Yuta Takahashi

For fans of WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS IN THE LIBRARY and BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD, discover the second book in the irresistibly uplifting Japanese hit series about cats and the healing power of food. **Contains four mouth-watering recipes** The Chibineko Kitchen is no ordinary restaurant: the food can bring someone you've lost back to you, for one last time. It's been months since Kotoko first visited the tiny restaurant by the sea. Now she works there, alongside the chef Kai and his mischievous kitten Chibi. One sunny morning, the restaurant opens its doors to Nagi, a young woman facing an impossible choice. Should she marry her boyfriend, despite knowing she only has a few years left to live, or protect him from pain by refusing? She is desparate for advice from the one person no longer around to give it - her mother. Next to visit are an anxious man rebuilding his life after shutting himself away for years, a lonely widow unaware that she is surrounded by friends, and an actor hoping to rekindle his career. Each leaves the restaurant nourished and reminded of what matters most in life. Moving and irresistibly uplifting, The Calico Cat at the Chibineko Kitchen is a culinary hug for the soul.

Follow the bank of the Koitogawa river until you reach the beach. From there a path of white seashells will lead you to the Chibineko Kitchen. Step inside, they'll be expecting you. These are the directions Kotoko has been given. She arrives at the tiny restaurant, perched right by the water, early in the morning. Still reeling from the sudden death of her brother, she's been promised that the food served there will bring him back to her, for one last time. Taking a seat in the small, wood-panelled room, she waits as Kai, the restaurant's young chef, brings out steaming bowls of simmered fish, rice and miso soup. Though she hadn't ordered anything, Kai had somehow known the exact dish her brother always used to cook for her. And as she takes her first delicious bite, the gulls outside fall silent and the air grows hazy . . . Soul-nourishing and comforting, The Chibineko Kitchen will help you remember what matters most in life.