Reviews

Temple Alley Summer by Sachiko Kashiwaba

bike_mike's review

adventurous hopeful lighthearted mysterious 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

3.5

therearenobadbooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing fast-paced

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

5.0

So beautiful. It is a very different ghost and uplifting story of dreams coming true. A legend of a temple with a small statue that could bring someone back to life after a prayer. The spirits return as someone else, making the prayer selfless. 
A story within a story and a boy who will do his best to help a spirit and by helping the girl he helps an author, too. Loved it.

stephlq's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

3.5

gillthequill's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted reflective slow-paced

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

1.5

 1.5 Stars. Temple Alley Summer follows two stories: one focusing on the titular Temple Alley and the ghost story it tells, while the other is a story within a story that mirrors themes in the main story. Frankly, the story at first had me intrigued. The characters were written realistically for their ages... almost too realistically. Once the McGuffin Statue is stolen, the main character is powerless to do anything about it like a real child. Then the story suddenly shifts to the story within a story, which is the weaker of the two narratives. Both stories feel weaker as a result.

Why didn't the narrative just focus on describing what happens during this fateful summer? Why not focus on the ghost and enjoying this new situation its found itself in? Did the author just run out of steam and incredibly abruptly end both stories? How the heck did that ending happen?

What started off as a neat premise ended up souring its own experience. If you are thinking of getting this one, borrow it from a library.

 

litchyn's review

lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

3.25

lunaballz's review against another edition

4.0

Not sure how I feel about this one? The dialogue was strangely stilted, and a huge portion of the book was about...another story they were reading in the book. I found it more interesting than the actual book, and then the ending was just...odd.
But seeing as I'm not the age this was aimed at, I'm giving it 4 stars. I think the younger end of middle grade readers would enjoy this ghost mystery.

rasunshiny's review

lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

3.5

pekoegal's review against another edition

4.0

I wish this was longer! But the ending was good, if a bit rushed. I would have liked to see Kazu and Akari and Yuusuke interact more over the summer break, maybe go on little short adventures, but the urgency created by the situation with Mrs. Minakami prevented the story from really expanding beyond what seems like just two weeks of action.

It's a unique story, though. It would make a good screenplay, and I'd be surprised if we didn't see a movie based on it sometime in the future.

sonderits's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

annieice's review against another edition

4.5

so relaxing loved the story within the story, Kazu was such a precious MC. i liked the theme and being magical realism. the ending was too rushed in my opinion but I still really enjoyed this book, probably the best I read this year so far (for context I only read 5 books but oh well). wanna read more books from Japanese authors now, and magical realism. highly recommend!