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ollie_again's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Grief and Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Abandonment, Terminal illness, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage
dariarp's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Car accident, Infertility, Miscarriage, Animal death, Medical content, Cancer, Death of parent, Death, and Terminal illness
bii_newt's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Grief, and Cancer
Moderate: Car accident and Animal death
Minor: Miscarriage
dnvrdnvr's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
That's why he wanted to take your smiles with him.
Graphic: Terminal illness and Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Cancer, and Animal death
Minor: Miscarriage
samcsmith's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Death, Animal death, Car accident, and Death of parent
Minor: Miscarriage, Terminal illness, and Infertility
arthur_ant18's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Terminal illness, Car accident, Child abuse, Cancer, Death of parent, and Miscarriage
Minor: Abandonment and Animal death
fabs2510's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Moderate: Death, Medical content, and Miscarriage
happylilfaerie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Miscarriage, Grief, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Child abuse, Car accident, Cancer, Animal death, and Abandonment
morebedsidebooks's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Cancer and Death
Minor: Abandonment, Car accident, Death of parent, and Miscarriage
anovelbeauty's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Oh man, I had a good feeling when I first picked this book up and I was NOT disappointed. This book did multiple things I usually don’t like in a way that I somehow loved??? Sentient animal narrators are historically not a thing I like, however this is done so well and realistically (it felt like an actual cat doing cat things rather than a cat doing human things.... yes, I am looking at you Hank the Cowdog) that I just- connected SO HARD. Also, there’s POV switches between first and third person. Nana the cat is in First and then we sometimes get omniscient third person that talks about the people in Satoru’s life. Theoretically I should hate it. I didn’t. This story is beautifully written and so immersive. There’s friendship and road tripping and just the absolute sweetest moments (and some great laugh out loud sarcasm from Nana). It’s so beautiful that I wish my Japanese was better so I could read it in the original language too.
Okay, let’s talk about the ending now (non-spoilery). It broke me. I sobbed straight through the last four chapters. It went from heartbreaking to bittersweet to heartwarming again. You’ll probably see the ending coming a million miles away. It’s not really a secret. But that didn’t in any way diminish the impact of the ending. It took the book from amazing to incredible. I think it will stick with me for years. Not only that, but you only fully start to see Nana’s character growth towards the end. Before that it’s subtle hints towards growth, but at the end, it will just hit you.
Satoru is a static character in a good way. His purpose in the story is to show how he has effected the people (and cats) around him and he accomplishes that purpose so well. You don’t see traditional “growth” in Satoru because he is on a different sort of journey to the others in the book. He’s so sweet and kind and very, very precious.
The /only/ negative I can possibly say about this book is that sometimes the formatting between dialogue, thought, and action was confusing, particularly in Nana’s perspective. So I occasionally had to reread some sections because I thought it was speech when it was actually thought (or vice versa).
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It’s relatively short and SO sweet. It is something I can absolutely see rereading and next time I’ll prepare tissues. Just, it’s a gorgeous book that has ALL the heart.
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Death of parent, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Car accident, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Medical content, and Emotional abuse