Ascendance of a Bookworm Volume 2 Manga Review, Parents’ Guide, and Christian Perspective

Our Ascendance of a Bookworm Volume 2 Christian Review and Parents’ Guide explores the manga’s characters, themes, magic, age appropriateness, and content for parents, Christians, and discerning readers.

This review is about Ascendance of a Bookworm Volume 2 (manga). For our review of volume 1, click here.

What is Ascendance of a Bookworm?

Ascendance of a Bookworm is a franchise created by Miya Kazuki. Originally a web novel, the series has grown into light novels, manga, anime, audiobooks, drama CDS, and more. Our “overview post” covers the franchise as a whole and is available here.

Is Ascendance of a Bookworm Volume 2 (Manga) Worth Reading?

Yes, the second volume of the Ascendance of a Bookworm manga is worth reading.

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Synopsis: What is Ascendance of a Bookworm Volume 2 (Manga) About?

After Urano Motosu, a dedicated bookworm, dies in the most fitting way possible (an avalanche of books), she is reincarnated into a fantasy world. All Urano—now a sickly five-year-old girl named Myne—desires are books, but this fantasy world is mostly illiterate, and books are nearly impossible to come by.

Refusing to accept defeat, Myne decides to make books herself in a world where parchment costs an entire month’s salary, and she has a body that can barely make it to the bottom floor of her apartment building.

In Volume 2 of the Ascendance of a Bookworm manga, Myne attempts ancient methods of making papyrus and clay tablets, introduces her neighbors to new recipes, learns to write, tries to build the stamina she needs to go to the forest, and gains a valuable ally.

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Ascendance of a Bookworm Volume 2 (Manga) Christian Review

Ascendance of a Bookworm (AoaB) Volume 2 (manga) is another worthwhile installment in the AoaB franchise. There are no abrupt tone or content shifts, so it’s consistent with the first volume. This volume continues to establish Myne and Lutz’s relationship, which will be critical for future events.

Lutz’s Character in Ascendance of a Bookworm Volume 2 (Manga): A Promise to Myne

Despite what felt like a very brief and limited appearance in the first volume, Lutz appears much more frequently in volume 2. In this volume, he makes an essential promise: to have Myne’s back.

But why does a five-year-old neighbor promise to have a sickly girl’s back? When Lutz is hungry, Myne makes him parue cakes, so he decides to help Myne out: “You made parue cakes for me when I was hungry, yeah? When you did that, I decided to help you when you needed it.”

Even Myne is a bit confused about why feeding him had such an impact, but it does.

This promise is an important part of their growing partnership because Myne definitely needs Lutz’s help. He helps her dig up clay and make clay tablets. He makes sure she gets home, allowing her to go at her own pace and refusing to leave her behind. After Myne’s clay tablets fail, Lutz pushes her to try again.

Lutz does get some benefit from their friendship—Myne’s father pays him, and Myne shares recipes—but his loyalty was sparked when she fed him parue cakes, and it continues to grow.

Myne’s Character in Ascendance of a Bookworm Volume 2 (Manga)

Myne is still very selfish and immature, but she does continue to experience some character growth. One of her best features is her determination, persistence, and dedication to bookmaking. She notices how hard Tuuli works, and that inspires her in her attempts at papyrus-weaving.

She also works very hard to strengthen her body so that she can go to the forest and make clay tablets. And she’s finally able to make it to the forest! However, her job is to rest once she gets there, and she doesn’t follow through. From the beginning, she planned to disobey her father by bringing a shovel for digging up clay.

This choice is super selfish because if she can’t walk home, she’d inconvenience the other kids who need to carry their own foraged items back.

A few other examples of character flaws in this volume include:

1. When Effa tells Myne to make baskets, observing that Myne “ha[s] time to play around,” Myne replies, “Maybe when I’m done.” This is a very unhelpful response.
2. Myne lies to help Tuuli feel better.
3. Myne looks “scary” when Fey and his friends ruin her clay tablets, and her anger makes her ill. She refuses to forgive them as well.

However, she is growing, slowly but surely.

Tuuli’s Character in Ascendance of a Bookworm Volume 2 (Manga)

Tuuli remains a fantastic older sister in volume 2, although I felt that her imperfections were clearer in the manga than in the anime (for example, her irritation towards Myne stands out to me more).

Perhaps the difference is because Tuuli speaks in the anime, and her tone softens her irritation.

