Review; Lonely Castle in the Mirror, Mizuki Tsujimura. (warning- I CRIED)

**ARC provided by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

OH MY GOD! Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura, translated by Philip Gabriel, is an absolute gem of a book and I'm so disappointed that I didn't discover it earlier. The story follows 7 children who are all avoiding going to school due to various reasons. The kids then discover that they can enter mirrors and end up in a castle, with specific rules to be followed, of course.

The book follows the Japanese technique of writing, which is very straightforward and to the point, but which appeared a bit off-putting due to the translation. The writing follows a lyrical fashion and conveys the character's grief, thoughts and feelings so beautifully. I rarely cry but oh my god this book had the feels.

The character development was top notch and as a reader, you couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic as you near the end. The journey of the kids through grief and friendship losses only to end up with new friends and loving themselves just hits so hard to me.

After a lot of research, I found out the author wrote this beauty because of the lack of mental health representation in Japanese literature. The book tackles with heavy themes such as depression, anxiety, child abuse etc. so be sure to check out the content warnings (CW) before picking this up.

THIS WAS SUCH A GOOD BOOK, LIKE SUCH A GOOD BOOK. KUDOS TO THE AUTHOR FOR WRITING THIS MASTERPIECE AND MAKING ME CRY.

5/5.

xx

Ozzy<3