Reviews with content warning for Cancer - かがみの孤城

As a kid who began refusing school around the same age as Kokoro, I found myself reflected in her story very often. Tsujimura’s writing had me feeling spots of my soul I didn’t realize were still tender.

Lonely Castle in the Mirror is a masterful portrayal of many different kinds of childhood and adolescent mental illness and the many ways adults can both further harm and alternately support their children through them. I loved everything about this book. Easily a new top favorite of all time for me.

And also if you ever wanted to know exactly what it was like to live in my head specifically in 2006, this is it.

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wowsmeows's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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popsan27's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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h_scharff's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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moonadjacent's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Found family from a bunch of outcasts has got to be one of my favourite tropes in fiction. The heartfelt sincerity with which the kids come to regard each other is so touching to witness evolve.

I cried for Rion. It was so heartbreaking for him to lose the chance to wish for his sister to come back home.

My only criticism would be that as much as I loved getting to know each character's backstory, the lead up to each discovery became quite formulaic.

Kokoro runs, touches X, views memory, vows to save friend, rinse, repeat. Sort of like a video game, which, meta!

Apart from that small section, I did enjoy the writing style and pace.

But I must admit I was quite shocked at how the parents didn't just force the kids to go to school to be honest. Personally, the idea that a child could just not go to school for a year was more fantastical

than being eaten by a wolf in a castle accessible by mirror.

Great story though, really enjoyed how all the puzzle pieces came to fit.

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