Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura

68 reviews

chikin's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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meemawreads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

If you like a careful build up to an explosive ending, Lonely Castle In The Mirror is for you. We mainly follow Kokoro, a 7th grade girl in Tokyo who has dropped out of middle school due to bullying. One day her bedroom mirror glows and she finds she can pass through it into a castle. Along with six other middle schoolers who are going through their own stuff, she’s given a task to be completed by the end of the school year.
The beginning moved slowly and I got confused by the passage of time. I was often taken out of the story somewhat by the characters’ choices and what they focused on. I understand this is likely due to the translation or broader cultural differences so I let it slide and kept going. And I’m glad I did. Although way everything came together was somewhat predictable (I also gave it a pass because it’s YA) it was a touching ending, and I can only imagine how much more moving it would be for a reader the age of the characters or an adult who struggled at that age, too. It deals with some tough stuff, but with care. I’m glad I saw it through to the end. Four and a half taters 🥔🥔🥔🥔🍠/🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔

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catching5tars's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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sofiadanielle's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

A good read, honestly. The story may seem slow in the first half of the book, and while that may make you want to quit it, I think the book as a whole is lovely.

The book doesn’t shy away from the effects of bullying in Japan, specifically, how other characters respond to the child being bullied (ranging from not taking it seriously to those who sincerely want to help.) The author’s note at the end makes a point that bullying, and children’s mental health should be focused on.

I wish I knew Japanese fluently, as to read this book in its original print, as the translation seems to lose some of the effect and emphasis of the story in its wording. Even despite these awkward moments, I still found myself thoroughly enthralled in the book.

Whimsy, in a way, and while marked as ‘young adult,’ I think the book is a lovely read, speaking as someone who is in their 20s and sometimes finds the YA genre to be a bit too ‘light’ or ‘childish’ at times. Lonely Castle in the Mirror feels substantial in its storyline and in the topic it covers, would definitely recommend :)

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tokagelizard's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

Part of my world reading challenge: Japan. See all my reviews and follow my progress at https://YA-world-challenge.tumblr.com

Kokoro is yet again staying home from school, no longer able to face her 1st year of junior high, when the mirror in her bedroom begins shining. What she finds through the mirror is a mysterious castle and a masked child called the Wolf Queen. There are six other teenagers, and they are given the opportunity to search for the key to a room that will grant one wish. The castle is open from 9 to 5, which leads Kokoro to deduce... none of the other kids are attending school either.

What you get is not a pulse-pounding adventure as you might first expect when we’re suddenly pulled through a magic mirror. But rather, we have the castle giving these seven loners a chance to discover themselves and each other. Whereas in some books what might ensue is a bitter fight to claim the One Wish, in Lonely Castle the kids find that more than a magical boon, the solace and escape of the castle itself might be what they need. Slowly, with fragile trust, their stories emerge.

Aaaahh! This was so good! It gives a slow, oh-so-gentle build-up to carefully ripping your heart out and sewing it nicely back together. Very sweetly, though.

This was such a satisfying mystery, also. Especially if you’ve studied up on your fairy tales (though not necessary to enjoy the book), you can pick up the clues and as each little layer is pulled away and be saying yes, yes! I knew it! or be stunned in awe at the pieces you didn’t notice. I think it struck the perfect balance between not too obvious and not too convoluted that it makes your brain hurt. I love the way that everything tied together in the end.

Each of the character’s voices are unique with clear personalities. At times there is a little translation-induced clunkiness (though since I know Japanese and can recognize the speech patterns I might just be hyper-aware of it.) I thought the use of honorifics (very important to the relationships) was handled clearly in the English edition. My only nitpick was that some of the slang seemed off at times. It looks like maybe this was published for a UK audience first which might explain some of it, but, for example, he’s a dish was presented as young people’s slang. Personally, I would think of that as very old-fashioned (1950s era or so) unless the kids have revived it in the last 10 years and I haven’t noticed. So a couple times things like that gave me a ‘huh?’ moment and drew me out of the flow.

Overall, this was an honest, sensitive portrayal of struggling junior high school kids mixed with a unique mystery.

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aliteracja's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

Content Warnings

parchmentdreams's review

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challenging emotional hopeful mysterious slow-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

3.5

The day was fast approaching, the key was still not found, and no wish had been granted. But Kokoro was fine about it. Memories were not the only thing she’d take away from here.

Overview

Lonely Castle In The Mirror is a character driven story of 7 junior high students that have chosen - for their own reasons - not to attend regular school. Some still attend classes, others barely leave their rooms. Our main character Kokoro, is one such student. After some traumatising clashes with her classmates soon after starting junior high, Kokoro barely leaves her room except to eat. When her mirror starts glowing one day, she touches it and is dragged into a castle ruled over by the Wolf Queen.

Kokoro and her 6 fellow students are given the opportunity to have one wish granted if they can find the Key to the Wishing Room, however they are only allowed to visit the castle between 9am and 5pm… and only one wish will be granted.

What I Liked

I really enjoyed the premise of Lonely Castle In The Mirror, and the development of the characters throughout the novel. Kokoro was a relatable and likeable character, and the group of “Little Red Riding Hoods” all had their own unique personalities and stories. I loved watching them all grow to trust and befriend each other, even though they struggled to find friends in their own realities.

What I Didn’t Like

The pacing of the novel was a bit off, it was slow for the first 60% then rushed through the end. This worked well with the plot and allowed for a large amount of character development, however it did tend to drag a bit over the first half.

Other Impressions

While I did guess some of the twists, the main one that I didn’t get was the identity of the Wolf Queen, and I was pleasantly surprised! I wasn’t expecting for us to actually see the Wolf Queen’s identity, and the girl behind the mask was surprising yet believable.

Overall I really enjoyed reading Lonely Castle In The Mirror and would rate it a 3.5/5. If you love reading about fairytales, friendships, and finding the courage to be yourself, then you’ll enjoy this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Erewhon Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Content Tags

bullying, physical assault, sexual assault (mentioned), mental health, depression, anxiety, suicide (mentioned), violence, friendship, found family, mystery, absent parents, character death, hospitals

Content Warnings