I started writing by creating reviews for some of my favorite authors. And so I feel that once in a while, I ought to share what I'm reading. I hope you’ll enjoy this review!

Best Wishes from the Full Moon Coffee Shop

Mai Mochizuki

I fell in love with this book in the prologue when a family adopts a dog (which I wish I could do.) But there’s something even before the prologue that will draw you into this mystical tale. There is what the author calls an epigraph, then an introduction, then the prologue. But there’re all enchanting. Here’s what an epigraph is, because I had to look it up: “In literature, an epigraph is a phrase, quotation, or poem that is set at the beginning of a document, monograph or section or chapter thereof.” (Wikipedia) In this case, it’s a phrase. But let me move on.

If you think “Best Wishes” is a kind of greeting, you’d only be partially right. In Best Wishes From the Full Moon Coffee Shop, it is about the best wish each of us has that sometimes we are not even aware of. At the Full Moon Coffee Shop, you don’t order off a menu. Instead, the staff brings you what you need. Most often, you don’t even know you need it.

Like the first book about the Full Moon Coffee Shop, this book is a series of what I would call “short stories” that feature how various lives are connected. You will find out what each character’s best wish is, but along the way, you’ll learn so much more.  This is an entertaining volume, but it is also one that will make you think—and maybe even consider your own best wish.

If you read The Full Moon Coffee Shop you will love this volume. But if you didn’t, not to worry. The author will tell you everything you need to know to get started. Along the way, it will put you in the Christmas spirit, and teach you a bit about how Japan celebrates Christmas.