Lonely Castle in the Mirror

CW: bullying, panic attacks

I don't know if I would have decided to add this book to my tbr if I didn't have my goal of the year to read more translated works. But the premise also instantly captivated me and I just knew I had to read it. The publisher was very kind enough to send me both an arc and a finished copy closer to the release date and I had a very lovely experience annotating a book for the first time.

On first glance, this is not an easy book to read because we mainly follow Kokoro who has been through some intense bullying experiences at her junior high and is now almost unable to get out of the house or be among people. Her loneliness and being unable to articulate her feelings with her mother and just the sheer sadness permeating through her initially is a very heartbreaking to read. But once she gets into the castle and meets the others, that's when things start changing a little.

Even though the trajectory is not straightforward because every one of these children has their own issues, it's heartwarming to see them struggle and open up and understand each other. There are issues in between, they all have setbacks within their dynamics, but they all come to find joy in their friendship. What we mostly get is a slice of life story of each of the kids trying to bond with each other, and some times try to solve the mystery behind the castle.

But what it ultimately is is a tale about the necessity of friendship and support in the lives of young kids. It's about the loneliness and bullying and so many other issues they can suffer through in their life, but all they need to push through them is someone to listen to them and understand them, and give them the confidence to stand up for themselves. I loved reading this book and my only gripe at the end of it was that I wanted more. I just wanted to know more about what happened to the kids next. I wanted to see them all be happy and thrive, and I can only hope they all are.

It’s a hot Saturday, and I started this book at 7 in the morning. From then on, it’s been a day devoted entirely to reading; now, I am down to 100 pages left.

Japanese fiction has always struck me as fantastical and peculiar, blurring the lines between reality and imagination – and this book is no exception. As I immerse myself in its pages, I almost believe these characters could truly exist, convening at this mysterious castle. The narrative is captivating and refreshingly original, with well-developed characters that stir a strong sense of empathy within me. The exploration of mental health issues and the challenges of adolescence are skillfully woven into the story - I remain deeply engaged and able to relate even as an adult.

Damnit, the ending! It's delivered in such a beautiful way. While the major twists – the characters being from different times and the revelation about the wolf queen's herself being included in the list of characters with the 7-year age gap – didn't HIT me since I already had them figured out, the touching interaction between Rion and his sister, the wolf queen, left me with goosebumps. Learning the true identity of the kind-hearted teacher and the motivations behind her establishment of a school for marginalized children was equally moving. This book handles the delicate topic of mental health with grace and sensitivity. I'm grateful to my friend for recommending such a gem.

Seven Japanese kids all suffer from issues, so they all decide they just can't bear going to school. It's a different one for all of them, but they don't seem to fit in.
Until one day, they can enter a magical castle through their mirrors. This sounds all too convenient, until they learn the rules. They have to leave by 5 pm or the ruler of the place the Wolf Queen eats them. They have a year to find a magical key, with with one of them can have a wish come true. The catch is, if they do that they get their memories of the castle and each other erased and the place disappears. If they last the year without a wish, the castle still disappears, but they keep their memories.

Man, I enjoyed this one so much. We see the events through Kokoro, a girl who got bullied by a gang of popular girls so much she gets panic attacks if she has to go to the convenience store.
Now, your milage may vary, but I found so many moments and feelings Kokoro had to be so very accurate. So many things that the author put to words that are so familiar. The way she described the feeling when bullies can feel they are perfectly justified and are not doing such a bad thing was profound, like the two parties are supposed to make up, but the offending party can't seem to understand that they were wrong.
All in all, I think the way the author portrayed certain things was just very honest. The resolution also didn't involve a miraculous “everyone was misunderstood, the mean kids realised they are wrong or even we discover they were hurting themselves”. The solution is much different. The characters change through themselves and each other.
At one point someone even says something that many YA-aimed books seem to ignore; there will always be people who have an issue with you. Mean people. Conflicts. But you can get through it all with your own resilience and that's just it.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think this is a depressing book. It's hopeful in a way that achievable, even if the story is magical realism, with fantastical elements. The message still stands.

Now I feel magical realism has one thing that isn't a hit with everyone; somehow the dialogues seem just a bit... odd. Dreamlike, I guess. Probably the fact that it's translated from Japanese also plays a part in that. If you don't like that, you won't like this. I personally don't have an issue with it.

The magical elements are present from the get go. The reason why the characters meet is magic, but it's more prominent in the second half. There is one big plot twist, which I could guess accurately. It's pretty clever, I liked it a lot, but I could piece it together.
It also means some bittersweet things for the characters. So if you expect a 100% happy ending, you won't get it. It won't be a flawless, Disney type of win. But it will be lovely and leave all the characters changed for the better.

I would definitely recommend this one.

This is one of these books that pulls you in and gets better and more compelling as it progresses. It deals with some very serious issues (all the protagonists are Japanese teenagers who for one reason or another do not go to school), and is part fairy tale, part YA fiction, part magic realism, part fantasy, but really quite hard to categorise.

It's very cleverly plotted, with a number of plot twists that come thick and fast towards the end, and involves a truly moving denouement.