Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! Part 1: Daughter of a Soldier, Vol. 2 by Miya Kazuki, You Shiina
Series Name: Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! (Light Novel)
Genres: Fantasy, Isekai
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: J-Novel Club
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 9781718356016
Rating: 4.5/5
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Description from the Book
It has been a year since our hero was reborn into a new world in the body of Myne, a sickly little girl from a poor family. She’s been doing her best to fulfill her dream of making books, but her plans have been foiled at every turn.
But now Myne has a deal with Benno the merchant: With her friend Lutz’s help, she will make a paper prototype that he can sell in his shop. In exchange, he will take her and Lutz on as apprentices. But making the prototype is filled with its own challenges, and can she trust a conniving merchant like Benno? And the most important question is, does Myne have the deadly sickness known as “The Devouring”?
Personal & Info
I wanted to read this immediately after the first volume. It’s that good.
There is a mini-poster at the front of the book. The poster is not perforated, so I wouldn’t bother removing it. It’s big enough to fold out once, and has two sides. One side is the same picture as the cover, and the back is a cute picture of all the important characters pertaining to this volume.
Characters
Myne, previously Urano Motosu, is the main character. She is a twenty-two-year-old book nerd in the body of a young child. Myne suffers from poor health, and could rarely leave the house or do normal household chores. Her health is much better now, but she still gets sick far more often and easier than everyone else, and her physical strength is practically nonexistent.
Tuuli is Myne’s sister. She is one year older than her, and is very responsible and capable for her age. Her current occupation is seamstress’s apprentice.
Effa is Myne and Tuuli’s mother. She dyes clothes for a career.
Gunther is Myne and Tuuli’s father. He works as a soldier who guards the South Gate.
Lutz is Myne’s friend. He is the same age as her, and he looks after her like she’s his little sister.
Otto is Gunther’s coworker. He handles all the important paperwork for the South Gate. Benno is his brother-in-law, because Otto married Benno’s sister, Corinna.
Benno is a wealthy merchant. He is Corinna’s older brother, and Otto’s brother-in-law.
Corinna is the matriarch of her family and Otto’s wife. She is a professional seamstress.
Freida is the granddaughter of the Merchant Guild’s Guildmaster. Her family is exceedingly wealthy, and she has a passion for money. She and her grandfather badly want to recruit Myne to work at their store.
Story & Thoughts
The prologue starts with Tuuli helping her mother make lunch, while Myne and Lutz are at their meeting with Otto and Benno. Chapter one starts with Myne and Lutz walking back from the meeting. There is absolutely no gap from when volume one ends to volume two beginning. I love when books just drop off and pick up in the same spot for the next volume.
Myne and Lutz have a good dynamic. Lutz is the only person in the whole city willing to spend his time looking after Myne almost every day. Her sickly condition is pretty serious, but their interactions make for some funny moments. It keeps things light enough that her illness doesn’t make the story gloomy, but whenever her condition worsens, there’s sufficient tension.
The money system finally gets an explanation. If I’m remembering correctly, there are seven different coins for currency: three different types of coppers, two types of silvers, and two types of golds. Their values have an explanation in the book, but it kind of lets you fill in the blank for the last three coins. There is a huge difference in some of the coin values. The smallest coin is worth ten, and the biggest coin, by their rule of adding a zero each increment, is worth 10,000,000. It’s pretty crazy to have a single coin worth that much.
I am in love with this series. It’s kind of funny that Myne is becoming a big bread winner for her household within a very short amount of time. What I like the most about this volume is that someone actually realized she’s not the “real” Myne. That interaction was so tense but so sweet. Again, I’m disappointed I don’t have the next volume right away. At the moment I’m typing this, it’s sold out everywhere.
Corinna’s Married Life
This is a bonus chapter in Corinna’s perspective. It covers her looking at the hairpins Myne provides to sell, and reflecting on her whirlwind romance with Otto. We heard a little about that from Otto before, but this chapter shows us a little more in depth, and from Corinna’s side of things, so we know what she was going through at the time.
Gossiping by the Well
The second bonus chapter is in Effa’s perspective. It takes place during a time when she’s doing laundry by the well with the other wives. She speculates about Myne’s change in behavior in the past year and compares her to Gunther. Apparently she considers Myne and Gunther to be similar.