カラフル

Didn't quite equal the hype

It wasn't a bad story, but recently due to a new movie (I believe) it has made sort of a resurgence on the scene despite being a pretty old book, so I decided to read it. However, it didn't quite make the grade for me and I'm not sure why, but it was a little clunky to get through for me. I'm not sure if this was due to a lot of dialogue or not but the time perspective jumps in the book may also trip some people up. I have read DIVE from this author so I was excited to read it, but it's just not one of my favorites.

Seeing Beneath the Surface

It wasn’t exactly a page-turner for me, its pace is gentle and sometimes meandering, but overall I found it an enjoyable and worthwhile read. What stood out most was the twist at the end, a revelation that reframes everything that came before it. That moment gave the story real emotional weight and left me appreciating the quiet build-up more than I did while reading it.

The novel carries an important message about how easily we misjudge others, mistaking surface impressions for the whole truth. It reminds us that people, even those who seem troubled, distant, or flawed, often carry unseen burdens. The book encourages compassion, patience, and a willingness to look deeper.

While it may not grip every reader from the start, the book ultimately rewards those who stay with it, offering a warm, thoughtful reflection on second chances and understanding.

So Boring

I DNFed this book it was so boring, the writing was lazy, and the main character was really annoying.

It's not a difficult or long book but it killed my motivation to read, so I decided to drop it.

Turns out other people agree with me that it's not worth the read, even if it is good Japanese practice.

Very SOL, very predictable, very young adult/middle grade and I saw the twist coming in like the first couple of minutes. 🤣 but I am also long past my teens, so...

It's a quick and easy read (or listen). Can recommend the audiobook.

Catcher in the Rye at a 中学生-level

In interviews, Eto Mori says that she wanted this book to be fun from the moment you start reading, regardless of who you are. I think she succeeds brilliantly. The setting provides an original and engaging way of exploring the classic disenchanted-school-youth trope that will remind readers of The Catcher in the Rye. Mori also succeeds in keeping a good tempo through the plot, which kept me looking forward to what would happen on the next page. In many parts it is thematically very strong, but some unresolved conflicts left me puzzled as to what the author was thinking. I really liked it.

As for language, I stopped keeping track of the オノマトペ . Otherwise a very nice balance of dialogue and description, especially because a parallel english translation is available with minimal content changes.

A soul enters the afterlife, where it is told that it has no further to go from there. Whoever this soul was, it was responsible for something bad in their previous life and thus won't be reborn. But fortunately, the soul is given a second chance by being sent back to earth once more to continue to live the life of Kobayashi Makoto, who has just died by suicide. While the soul settles into the life Makoto left behind and tries to come to terms with his preoccupied family and being a target of bullying in school, it has the task of reflecting on the sin it comitted.

This young adult book deals with numerous issues relevant to teenagers between middle school and high school: It discusses various family issues, issues related to self-image and self-worth, bullying at school and also deals with the themes of love and sex/arousal. Thus, the novel is written in a way that is appropriately accessible to that age group and the font is printed rather large with an increased use of hiragana spellings. In my opinion, it fits well for early N2.

Good for those new to reading in Japanese

Content warnings: plot centres around a suicide attempt, also references to child(early teen) sex work

I read this book with a little book club of two other people, where we read it on a schedule and discussed it as we went. The book was a good fit for that. It’s short and broken up into manageable chapters, the vocabulary and grammar used is not too difficult and it has an audiobook (always a big plus for me). As the main character is a character in the last year of middle school there is also a fair bit of discussion in the book about the Japanese school system, entrance exams etc which was another interesting element.

So language wise - a really good pick! Enjoyment wise, if I could have rated this 3 and a half stars for that I would as it is enjoyable and sometimes pretty funny. However it does very much feel like a book written for early teens, maybe one that would be assigned in school as it has a kind of moral point to make. That isn’t a bad thing, and it’s well written, just a little too ‘after school special’ for me at times.

物語が意外と単純だった

お気に入り度：⭐️⭐️⭐️

日本語能力試験レベル：~N3-N2 (オノマトペいっぱいあります）

❤️好きな登場人物：小林真、早乙女、プラプラ

✨好きなところ：自殺した理由の分析

🖋好きなセリフ：「みんなそうだよ。いろんな絵の具を持ってるんだ、綺麗な色も、汚い色も。どれが本当の色だかわからなくて。」

📝レビュー（ネタバレ注意）： この一冊も少しがっかりした。思ったより物語が単純だった。結局、根性悪の大罪が全然なくて、ただ自分の命を絶ったという罪悪だった。それでも、真の環境の分析が面白かった。ほろ苦い読書だった。