In this volume, Tuuli remains extremely responsible. On Myne’s first visit to the forest, she plans to leave the forest early for Myne’s sake, which is really responsible for a six-year-old. However, for some reason, she has to get the other children home, so she asks Lutz to take Myne home. This leaves me with some questions: why are young children going to the forest if they need Tuuli to bring them home? Why is she the one responsible for it? Shouldn’t she be responsible for Myne?

Having Lutz take care of Myne helps to establish his necessary presence in Myne’s life, but seriously, why is Tuuli responsible for a whole group of kids?

Either way, Tuuli’s character is consistently reliable.

Tuuli and Lutz’s Shared Moment

One final event I want to highlight happens on the first day Myne visits the forest. Her clay tablets are accidentally destroyed, and Myne freaks out. Everyone has to stay late to help her fix them. Lutz thinks Myne will get sick due to the events, and Tuuli is clearly stressed and unsure what to tell her father. Their short exchange: “You sure have it rough, Tuuli” and “You too, Lutz” acknowledges the mutual struggles that they both experience trying to keep Myne happy and healthy.

It’s a special moment.

FAQs for Ascendance of a Bookworm Volume 2 (Manga)

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Ascendance of a Bookworm Volume 2 (Manga) Parents’ Guide

Does Ascendance of a Bookworm Volume 2 (manga) contain any sex, romance, or nudity?

• Gunther makes it very clear that Otto is married, and Myne wonders why Gunther is making this clear to her, noting that she’s five.

Does Ascendance of a Bookworm Volume 2 (manga) contain frightening scenes, violence, or gore?

• Characters slaughter pigs for winter.
• Pig slaughtering is shown. Some blood is visible.
• Myne faints.
• Myne falls off of a bench.
• Brothers fight each other over food.
• Lutz grabs Myne’s ears, irritated at her.
• Myne looks “scary” when Fey and his friends ruin her clay tablets. Her “anger” causes her to grow ill.
• Myne’s parents get upset, threaten to take things away, or yell at her (she’s a handful).
• At one point, Myne “didn’t care if [she] died” (but she grows to appreciate life).
• Lutz falls out of a tree, but he is okay.

Does Ascendance of a Bookworm Volume 2 (manga) contain language or profanity?

• “Gracious, Myne…”
• “Crap.”
• “Geez.”
• “What kind of idiot…”
• “Daughter obsessed nerd.”
• “I swear” (promising to make Tuuli’s hair look good).
• “Don’t be stupid.”
• Lutz asks Myne if she’s deaf.
• “…I feel dumb…”

Does Ascendance of a Bookworm Volume 2 (manga) contain alcohol or other substances?

• No confirmed alcohol appears, although Gunther drinks an unknown substance and is known to drink alcohol.

Does Ascendance of a Bookworm Volume 2 (manga) contain magic or spiritual concerns?

• Mention of a store that you can sell magic stones to.
• A magical tree, called a parue, has super bizarre abilities.
• Lutz raves about Myne’s recipe: “This food’s so good, you’re kind of like a god to me now.”
• Characters prepare for Tuuli’s baptism (not a Christian baptism).
• Urano was reincarnated into this world, although the reincarnation aspect is more of a way to get her into the fantasy world and explain why she has random knowledge. It’s not super central other than as a plot device.

Other Possible Concerns in Ascendance of a Bookworm Volume 2 (manga)

• Myne tries to manipulate her dad into making her a lace needle.

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Conclusion: Ascendance of a Bookworm Volume 2 (Manga) Christian Review

Ascendance of a Bookworm Volume 2 (manga) follows Myne’s chaotic attempts at bookmaking and is fairly tame in content. I recommend it for fans of the series.

Magic, polytheism, and darker topics will come in the future, but we still have some time before that—and even when that time comes, you’ll have our guides to help navigate it.

For now, the isekai remains wholesome, fun, and lighthearted, and we look forward to continuing our time in the world of Ascendance of a Bookworm.

Photo Credit: Ascendance of a Bookworm Volume 2 Manga cover from Amazon. Published by J Novel Club. Written by Miya Kazuki, Art by Suzuka.

A note about our use of Ascendance of a Bookworm versus AoaB: when introducing a title’s abbreviation, it can be standard practice to use the full title once, then replace it with the abbreviated version for simplicity. However, we prefer to use them interchangeably for multiple reasons, including search engine optimization.