Tiny Navajo Reads: The Way of the Househusband

The Way of the House Husband, Vol. 1 (Gokushufudou: The Way of the House Husband #1) by Kousuke Oono, translated by Sheldon Drzka

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*Published September 17, 2019*

I saw this come into my library because of a girl who absolutely LOVES to read manga. Once I read the premise I had to check it out as soon as possible. It sounded absolutely hilarious!

It’s a day in the life of your average househusband—if your average househusband is the legendary yakuza “the Immortal Dragon”!

A former yakuza legend leaves it all behind to become your everyday househusband. But it’s not easy to walk away from the gangster life, and what should be mundane household tasks are anything but!

He was the fiercest member of the yakuza, a man who left countless underworld legends in his wake. They called him “the Immortal Dragon.” But one day he walked away from it all to walk another path—the path of the househusband! The curtain rises on this cozy yakuza comedy!

This is essentially a slice of life manga with a husband who stays home to do housework while his wife works and wins the money. The twist in the story; our househusbad is the Immortal Dragon, a former Yakuza boss. And that’s it, that’s all the gag is, he’s a former Yakuza turned househusband, so all of his daily household chores, he takes on with the strength, endurance, and drama of being Yakuza. And those who don’t understand what Yakuza means, it’s Japanese mob. And our Immortal Dragon was the mob boss!

Seriously, this is just a slice of life gag manga, and I love it! This has to be one of the funniest manga that I have ever read. Just, seeing household life and chores and buying groceries all through the eyes and attitude of a mob boss. So. Much. DRAMA! I love it! This is the type of manga I love and would love to see more of. What are your favourite types of gag manga? What types of gag manga would you like to see? Comment below and let me know!

Tiny Navajo Reads: Orange

Orange: The Complete Collection, Vol. 1 by Ichigo Takano, translated by Lasse Christian Christiansen, and Amber Tamosaitis.

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*Published January 26, 2016*

This manga volume was brought to my attention thanks to one of my friends, who has already read and rated it on Goodreads. Once I saw that she had rated it relatively high for her, I had to read through its blurb to see what it was about and see if it was something for me. It’s about time travel and yes, this is a series for me!

A Plea From the Future

On the day that Naho begins 11th grade, she receives a letter from herself ten years in the future. At first, she writes it off as a prank, but as the letter’s predictions come true one by one, Naho realizes that the letter might be the real deal. Her future self tells Naho that a new transfer student, a boy named Kakeru, will soon join her class. The letter begs Naho to watch over him, saying that only Naho can save Kakeru from a terrible future. Who is this mystery boy, and can Naho save him from his destiny? This is the heart-wrenching sci-fi romance that has over million copies in print in Japan!

I love this series! It’s so nice and quiet, it’s a bit of life as it is in high school, but with the small added bit of letters that have traveled through time to their younger selves. Letters that allude to a time in the future where they are regretting a time where they don’t have a friend of theirs from high school.

Naho receives a letter from her future self on her first day of 11th grade, a letter that tells her all that will happen on that day and future days to time and what she is to do to save a new friend from a terrible fate. As she goes throughout her school year, she realizes that what she thought at first to be a hoax or a joke, is in fact reality. There is truth to what this letter says and if it did come from the future, then something terrible will happen if she doesn’t strive to save Kakeru.

I love this story and I love what it says about your actions in the here and now. It means that you can always change the future NOW. You don’t have to wait for a big chance to do big change. Sometimes, all you can do is do a bunch of small changes in order to enact a bunch of small changes. And in this time of uncertainty and fear, we can do these small things to help others. We can do small things that can lead to big affects.

With that, especially during this time of social distancing and some self-isolation, then think of some small things you can do to better someone’s day, even if that day is your own. What are some little things that have happened in your life that made your day better?  What is a little thing you can do to better someone else’s life? Comment below and let me know!

Tiny Navajo Reads: The Good Luck Girls

I know that I missed yesterday and that I’m late today, but just letting you guys know that my work has closed for the next two weeks. I’m used to actually typing up my entries at work, and doing other things at home. But with the library closed for the next two weeks, I’m at home now. And I finally feel like it is time to tell you guys why I’ve been kind of off and on with the writing of blog posts.

The husband and I bought a house!!! We officially own a house and we are finally moved into it as well. This is our first house and while it’s holding pretty good, there are a few small things that need to be fixed. So, that’s what I’ve been doing these past few days, working on fixing things around the house to make it our home. Anyway, onto the review!

