Book Girl and the Famished Spirit (light novel) (Volume 2)

I wouldn't be here if I didn't read the first novel. With a name like Book Girl, I didn't expect such a dark and bittersweet series. Boy, was I wrong... The first novel deals with depression and suicide. And the second one also deals with some really serious stuff (which I won't spoil). What I find best about this series (and this novel) is how emotionally resonating it is. After finishing the Famished Spirit, I felt nauseous and thought about it for a long time. This series doesn't sugarcoat anything. It really shows both sides of humanity, and that even in evil people there is some good, and in good people there is some evil. A black and white reality is tossed aside for a gray one. Unfortunately, I, unlike Tohko, cannot gobble down books. Therefore, I will wait a while before devouring the 3rd book in this series.

It's been a while since I picked up the previous book in the series, so forgive me if I forget a little something here or there from the previous work. I have to say though, that reading the second book makes me wonder why I waited so long to get back into this. There's a lot about this light novel that I liked. I think what stood out to me first and foremost about this light novel was that it was such a dark and somber book at times. It's very adult in tone when you get down to it, which makes it a stark contrast to books such as the Haruhi Suzumiya, which tend to focus more on crazy antics. Those series do have some serious subject matters, but ultimately tend to look at the lighter side of teenage life in surreal surroundings. Not so with the Book Girl series. It's a light novel, which means that none of the subject matter will delve too deeply into the tougher stuff. However at the same time, the series doesn't exactly shy away from it either. Let's just say that death does occur as far as this particular book is concerned and some of the events here are bloody and depressing. This isn't exactly something you'd hand a very young reader. I have to use this point to sort of elaborate on what made this a four star read rather than a five star. It's the very nature of this series that sort of works against it at times. We're given enough to where the characters are fleshed out enough to make the story work and for us to mostly care for everyone, but the subject matter here (eating disorders, obsession, death of Wuthering Heights proportions) really sort of longed to be more fully developed. It's more of a tease when you get down to it and I can't help but feel that some readers will get frustrated when they finally turn the last page. It's the type of story that will undoubtedly do well when the animated adaptation hits, as they'll be able to do far more than the original story contained. Overall, I highly recommend this to anyone looking to get into light novels but wants to avoid the stuff that's more along the lines of Haruhi Suzumiya (a great series, but not for everyone). It's a surprisingly adult book and one that I hope Yen Press releases the entirety of.

This might be the first light novel I've ever read, seriously regretting that now. This series is so entertaining and addictive, definitely going to read the other novels immediately, wish the graphic novels were available in English too. If you enjoy mystery, drama, romance, intertextuality, a bit of a gothic literary flair, this is a franchise for you. Can't wait to see what future installments have in store, and also seek out other promising light novels by publisher. If you like Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Shakespeare, you won't be disappointed!

Book girl is a mystery series like the Flavia De Luce books or I guess you could compare them to Sherlock Holmes, but not really. The setting is high school in Japan with recurring characters (like all mystery of the month detective books) and a very slow burn over all story, or stories. One of the things that sets Book Girl apart is the characters are somewhat reluctant investigators. They're not in a detective club, they don't go looking for mysteries, rather these things tend to find them. This is book two in the series, but honestly you could skip book one and not miss much (except that book 1 is also a pretty good read). It's hard to imagine when the story will pick up in earnest for the recurring main characters, but you could frankly skip this one too if that is all you were reading these for. So far book one and two have focused almost exclusively on their mystery and the effects of that. One very obvious comparison for book girl is Haruhi. While this is drastically different in many ways, there are a lot of common elements. For one the way the main characters spar and how the male lead treats book girl like she's a little weird (because she is) would remind any Haruhi fan of Kyon's inner monologues about Haruhi. Luckily the complaining in this series isn't nearly so bad (Kyon is constantly whining about what they're doing and it does get old). There is a tiny touch of harem in this series, in that the male has at least two potential female hook ups, but unlike most stories of this type, the female lead also has two potential hook ups, which is very very rare. That's really where the Haruhi comparisons stop though, it's more a feeling than an actual clone, but if you're familiar with both series I imagine you'll pick up on it too. The style of book girl mysteries is often times a very slow and atmospheric tale with various twists and turns along the way. I don't know if you can figure out the actual mystery on your own, but from this book and book 1 I'm leaning no. The seeming randomness and amount of details you're not given would make reader discovery and sleuthing of your own pretty much impossible. Besides which, these are not really who done it stories, rather than larger and more complex mysteries. This is definitely a story you're supposed to experience without trying to make many leaps of your own. The characters in book girl are always rather dynamic and complex. Each book develops them a fair bit, though because these are mysteries of the month style, there is also a lot of rehashing done. I imagine it would be very frustrating to read these books one after another because each book contains a not insignificant amount of review on who everyone is. Other reviewers noted it was a while between book 1 and 2 for them and it was for me too, but luckily the book seems designed for that style of consumption. I would not recommend reading this book right away if you've finished book 1 recently. So for anyone looking at this from the prospective of a book girl fan, if you enjoyed book one, you will probably enjoy book 2, but it is a lot of the same. Anyone new to the series, this is the second book, but also you could frankly jump in here if you were so inclined. I'm personally a fan, but like the slow developing plot lines, I think I'll take my time reading through this series.

Wow this is my first time reading a novel-based story on 'Book Girl' or Bungaku Shoujo, which means 'Literature Girl' a story of a boy made to join the school's Book Club with its only member, Amano Touko. The story starts out as rather mysterious but then branches out into a rather insightful tale, with references from classics. Sometimes the art isn't really fitting the dark story but it is adorable anyways. I love is that the main character, Konoha Inoue's cynical personality portrayed which in artwork, it does not give the illusion of his darker personality within. This is the only novel I love and translated really well with depth. This is unlike Viz novels which were terribly script sounding and incomplete series. I hope to enjoy more of BookGirl and I could not put it down until the novel was finished.