Reviews

Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura

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yars_reading_corner's review against another edition

5.0

Okay lately Japanese literature is really hitting it off with their magical realism and modern real life issues.

This is no different, a truly unique, multi-perspective novel that transcends categorization into genres and plot structures.

The way it's written could promise anime or movie adaptations in the future as the story was rich but fast paced and easy to develop after the first part of the book, there's definitely a bit of a hardwork required to get into the story in the first 100 or so pages but after that it unfolds to reveal a lot of issues in today's society from a teenager's point of view and gives you a glimpse of possible different lives people could be leading (in their head vs reality) and how they impact one another.

esxteriic's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

reangelic's review against another edition

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2.0

May I know how this book is labeled as young adult… it was not a bad book and pretty enjoyable to read however I would have loved it if I was still in middle school. I was surprised with the writing style and I was questioning whether I should read it, and I did end up finishing it. It was a pretty light, wholesome read and I’d recommend it to younger reader (kids).

daisy_kxnt's review

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4.0

*4.5 stars

feejae's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

“you’re battling every single day, aren’t you?” such a lighthearted, whimsical, warmth feeling i get when i read this book. it’s a very realistic depiction of mental health and bullying faced by japanese students, and to have them showcase a variety of household backgrounds is insane.

the unexpected plot twist took me off guard, and i was really eager to see if all of them get to meet in person (they didn’t). kokoro was an amazing main character, and the other six kids (fuka being my favourite followed by masamune, ureshino, aki, subaru & rion). the last few chapters were the best in terms of character development as we get to delve deeper into each of the characters’. (although i wasn’t a big fan of having rion’s sister as the Wolf Queen, as i would’ve liked it if Wolf Queen was like the sister’s guardian angel or spirit or something).

my favourite chapter had to be the epilogue, and my heart feels so hollow reading it through as i realised how all 7 of them from the different time frames were all interconnected and how kitajima happened to be akiko and the special connection she had with kokoro makes me wanna cry.

7/10 would recommend this book to people who struggle with mental health everyday 🥹❤️

Content Warnings