a little difficult to read.

There's a bonus Christmas cartoon featuring Light and Ryuk at the back of this volume!

As soon as I'd finished this volume I had to rush out to buy the next one as it had me hooked so, if you're a die-hard manga fan (sometimes called Otaku) or just a newbie, I highly recommend getting this.

The blurb says:
"Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects - and he's bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal...or his life?
-Boredom-
Light tests the boundaries of the Death Note's powers as L and the police begin to close in. Luckily Light's father is the head of the Japanese National Police Agency and leaves vital information lying around the house. With access to his father's files, Light can keep one step ahead of the authorities. But who is the strange man following him, and how can Light guard against enemies whose names he doesn't know?"