BOOKSTORE GIRLS - Paperback

A warm, witty Japanese bestseller about books, rivalry, friendship, and two very different women fighting to save the bookstore they love.

Riko Nishioka is the forty-year-old assistant manager of the flagship Pegasus bookstore in Kichijoji. Having worked her way up from a part-time position, she has earned the respect of the Japanese publishing world.

But there is one person she simply cannot stand.

Aki Kitamura.

At twenty-seven, Aki has landed a full-time job at the bookstore with a little help from her well-connected family. A rebellious free spirit with a silver spoon in her mouth, she is everything Riko is not—and definitely not a team player.

The two women clash constantly, both at work and in their personal lives.

Then comes devastating news: the bookstore is set to close in just six months.

Suddenly, Riko and Aki face an impossible choice. Can they put aside their rivalry and work together to boost sales, save the store, and protect their livelihoods?

Or will they go down fighting... each other?

A charming and engaging story about unlikely alliances, second chances, and the power of the places—and people—we come to love.

Translated from the Japanese by Haydn Trowell.