A review by apfelkistenbuch
Catfish Rolling by Clara Kumagai

3.75

After an earthquake powerful enough to break time itself, the island of Japan is divided into different time zones: the ones where time runs faster, the ones where time runs slower, and the one where time runs just like it used to. Sora, our protagonist, wittnessed this terrible shake when she was 12 years old and has been hoping to find her mother again since - By illegally exploring and experimenting in the time zones herself. She is not alone in her interest in the zones, though. Her father, too, has been going into the zones for his work, and these trips have been leaving their mark on him - he gets confused, forgets things, seems to be lost in time. We follow along as Sora finds out more about the zones, until all of a sudden, she is missing not one, but two parents...

let me start my review by dividing this book in two parts.

1. 
It starts off rather science-fictional; deeply philosophical with the main focus on time: What is time? What does time do to us? How do our lives change when the one reliable factor of time passing suddenly becomes subjective? 
Other themes are:

• how to find your way after graduation and what staying home for a "gap year" is like (people telling you what to do, involuntarily taking on the role of housekeeper, etc -- DEEPLY relatable!)
• having the responsibility to care for one of your parents after a loss that affected you, too
• being read as a foreigner in either country as a person of mixed race, never quite belonging, always in-between. 

I enjoyed the first part a lot, even though i didn't always quite understand the scientific gedankenspiele, i found it very innovative, interesting and surprising. 
koki's and sora's relationship was good and platonic and unproblematic, i liked them a lot. 

2. 
now on to the second part. here is where the book lost me a little. all of a sudden, magical elements are incorporated into the story, and to me it just seemed like the science part was too complicated for the author to fix so, bam, magic and there you go, sorted. it was still well written, still enjoyable, but since the stakes were so high from how good the first bit was, i was disappointed. 
also: the romance. 
why? 
do not get me wrong, i LOVE me some sapphic representation. 
However. 
it did not really work with the story, seemed insta-love-ish and out of nowhere. 
since the plot was taking up so much room in the book, there was none left to develop the romance in a way that would have made it feel authentic, and so it was a bit distracting. (and i say this even though the queer romance was the reason i picked up this book!) 
so ultimately i would've preferred to work with the characters already incorporated into the story instead of introducing a new love interest. 
and the ending didnt convince me. 

first half: 4,5 / 5 
second half: 3/5 

3,75