The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis

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*Published October 1, 2019*

I think what was most interesting about the premise of this book at the time of reading, was that a “good luck girl” had killed a man. I know that this premise has been used in stories like this one, but there was also a supernatural element to the idea as well, and the supernatural always grabs me with a story.

Aster, the protector
Violet, the favorite
Tansy, the medic
Mallow, the fighter
Clementine, the catalyst

THE GOOD LUCK GIRLS

The country of Arketta calls them Good Luck Girls–they know their luck is anything but. Sold to a “welcome house” as children and branded with cursed markings. Trapped in a life they would never have chosen.

When Clementine accidentally murders a man, the girls risk a dangerous escape and harrowing journey to find freedom, justice, and revenge in a country that wants them to have none of those things. Pursued by Arketta’s most vicious and powerful forces, both human and inhuman, their only hope lies in a bedtime story passed from one Good Luck Girl to another, a story that only the youngest or most desperate would ever believe.

It’s going to take more than luck for them all to survive.

This is an interesting world that has its roots based on slavery and the time of the wild west and iron magnates. A place where a group of girls escape their cage and set off to makes themselves free in a world where it’s hard to be free. I really enjoyed Aster and the process she goes through to not only get her sister out of this life, but those that come along, with or without her approval. 

All of these girls are who they are because of their circumstances in one way or another. Aster has always been about protecting her little sister from all the bad things of this horrid world. Violet, the favoured girl of all the good luck girls in the welcome house. Tansy and Mallow, friends of Clementine, the one who killed a man on her first night as a good luck girl.

I think what was most interesting about this story was the depth of characterization that each of the girls got, as well as the boy they picked up along the way. At first glance, all of the main characters are nearly stereotypes that you’ll see in many YA books, but as they go along in the story, you see some depth to these characters start to develop, except for Aster, the character who we see the majority of the story through. She doesn’t really develop much more than what we see in the beginning, except towards the end. Even then, it wasn’t much of a growth.

This was a good book. But nothing groundbreaking or something that stayed with me for long. What books do you think sound interesting at the premise, and are, but didn’t stay with you long after you read it? Why do you think it didn’t stay long? Comment below and let me know!

Tiny Navajo Reads: Food Wars! Vol. 10

Food Wars! Vol. 10 (Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma #10) by Yuto Tsukuda

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*Published February 2, 2016*

This…this was an interesting volume. It kind of gave me the shivers while reading it while making me want to continue reading it all at the same time. How’s that for good writing?

It’s the last quarterfinal match of the Fall Classic. Takumi Aldini, looking for another chance to challenge Soma, faces off against the smug-looking Subaru Mimasaka. What’s making him so confident? The truth—and the dish he prepares—sends the entire auditorium into an uproar! Let the shokugeki begin!

This being the last quarterfinal match of the Fall Classic, we can see where the major drama for the anime comes into effect. Granted, the drama has been there this entire time, but it was in this particular volume where I truly felt it ramp up. All because of Subaru Mimasaka. He is absolutely terrifying, and the way he gets others to move into a shokugeki to take their prized instrument is even more so. So, when we see him go up against Takumi Aldini, a hothead who just wants to battle against Soma again, we see how devastating his mimic and improve technique truly is.

I think this is where Yuto Tsukuda does amazing is ramping up the heebie jeebies of a character to where it was hard for me to read what was happening on the page. When an author can do that, make me want to stop reading because of a character, but I continue to read anyway because. I. Need. To. Know. What. HAPPENS! then that’s when I know that I have found a series and an author that knows what they are doing. And whoever wins this quarterfinal will be going up against Soma (most likely) in the semifinals. So, it’ll be one of the more interesting battles to see, both here and in the semis.

What turns you off from a character? Do you continue to read, or do you have to stop reading the book? Comment below and let me know!

Tiny Navajo Reads: Food Wars! Vol. 9

Food Wars! Vol. 9 (Shokugeki no Soma #9) by Yuto Tsukuda

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*Published December 1, 2015*

Honestly, I think the best part of this volume was learning about a surprise finalist. He is one of the most interesting characters and I’m super excited to find out more about him.

The Fall Classic finals have begun, with the theme of the first round being bento boxes. It’s a battle of the egos as Soma clashes with Alice Nakiri. Her bento gets rave reviews from the strict judges, but Soma invents a boxed lunch unlike one anyone’s ever seen! Then, no sooner does the first round end than the second begins!

With the beginning of the Fall Classic finals, the biggest thing for me is that we find out who the surprise finalist is and what exactly this means for the finals. This was the best part of the whole volume for me.

