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sea_pier's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Child death
vaguely_pink's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child death, Death, Medical content, Grief, and Abandonment
chasinggrace's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It’s difficult for me to rate this book, because for the entirety of it I was (and still am) in some sort of a reading slump. So how I feel about the book might also reflect how disengaged I am from reading right now.
However, I want to say that this book is definitely YA - something that middle and high schoolers could and should read. Therefore, I didn’t find myself resonating with many of the characters. In addition, you don’t find out a character’s full story until the last 5% of the book, and feel quite disconnected from each of the seven children throughout the story.
I will say, I enjoyed how the novel concluded. I liked the connection to the fairytale, even if the story isn’t one that I recognize. I also LOVED the connection to Rion’s sister Mio, and I LOVED how Aki became the Free School teacher. Those two points really improved my experience with the book.
I found that I had to force myself to pick up the book, because it was so slow paced. And even though I liked the ending, I was rushing through it just to finish the novel. I’m simply not the target audience for this story and I struggle with how to rate it.
However, I want to say that this book is definitely YA - something that middle and high schoolers could and should read. Therefore, I didn’t find myself resonating with many of the characters. In addition, you don’t find out a character’s full story until the last 5% of the book, and feel quite disconnected from each of the seven children throughout the story.
I found that I had to force myself to pick up the book, because it was so slow paced. And even though I liked the ending, I was rushing through it just to finish the novel. I’m simply not the target audience for this story and I struggle with how to rate it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment
dexkit10's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Grief, and Suicide attempt
popsan27's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, and Child death
Minor: Sexual assault
mghnhill's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-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? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Child death
randeerebecca's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Grief
thewellbitch's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Minor: Child death
clovetra's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
i am irrevocably changed after reading this book.
this book was so magical in so many ways, and i genuinely think this book will stick with me for life.
i'll be real, before the last ~100 pages i was expecting this to be a 4-star read. the last 100 pages were easily 5-star pages, but i will say i did experience *some* issues reading this.
for one, some parts of the story are quite confusing and unrealistic. unrealistic is like 99% of this book because kids are travelling into a mirror but from what was established in the universe, some things did not feel practical.
for example, how kokoro reacts to her education & why she's not going. as someone who lowkey wagged a lot of year 7 in high school, i get her. but like... her reason is so unrealistic for not going! not trying to shame my girl but... idk i couldn't buy into the fact that *that* was what caused her to not go to school.... like idk as a fellow ex-school avoider it felt odd. and this same can apply for all the other students in the castle (minus rion my pookie). yet again not trying to shame non-existant characters or those who have avoided school for those reasons! i just..... don't believe it, which threw me out of the story many times.
also this is such an insane nitpick but i literally could NOT tell the difference between the male characters. by the end i could remember who rion was but..... all the others blended into one. this is such a unique experience because ive never had this happen to me..... like even in [book:Battle Royale|57891] i could somehow remember all the characters. this one? i had no idea who was who & i just prayed i was picturing the right person.
simply because of those reasons it felt wrong to do a 5 star rating. if i was someone who half-starred books she would defo be a 4.5, but if i compare this with all my other 5-stars, idk this book feels better in the higher end of my 4-star ratings.
ok now let me gush about this book.
THE ENDINGGG????? ohhh the entire last chapter my ass was fucking BAWLING. i did not expect to go into this book crying???? i thought this was just some whimsical coming-of-age story.... i got hoodwinked /lh
i wanted to throw up i was crying that bad with the explanation of the castle.... did not go into that strong enough. like if i know a book is sad i will mentally prepare. i was not prepared!!!!
the character's bonds and friendships were quite beautiful to read, especially seeing each one come out of their shell more and more.
the reveals were so unexpected but that's because i wasn't looking for them!! i was so comfy i was just reading, missing every sign ever. the plot twists didn't feel cheap but they also were still surprises! like if i actually paid attention and put together pieces i still don't think i would've reached the conclusions but tbh im not mad!! my ass is not good at deducting mysteries so i like the fact it was spelled out to me like i have no brain <3 (i don't have a brain)
anyways i didn't expect to have this book impact me this much. i will say i think it touched me a lot is because ive been in these kid's shoes! bullied, school avoidance, social anxiety, bedrotting (my beloved), horrible family life situations, overachieving, etc. i related a bit too deeply at times tbh, but i think that made me love this story even more!
i don't think im saying anything meaningful in this review but i had a fun time and u know what this book made me cry so in my mind that means the book was fire.
this book was so magical in so many ways, and i genuinely think this book will stick with me for life.
i'll be real, before the last ~100 pages i was expecting this to be a 4-star read. the last 100 pages were easily 5-star pages, but i will say i did experience *some* issues reading this.
for one, some parts of the story are quite confusing and unrealistic. unrealistic is like 99% of this book because kids are travelling into a mirror but from what was established in the universe, some things did not feel practical.
for example, how kokoro reacts to her education & why she's not going. as someone who lowkey wagged a lot of year 7 in high school, i get her. but like... her reason is so unrealistic for not going! not trying to shame my girl but... idk i couldn't buy into the fact that *that* was what caused her to not go to school.... like idk as a fellow ex-school avoider it felt odd. and this same can apply for all the other students in the castle (minus rion my pookie). yet again not trying to shame non-existant characters or those who have avoided school for those reasons! i just..... don't believe it, which threw me out of the story many times.
also this is such an insane nitpick but i literally could NOT tell the difference between the male characters. by the end i could remember who rion was but..... all the others blended into one. this is such a unique experience because ive never had this happen to me..... like even in [book:Battle Royale|57891] i could somehow remember all the characters. this one? i had no idea who was who & i just prayed i was picturing the right person.
simply because of those reasons it felt wrong to do a 5 star rating. if i was someone who half-starred books she would defo be a 4.5, but if i compare this with all my other 5-stars, idk this book feels better in the higher end of my 4-star ratings.
ok now let me gush about this book.
THE ENDINGGG????? ohhh the entire last chapter my ass was fucking BAWLING. i did not expect to go into this book crying???? i thought this was just some whimsical coming-of-age story.... i got hoodwinked /lh
i wanted to throw up i was crying that bad with the explanation of the castle.... did not go into that strong enough. like if i know a book is sad i will mentally prepare. i was not prepared!!!!
the character's bonds and friendships were quite beautiful to read, especially seeing each one come out of their shell more and more.
the reveals were so unexpected but that's because i wasn't looking for them!! i was so comfy i was just reading, missing every sign ever. the plot twists didn't feel cheap but they also were still surprises! like if i actually paid attention and put together pieces i still don't think i would've reached the conclusions but tbh im not mad!! my ass is not good at deducting mysteries so i like the fact it was spelled out to me like i have no brain <3 (i don't have a brain)
anyways i didn't expect to have this book impact me this much. i will say i think it touched me a lot is because ive been in these kid's shoes! bullied, school avoidance, social anxiety, bedrotting (my beloved), horrible family life situations, overachieving, etc. i related a bit too deeply at times tbh, but i think that made me love this story even more!
i don't think im saying anything meaningful in this review but i had a fun time and u know what this book made me cry so in my mind that means the book was fire.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Suicide attempt
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Blood, and Death of parent
moonadjacent's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail