Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 2: Apprentice Shrine Maiden Volume 2 has to have been the most satisfying entry I’ve read of this series thus far. There is a level of emotional catharsis drawn from multiple events in the story that up to this point we’ve only gotten maybe glimpses of beneath the surface. Spoilers ahead for folks who have yet to read this volume or have only watched the anime.

The framing device used in episode 1 of the anime adaptation was a very strange choice, as a viewer who had only read Part 1 of the novel series (Volumes 1-3). Now, seeing the inclusion of the circlet, and how Ferdinand uses it in context of the story itself, I can see where the anime’s staff were going, in terms of appealing perhaps to novel readers who knew in advance the events that happened in Part 2. The actual use of the magical item to peer into Myne’s memories, after she had been essentially drugged by the High Priest no less, was a worrying development, in terms of unexpectedly heavy handed developments. We’ve known from the get-go that Ferdinand is not in particular a malevolent or ill-meaning force within the Church, and that if anything, he is Myne’s greatest ally, on a level equal to Benno. That is why seeing him forced to empathize and through Myne’s memories experience the same tumultuous, relentless, and overwhelmingly powerful range of emotions that she did, made for such moving prose. This was not the first time within this same volume that I felt a pang in my chest as the words on the page grabbed me by the feelings and knocked me senseless on my commute to/from work, but it was definitely the strongest.

I remember still, how I originally felt about the very first volume of this series. I was incredibly frustrated with Myne as a human being. I could empathize profusely with her, marvel at the wealth of her knowledge, but I was constantly harboring frustration at how little she thought things through–at the lack of foresight for simple things that could have been avoided, or what could be seen as careless mistakes that someone with her knowledge and experience as someone who lived another life and remembered it, shouldn’t have made. The Epilogue chapter where the aforementioned memories are revisited by Myne and experienced by High Priest Ferdinand is something that I never really needed–having overlooked those past critiques as the story grows more intriguing and continues to admirably flesh out its world and characters. It provided me with something I had soon thought I didn’t need, but was extremely grateful for. Seeing the complete scope of the depth of Myne’s emotions, and just how quickly, intensely, and almost involuntarily, just how every single feeling Myne feels, she feels to her core; it was something I didn’t think was possible or necessary, but completely sold me on all of her actions up to this point. Having the point of view character being someone else, and having them experience every tactile sensation, every bodily response, and every emotional beat, was a direction that immediately allows the reader to understand and empathize in a way that both captures the experience, while also telling them how the POV character responds. It felt like a cheat code of sorts; an author having their cake and eating it, but I was more impressed than upset.

The feelings of longing, regret, gratitude, remorse, and sorrow that Myne feels at leaving her mother behind is something that was effervescent in the first volume, and it’s something I’m extremely glad to see touched back on so much later. The feeling of despair and helplessness at not noticing the feelings and actions of those who care about you are something felt daily by many kinds of people in different amounts, and it’s a very real emotion that I don’t see tapped into nearly as many isekai stories that I feel should.

Other emotional moments I really enjoyed, in no particular order:

• Lutz offering to pay for Myne’s seasonal clothes after she goes above and beyond to make sure all of her attendants have spare clothing of their own for the cold Winter months
• Myne’s sheer joy, exuberance, and pride at her mother being pregnant, and the opportunity to shower her new younger sibling with the same fervor and love that she received from her own older sister
• Rosina’s moment of self-awareness in the side story after the Epilogue, where she realizes after speaking to Wilma, how Myne is her own person, unable to act as a replacement for Christine; however, she is being offered a second chance at improving herself and becoming someone who doesn’t simply cling to the past.
• Myne’s first book! The fact that she was able to make a real book, with multiple pages, binded together! By far the highlight of the first half of the volume, and Lutz reminding her that this was only the first step: their goal is to create so many books that Myne cannot begin to imagine even reading them all.
• Delia being the first person allowed to read the book at the Church. Her presence in this volume wasn’t felt nearly as much as the last, but this was noted by Myne herself and doing this allowed for Delia to feel noticed herself, which was incredibly wholesome. I was also happy seeing Delia shopping with Tuuli!

The other thing of note to talk about in this volume is the introduction of the Nobles’ Quarter, and the events surrounding the summons from the Knights Order and what followed that. The trombe extermination and ensuing violence committed against Myne was by far the most tense and fearful I’d ever gotten for Myne in the story. This was never an action series to begin with, but reading the descriptions of how the knights battled the feyplant and Shikza threatened both his companion and the person he was supposed to guard, was gripping and emotionally engaging. Seeing as how I was already thoroughly invested throughout the rest of the events happening before this, I wasn’t surprised but still slightly miffed at the fact that even though I knew things were going to be okay for our heroine, I couldn’t help shedding a couple tears on my train this morning. Her bond with Fran, her head attendant, was put to the test, and the retribution doled out by Ferdinand afterwards was apt and satisfying. Seeing her take control and finish in seconds what her assaulter was forced to attempted and fail was incredibly satisfying.

I haven’t even talked about the various methods and systems that Myne introduced in this volume, but they definitely provided a wonderful thrust to the story. Things like ink made from soot, woodblock presses, stencils made from thick paper made of wood, the Decimal System for categorizing books at libraries–it was the consistent creations of things like this, that were unheard of and possibly destructive to how life as it is known in Ehrenfest, which forced Ferdinand’s hand into using the memory magical tool at the behest of the Archduke. Now that Myne’s existence has been made known as someone with mana equal to or surpassing the highest noble in their realm, I can only imagine how much more she is going to have to rely on the High Priest, and what further antagonizing she is going to receive from the High Bishop and other nobles who either want to remove her for being a commoner–or even those who see what she wields and want to possess her like a tool and potential means to uproot society.

If you somehow read all of this and haven’t read the novel for yourself, or if you’re an anime watcher who got curious, I heavily recommend you get this novel series for yourself. I know for a fact the anime got many new fans, and it’s become one of the best selling series on Bookwalker for 2019 even though the anime aired in the last cour of the year (it was selling pretty decently to begin with, the anime just bolstered it that much.) It’s available on most digital retailers like iBooks, Google Play, Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Bookwalker, and on J-NovelClub if you are a member and want a DRM-free copy.