Bakemonogatari, Part 2: Monster Tale (Bakemonogatari, #1, Part 2)

Bakemono , literally "altered thing," which translates as "monster." Monogatari , literally "thing narrated," which translates as "tale." Combined into a neologism by he of the reversible nom de plume, they yield BAKEMONOGATARI, the monster tale that kicked off a series whose anime adaptations have enjoyed international popularity and critical acclaim. A self-described loser, Koyomi Araragi is struggling at a prep school that he should never have gotten into. He has all but quit caring, but as a senior, he faces the chilling scenario of not being able to graduate. It's time to cram, but the supernatural aberrations that keep on popping up in his provincial town won't let him be. Previously, our hero turned into a vampire and back, gained an acid-tongued girlfriend, and couldn't find his way home thanks to a lost child. In this second of three parts, which introduces Suruga Kanbaru and Nadeko Sengoku, he becomes embroiled in a case that riffs on a classic English story from 1902. There's A Girl At Their School Who Is Always Ill. She Routinely Arrives Late, Leaves Early, Or Doesn't Show Up At All, And Skips Gym As A Matter Of Course. She's Pretty, And The Boys Take To Whispering That She's A Cloistered Princess. As The Self-described Worst Loser In Her Class Soon Finds Out, They Just Don't Know What A Monster She Is. So Begins A Tale Of Mysterious Maladies That Are Supernatural In Origin Yet Deeply Revealing Of The Human Psyche, A Set Of Case Files As Given To Unexpected Feeling As It Is To Irreverent Humor. So Begins The Legendary Novel That Kicked Off The Monogatari Series, Whose Anime Adaptations Have Enjoyed International Popularity And Critical Acclaim. This First Of Three Parts Introduces Senjogahara And Hachikuji, And Fans Of The Blockbuster Prequel Kizumonogatari Will Be Delighted To Meet Their Favorite Crazies Again: The Weirdly Reliable Narrator Araragi, Class President Among Class Presidents Hanekawa, Shady Problem-solver Oshino, And A Certain Pale, Blonde Former Vampire.