Monday, August 15, 2022

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura (Translated by Philip Gabriel)

 




Full Disclosure:  This book was read as an e-ARC (Advance Reader Copy) obtained via Netgalley from the publisher in advance of the book's release on August 16, 2022 in exchange for a potential review.  I give my word that this did not affect my review in any way - if I felt conflicted in any way, I would simply have declined to review the book. 

Lonely Castle in the Mirror is a young adult book that was originally published in Japan a few years back, and became a big hit - with it being adapted to various other formats (manga, etc.) in that nation.  It was originally translated into English in the UK seemingly last year, and now Erewhon books is bringing it over to the US in 2022.  The story features a group of teens in junior high struggling with mental issues that make them unable to go to school, issues stemming from things like bullying, abuse, neglect, tragedies, and more.  

And it's really really easy to see why it won accolades in Japan, as this story features a really easy to care for group of teens, particularly its main character, and its fantasy castle and real world settings are incredibly well done and easy to relate to.  The story emphasizes how little support such kids usually get and how that can be changed if people put in the effort to understand how such kids battle every day to get through such stresses and offer them support.  It's not a short novel, but it moves really quickly and it just works so well....extremely worth your time.  



------------------------------------------------Plot Summary-----------------------------------------------------------Kokoro can no longer go to her school - Yukishina No. 5 Junior High - not after what happened.  Her stomach hurts just thinking about it.  And so she has stayed home for months, to her parents' dismay, with her mother even talking about trying a new Free School as an alternative.  And while the Free School does seem to be run by a genuinely nice teacher Kokoro feels a little connection with, it still isn't enough to shake the aches she feels at the thought of returning to school....any school.

But then something strange happens: Kokoro's mirror in her bedroom lights up, drawing her inside of it. There she finds the impossible - a castle, empty except for six other kids near her in age, as well as a strange girl wearing a wolf mask on her face.  The wolf girl explains to them that they will get ten months to stay in the castle each day from 9-5 before the castle will disappear forever.  Moreover, the castle contains a treasure: a hidden key that if found will provide its holder with one wish....a wish for whatever they want.  The only rule is that they must go home before 5 each day....or face deadly consequences.

As Kokoro spends time with the other six kids, she discovers that they're all like her: kids who have dropped out of school for reasons that they are uncomfortable sharing, who face pressures causing each of them tremendous distress.  And yet Kokoro finds herself bonding with the other kids, even if she doesn't fully quite know who they all are, and these bonds begin to loosen the pain she feels inside.  But as the time int eh castle runs down, it seems like it may only be a temporary relief, and that even a wish ma not be enough to let any of the seven of them move forward....
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Lonely Castle in the Mirror is a story dealing with the book's Afterward notes is a significant problem in Japan (and the rest of the world as well): Kids with mental health issues, ones caused by things in their environment, whether that be bullying, neglect, abuse, tragedies and losses, or any other such thing.  These kids, like the ones in this novel, often struggle with going to school or even just going outside at all, and often lack the support needed for them to deal with these struggles so they can grow up to become healthy adults.  

This is exemplified in each of our seven major characters, but especially our main character Kokoro (from whose perspective nearly all of the story is told).  Kokoro's trauma is revealed over the course of the book to be caused by bullying, in which a series of popular girls terrorized her and used their popular cachet to turn even her friends against her.  She doesn't dare tell her mom this (even though her mom turns out to be actually supportive) and adults at the school do indeed try to see her trauma as one with two sides, even when the bully isn't even there. And so she suffers and sees no way forward - to go back to school or even outside - and the other six kids are similar, even if the root causes of their traumas are different.  

And so Kokoro only finds solace in two places - a teacher who strangely seems to understand how she's battling to keep going and shows nothing but support - and the fantasy castle that gives the book its title.  There in the castle, Kororo is able to see she is not alone, even as her relationship with the kids there has its rocky moments...after all, they all have problems and things they feel triggered by.  And the castle's fantasy rules draw each of them together, even as it promises a reward to only one of them.

The result is a plot that shows great empathy for all seven characters, and the millions of kids around the world like them.  It's easy to see how this caught on and became a big deal in Japan and it well deserves your attention here too.  Just a great YA work.  
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