Scan barcode
senandunglaut's reviews
18 reviews
Tokyo & Perayaan Kesedihan by Ruth Priscilia Angelina
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Awalnya sempat kaget karena disambut gaya penulisan yang kurang aku gemari. Ada beberapa ketidakkonsistenan penulisan yang membuat agak skeptis tentang buku ini, dan beberapa kalimat terkesan terlalu mendadak. Oh iya, ada beberapa istilah dalam bahasa jepang yang tidak dijelaskan dalam catatan kaki di sini. Alangkah baiknya jika nanti ada cetakan kedua, ditambahkan catatan untuk menjelaskan masing-masing istilah.
Karakter Shira seperti digambarkan dengan penuh kebencian. Semua hal baik yang dilontarkan kepadanya selalu menjadi bara api panas yang menusuk-nusuk ujung kepala dan menumpuk menjadi abu setelahnya. I know dealing with depression isn't an easy task, everything feels too confusing and sometimes you just want to be angry at people for no reason. Tapi selalu ada kalimat yang aku ingat, ini mungkin untuk aku dan orang lain yang sedang mengalami hal yang sama pula, "apakah kamu mempersilahkan orang lain untuk membantumu?". Menurutku, ini yang belum Shira temui. Kepribadiannya yang defensif dan selalu merasa dikekang oleh orang tua dan teman-temannya ini yang membuat dia merasa suntuk dengan segala hal. Tapi, apakah Shira sudah berusaha untuk menjelaskan apa yang dia rasakan kepada orang-orang tersebut? Kamu boleh merasa suntuk, tapi kamu tidak boleh menyalahkan orang lain terlebih jikalau kamu tidak mau membicarakan tentang apa yang kamu rasakan. Agak kasar, memang. Tapi di satu titik di hidupmu, kamu juga harus membiarkan orang lain mengerti tentang kamu, dan kamu juga harus mengerti tentang emosi dalam dirimu.
Pada babak kedua, kita menemui Josh yang akhirnya kalang kabut mencari Shira. Kemudian, kita menemukan karakter Bea yang tidak dijelaskan asal muasalnya dan siapakah orang ini (or maybe I'm missing something?). Sayang sekali karena menurutku jadinya Bea ini seperti.. orang serba tahu yang tiba-tiba muncul. Shira sendiri tidak pernah menyinggung Bea dalam surat-surat yang ingin dia kirimkan.
Terlepas dari itu, dalam buku ini kita disajikan dua sisi berbeda karena pada penceritaan karakter Josh, kita dipaksa untuk berfikir bahwa "hidup dijalani saja" setelah dihujani oleh ketidakpercayaan Shira terhadap haknya untuk hidup. Ini merupakan hal bagus karena dalam babak Josh kita bisa melihat secercah harapan dari hal-hal kecil dan kenangan manis. (kudos to Rio Hasegawa!) Aku sangat lega mengetahui bahwa Shira memutuskan untuk kembali berjuang untuk hidupnya. Sebuah bukti bahwa hal kecil dapat membawamu ke jalan yang lebih cerah. Jadi, untuk semua yang sedang berjuang juga, aku harap kamu bertemu dengan hal kecil tersebut yang bisa membawamu ke jalan-jalan baik di suatu hari nanti.
Pada babak kedua, kita menemui Josh yang akhirnya kalang kabut mencari Shira. Kemudian, kita menemukan karakter Bea yang tidak dijelaskan asal muasalnya dan siapakah orang ini (or maybe I'm missing something?). Sayang sekali karena menurutku jadinya Bea ini seperti.. orang serba tahu yang tiba-tiba muncul. Shira sendiri tidak pernah menyinggung Bea dalam surat-surat yang ingin dia kirimkan.
