Insomniacs After School, Vol. 1

Two students in different social groups suffer from chronic insomnia. One day they stumble upon an abandon classroom and proceed to turn it into a cozy hideaway for naps. Complete with adorable romance, humor, and a mischievous cat.
I found this manga to be absolutely adorable! Its short, sweet, and funny! At face value you see two students forming a friendship (and maybe more?) and breathing new life into an abandoned classroom. Looking deeper, readers learn about how illness, weakness, and social norms are structured in cultures outside of the Western world. My only complaint is how the book ended! Just when the reader grows attached to the main characters, the book ends. While it does end on a wholesome, solid note, reader's can see loose ends for the author to continue the positively adorable adventure.
Ironically, students will be staying up all night to read this book! I cannot wait to add it to the shelves of the middle school library.

Incredibly adorable. If you need a nice break from fanservice, this manga is for you. Already on the first volume, the characters are very well thought out, and despite not yet knowing much about them, they are worth caring for. This is definitely a series I will be continuing.

Years ago, there was an astronomy club, but after a series of tragedies befell the members, the club was shut down, and the observatory turned into a storeroom. Rumors of it being haunted keep people away from it, but when Ganta Nakami, who suffers from insomnia, finds it, he realizes that it’s the perfect place for a nap. When he realizes that his classmate Magari is <i>already</i> using it as a safe space, the two band together to preserve their space and find a little comfort in the night.

Fortunately, this is not some sort of depressing torture porn type manga. Although it deals with a serious issue, it is more invested in the developing relationship between its two leads and helping them to find a point of balance in their lives. The two are barely acquainted members of same class, not really interacting until preparations for the school festival sends Nakami up to the old astronomy club observatory. When Nakami arrives, he discovers that his classmate Magari is already there, and she admits to having fabricated a story of a school ghost to keep people out. For Nakami and Magari the empty club space becomes a refuge, the one place where they can finally close their eyes and get some sleep. It's a volume introducing us to a story rife with possibility about the way we interact with our own mental health and the people who help along the way.