Yes, Soma goes up against Alice and he shows that he has the chops to compete with someone who has access to a lot more cutting edge technology and food knowledge, but he is able to bring to the judges’ minds what it means to have bento box.

But, the surprise finalist is just…interesting. Soma meets Subaru Mimasaka before his match, and he seems very kind and he’s very good with his hands, almost delicate, but he’s this huge dude with a motorcycle, has a braided mohawk and he’s just a stack of contradictions. He’s an interesting competitor, especially with how he competes and why he competes. I won’t say much more because that would give away a lot of what happens next, but it is fascinating to read and understand what’s going on.

What types of characters stand out to you in manga, even if their appearance is brief? Why do you remember them? Comment below and let me know!

Tiny Navajo Reads: Food Wars! Vol. 8

Food Wars! Volume 8 (Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma #8) by Yuto Tsukuda

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*Published October 6, 2015*

A continuation of the prelims with Soma going up against the King of Spice with a curry and then going up against Alice Nakiri with a bento box. It’s going to be interesting to see what Soma comes up with next.

The battle of the Fall Classic preliminaries comes to a thundering close! Can Soma conjure up a curry masterpiece brilliant enough to surpass a dish from the master of fragrance, Akira Hayama? This volume also includes a bonus story about the adventures of a certain someone during her lazy summer vacation!

I love reading these manga now if only for the recipes. They are making me so hungry and it has now come to my attention that I will need to buy these for myself on my kindle just so I can have copies of the recipes. And I love seeing how much Soma has grown and even though he is a great cook, everyone in this school is a great cook. Other have skills and knowledge that Soma may not have and so he is always underestimated. I also like seeing him grow and learn from each battle and uses that knowledge in his next battle/dish. It’s fantastic!

What has been something you have learned from a failure? Were you able to apply it to other aspects of your life? Comment below and let me know!

Tiny Navajo Reads: Food Wars! Vol. 5

Food Wars! Vol. 5 (Shokugeki no Soma #5) by Yuto Tsukuda

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*Published March 17, 2015*

Hi guys! This is volume 5 of Food Wars! and it’s going to be a good one! A breakfast challenge for the group and Soma seems to have made a mistake.

The assignment is to invent a new dish worthy of appearing on the high-class Totsuki Resort’s breakfast menu. To create their dishes, Soma and his friends use the combined knowledge and confidence they’ve gained while at the cooking camp to individually pass the challenge—everyone, that is, except for Soma! Having made a critical error, he finds himself behind with little time left. What can he do to overcome his biggest hurdle yet?!

I think that while the competition was good, especially seeing Soma overcome his own particular challenge of his own creating; but, the best part for me was seeing Soma go home to air out Yukihara and see a new chicken chain has come in and taken away nearly all the customers of the street market. So, Soma does what Soma does best: he thinks of a way to brings back the customers to the nearly dying local businesses.

I loved seeing Nikumi come out to help Soma and his hometown, and she gets to see where Soma comes from and how his background affects his own cooking. What are some things that intrigue about someone’s background? Why do these things pique your interest? Comment below and let me know!

Tiny Navajo Reads: Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki

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*Published May 7, 2019*

I saw this book floating through booklr on Tumblr and it sounded extremely interesting to me. It also seemed to be a book that I think everyone in relationships need to read.

Author Mariko Tamaki and illustrator Rosemary Valero-O’Connell bring to life a sweet and spirited tale of young love in Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, a graphic novel that asks us to consider what happens when we ditch the toxic relationships we crave to embrace the healthy ones we need.

Laura Dean, the most popular girl in high school, was Frederica Riley’s dream girl: charming, confident, and SO cute. There’s just one problem: Laura Dean is maybe not the greatest girlfriend.

Reeling from her latest break up, Freddy’s best friend, Doodle, introduces her to the Seek-Her, a mysterious medium, who leaves Freddy some cryptic parting words: break up with her. But Laura Dean keeps coming back, and as their relationship spirals further out of her control, Freddy has to wonder if it’s really Laura Dean that’s the problem. Maybe it’s Freddy, who is rapidly losing her friends, including Doodle, who needs her now more than ever.

Fortunately for Freddy, there are new friends, and the insight of advice columnists like Anna Vice to help her through being a teenager in love.

Being a teenager in love is one of the hardest things to be. Love fricken’ sucks and being in a relationship where the other does not support you or even act as though you are important, it can wreck you. It can pull you apart and make you not only be a bad friend, but it can affect the other relationships in your life.

