The Wavering of Suzumiya Haruhi

Title: The Wavering of Suzumiya Haruhi
Author: Tanigawa Nagaru

What it's about: This is another volume of shorter stories. We start with "Live A Live," about North High's cultural festival and what Haruhi gets up to during that, and "Asahina Mikuru's Adventure Episode 00" is basically the movie the SOS Brigade filmed during The Sighs of Suzumiya Haruhi. "Charmed at First Sight LOVER" is an interesting one where one of Kyon's junior high friends gets a crush on Nagato. "Where Did The Cat Go?" picks up after last volume's "Snow Mountain Syndrome," and it's about the mystery detective game Koizumi arranged for. Finally, "The Melancholy of Asahina Mikuru" is about Asahina-san's time travel mission.

What I thought: For me, this novel was a mixed bag. "Live A Live" had some fun stuff and interesting character development for Haruhi, while "Asahina Mikuru's Adventure Episode 00" seemed to drag on because I was already familiar with most of its content from Sighs. "Charmed at First Sight LOVER" was good character development for Nagato, and Nakagawa was a pretty fun character. There was also some good humor when Haruhi finds the note Kyon tossed out the window. That's a scene I'd like to see make it into the anime. "Where Did The Cat Go?" was kind of a boring read, really, because there was no real suspense in this mystery story, and it didn't even seem like Koizumi's game would have been a fun one to play. "The Melancholy of Asahina Mikuru" was pretty good, though. For one thing, it again got into the time travel/sci-fi subplot of things, and for another, it gave Asahina-san some character development, which I think she and Koizumi don't really seem to get enough of.

Overall: A fun volume, but I can't call it a favorite in the series.