クラスで2番目に可愛い女の子と友だちになった2

Probably my favorite volume in the series (out of 4 so far). You get a good close look at Maki's family situation and history (specifically his absent father), and how that's affecting him. Watching Maki & Umi's relationship further develop and finally officially become 恋人 is really nice. You also see the after effects of the character's challenges from book 1, and how they challenge and support each other through these.

Outside of that, the story introduces a second male character, and we even learn a bit about Nina's background. I found myself a bit confused by Maki's mom suddenly just being able to freely take time off of work, and even talk about talking a hiatus, when she's usually working overtime, but I enjoyed seeing more of her. Also by the way the main conflict of this book resolves, Maki gives his father the ultimatum of getting back with his mother, or permanently staying out of their lives. This might be a result of poor comprehension on my part though (and there's currently no translation to double check against)