Reviews tagging 'Grief'

かがみの孤城 by Mizuki Tsujimura, 辻村深月

35 reviews

randeerebecca's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, Terminal illness, Bullying, and Suicidal thoughts

stefaniacg's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Grief

moonadjacent's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Found family from a bunch of outcasts has got to be one of my favourite tropes in fiction. The heartfelt sincerity with which the kids come to regard each other is so touching to witness evolve. 

I cried for Rion. It was so heartbreaking for him to lose the chance to wish for his sister to come back home.

My only criticism would be that as much as I loved getting to know each character's backstory, the lead up to each discovery became quite formulaic.

Kokoro runs, touches X, views memory, vows to save friend, rinse, repeat. Sort of like a video game, which, meta!

Apart from that small section, I did enjoy the writing style and pace. 

But I must admit I was quite shocked at how the parents didn't just force the kids to go to school to be honest. Personally, the idea that a child could just not go to school for a year was more fantastical

than being eaten by a wolf in a castle accessible by mirror.

Great story though, really enjoyed how all the puzzle pieces came to fit. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child death, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Cancer

Minor: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Blood, Mental illness, Death, Fatphobia, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts

laurenvoice's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-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

3.5

Lonely Castle in the Mirror had a slow start, but the whole story came together in the final chapter. This story was quite sad, but hopeful at the same time. It is quite hard to put my thoughts into words to describe how I feel after reading this book; however, I know it will stay with me for a long time. I hope Kokoro and her friends will all meet again. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, and Bullying

Minor: Terminal illness, Child death, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief

kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Sad, hopeful, whimsical, lovely. the movie was lovely but this felt like an arrow to the heart in a very bittersweet, throbbing way. I NEED this in print 

I often struggle with translated literature feeling stilted or distanced from the characters but this was spectacular. 

my one bone to pick is that sometimes the children admitted faults in places where truly their parents should have picked up the slack, but I also think that is realistic to their lives. their parents didn’t know them enough to notice their issues, so the kids blame themselves for “not speaking up” when problems arouse. :( 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Bullying, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, and Death

writteninmagic's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Body shaming, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, and Suicide

blacksphinx's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Cancer, Child abuse, Mental illness, and Bullying

Moderate: Terminal illness, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, and Misogyny

Minor: Sexual assault, Car accident, Death of parent, and Medical content

Misogynistic slurs

haidaway_'s review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

I found the book's pacing to be generally fast and very easy to read because of how it was translated. it was a really comfortable and heartwarming read and I was not expecting the twist at the end and how everything came full circle so beautifully. it made grief a heartwarming topic to read about rather than a heart-wrenching one

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Content Warnings

Minor: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Bullying

maryellen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Death, and Sexual assault

sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Terminal illness

Minor: Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Child death, and Emotional abuse