#philine

ASCENDANCE OF A BOOKWORM v17 completes the remainder of seasons in-between Rozemyne's first and second years at the Royal Academy. She visits the northern region of Groschel, to further establish the paper-making industry, and she tends to myriad events at the castle, including the welcoming of two ladies of Ahrensbach, whom have now married into the family. But Rozemyne's standards for industry growth are high, and her tendency to forget her directives and chat up suspected enemies on tangential topics gives everyone an ulcer. In short, the usual.

The current volume is another collection of awkward and interwoven castle affairs. Naturally, many such events threaten to spiral out of control but never do, which speaks well of the author's sprawling network of subplots, but doesn't do much for readers interested in some decent drama.

For example, when Rozemyne goes to Groschel, she leans on her attendant, Brunhilde, who is native to the area. But their visit is replete with problems: the lower city is deeply impoverished, the nobility is stiff and uncompromising, and the local water supply is polluted. Will the paper-making industry forsake setting down roots in an area with so little social progress? Brunhilde doesn't see much of a problem with simply ordering the commoners to do the tasks and then blaming them when things go wrong. But Rozemyne, careful not to offend but conscientious of the need to be truthful, sets the young woman straight: The people are responsible for the work, true, but the nobility is responsible for the people and their environment; it's all connected.

ASCENDANCE OF A BOOKWORM v17 reinforces the novel series' most essential emerging theme: egalitarianism. Quintessentially Japanese though not without other cultural precedence, the equal delegation of opportunity, the equal expectation of good work, and the shared consequences of failure are fundamental convictions of this novel series.

Counter-navigating an ambush during a wedding ceremony? Appeasing the anxiety of a newlywed woman who once felt trapped in her own home? Staying mindful of the watchful gazes of the surrounding duchies once the new school year begins? In each of these scenarios, Rozemyne must rely on her own wits, as well as the untested virtue of individuals who do not always have the station or authority to make a change. When Lady Aurelia of Ahrensbach marries into the family, will she be bitter and ambitions, or will she be uncertain of her position? When Adolphine of the Duchy of Dunkelfelger keys on Rozemyne at the Royal Academy, is it because she's upholding a promise to the now-graduated Lady Eglantine, or is it because she spies value in the tiny blue-haired girl that no one else sees?

The number of scenes that lend one the impression of foreshadowing are high, but the number of scenes with legitimate action or drama are minimal. Readers may have to wait another volume to see if Philine's brief military training comes in handy, or if Ferdinand's warning about the conflict between the old factions' children usurping their parents ever comes to pass, or if Lady Adolphine's role swerves from pleasant nuisance to legitimate knave.