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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
A review here had me at, “Ghibli fantasy fans, listen up.” It’s a Japanese-influenced YA fantasy adventure where you meet a young girl from the countryside who feels she has no say in her life as a female in her patriarchal society. Our protagonist Miuko is immediately cursed and starts to transform into a demon. By the first third I thought it would be a simple quest story with friendships similar to “Shadow of the Fox” by Julie Kagawa. Well, in some ways it was, but the twists and turns, darkness and depth of themes wonderful for a teen to explore bump it up beyond a simple quest. My personal enjoyment was probably a 3-4 stars, but based on my two main parameters for rating YA/teen books (page-turner and thematically strong) I’ll rate this on here as *5 stars.*
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A really fun read, reminded me a lot of anime cartoons but a bit more fleshed out. This book explores gender, gender identity and gender norms and customs in a land steeped in Japanese inspired folk lore. It also deals with concepts of life and death, the myriad ways in which one can become a monster without killing, and some other fun ethical questions. But it's all story and narration and a bit allegorical. Thoroughly enjoyable and well constructed if a bit surprising when it suddenly included time travel.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
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:
Yes
I really liked this book. I can see this as a studio Ghibli movie. I loved the mythology she's created, I loved the footnotes, and I loved the story. I don't want to say too much about it because it's best read without any info- just go along for the ride and it's a fun ride!
My only gripe is the fact that the mother is gone andwe don't know what happened to her or why she actually left, I was kind of expecting that she would show up based on the description of her leaving at the beginning. But she truly is gone. I get that her having left helped Miuko grow more as a character but personally I don't like that trope at all. But it's a small, personal gripe.
My only gripe is the fact that the mother is gone and
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault
Consists of an unwanted kiss. There's also the constant looming threat of being an unaccompanied woman in this society, but it becomes less of a threat as the book goes on and the only thing that happens is a kiss.
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Cute easy read.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
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:
No