Sand Chornicles' biggest strength is its moving plot. There isn't only one emphasis on one aspect of the story, such as romance (or angst, as the series progresses), and as the story moves through the seasons, it gives a very realistic appeal, and the timeline gives plenty of room for interwining stories and character development. Sure, there is romance involved, it is only one aspect of their lives, as it should be. Even though the series is also very event-oriented, it does not have problems such as overcommitting with melodrama or such - events often resulting in the annoyance and frustration of the reader, and its slice-of-life aspect handles this very well.
The characters are also charming. They all fit into the typical character stereotypes, but they are fleshed out enough to make it work, and undergo hefty amounts of development, fitting for a coming of age manga. They all have their own stories to tell, and their stories are not concentrated in specific arcs, but over multiple volumes, which synergizes well with the story's realistic appeal. This makes the series heavily dependent on its pacing, but it is, for the most part, done without major problems. The story also focuses on four main characters, which helps to keep the story interesting and moving, but not too many that it overextends itself.
Despite these general strengths, Sand Chronicles suffers, perhaps inevitably, from its Shoujo roots and its inherent limitations - most strikingly notable being the ending in volume 8, which somewhat expected, still felt very forced. The characters also stem from the usual stereotypes, and while charming, they require a lot of detail that can be overlooked by the casual reader to appreciate their individual appeal. This is for the most part resolved in the spinoffs in volumes 9~10 - which is very well done, but they can be detrimental while reding the main story from volumes 1~8.
As well, the story simply lacks polish in general. It is especially glaring when comparing the spin-offs to the main story, in which the former is of highly better quality than the latter. This is mainly due to some pacing issues and managing the level of drama throughout the story, while some plot devices simply feel forced, such as the events of volume 7 - which was great in concept, but lacking in implementation.
Sand Chronicles is by no means a masterpiece, it's heavy dependence on its Shoujo roots is a testament to that, but it is easily accessible for any Shoujo fan, and in the end, highly enjoyable, which is what really counts. It's not the most original, nor the most polished, but it's well written and fun to read.
Sand Chronicles is a piece with large amounts of potential, and it will be interesting and well worth to anticipate the author's future works.
