Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

かがみの孤城 by Mizuki Tsujimura, 辻村深月

21 reviews

harrie's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.75

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parchmentdreams's review against another edition

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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

yzadalawatatlo's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad

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

I have one thing to say... Found Family.
Also Mental Health and Friendship.
Okay, that's three things.

This book CURED my book slump. I found the writing easy to follow, and the characters are easy to tell apart since they have distinct personalities.

Though, I feel as tho Rion isn't as developed as the rest of the characters. I suppose the Author hid some of his actions because of his relationship with the Wolf Queen. I still loved him, yes, but I would have wanted to see more of him.

On the tag of the book, it said that it was Slow-paced but I didn't particularly find it slow. I finished it in less than a day.

The ending of this book. omg. I did not FUCKING SEE THAT HOLY SHIT THE PLOT TWIST??!?! TO DIE FOOOOOR
THE ENDING WAS CRAFTED SO WELL I COULD HARDY SEE THE WORDS DUE TO ALL THE TEARS MWAH MWAH MWAH

I can't exactly rate this book yet since I feel that I'm not in the right mind to rate it yet. (in a book hangover due to all the crying I did) But I highly recommend this book. Especially If you're looking for escapism (so did they), and a friendship/Family to fall for.

+I recommend Listening to "Keep Holding on" From Glee in the Climax. (From the title of the song you should know I'm referring to), Also "Somewhere Only We Know" is Also from Glee (I just prefer the glee version, sue me).

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rhm04's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

4.5

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noaolivie's review against another edition

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5.0

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jfield351's review against another edition

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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.

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fe_lea's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

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

4.0

“There are children somewhere who, trembling, and at the risk of their own lives, pulled me by the arm and brought me back into this world.”

The story begins with Kokoro, a 13-year old girl who’s avoiding going to school because of the bullying that she has faced from her classmates. One day, she found her mirror shining and got transported to a castle where she met six other kids who are also avoiding school for their own personal reasons, and a girl who calls herself the wolf queen. The wolf queen gives the seven of them a task to find the key to the Wishing Room, the person who finds the key will be granted a wish.

Based on the title, blurb, and cover, I thought this would be a magical and charming read with lots of ghibli vibes. The story, however, ended up differently than I originally expected. It borrowed some western fairy tale elements, but it’s still distinctly Japanese as it uses tropes commonly seen in anime and manga. I thought magic would play a much larger role in the story and have more of that magical realism element, but it didn’t. In fact, the time the kids spent inside the castle felt a bit mundane, they just played video games and studied for entrance exams, it was like a giant playground for them as they escape their problems from the real world.

I also wasn’t a big fan of the pacing. To be honest, I struggled in the beginning and especially in the middle, and the book felt like it was too long. It’s slow for the most part and a bit repetitive. It only picked up by the end and I’m glad I pushed through with the story because the ending was worth it.

Where the book shined though is in its characters and the themes it tackled. This is a character-driven story. I loved the characters and the friendships they developed with each other. Each have their own struggles and seeing them slowly getting out of their shells and opening up to each other was heartwarming to read. I just want to give these kids a hug. Some characters were fleshed out more than the others, nevertheless I got hooked by their backstories, which I wish we could’ve gotten more in the middle of the book.

In the publisher’s note, “Japanese children were ranked second-to-last in an international survey assessing children’s mental health across 38 developed and emerging countries. While Japanese children were ranked first in physical health and often live in relatively prosperous economic circumstances, instances of bullying in schools, as well as difficult relationships with family members, lead to a lack of psychological well-being.” That said, I can see how this book was a bestseller in Japan. I loved the way the story handled bullying, anxiety, mental health, human relationships, and reaching out for help. It was able to deliver the message well while maintaining a childlike tone and avoiding sounding preachy.

My favorite thing about the book though is the ending. I loved how it was able to tie everything up in the end. Some things were predictable but it still managed to surprise me and may have elicited a couple of tears along the way, lol. I also loved how it was able to come full circle with the beginning of the book. I finished this book in the morning but I still haven’t stopped thinking about the ending. It was just beautiful.

Overall, this book is so wholesome, heartwarming, sometimes sad, but still remained hopeful. The beginning and middle may be a bit slow and dragging but push through to the end and you will be rewarded.

Content Warnings