Ouran High School Host Club Vol. 4 by Bisco Hatori

Book Jacket

In this screwball romantic comedy, Haruhi, a poor girl at a rich kids' school, is forced to repay an $80,000 debt by working for the school's swankiest, all-male club--as a boy!  There she discovers just how wealthy the six members are and how different the rich are from everybody else....

Curious about Haruhi's standard of living, the Host Club members barge into her personal life by paying her a visit at home.  While the guys do their utmost to be polite, everything they do seems to backfire, especially for poor Tamaki!  On top of it all, he trips and lands on top of Haruhi--just in time for her cross-dressing farther to catch them in a compromising position...

Review

*eyeroll* These book jackets.  They leave so much out, and make this series seems so ridiculous.  Although, yes, it very much is ridiculous a majority of the time.  I like the exploration of rich vs. poor, but it's the wonky characters that really make me love Ouran High School Host Club.

For instance, one part of this volume is a retelling of Alice in Wonderland, which serves no purpose other than to entertain.  I am so okay with that, because entertain it does.  I especially loved the exploration of how the story would work with the twins as Alice, or Tamaki as Alice, or Haruhi as Alice.  I actually loled when Haruhi's Alice watches Hunny disappear down the rabbit hole, then goes back to her book as the narration says, "Because Alice was hardly ever curious, she would never follow a rabbit thoughtlessly."  So true.  Haruhi, I adore you.

There's also a hilarious story about Hunny getting a cavity and the chaos that ensues when he is denied sweets.  Oh my word, I just love all of these characters so much.  Except for Tamaki.  His drama queen habits grate on my nerves.  But everyone else is completely cuddle-worthy, even if some of them would put ice down my back if I tried.

Four out of five newspaper interviews.

Release Date:  January 2006
Reading Level:  Grade 7+
Where In Dunlap Public Library's Collection:  Not yet a part of Dunlap's collection.