Play Book Tag discussion

I really liked this Japanese portal fantasy, so much so that I've been churning through a bunch of other Japanese YA fantasy ever since without the same kind of luck.

Here, the main character is a 13-year-old girl in the Tokyo area who has stopped going to school since a traumatizing bullying incident. There's a publisher's note at the end of the book that says a UNICEF study of 38 developed and emerging countries found that while Japan ranked first in school children's physical health, they rank second to last in mental health. One of the author's choices I loved here was her decision to have the MC's bullying have nothing to do with the MC. It's almost a fluke that she was the one singled out for the incident, and her sense of confusion and complete lack of understanding at what the hell is going on is just as palpable as her fear and hurt and anxiety afterward. The author projects her mental state very effectively, which helps keep the reader rooted in her mindset as she is transported to this fantastical, fairytale castle through her mirror where she meets six other children who have also dropped out of junior high as they're all given the chance to find a magic key and make one wish come true.

It works as a coming of age story, it works as a fantasy, it works as social commentary and all the loose ends tie together beautifully by the end.

It's YA, but the writing doesn't have an overly YA feel to it, and I think most fantasy lovers would be able to enjoy it. There was one section where I felt the pacing start to lag, but there's almost immediately a huge action beat right after that and it never lets up from there.

It's tender and impressive and worth this foray into Japanese literature even if I find nothing else I like the rest of the month.

It sounds like a good one. This has been an interesting tag. While I feel that I know a lot more about Japan now, the culture seems more complex and elusive.

The note about bullying and mental health is really interesting. It helps explain something about two other books I read too. Great review!

NancyJ wrote: "While I feel that I know a lot more about Japan now, the culture seems more complex and elusive."

I feel the same. One of the things I noticed with the two junior high books I read was how casually but firmly everyone got lumped into the "good" kid or "bad" kid category. By the kids themselves. There really wasn't a gray area for experimentation and figuring out who you are and what you want without getting labeled with the "thugs."

They were *shocked* when one of the "good" kids bleached his hair. Like it was the equivalent of shoplifting. There was a another instance where no one knows what to make of the school track star, since that should firmly put you in good kid territory, but she likes to experiment with her personal style by highlighting her hair and wearing lots of chunky jewelry, and no one knows what to make of it. What is she trying to say???

From what I could tell, junior high is 13-/14-/15-year-olds, so the equivalent of 8th/9th/10th grade in the U.S., and if you plan to continue your education into high school, you pretty much need to spend the bulk of your last year in junior high doing nothing but studying for the intense high school entrance exams. Even the star athletes will typically sit the year out of their sport.

I'll add this to my TBR list:)

Thanks for the wonderful review, adding this one to my tbr. Sounds like you’ve had a couple interesting reads this month - I just read your review for the Hunger Games-esq book.

Hope you both enjoy it :)

Nicole wrote: "Sounds like you’ve had a couple interesting reads this month - I just read your review for the Hunger Games-esq book."

Very! This is the first tag that I've deviated from my TBR for, and it's definitely been worth it