Translated

Cat Companions Maruru and Hachi (Volume 4) / Yuri Sonoda

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Cat Companions Maruru and Hachi (Volume 4)
By: Yuri Sonoda
Genre: Manga
Number of Pages: 160
Published: August 5, 2025
Publisher: Seven Seas
Dates Read: August 9, 2025
Format: Library Book / Paperback

The street cats get moved to a larger room where they meet two kittens and an older senior cat. As the care for the felines continues, so does the readers’ understanding of everyone’s past, including Yasuo and his love for cats.

I absolutely love learning more and more about our beloved characters as we get further and further into this series. We learn about Yasuo and his past and his first cat love. We also see Hachi getting more and more comfortable with humans. I also love his patience with the kittens – like, he’s still annoyed with them, but he doesn’t really take offense to their young craziness.

Oh, I learned a bit more about baby kittens (and their poop) than I did before, so there’s that.

Overall, another cute and adorable volume of this series. Cat lovers will still enjoy it.

Cat Companions Maruru and Hachi (Volume 3) / Yuri Sonoda

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Cat Companions Maruru and Hachi (Volume 3)
By: Yuri Sonoda
Genre: Manga
Number of Pages: 160
Published: April 15, 2025
Publisher: Seven Seas
Dates Read: August 2, 2025
Format: Library Book / Paperback

Stray cats Maruru and Hachi now live in the shelter where Yasuo the Catnapper works. They adjust to shelter life, but that doesn’t mean Hachi lets his guard down. They’re joined by some new (old) friends as they get a new lease on life.

Why must I get teary eyed while reading this series?! Learning Kedama’s back story was like stepping into a room full of cut onions!

I love how gentle Yasuo is with the cats and how he’s never upset with the cats, but will reevaluate and try again with a new tactic.

Overall, anyone who loves cats, will love this series; you get perspectives from both the cats and the humans in this.

Nordlys: Book One / Malin Falch

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Nordlys: Book One (Nordlys #1)
By: Malin Falch
Genre: Graphic Novel, Middle Grade
Number of Pages: 320
Published: May 13, 2025 (1st Published February 15, 2018)
Publisher: Inklore
Dates Read: August 3, 2025
Format: Library Book / Paperback

The night before her coming-of-age ceremony, Sonja gets a visit from a mysterious boy who offers to take her across the stars to a Norway she’s never seen; a Norway full of trolls, pirates, and magic. As Sonja slowly begins to fall in love with the new land, she uncovers an adventure that may bring both worlds together.

If you take Peter Pan, mix it with Norwegian folklore, and then add beautiful artwork, you’ll have Nordlys – oh, and add a dragonfly! This is also just the beginning of the series, so it very well may turn in a different direction, but you definitely get Peter Pan feels.

This is just the beginning of this series and I kind of need the translations to have happened yesterday, this is so good.

Oh, and don’t get me started on the artwork. When I first flipped through it, it reminded me of Brother Bear, which I enjoy, so anything like that already had my attention. But then everything else about the artwork and the panels is beautiful and you can practically smell the crisp mountain air between the pages!

Overall, if you’d enjoy a graphic novel with beautiful panels and a Peter Pan retelling sprinkled with Norwegian folklore, this book is for you!

Cat + Crazy (Volume 1) / Wataru Nadatani, Zack Davisson (Translated)

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Cat + Crazy (Volume 1)
By: Wataru Nadatani, Zack Davisson (Translated)
Genre: Manga
Number of Pages: 168
Published: July 29, 2025 (1st Published March 18, 2016)
Publisher: Dark Horse Manga
Dates Read: July 29, 2025 - July 30, 2025
Format: Library Book / eBook

High schooler Kensuke Fuji adores cats, but has only ever watched the street cats from afar since his family members are all allergic. But then he meets —-, the ultimate cat whisperer guru. He proves himself worthy of being his student to be taught under the Cat Fist Way.

This is a rather cute, but silly look at the love people have for cats.

It did take me a moment to get into this because I thought it was going to be a bit “too silly”, but I turned out to love it and am excited for my new obsession from this mangaka. Speaking of the mangaka, I still adore how they are able to draw the cats in both realism and cartoonish at the same time.

Overall, another cute manga that all cat lovers are bound to adore and ultimately relate to as well.

