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A review by onthesamepage
Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura
challenging
emotional
slow-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
4.0
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
A lovely read, but also a heavy one.
This book does an excellent job of portraying just how isolating any kind of abuse can be for the victim, and how difficult it is to talk about. The feelings of shame that the characters feel because they don't go to school lead them to hiding this fact, and the reason behind it, from each other. It isn't until much later that they begin to open up and share their stories, and that's when we really get to see the relationships shine.
The pacing of the last 30% is much faster than the rest of the book, which is mostly a slow discovery of the character dynamics, and Kokoro's specific circumstances. I enjoyed all of it, but I did like the final stretch a bit more, just because more was happening and we were finally finding out what was going on. There are enough hints sprinkled throughout that you can make a decent guess at what's happening before the cast catches on, but I definitely didn't guess all the twists.
A lovely read, but also a heavy one.
This book does an excellent job of portraying just how isolating any kind of abuse can be for the victim, and how difficult it is to talk about. The feelings of shame that the characters feel because they don't go to school lead them to hiding this fact, and the reason behind it, from each other. It isn't until much later that they begin to open up and share their stories, and that's when we really get to see the relationships shine.
The pacing of the last 30% is much faster than the rest of the book, which is mostly a slow discovery of the character dynamics, and Kokoro's specific circumstances. I enjoyed all of it, but I did like the final stretch a bit more, just because more was happening and we were finally finding out what was going on. There are enough hints sprinkled throughout that you can make a decent guess at what's happening before the cast catches on, but I definitely didn't guess all the twists.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Self harm
Minor: Sexual assault