君の名は

I'll start by saying that if you haven't seen the movie, the best thing to do would be to read this book and then reward yourself by watching it. The story is engaging and emotionally powerful, but the book doesn't add very much to what the movie already gives you. If you read 君の名は you'll gain some insight into characters' thoughts and motivations, and you'll have an easier time understanding certain plot points. However, the outstanding music and scenery in the movie make it a more powerful medium for telling this particular story. We read the book in a Wanikani book club, and I got the sense that those who had not seen the movie got a lot more out of it.

From a language-learning perspective, of the four (non-manga) books I've read so far, this is the most difficult. New vocabulary is regularly introduced all the way through to the end. Dialect and "teenager speak" make some of the dialogue very difficult to follow. The style often changes drastically between dreamlike, literary, and straightforward expositional.

The bottom is, if you're unfamiliar with 君の名は, this is a must-read. If you've seen the movie countless times like I have, then don't expect to gain a lot by picking this book up.