My Friends / Fredrik Backman

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My Friends
By: Fredrik Backman, Neil Smith (Translator)
Genre: Fiction
Number of Pages: 436
Published: May 6, 2025
Publisher: Atria Books
Dates Read: May 8, 2025 - May 25, 2025
Format: ARC / Paperback

My Friends is a story within a story about the summer of four fourteen-year-old friends and twenty-five years later about a piece of artwork.

As usual, I cannot describe what Fredrik Backman’s writing means to me. Every time I pick up one of his books, I know I’m going to read something I didn’t know I needed. It always takes me a bit to get into Backman’s books, but that’s not a bad thing, you just have to take his writing slow and steady before it hooks you and you immerse yourself in it.

The characters are complex and I walked away from the novel feeling like Joar, Ted, Ally, and the artist were my own friends. Backman doesn’t shy away from hard topics – the kids are there for each other as an escape from their home lives, some of which are dangerous. The writing brings out realistic dialogue between the friends and shows the simple yet messiness that can come from being so close with someone.

With a story about childhood friendships and those people who help shape who you are, this book is sure to resonate with everyone who reads it – especially reminding you of your childhood ride or die.

“I love you.”

“I trust you.”

*Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Mornings Without Mii / Mayumi Inaba, Ginny Takemori (Translator)

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Mornings Without Mii
By: Mayumi Inaba, Ginny Tapley Takemori (Translator)
Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir
Number of Pages: 192
Published: February 25, 2025 (1st Published January 1, 1999)
Publisher: FSG Originals
Dates Read: May 4, 2025 - May 7, 2025
Format: Library Book / Paperback

Trigger Warnings: cat in distress, missing cat, aging cat

In 1977, Mayumi Inaba heard tiny cries carried by the breeze of the river. When she follows the sound she finds a small newborn kitten dangling high in the fence – clearly placed there by someone. Overcome with affection, Inaba takes the kitten back to her apartment, names her Mii, and thus the inseparable bond begins.

Over the next twenty years Inaba talked about her life as she goes through changes and compromises, but the one thing that is always there is her cat, Mii.

So, I have mixed feelings about this book. Some parts of it I absolutely loved and related to; like Inaba straight up buying a condo because finding one to rent with Mii was too hard, cause that’s something I would absolutely do, and the midnight walks through the hallway with her cat – I absolutely did that with my cat, Mushi, in college when I needed a break from homework.

Then when Inaba talked about Mii getting stuck up in a tree and how she let her be stuck there so she could hear her little cries slightly broke me, because I hear one off pitched cry from either of my cats, I’m running to them to see what’s going on. My heart also ached for Mii at the end of her life – her quality of life was horrible and as much as I desperately want my cats to be with me for as long as time allows, they shouldn’t be suffering like Mii. Oh – and not getting Mii spayed!

Overall I both enjoyed and had my heart break while reading this. I do understand this was Inada’s first cat and it’s also set in 80’s/90’s Japan, but some things I think she could have handled so much better.

*Thank you FSG Originals and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Snow Globe / Soyoung Park, Joungmin Lee Comfort (Translator)

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Snow Globe
By: Soyoung Park, Joungmin Lee Comfort (Translator)
Genre: YA, Dystopia
Number of Pages: 384
Published: February 27, 2024 (1st Published October 23, 2020)
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Dates Read: April 17, 2025 - April 18, 2025
Format: Library Book / Audiobook

In a world of constant winter, only the citizens of the climate-controlled city of Snowglobe can escape the breath snatching cold. Outside Snowglobe, citizens must face the icy wasteland to get to their jobs at the power plant to produce the energy Snowglobe needs – in return, they have twenty-four hour reality television programming streamed directly from the domed city.

Chobahm lives for the time she gets to watch her favorite shows – especially Goh Around, starring Goh Haeri, Snowglobe’s star and future weather girl. It turns out, her favorite star is the key to getting Chobahm out of her frozen life and into the warmth of Snowglobe. Because Haeri is dead, and Chobahm looks exactly like her.

But life inside Snowglobe is nothing like Chobahm has thought it was – reality is a lie, and it seems like it take forever to reach any truth.

