[DeepL Translation - needs review] Volume 1 Introduction: Lillian Girls' Academy is a private school for purely cultured maidens. In order to carry on the pure and correct school life, a system called "sisters (suru)" exists in the upper school. After the students pledged to become sisters through a ceremony in which they received a rosary, the older sisters would mentor the younger sisters. Yumi, who had not yet had an older sister when she entered the upper secondary school, was suddenly d...
This is my least favorite volume in the series so far. The first of 3 stories focuses on a plan to overcome Sachiko's 男嫌い condition, and is quite an enjoyable read, involving some of the 花寺 boys, Yumi, the 山百合会, etc. While I think Sachiko's 男嫌い thing (at least the way it's portrayed) is a bit of a stretch, it's put to great use as a plot device. I really loved seeing Yumi interact with one of the 花寺 kids in a way that doesn't involve them making terrible jokes about 柏木 and her (I felt soooooo bad for Yumi last volume). I also felt like we got to see a more proactive and mature side to her. It's great how she's developed over the last few novels.
The 2nd story could have been interesting, but was A - largely about a side character we haven't met, B - about 70% through the PoV of Mami (who is much less interesting than Minako). Instead of reading a story about her attempts to be a paparazzi reporter, I would have preferred to read the actual event she'd gone to report on. I can't say it was badly written - you could even argue the whole thing is a rather clever approach/twist - I just wasn't interested. I did really love the parts that involved Shimako & Noriko tho!
The 3rd story is just a short Yoshino-Rei omake that you can honestly completely skip. It wasn't that interesting. Either the author needed to fill pages, or just wanted to provide a tiny snack to Yoshino-Rei fans, I guess?
I'm glad 夏休み is over now, and looking forward to getting back to the main plot.