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Have been too tired to post lately... I think I've been sick all week, but not as bad as before, so mostly it's shown itself in my stuffed up sinuses and my being tired all the time. I actually slept through almost all of Saturday and napped today and am still tired.

Universe! I cannot do this now! I have too much due the Monday after Thanksgiving!

Anyway, hopefully I will catch up on book/manga posts later, although I still have to review Yuletide source. Urgh, hope I do not end up defecting...

Ando Natsumi and Kobayashi Miyuki - Kitchen Princess, vol. 01 (Eng. trans.)

Kazami Najika is a poor orphan who has nevertheless lived happily in Hokkaido with Hagio-sensei, who taught her to cook. But she's determined to find her Flan Prince! Apparently the day she learned her parents had died, a mysterious young boy gave her delicious flan and a silver spoon, and Najika has vowed to repay his kindness by finding him and making him the tastiest dessert ever!

As one does...

The silver spoon bears the logo of the prestigious Seika Academy in Tokyo, and so, Najika is off to Tokyo to seek her prince. Unfortunately, she's been placed in Class A, which is the class for special people, and quite a few of those special people are disgruntled by a seemingly talentless orphan in their midst. But soon, Najika's gotten the attention of the Kitazawa brothers, who are also enemies for reasons no one knows. Kind and aristocratic Sora helps her out, and grumpy Daichi scowls at her but also helps her out sneakily. (All bets on Daichi winning out after a brotherly reconciliation! I am sure this comes as a surprise to no one, as the best way to win your love interest's interest in shoujo is to be surly yet quietly adorable when you think no one is looking so they cannot take advantage of your soft marshmallow heart.)

This is light, fluffy, and nearly substance-less. The art is very young shoujo, with ponytails and ginormous sparkling eyes and huge smiles. You have the rivalry between two boys, the beautiful girl who hates Najika, and of course, Najika herself—brilliant cook, klutzy girl, adorable and hard-working orphan. There are many scenes in which Najika espouses the importance of cooking to make someone feel loved, and of course, her food is sure to win everyone over.

Still, I think this might appeal to younger audiences or people looking for manga for younger audiences, and I like reading just for kitchen wackiness.

Sfar, Joann - The Rabbi's Cat 2

Sadly, this is not quite as charming as its predecessor, but then, I think that may be an impossible task. Still, it's a worthwhile read, although the last story is somewhat awkward, as it tries to Teach Us About Racism.

The first story is about the cat and his journeys with the rabbi's cousin Malka and his lion; I love how you can't quite tell what's fact and what's fiction as Malka tells his tales. And! As bonus, there is a hilarious talking snake, although this snake is more sinister and less amusing than Koh of Silver Diamond. Even so, the conversations among the cat, the lion, and the snake are priceless.

The second story is the One About Racism, and I was poised to like it until the ending. The rabbi, a Russian Jew, and several other people, decide to go find the Ethiopian Jews and encounter many adventures along the way. Unfortunately, Sfar seems to be espousing the typical viewpoint that judging people based on race is bad (which I agree with) and leaving it at that (which I don't agree with); he ends by showing that the Ethiopian Jews are just as prejudiced as the Jews who refused to marry the Russian Jew and his black sweetheart. Which, okay, I'm sure it's true, but not the point!

I still think it's worth reading, but had I known the ending of the second story, I might have skipped the last few pages so I could keep an untarnished memory of the series.