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bookishplantmom's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I went into this book pretty much blind. I was hoping for something lighthearted and cozy. This was close to what I’d wanted though it didn’t have the quirky folklore tone I’d wished for. The writing is rather introspective. I tend to find translations a bit clunky especially with dialogue but overall it was easy to read. This is definitely in the « no plot, just vibes » category. It took me a while to get on board with the characters and to accept that they were just chilling for most of the book. I found that the pacing was quite slow for the majority of the time. Things picked up at about 60% at which point things rapidly come together. I predicted some aspects of the story while other reveals surprised me. I thought the author handled certain topics well enough while other I felt were glossed over a bit. Generally an enjoyable viby read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Bullying, and Child abuse
Minor: Chronic illness and Suicidal thoughts
catwhisperer's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Child death, Fatphobia, Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Gaslighting, and Mental illness
tiriol's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Chronic illness, and Bullying
Moderate: Child death, Abandonment, Suicide attempt, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Violence, Toxic friendship, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, and Death
thewordsdevourer's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
this is def a mindboggling case of "what the hell went wrong???" i should be all over lonely castle in the mirror but im simply not, despite its fantastical elements and supposedly high emotional impact of friendship and empathy.
ultimately it boils down to a few things. first, the writing: nothing wrong w/ sparse language normally, but im not a fan of how tsujimura uses it in the novel. it feels like sth's missing, and the overuse of short sentences and the start of new line breaks rly irritate me, as more often than not there's literally no reason for that and it cheapens the impact of moments that truly warrant it. i dislike the translation thats riddled w/ typos, frequent awkward phrasing, and inadequate copyediting as well.
the book feels too long for me too; some scenes could def be cut out or shortened. the first half is hair-wringingly slow and i almost dropped the book. i also feel a puzzling disconnection w/ the characters. we spend so much time in kokoro's head and only learn abt the others at the story's climax. moreover, the scenes we see of the young ppl who spend time in the castle dont rly do much, often theyre repetitive and dont further the characterization. each of them keeps up such high walls over themselves it's hard to connect to them - tho it doesnt render one immune to their plight - thus what we see of them is an incomplete picture that doesnt fill itself in until the very end, and thats way too long of a wait.
as a result of said disconnection, this story has little emotional payoff for me despite the huge potential. this book def has very relevant and important themes, and each piece of the puzzle comes tgt nicely in the end, w/ the last scenes of rion + the wolf queen, him + kokoro, and her w/ aki being well-plotted and a lil touching. the problem is, i wouldve been touched so so so much more if only what precedes those scenes thru much of the book were better. it's like what shouldve resulted in a beautifully flowing fountain turns out to merely be a few measly drops of water from a tap.
tldr: im not surprised this book's liked by many, but its deficient execution leaves me unsatisfied and bemoaning over its wasted potential.
ultimately it boils down to a few things. first, the writing: nothing wrong w/ sparse language normally, but im not a fan of how tsujimura uses it in the novel. it feels like sth's missing, and the overuse of short sentences and the start of new line breaks rly irritate me, as more often than not there's literally no reason for that and it cheapens the impact of moments that truly warrant it. i dislike the translation thats riddled w/ typos, frequent awkward phrasing, and inadequate copyediting as well.
the book feels too long for me too; some scenes could def be cut out or shortened. the first half is hair-wringingly slow and i almost dropped the book. i also feel a puzzling disconnection w/ the characters. we spend so much time in kokoro's head and only learn abt the others at the story's climax. moreover, the scenes we see of the young ppl who spend time in the castle dont rly do much, often theyre repetitive and dont further the characterization. each of them keeps up such high walls over themselves it's hard to connect to them - tho it doesnt render one immune to their plight - thus what we see of them is an incomplete picture that doesnt fill itself in until the very end, and thats way too long of a wait.
as a result of said disconnection, this story has little emotional payoff for me despite the huge potential. this book def has very relevant and important themes, and each piece of the puzzle comes tgt nicely in the end, w/ the last scenes of rion + the wolf queen, him + kokoro, and her w/ aki being well-plotted and a lil touching. the problem is, i wouldve been touched so so so much more if only what precedes those scenes thru much of the book were better. it's like what shouldve resulted in a beautifully flowing fountain turns out to merely be a few measly drops of water from a tap.
tldr: im not surprised this book's liked by many, but its deficient execution leaves me unsatisfied and bemoaning over its wasted potential.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Bullying
Moderate: Chronic illness and Mental illness
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Sexual harassment, and Suicide attempt
purplepenning's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
The pacing and writing style were difficult for me but it's an important, clever story. A slow starter with a good, portal fantasy hook and great payoff in the last third.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Death, Grief, Gaslighting, Chronic illness, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Adult/minor relationship
sofiadanielle's review against another edition
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 :)
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 :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Bullying
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Chronic illness
shakakan's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide attempt
radfordmanor's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, and Toxic friendship
amigdalafeels's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Chronic illness, and Suicidal thoughts
jfield351's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I read this from the 4th-6th of Feb, as part of the Dymocks challenge for book in translation. This was a beautiful book, and like nothing i’ve read before. It was originally written in Japanese and has been translated into english, so sometimes there were extra phrases clarifying cultural cues. It was also such an easy read! Though the chapters are very long, I didn’t feel like I was reading, but more like watching a movie. I will definitely read this book again. The characters were so lifelike, very very well developed. They are so real and portray that age group (13-16 years) very well. There are lots of struggles with mental health, which is so real and devastating to read about. In the beginning I was wondering if certain things would be explained, like why there were baths and sinks but no water , or if it would just be about the growing up of the characters. But no, all but one thing ( why the wolf girl was able to do magic ) was explained!! There were actually 3 twists in the book which I was not expecting whatsoever! I had no idea what the ending would be like, if they’d find the key and what wish would they make, but the ending surprised me and was beautiful. It did keep flashing to the past and the present in the same sentence though, which I found a little hard to understand. I also cringed when there was mention of the adult/minor relationship , because it was so lifelike and disturbing. I would call this book a soft fantasy rather than hard fantasy, the latter of which i usually prefer, but this was so good. there was a random part in the middle of the book, which was also the prologue, and I feel it made no sense being where it was. The alternate ending where all the X’s were graveyards was so freaky, that last chapter was so tense and just wow! also the triple twist really made me stunned! because i thought it was also a parallel world, so finding out it was a different time zone was so wonderful. i guessed that someone might be another ones parent or something, but Aki being the teacher was unexpected and so lovely. it really tied it together beautifully. And finally, Rion’s sister being the wolf girl was a tragic yet beautiful ending, a sister just wanting one last wish for her brother. Also the concept of having the dollhouse be the castle, i’d subconsciously guessed at just because I’ve watched a Doctor Who episode like it, was really cool and tied up all the last plot holes. I don’t understand where she got that magic from, but i’ll accept it. i also don’t get why they couldn’t be in last 5pm? why were they eaten by the wolf? because it was time for her to sleep? . anyways it was beautiful, i’d love to read it again. wonderful story!
After a few weeks I have decided to up it to 5 stars. such a beautiful and clever book.
After a few weeks I have decided to up it to 5 stars. such a beautiful and clever book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Child death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Suicide
Minor: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Medical content, Abandonment, and Panic attacks/disorders