Terlepas dari itu, dalam buku ini kita disajikan dua sisi berbeda karena pada penceritaan karakter Josh, kita dipaksa untuk berfikir bahwa "hidup dijalani saja" setelah dihujani oleh ketidakpercayaan Shira terhadap haknya untuk hidup. Ini merupakan hal bagus karena dalam babak Josh kita bisa melihat secercah harapan dari hal-hal kecil dan kenangan manis. (kudos to Rio Hasegawa!) Aku sangat lega mengetahui bahwa Shira memutuskan untuk kembali berjuang untuk hidupnya. Sebuah bukti bahwa hal kecil dapat membawamu ke jalan yang lebih cerah. Jadi, untuk semua yang sedang berjuang juga, aku harap kamu bertemu dengan hal kecil tersebut yang bisa membawamu ke jalan-jalan baik di suatu hari nanti.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Suicidal thoughts
Putri Kedua - Second Sister by Chan Ho-Kei
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Death, and Child abuse
Absolute Justice by Rikako Akiyoshi
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
3.75
i first bought this book back then in 2018-ish? but i never really touched it because the cover scares me lol such a timid! here's my review on this book btw, spoiler alert!
the story unfolds with kazuki's side of the story, which then reveal about the girls' group which had kazuki, riho, yumiko, reika, and one added member, noriko. the story tells about how the girls always hangs out everyday and bla,bla, until kazuki realized that, there's something wrong with noriko (which is the main character of the story lol) and her attachment to justice. from that, the story keeps going on and on, telling the story from each girls side beside noriko herself because apparently, the friend group killed her!
honestly speaking, if i was one of the girls i would literally talk to anyone BESIDES noriko that i have an ick to her behavior, with that everything can be solved easily? but the way they don't trust each other to speak what hanging in their heart is why all of this happened..
for kazuki, she lied to one of her source person and noriko tracked down that person just to send kazuki her "you're guilty for this" card. she sounds like a karen for this one i'm not gonna lie BUT what kazuki did was totally wrong and noriko was correct for this. but really, i can imagine how frightened it would be for kazuki if everything she worked hard for gone in an instant just because a friend is chasing for the absolute justice which she always carries wherever she goes.
then we meet yumiko, the housewife. oh i really feel sorry about her.. imagine getting domestic abuse and possibly fraught from your husband but YOUR FRIEND decided to siding with your husband for 'accidentaly' pushing your child to the wall. okay, yumiko was wrong for the pushing the to the wall part but not letting him and her two sons to get out from toxic father and husband is something evil, and again, it was all because noriko was chasing for the ultimate absolute justice card.
the story unfolds with kazuki's side of the story, which then reveal about the girls' group which had kazuki, riho, yumiko, reika, and one added member, noriko. the story tells about how the girls always hangs out everyday and bla,bla, until kazuki realized that, there's something wrong with noriko (which is the main character of the story lol) and her attachment to justice. from that, the story keeps going on and on, telling the story from each girls side beside noriko herself because apparently, the friend group killed her!
honestly speaking, if i was one of the girls i would literally talk to anyone BESIDES noriko that i have an ick to her behavior, with that everything can be solved easily? but the way they don't trust each other to speak what hanging in their heart is why all of this happened..
for kazuki, she lied to one of her source person and noriko tracked down that person just to send kazuki her "you're guilty for this" card. she sounds like a karen for this one i'm not gonna lie BUT what kazuki did was totally wrong and noriko was correct for this. but really, i can imagine how frightened it would be for kazuki if everything she worked hard for gone in an instant just because a friend is chasing for the absolute justice which she always carries wherever she goes.
then we meet yumiko, the housewife. oh i really feel sorry about her.. imagine getting domestic abuse and possibly fraught from your husband but YOUR FRIEND decided to siding with your husband for 'accidentaly' pushing your child to the wall. okay, yumiko was wrong for the pushing the to the wall part but not letting him and her two sons to get out from toxic father and husband is something evil, and again, it was all because noriko was chasing for the ultimate absolute justice card.
on the other hand, riho who can't get pregnant hired noriko (which was the WORST) to her company and got her husband to ask riho "why don't we used noriko's so we can have babies".. and guess what? noriko offered herself for that when she knew riho doesn't want to have child which doesn't have her own dna.. this is absolutely crazy? and the way noriko threatened riho for "you're taking away your husband freedom to have child" law.. this girl is absolutely a pain in the ass (not to mention she almost calling the police after seeing her coworker betting on something)
the last one was reika which.. i think she's pretty dumb for telling she had an affair with this guy which wife is still in a comma state. oh the way she told her "i will tell your man's son about this" is crazy..
