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qkat's review against another edition
4.0
I was drawn to this book because I spent 4 years of my childhood in Okinawa, Japan. It was easy for me to relate to the protagonist in the story. Enjoyable read.
tobrie_or_nottobrie's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
littletaiko's review against another edition
4.0
Having recently visited Japan this book pulled me in quicker than it may have done otherwise. Though with an opening like this book has, I probably would have been hooked fairly quickly. To be fair, this book gets at least one star from me solely because of the pickled plum onigri description. It perfectly captures what it's like to eat one of my all time favorite foods.
Anyway, I digress. The heart of this story is a young girl, half-Japanse/half-American, who kills a classmate in Japan when she's about 12. She then spends the next few years in a detention center until she becomes an adult. She leaves the country and creates a wonderful, normal life for herself in the United States. When her estranged father dies she finds that maybe her past isn't as buried as she had thought and heads back to Japan to figure out more about who she really is.
Anyway, I digress. The heart of this story is a young girl, half-Japanse/half-American, who kills a classmate in Japan when she's about 12. She then spends the next few years in a detention center until she becomes an adult. She leaves the country and creates a wonderful, normal life for herself in the United States. When her estranged father dies she finds that maybe her past isn't as buried as she had thought and heads back to Japan to figure out more about who she really is.
margotreadsbooks's review against another edition
5.0
I spent my entire Saturday reading this book. The synopsis of this book doesn't touch on what this moving story really does for the reader- this isn't a thriller. It's a story of forgiveness, what it means to be human and how to move past those life altering events without leaving those around you behind with me. Luce's writing carries you along and leaves you waiting for her next book. These are the kind of books that make you wish everyday was Saturday.
bookishblond's review against another edition
4.0
Absolutely mesmerizing novel, with a unique and disturbing storyline. Rio's struggle with the "black organ" that dwells in her and causes her to stab a fellow student when in elementary school is especially haunting.
Hopefully this isn't a spoiler, but at one point, our protagonist accompanies an old friend on the Shikoku eighty-eight temple pilgrimage. I had never heard of this, and reading about a fictionalized pilgrimage inspired me to do further research, and now the pilgrimage is high on my bucket list.
I would love to give this novel five stars, but everything wrapped up a bit too nicely for my liking. Overall, I loved this book, and would recommend it wholeheartedly.
Hopefully this isn't a spoiler, but at one point, our protagonist accompanies an old friend on the Shikoku eighty-eight temple pilgrimage. I had never heard of this, and reading about a fictionalized pilgrimage inspired me to do further research, and now the pilgrimage is high on my bucket list.
I would love to give this novel five stars, but everything wrapped up a bit too nicely for my liking. Overall, I loved this book, and would recommend it wholeheartedly.
princeeskeleton's review against another edition
2.0
** a 2.5 star review **
The initial concept of the story really interested and I thought it was going to be a really deep and gripping story, but ultimately it was just bland.
The author made a lot of points that could have expanded into interesting plots but left them unexplained or rushed to completion which made for a story that felt underwritten and unedited. The characters were dull and didn't interest me and I found myself not liking Rio/Chizuru or any of the side characters at all really.
The setting of book was intriguing as I am really interested in learning more about Japanese culture, and I found the descriptions of certain aspect of Japan to be well done. Although I felt, still, that these descriptions could have been pushed further as I wasn't totally immersed in the setting due to some poor descriptive writing.
Ultimately this book was a big disappointment for me and overall was just an okay-ish reading experience.
The initial concept of the story really interested and I thought it was going to be a really deep and gripping story, but ultimately it was just bland.
The author made a lot of points that could have expanded into interesting plots but left them unexplained or rushed to completion which made for a story that felt underwritten and unedited. The characters were dull and didn't interest me and I found myself not liking Rio/Chizuru or any of the side characters at all really.
The setting of book was intriguing as I am really interested in learning more about Japanese culture, and I found the descriptions of certain aspect of Japan to be well done. Although I felt, still, that these descriptions could have been pushed further as I wasn't totally immersed in the setting due to some poor descriptive writing.
Ultimately this book was a big disappointment for me and overall was just an okay-ish reading experience.