k8lynn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
i loved this book! at face value, it is a fun, childlike fantasy novel about an imaginary world created by humans' creative imaginations. on a deeper level, it touches on colonialism, systemic racism, discrimination, religion-based division, acts of selflessness, and the true definition of a hero vs. villain. i thoroughly enjoyed the adventure, the comfort of everything working out along the journey, the heartwarming friendships and loyalty from people who evolved from strangers. a few errors in terms of grammar and translation, but overall this book is absolutely wonderful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Colonisation, Blood, War, and Violence
Moderate: Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Racism, and Slavery
Minor: Murder, Confinement, Gore, and Antisemitism
jsmithborne's review against another edition
2.0
This is an odd one. It's a translation of a Japanese I-guess-I'd-call-it-middle-grade novel. It's huge, something like 800 pages, and it's a kid-goes-to-magical-realm-and-learns-Important-Stuff story, but that magical realm follows video game rules.... I don't know; I kept reading because there were so many good reviews saying how interesting it was that the characters and motivations weren't just good and evil, but I guess I've read so many great YA and middle grade books that explore those gray areas, that it just wasn't remarkable for me. Jaden picked it up but never got past the first chapter--it is not what you would call a page turner, especially for the first 300 pages or so, before he heads off to the magical place. Yeah, it takes forever for the magic stuff to start happening.
tlabresh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hotsake's review against another edition
4.0
The story is broken into two parts. The first part takes place mostly in our world and deals with Wataru's home life. The second part takes place in the magical world of Vision and is the bulk of the book. Much like Stephen King's Fairy Tale, I enjoyed the first part much more than the more magical part. Part one was only 200 pages and I rated it 5 stars, the second part was 800 pages and it ranged between 3-4 stars and I finally settled at 3.5 stars for a final score of 4/5 stars.
valjeanval's review against another edition
4.0
I would put this book in that "fairy tales for people old enough to understand what fairy tales are about" category. It's a little over-the-top on its symbolism but also pretty heart-wrenchingly poignant when you get to the core: a boy trying to deal with the adults in his life revealing they are also mistake-making humans. That he does this through building and exploring an entire video game-esque alternate reality just means that this story would make an amazing Studio Ghibli animated feature.
It was a little hard to get into which might have something to do with the translation (Japanese is really awkward directly translated to English and the balance isn't always perfect) and might just be part of that slow-burn storytelling culture. It was probably 3 hundred pages before I felt really involved, but Wataru and Mitsuru were interesting enough to keep me going. The human characters are remarkably realistic and balanced, and both maintain a sense of righteousness even when making terrible mistakes.
That said, the characters of Vision are all really flat and occasionally annoying. In Vision, everyone is either really really good or really really bad, with the exception of the people who are reflections of the real world characters. I guess it makes sense given that vision is built by Wataru and Mitsuru who are really just creating their NPC cast, but the tireless optimism of our heroes allies gets a little annoying, especially filtered through translation.
The heart of the story is so very close to my own though, that I ended up loving the book anyway. Emotional honesty is an extremely difficult concept to grasp, especially for children, and I think we need more stories geared towards them with flawed heroes and relatable antagonists. We need our future to know that feelings, even dark and depressing ones, even ones your parents obviously wish you didn't feel, are valid and are a part of you. No one should be coping with a crisis by smiling and pretending it isn't happening. It took me a long time to learn this, and honestly, I'm still not all the way there, but books like this are good affirmatives in that direction.
It's hard for me to put an age range on this because I think I would have loved it as a kid and glossed over the real world bits that might get a little too real for some. Also, reading a book as thick as this one would've made me feel very grown-up. However, it's definitely going to require a bit of reading stamina to get to the action and adventure, so know that before giving it to your kids. Maybe read it with them. For adults, it's going to be more challenging getting through the stock hero's journey sections to see if that core resonates. I think it will for most people.
It was a little hard to get into which might have something to do with the translation (Japanese is really awkward directly translated to English and the balance isn't always perfect) and might just be part of that slow-burn storytelling culture. It was probably 3 hundred pages before I felt really involved, but Wataru and Mitsuru were interesting enough to keep me going. The human characters are remarkably realistic and balanced, and both maintain a sense of righteousness even when making terrible mistakes.
That said, the characters of Vision are all really flat and occasionally annoying. In Vision, everyone is either really really good or really really bad, with the exception of the people who are reflections of the real world characters. I guess it makes sense given that vision is built by Wataru and Mitsuru who are really just creating their NPC cast, but the tireless optimism of our heroes allies gets a little annoying, especially filtered through translation.
The heart of the story is so very close to my own though, that I ended up loving the book anyway. Emotional honesty is an extremely difficult concept to grasp, especially for children, and I think we need more stories geared towards them with flawed heroes and relatable antagonists. We need our future to know that feelings, even dark and depressing ones, even ones your parents obviously wish you didn't feel, are valid and are a part of you. No one should be coping with a crisis by smiling and pretending it isn't happening. It took me a long time to learn this, and honestly, I'm still not all the way there, but books like this are good affirmatives in that direction.
It's hard for me to put an age range on this because I think I would have loved it as a kid and glossed over the real world bits that might get a little too real for some. Also, reading a book as thick as this one would've made me feel very grown-up. However, it's definitely going to require a bit of reading stamina to get to the action and adventure, so know that before giving it to your kids. Maybe read it with them. For adults, it's going to be more challenging getting through the stock hero's journey sections to see if that core resonates. I think it will for most people.
fairybookmother's review against another edition
2.0
I got about a third of the way through this (nearly 300 pages), and I'm just not feeling it. I kind of feel guilty because I've literally had it on my shelf for ten years, but there's a reason it's been sitting on my shelf for ten years unread. thank u, next
valhecka's review against another edition
Did not finish; the first 200 pages were great, but getting to the actual magical-quest part of things felt like hitting a brick wall. I'll hopefully get to the rest of it later; I really liked what I read.
melziethegreat's review against another edition
5.0
This is an amazing book. It is really dark for a childrens book. It was a lot deeper than I thought it was going to be. It started off a little slow but once you get to part to it is amazing.
Loaned~ Momo
Loaned~ Momo
trash_tull's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
reminded me of a middle grade book but with an expansive, almost confusing fantasy world and some dark themes