Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - Lonely Castle in the Mirror

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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dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

A heartbreaking story about the consequences of bullying, anxiety and trauma on young teens in Japan, a country where children and teens rank really low on mental health surveys. It serves as a cautionary tale in a way, but it also delivers a message of hope.
Although I struggled for tha majority of the book, the ending came together in a really satisfying way, with all the pieces of the puzzle joining each other neatly. However, the first 2/3 of the book were almost painfully slow and a bit repetitive. And although the clues eventually made sense, most of the time I felt a bit clueless as to where the story was going. I did like the growth each character went through as well as the way their relationships grew over time. But I was expecting, maybe due to the blurb or to the glowing reviews, a story with more fantastical elements, even if grounded in reality as this was.
The ending was beautifully written, so sad and heart-warming at the same time, and it was worth the wait, even if I struggled to get there.

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