Freddy is in a relationship with a girl named Laura Dean. Laura Dean is not a good girlfriend. She has broken up with Freddy three times and each time for a different reason, and Freddy lets her and waits for Laura Dean to come back to her. In waiting for Laura Dean to come back to her, Freddy neglects her friendships, especially her friendship with her best friend Doodle, who needs her friend.

I honestly couldn’t tell you whether this was something I went through in high school or not, I don’t believe I did. I had only one steady relationship in high school and we were truly friends first before we became a couple. But this is something that I have seen happen as I have grown up. This happened to some of my friends in college and here in Oklahoma. I have seen friends get out of these relationships and refocus on themselves, but it took them awhile to do so. They grew and became better.

I like seeing characters grow. I like to them make mistakes and learn from those mistakes and become better people. I liked seeing Freddy realize that she has made a lot of mistakes in trying to center her life around Laura Dean rather than focusing her life on herself. So, Freddy learns to do that. She learns to focus on herself and I love her so much for it.

What do you think of seeing real life portrayed in graphic novels? Do it help you process it or come to recognize it better? Comment below and let me know!

Tiny Navajo Reads: “Waiting On” The Toll

This is a new book blog meme that I’m going to be trying out. Let me know what you think.

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a book meme that is hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine and it’s all about the books you are waiting to be published so you can get your hands on them and read them.

For me, today’s “Waiting On” is:

The Toll by Neal Shusterman.

*To be published: November 5, 2019*

From New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman comes the thrilling conclusion to the Printz Honor–winning series Arc of a Scythe.

It’s been three years since Rowan and Citra disappeared; since Scythe Goddard came into power; since the Thunderhead closed itself off to everyone but Grayson Tolliver.

In this pulse-pounding conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman’s Arc of a Scythe trilogy, constitutions are tested and old friends are brought back from the dead.

I have friends at work who are just about drooling (myself included) for this book because of the fricken’ cliffhanger ending! So, super excited for this book to come out.

What’s a book you’re waiting on? What’s got you excited about it? Comment below and let me know!

Tiny Navajo Reads: The Beauty of the Moment

The Beauty of the Moment by Tanaz Bhathena

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*Published February 26, 2019*

I seem to be in a small contemporary YA kick, which I’m not opposed to at the moment. Contemporary YA is soft and fluffy and is usually centered around high school romance, which is usually fluff.

Susan is the new girl—she’s sharp and driven, and strives to meet her parents’ expectations of excellence. Malcolm is the bad boy—he started raising hell at age fifteen, after his mom died of cancer, and has had a reputation ever since.
Susan’s parents are on the verge of divorce. Malcolm’s dad is a known adulterer.

Susan hasn’t told anyone, but she wants to be an artist. Malcolm doesn’t know what he wants—until he meets her.

Love is messy and families are messier, but in spite of their burdens, Susan and Malcolm fall for each other. The ways they drift apart and come back together are testaments to family, culture, and being true to who you are.

This story, to me, felt like a more realistic version of a high school love. Our two main characters, Susan and Malcolm, are trying to just figure out who they are as well as who they want to be. Susan wants to be an artist, going to college to pursue an arts degree. Her parents want to be a doctor or engineer. Malcolm has a reputation of being a dick and not knowing what he wants to do when it comes to being after high school.

These two meet and it starts off a rocky friendship, but they connect. They start to find common ground with one another they become the friends neither knew they needed in this time of their lives. Malcolm helps Susan adjust to living in Canada, such as learning how to drive, taking her out to food that is what she grew up with, and just being her friend as she settles into being in Canada. Susan helps Malcolm with the Shakespeare unit in English, working on getting his grades up, and inadvertently helping his decide that he wants to go to college.

But as with all high school romances, not all is well. They run into problems, and issues; Susan’s mother and father are on two separate continents and this is causing strain on their marriage. Malcolm’s father had an affair while his mother was going through a resurgence of cancer. As Susan and Malcolm work through their family problems, their relationship suffers. Things go down the drain for them, but they still want to be friends, to figure out what they want.

I think what I love most about this book and this relationship is that this feels realistic to me of a high school relationship. Susan and Malcolm want to be friends, more than friends, but as they work on themselves and their families first, they learn that they can do just that and let themselves learn what they want in life. This is a love story that doesn’t focus square on the love aspect of the relationship, but the friendship part of it as well. And that feels true, that you can love someone, but without learning how to be friends, you cannot truly love that person.

What do you think love is? Is it something that comes easily to you? Comment below and let me know!