If you're looking for a good heartfelt manga, look no further than Gapz Garden. The story's about a girl that lives as a Cinderella-like character (although, really, the whole family's dirt poor) named Julie. Her mother and sister constantly remind her of how ugly and useless she is. One day, she gets her sister's plane stuck in a tree and meets the Yee family. She is captivated by the middle brother's kindness. Soon after, Lady Yee is found hanging in the basement. All the brothers believe the cause of their mother's death is their father's girlfriend, who is actually a nice and caring lady and only wants to take care of them (from what I've read). After an encounter with Julie and her father, she decides to adopt Julie into the family. At first, she is picked on to no end, but her perseverance and pure, good heart win over the oldest son's affections. However, Julie still writes the middle brother, Lance, after he leaves for America, using her sister's name (Lance apparently had a crush on her sister, noticing her beauty). The rest plays out in a series of events that brings the family together, breaks them apart, and their is a common theme of learning how to forgive.

I'm one for the really out-there manga. The manga that almost no one has read, isn't very popular, but has a great plotline and okay-art. Actually, I prefer rough art in comparison to beautiful art, because I think you can really feel emotions with rough art, as if it was written for the story, not the art.

Julie is one of those characters you just can't hate, but she is surrounded by characters you love to hate. However, all of these characters and their relationships are quite complex. The series keeps me entertained, pulls on my heart strings, and makes me fall in love with Ryan, the oldest son. He's just so cute! And. Ugh. When he cries. My heart just MELTS. So, if you're looking for a good shoujo novel with some drama, look no farther than this series.