A Bride's Story by Kaoru Mori

Amir is 20 years old.  That's awfully old to get married in nineteenth century Asia; but Amir's happy to get married, even though she had to leave her family behind and travel over a mountain range to meet her groom. Karluk, her new husband, is pleased, too, despite the fact that Amir is eight years older than him. Karluk's family is also welcoming, but there are cultural differences making things tricky, and Amir's family isn't quite so pleased with the match after all.  They're determined to take her back, whether she wants to come or not,

Kaoru Mori is known for her stunning artwork and attention to historical detail.  She does a tremendous amount of research before writing, and that, combined with her art (which isn't as exaggerated as most manga), makes her a good suggestion for people who haven't read manga before.  

The publisher rates this as suitable for Older Teens.  Despite being married, Amir and Karluk treat each other more like siblings than spouses.  They care about each other, but so far it's a very innocent relationship.  In North America, this series is popular with older teen girls, but don't be afraid to suggest it the guys.  That's who they market the series in Japan to, and there's no mushy romantic stuff here to make them feel like they're reading a girly book.

If you have time, check out the video below, which shows Kaoru Mori drawing a page from A Bride's Story. This is just the first of six videos showing how she works from rough sketch to finished artwork--the rest are available on this Japanese site. It is incredible how much work goes into making just one picture, and she has to do this for a whole book! If you know any budding young artists, they would probably be fascinated by how she uses pen, ink, and screen tones to bring her drawing to life.