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4.5 stars
When you realize there was a glossary at the back and you didn't have to be confused the entire time. *facepalm*
If I'm being completely honest, the synopsis of this book wasn't really what drew me to this book. Had I not read the synopsis, I still would've picked this book up in an instant because of the book itself. I mean, the cover art is GORGEOUS. And once you actually get the book, you find out that the texture of the book is so ... well, texture-y, unlike most books. And the pages of the book - the chapter headers and the little animations on the bottom corners of the pages and the sketches every now and then - made the reading experience all the better.
But about the story itself. The beginning of this book is so cringe-worthy-ly dramatic, I almost put it down. But I needed a particularly dramatic book at the time, and - let me tell you - I was not disappointed by the end. The very concept of this book is infinitely unique - I mean, no one else has written about this (that I know of). And the fact that it was based in Japan, so we got to learn more about a different culture throughout the book - perfection.
Like I said, the beginning of this book was super awkward to read. (This is a bit off topic, but there are these Twitter accounts - Brooding YA Hero and Typical YA Heroine - and they pretty much just exploit cliches and stuff from YA books. (This is in no way a shoutout or an advertisement, but if you have a Twitter, I recommend checking these accounts out.) Anyway, I just noticed that some events/characters in this story were begging to be referenced in those accounts, and I found it a bit funny.) Anyway, yeah, very cringe-worthy beginning. I kind of found Katie's character a bit irritating at times; the way she would follow Tomo around and obsess over him and what he did was really annoying at first, but when I saw how it turned out, I was okay.
Not to brag, but I knew Jun was evil or somehow not on Katie's side from the beginning. Wanna hear my reasoning? No? Okay here we go: So first of all, he kept flirting with her, but it was too much. I'm-just-doing-this-so-you'll-agree-with-me too much. Second, we have Tomo, Jun, and [kid whose name I can't even pronounce, let alone spell from memory]. Tomo was obviously the good one, and even though nameless-kid was in a bad gang, he was harmless. So that leaves Jun to be the evil-but-pretending-to-want-to-help-you guy. Third of all, he kept randomly showing up places and, come on, who randomly - "coincidentally" - shows up everywhere and isn't evil? Huh?
But let's talk about Tomo. Try not to swoon, ladies. I really liked his character, and not only because he was so swoon-worthy. He was another unique aspect of this book: he was on the good side, but he couldn't control his power, per se. His Kami-ness kept getting ahold of him, he wasn't in complete control all of the time. That was very intriguing and pleasing to me. I was pretty nervous about him, because, at the beginning, even I was puzzled by his on-and-off, hot-and-cold behavior. But he turned out okay. More than okay, I'd say.
I really liked the end of this book, how he sends her the flower drawing and she just up and leaves the airport. Can you feel the rebellion meters exploding? I can't wait to see what happens next.
When you realize there was a glossary at the back and you didn't have to be confused the entire time. *facepalm*
If I'm being completely honest, the synopsis of this book wasn't really what drew me to this book. Had I not read the synopsis, I still would've picked this book up in an instant because of the book itself. I mean, the cover art is GORGEOUS. And once you actually get the book, you find out that the texture of the book is so ... well, texture-y, unlike most books. And the pages of the book - the chapter headers and the little animations on the bottom corners of the pages and the sketches every now and then - made the reading experience all the better.
But about the story itself. The beginning of this book is so cringe-worthy-ly dramatic, I almost put it down. But I needed a particularly dramatic book at the time, and - let me tell you - I was not disappointed by the end. The very concept of this book is infinitely unique - I mean, no one else has written about this (that I know of). And the fact that it was based in Japan, so we got to learn more about a different culture throughout the book - perfection.
Like I said, the beginning of this book was super awkward to read. (This is a bit off topic, but there are these Twitter accounts - Brooding YA Hero and Typical YA Heroine - and they pretty much just exploit cliches and stuff from YA books. (This is in no way a shoutout or an advertisement, but if you have a Twitter, I recommend checking these accounts out.) Anyway, I just noticed that some events/characters in this story were begging to be referenced in those accounts, and I found it a bit funny.) Anyway, yeah, very cringe-worthy beginning. I kind of found Katie's character a bit irritating at times; the way she would follow Tomo around and obsess over him and what he did was really annoying at first, but when I saw how it turned out, I was okay.
Not to brag, but I knew Jun was evil or somehow not on Katie's side from the beginning. Wanna hear my reasoning? No? Okay here we go: So first of all, he kept flirting with her, but it was too much. I'm-just-doing-this-so-you'll-agree-with-me too much. Second, we have Tomo, Jun, and [kid whose name I can't even pronounce, let alone spell from memory]. Tomo was obviously the good one, and even though nameless-kid was in a bad gang, he was harmless. So that leaves Jun to be the evil-but-pretending-to-want-to-help-you guy. Third of all, he kept randomly showing up places and, come on, who randomly - "coincidentally" - shows up everywhere and isn't evil? Huh?
But let's talk about Tomo. Try not to swoon, ladies. I really liked his character, and not only because he was so swoon-worthy. He was another unique aspect of this book: he was on the good side, but he couldn't control his power, per se. His Kami-ness kept getting ahold of him, he wasn't in complete control all of the time. That was very intriguing and pleasing to me. I was pretty nervous about him, because, at the beginning, even I was puzzled by his on-and-off, hot-and-cold behavior. But he turned out okay. More than okay, I'd say.
I really liked the end of this book, how he sends her the flower drawing and she just up and leaves the airport. Can you feel the rebellion meters exploding? I can't wait to see what happens next.