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kyriannaj's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Dementia and Grief
Moderate: Chronic illness, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Minor: Death, Medical content, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
martzi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
ninebookishlives's review against another edition
4.0
I did like that the first story eases you into the concept before the stories start to break your heart. You're introduced into the world and the rules. Following the first characters debat on whether not it would be worth it based on the rules. Again, it really helped flesh out the world/magic, and surprising in less than 300 pages.
The Husband and Wife story was my favourite, followed closely by The Sisters.
If you're in a good mental space and can handle the content covered (see content warnings), then I think this would be a great collection to space over time. I really hope to continue the series soon, but take more time with the book.
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Medical content, Dementia, and Grief
kathi_90's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Dementia, and Grief
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Abortion
ninahuynh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy
Minor: Car accident
skylarkblue1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
If you've liked other recent Japanese translation works in this similar vein, you'll like this one for sure. The rocky translation is still there, but the last 2 stories made me cry :')
Characters were a lot more prominent in this than say, Food Detectives, but there was still a new story and mostly new characters for each of the 4 mini-stories. I really loved the group who runs the cafe, they were really chill and the book felt really calm with them too. Even for the characters that just appeared for 1 story I felt like I understood them, they were all described and explained really clearly and easily.
There's not too much plot, the stories focus heavily around those characters, their lives and why they've visited the cafe. The first 2 stories where a little rough I felt, it had the usual "this has been translated and is understandable, but it feels like a lot is missing between translations". The last 2 stories though, oh boy. I read the 3rd one while volunteering at the library and I was just sat in the corner, surrounded by kids at storytime, just holding back tears :') Then read the 4th story when I got home and just cried at it. Incredible writing there.
Despite dealing with heavy topics as well and being very emotional, it felt pretty light and was certainly a quick read!
Graphic: Chronic illness, Dementia, and Grief
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
ed_moore's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Chronic illness, Grief, and Car accident
tiara_yasmeen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Minor: Chronic illness, Death, and Dementia
hannavaistila's review against another edition
3.0
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Dementia, and Grief
Minor: Car accident and Pregnancy
ines_presas's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Chronic illness and Grief
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Car accident, Death of parent, and Pregnancy