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leanne_who_reads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
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? Yes
4.0
Trigger warning - This book centers around bullying and mentions suicide and suicidal ideation. One particular chapter in this book is quite hard to get through and you'll have to consider if you feeling mentally able to digest this book or choose to read something else.
The characters in this book are well developed and the writing style is easy to digest. I felt triggered by Momose when the protagonist confronts him outside the hospital because he has zero empathy for the protagonist and Kojima in that scene, even so, it added to the story and made it more nuanced. At the same time, I can see how Momose could think that way.
You learn to feel so much empathy towards the protagonist as the story progresses and I quite enjoyed the ending because the protagonist got to experience some joy and beauty in the world after everything he had gone through.
The characters in this book are well developed and the writing style is easy to digest. I felt triggered by Momose when the protagonist confronts him outside the hospital because he has zero empathy for the protagonist and Kojima in that scene, even so, it added to the story and made it more nuanced. At the same time, I can see how Momose could think that way.
You learn to feel so much empathy towards the protagonist as the story progresses and I quite enjoyed the ending because the protagonist got to experience some joy and beauty in the world after everything he had gone through.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Minor: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Eating disorder
joysglavo's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Bullying
cheyennedowls's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Minor: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Grief, and Suicide
theramblingreader's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
The writing of this book itself is objectively great. However, the descriptions of violent bullying were so well written that they shook me. I couldn't finish this book for a while after one scene
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Violence, and Self harm
tangerinejellies's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Not completely sure how to feel about this book, it was a very heavy read and some of the characters’ outlooks on the world were quite unsettling, though not impossible to understand. They’re kids who still have a lot of maturing to do, and don’t necessarily understand the world around them that well yet, so I can see how they’d think like that, which all the more adds to the sort of pain I felt reading this, witnessing the hardship of navigating the dark parts of the world and trauma and violence and things like that at such a young age. Rough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Violence, Sexual violence, Self harm, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Ableism, and Sexual content
Minor: Suicide
frankieclc's review against another edition
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Bullying
Moderate: Sexual content and Suicide
_misha_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Bullying, Blood, and Physical abuse
caroisreading's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.5
This is a triggering story. It's unrelenting in its descriptions of bullying. As with all her novels, Mieko Kawakami writes so beautifully about tragedy and loneliness, and our humanity that's so capable of both destruction and healing. This is her most depressing pair of characters yet, two brave outcasts, not yet high schoolers.
Our narrator is a young boy who has a lazy eye, the victim of intense bullying and physical violence from the popular students. His fellow student Kojima reaches out to him one day through a letter, and she is revealed to be a similar victim of bullying, and is described to be unkempt and unwashed. Their friendship grows through sweet and simple letters, and soon conversations outside of school. In contrast, we experience their helplessness, as they are shells of themselves at school, bracing for the beatings each day.
There is a conversation with one of the bullies, who proves to be a complete nihilist. He symbolizes the cold, emotionless, male antagonist who's all too familiar in our lives. It's every man for himself. Empathy is weakness. Kill or be killed.
I can't praise enough Mieko's artistry, and her way of pulling us through emotions, and the confusion her characters feel. She is THE master of female characters, as always. I especially loved Kojima and her strength, her frailty, her intelligence, her heart. I wanted to save her, though she was saving herself.
You'll appreciate this book if you like dark, intricate writing and characters, coming-of-age stories, and have been in an isolated period of your life.
Our narrator is a young boy who has a lazy eye, the victim of intense bullying and physical violence from the popular students. His fellow student Kojima reaches out to him one day through a letter, and she is revealed to be a similar victim of bullying, and is described to be unkempt and unwashed. Their friendship grows through sweet and simple letters, and soon conversations outside of school. In contrast, we experience their helplessness, as they are shells of themselves at school, bracing for the beatings each day.
There is a conversation with one of the bullies, who proves to be a complete nihilist. He symbolizes the cold, emotionless, male antagonist who's all too familiar in our lives. It's every man for himself. Empathy is weakness. Kill or be killed.
I can't praise enough Mieko's artistry, and her way of pulling us through emotions, and the confusion her characters feel. She is THE master of female characters, as always. I especially loved Kojima and her strength, her frailty, her intelligence, her heart. I wanted to save her, though she was saving herself.
You'll appreciate this book if you like dark, intricate writing and characters, coming-of-age stories, and have been in an isolated period of your life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Blood, Child abuse, Gore, Bullying, and Body shaming
Moderate: Suicide, Torture, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual violence
plumblossom_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Bullying, Physical abuse, Cursing, Eating disorder, and Body shaming
nlh_tnr's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Violence, and Self harm
Moderate: Suicide, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts