Ascendance of a Bookworm
Author: Miya Kazuki
Illustrator: You Shiina
Publishers:J-Novel Club
Age Group: Teen
Genre: Fantasy
Type: Light Novel
Content Warnings: None
Spoilers ahead
Plot
A certain college girl who’s loved books ever since she was a little girl dies in an accident and is reborn in another world she knows nothing about. She is now Myne, the sticky five-year-old daughter of a poor soldier. To make things worse, the world she’s been reborn in has a very low literacy rate and books mostly don’t exist. She’d have to pay ban enormous amount of money to buy one. Mayne resolves herself: If there aren’t any books, she’ll just have to make them! her goal is to become a librarian. This story begins with her quest to make books so she can live surrounded by them!
Character Development
Myne is one of my favorite characters. She is sassy, intelligent, doesn’t really act her age, and has only one goal in life. BOOKS! I relate to her a lot as I’m pretty much the same. She doesn’t let anyone get her down, even if she does get upset by setbacks. She works her body a little too much and always pays the price for it. She’s a great problem solver and knows her history on books, bookmaking, and paper-making from around the world. If one doesn’t work, let’s try another way.
Her family consists of her mother, father, and her sister, Tuuli. Her family isn’t too poor but they’re not the best well off either. Her parents try to be understanding but there’s only so much they can handle. I do have to warn those that like the anime that her parents are a bit more callous in the light novels than the anime.
We also get introduced to the neighbor boys Ralph, Lutz, and Fey. Lutz is the most important to the plot because he becomes friends with Myne and helps her along her journey to make paper. He becomes and apprentice merchant (with Myne’s help). His family are all blacksmiths so him wanting to become a merchant is a big deal. He’s a nice kid who stands up for what he wants. He’s hardworking, loyal, and a good friend, even when he doesn’t understand Myne half the time.
World-building
The world-building is very gradual, which I really like. We know what Myne knows about the world. Her world starts with her only in her family’s bedroom. As Myne struggles to overcome her sickly body, we learn more about the world she’s in and her perspective of the world expands. We end up being in the entire house and expanding outward until we have access to most of the town.
This world is medieval. There are very tall apartments with wood stoves. People mostly forage for what they need. Her father is a guard for the town. Literacy is very low and most children follow in their parents footsteps when it comes to careers. They go into apprenticeships and work their butts off until they’re grown and can handle a lot more responsibilities. If you want a different career then you need to know someone who is willing to take you into the profession you want from your parents contacts. It’s hard to get into a career outside of that.
The area her family lives all shares a well with a large amount of people. I really like that in the light novel we get a map of the town and locations important to the story. We also get a layout of what her family’s tiny apartment looks like.
Themes
Never give up on your dreams.
Myne struggles and works herself almost to death quite a bit trying to attain her dream of having books. Luckily she has the know how and tries various methods to bring about her dream to have books. She tries clay tablets from Egypt, wooden boards like Asian countries, and even finds a way to make paper by shredding and flattening the soft skin of trees. Be like Myne! If one thing doesn’t work try again. As the old adage says: Einstein found 99 ways not to make a light bulb, and one way to do so.
Observations & Predictions
As I’ve seen the anime, I know how it goes a bit. Myne will join the temple as it’s one of the easiest places to have access to books as well as help her with what’s making her sick. This is actually a great starting point as either nobles or temples were the only places that had books during the similar era on Earth. Books are incredibly expensive.
Her genius with creating different products from her previous life’s mother being a hobbyist will come in handy. She’ll create a lot of products and sell them through the Myne workshop that works with the Gilberta Company.
Recommendations
More Bookish Girls:
The Savior’s Book Cafe Story in Another World
By: Oumiya
Bibliophile Princess
By: Yui
Other Goal Obsessed Female Protagonists:
Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter
By: Reia
Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for my Retirement
By: Funa
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!
By: Satoru Yamaguchi
I’m the Villainess so I’m Taming the Final Boss
By: Sarasa Nagase
The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash
By: Honobonoru500
Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion
By: Milcha
7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy
By: Tokyo Amekawa
My Ranking
Plot: 8
Character Development: 8
World-Building: 9
Overall: 8/10