There were some crazy plot twists in this novel that kept me interested. I’m pretty sure it would be a spectacular K-Drama, because it totally reads like one, but some of the plot twists were way out there.

I’m not sure where I saw the comparison, but I originally picked this up because it said The Hunger Games meets The Squid Games. I do not agree with that comparison after reading this though. If the argument of the televised portion would be the connection to The Hunger Games – it’s just reality TV? And as for Squid Games it’s not a game of  life, death, or money.

Overall, this is a fast pace, twist and turn filled young adult read. There’s a second book coming out soon that I’m sure I will also read.

*Thank you Delacorte Press and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Cat + Gamer (Volume 7) / By: Wataru Nadatani, Susie Lee (Contributor), Zack Davisson (Translator)

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Cat + Gamer (Volume 7)
By: Wataru Nadatani, Susie Lee (contributor), Zack Davisson (Translator)
Genre: Manga
Number of Pages: 160
Published: February 25, 2025 (1st Published January 18, 2022)
Publisher: Dark Horse Manga
Dates Read: March 8, 2025
Format: Library Book / Paperback

A few of the stories in this collection include Riko Kozakura trying to figure out the best way of balancing working from home and the cats’ asking for attention, playing hide and seek, finding the culprit of a mess in the kitchen, and finding the wonderful smell of a cat.

Just another fun collection with such relatable things – like Soboro sitting on the keyboard of the computer or Musubi sitting on Riko’s brand new work chair and her sitting on the edge (one of the reasons I think I automatically sit on the edge of my work chair regardless if there’s a cat there or not).

High applauds to the talent of how Nadatani captures the expressions of a cat without changing what a cat will actually look like. Sure, we get inside their heads during the bonus pages, but the cat’s faces are truly that of a cat’s face (and the amount of times I’ve seen my own cat in Musubi’s face…)

Overall, I still absolutely love this series and can’t wait until the next one.

Cat Companions Maruru and Hachi, Volume 1 / Yuri Sonoda

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Cat Companions Maruru and Hachi (Volume 1)
By: Yuri Sonoda
Genre: Manga
Number of Pages: 176
Published: August 27, 2024
Publisher: Seven Seas
Dates Read: December 29, 2024
Format: Library Book / Paperback

One day, Maruru finds himself living on the streets as a stay. He encounters Hachi, a boss cat, who says he doesn’t need a spoiled house cat on his territory and chases him away. A few days later, Maruru helps Hachi out of a situation and the duo begin to tackle the struggles of Third Street together.

I can’t remember how I found this manga, possibly while looking at Cat + Gamer. But, I’m also always on the lookout for cat manga so, it could have been from a few places. Regardless – I absolutely loved this story and immediately fell in love with Maruru and Hachi. Their grump and sunshine friendship is amazing.

I appreciate how the author told the life of a street cat in the way that it is not sugar coated: their search for food, water, shelter, health, and territory is an everyday struggle.

So now, this is going to another manga series I’m going to start collecting.

The Answer Is No / Fredrik Backman, Elizabeth DeNoma (Translator)

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The Answer is No
By: Fredrik Backman, Elizabeth DoNoma (Translator)
Genre: Short Story
Number of Pages: 68
Published: December 1, 2024
Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
Dates Read: November 10, 2024
Format: eBook

Lucas knows the perfect night needs just three things: video games, wine, and pad thai with peanuts. Oh, and of course, no other people in sight – why complicate things?

Things were going great until one day, a trio from the housing authority rang his doorbell, demanding to see his frying pan. Someone left one next to the recycling room overnight, and instead of simply removing the item like Lucas suggests, they insist on finding the culprit. But, their plan backfires, and Lucas somehow ends up in the middle of it.

As per usual, I absolutely love Fredrik Backman and anything he writes. His humor and wit can always make me laugh out loud, especially when it’s about the human experience or connections to one another.

After hearing Backman speak at the Simon & Schuster centennial, I really heard his voice coming through on these pages.

It’s all a bit silly and though some of the conversations between Lucas and his neighbors seem like they could be unrealistic, I can promise you, I have had a very similar version of conversation with patrons at my library.

If you liked Backman before, you’ll love him again with this novel. And, anyone whose day has been ruined by a frying pan (or a piece of trash/rubbish), you’ll also enjoy this witty story.