and so they work with each other for the unexpected murder lol..
the twist for this book was kinda eerie.. the moment noriko's daughter realize "maybe mommy killed her own mom too because she feels suffocated too" was ???. damn and the daughter's audacity to inherite her mother's behavior AFTER putting the friend group in jail... it's gonna stay the same way again and again.
reasons why i gave this a 3.75, it's not really memorable to me... just purely reading karen story makes my blood boil lol but kudos to rikako sensei for always knew how to emphasize such interesting character 😂
the last one was reika which.. i think she's pretty dumb for telling she had an affair with this guy which wife is still in a comma state. oh the way she told her "i will tell your man's son about this" is crazy..
and so they work with each other for the unexpected murder lol..
the twist for this book was kinda eerie.. the moment noriko's daughter realize "maybe mommy killed her own mom too because she feels suffocated too" was ???. damn and the daughter's audacity to inherite her mother's behavior AFTER putting the friend group in jail... it's gonna stay the same way again and again.
reasons why i gave this a 3.75, it's not really memorable to me... just purely reading karen story makes my blood boil lol but kudos to rikako sensei for always knew how to emphasize such interesting character 😂
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Murder
Holy Mother by Rikako Akiyoshi
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
4.75
as always, the plot twist is mind-blowing. but this book gives me chills down to my spine by how detailed everything is written in the book. so far, this one is the most f-ed up mystery thriller genre i've ever read.
Pulang by Leila S. Chudori
adventurous
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
4.0
idk how to put this into words, but i'm glad he returns to the land he came from after all those things happen in his life. but ngl i'm still bawling over tanah karet 🥲 again and again, this book too gives me a different perspective from what i always heard. i think i might look up for the book reference listed here
Twenty-Four Eyes by Sakae Tsuboi
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
this book tells you a story from a small village in japan during the world war era. i have to say that, the story itself was so touching. i agree that the war has affected to every human being on the world, no matter what kind of job you have or what is your age.
Ferris Wheel at Night by Kanae Minato
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.5
honestly tho, instead of mystery thriller, it feels more like some kind of neighborhood drama lol. it feels very different from her other books but i love the way she presents social problems in a very.. interesting way.
Penance by Kanae Minato
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
the story is interesting and it gets more and more complicated, the pov of each character is amazing and their emotions described really well. but, i'm a little bit disappointed bcs there's no description about the motives. but then again, the story itself is more focus on each character's "sin" towards this girl and how it weighs them until they grow up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, Death, and Child death
When Marnie Was There by Joan G. Robinson
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
as much as i love the anime version, this book is quite challenging for me because it's slow pace, by i mean slow, it is veerry slow.
i really love the part when anna finally meet the lindsay kids, i think it brought so much energy to anna and to the reader as well because it was pretty grey before they met, by the presence of the lindsay kids, anna starts to mingle more to people and i think that's lovely.
i really love the part when anna finally meet the lindsay kids, i think it brought so much energy to anna and to the reader as well because it was pretty grey before they met, by the presence of the lindsay kids, anna starts to mingle more to people and i think that's lovely.
Kita Pergi Hari Ini by Ziggy Zezsyazeoviennazabrizkie
honestly i kinda can guess the plot the moment they're talking to the restaurant owner in kota kucing blabla something. but i have to admit the sudden tense (start from the circus thingy) is very fun to be read. also the diction the writer did on this book is really impressive, it feels like entering a whole new fantasy world with a familiar name. but still, don't make kids if you can afford to have them!!>:(
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
honestly i kinda can guess the plot the moment they're talking to the restaurant owner in kota kucing blabla something. but i have to admit the sudden tense (start from the circus thingy) is very fun to be read. also the diction the writer did on this book is really impressive, it feels like entering a whole new fantasy world with a familiar name. but still, don't make kids if you can afford to have them!!>:(
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Child abuse