Before I review the actual story, I feel I need to review the marketing around this book. I've seen it pushed as being for readers who enjoyed Convenience Store Woman, and I have issues with that. Apart from being written by a Japanese author and being set in Japan, there are little similarities between these two books. Yes, there are issues of societal norms and those who don't fit into them, but the situations and characters are so different that I think anyone expecting a similar story to CSW will be left feeling a bit duped.

But that isn't a statement about the book itself. This story starts with Kokoro, a teenage girl who has been so bullied at school that she no longer attends. Her days alone at home, terrified to open up to anyone, going over what happened to her and what she should do now, are suddenly changed when her bedroom mirror starts to glow. As she is pulled through it, she finds herself in a castle with six other teenagers and a strange young girl in a wolf mask. This Wolf Queen, as she calls herself, lays out the rules - they can come to the castle every day between the hours of nine and five and use the space as they want. And bonus - there is a key hidden in the castle, and the person who finds it will have their greatest wish come true. All they have to do is make sure they leave by five o'clock, otherwise they'll be eaten.

This story is much more about the characters than it is about the fantastical elements. I thought I'd be relieved by that, as I don't often connect with fantasy. But, I felt there was something so compelling about this lonely castle and it's creepy little Wolf Queen, and I was surprised at myself at being disappointed at how those elements didn't have a bigger presence. And this was compounded by the fact that although character-driven, this story doesn't give us a rounded or particularly deep study of any one character or their story. I felt kept at arm's length from so much in this book. I don't know if that's a cultural or translation thing - many Japanese books I've read have felt similarly clipped and spare. But I found myself feeling as if I was being offered a sorbet when I was starving - nice flavour, but it wasn't filling me up.

However, I did enjoy a lot about this book. I loved the metaphor of the castle as a space to run away to when you want to escape your life. I thought the writing was very elegant and that topics that were touched on were done so in a sensitive way. I really liked the blend of the fantastical with the real - is there a fantasy version of magical realism...fantastical reality? Whatever it is, it worked really well. And I enjoyed the conclusion so much.

So, this book was a bit of a mix for me. I'm sure some people wont be crazy about it, but I have a feeling it will find a fanbase of people who really love it.

I think everyone should read this just for the ending and it's place in Japanese discourse on mental health. Saying that I found the first half quite difficult to get through, the writing was a little two dimensional (he said, she said etc) but perhaps this is just the translation. The final 100 or so pages are perfect.

This was a surprise! A mix of a novel with children and a magic mirror at its heart but on the dark side, there's bullies, a wolf queen and danger..
It's unlike any other novel I have ever read and I'm not sure if I liked it or not. The premise was strong but the writing felt quick weak and repetitive in places. The ending and the story overall however was good and very unique and it did feel Japanese for its quirky nature.

I genuinely have no idea how I felt about this Japanese novel. I think the problem lies in that the premise of it - a fairytale quest of seven children competing to win a wish come true - was interesting enough to keep me reading, but the narrative was really boring at times. It’s incredibly long, for a start, and includes lots of little speech tics - the characters saying “um” and “I see” - so at times it feels like listening to an unedited podcast instead of reading a bestseller. But still, I kept reading, and I’m still thinking about it days later, so who knows.

Kokoro’s stomach hurts, again. She doesn’t want to go to school, again. She prefers brooding in her room while watching TV because she does not trust her friends. Her mistrust in them grows by the day, until she discovers the lonely castle that resides inside her shining bedroom mirror.
Lonely Castle in the Mirror revolves around the life of Kokoro, her six friends and a Wolf Queen. This fairy tale inspired Japanese novel starts off on a bleak note. The narration starts with a quick outline of Kokoro’s personal life which leads straight into the introduction of the castle situated in an alternate world with a Wolf Queen and seven little red riding hoods. The description of the castle at the beginning of the book was sluggish which somewhat fails to draw the reader’s intrigue. However, the element that kept me continuing reading was the urge to decode Kokoro’s issues.
The part that stands out in this book is its second half, where the author ties together the loose ends of the story into a very complicated, yet interesting knot. In spite of the hiccups in the beginning, this book succeeds in the characterization of Kokoro, her friends, and the various kinds of trauma they endure in their real life. The author does a good job at describing how children typically hide their imperfect lives by overcompensating through certain obsessions, behavior & emotional changes. The book is an honest portrayal of the ill-effects of bullying, abuse and grief on the psyche of children in Japan. It also draws a true picture of how this trend of mental issues among children have grown through the years, and the dire need of intervention required to interrupt this monotony passed on from generation to generation.
I would have thoroughly enjoyed this book if it was slightly shorter with tighter editing. I would have also enjoyed it if the fairy tale trope was made stronger in the first half of the book. The charm of the lonely castle which is the highlight of the book loses its significance at places. If you are patient enough to get through the first half of the book, then you would appreciate how all the aspects in the first half fall into place at the end.

Lonely Castle in the Mirror was a delightful book to read as it incorporates elements of magical realism and traditional fairy tale with the topical issue of children’s mental health. Lockdown has made us all keenly aware of the effect of loneliness on our emotional wellbeing and the story of these Japanese children will strike a chord with many across the world. Tsujimura writes beautifully about forming human connections with others and creates characters to whom one cannot help but feel emotionally attached. The ending was surprising and I found myself captivated until the end. This is an incredibly touching and heartwarming book that I would thoroughly recommend.

Lonely Castle in the Mirror is an enchanting story that takes on the themes of bullying, friendship and growing up with that uniquely Japanese touch of magic realism.

This is an allegory that wears its inspiration on its sleeve, with Miyazaki imagery and fairy tale motifs woven throughout. I felt a sense of connection to all the characters - particularly Kokoro, who is an endearing young protagonist. The castle itself is a unique premise, suffused in mystery, and I was pleasantly surprised by the clever reveal.

Charming and bittersweet: Lonely Castle in the Mirror is a touching exploration of human connection.

I found the writing style of this book a bit odd and difficult to get used to - it's rather childlike, even though the book itself is quite long. Once I settled into that, I did enjoy this fantastical tale, but I felt the impact of the plot twists would have been greater had it been shorter.

Kokoro drops out of school after a gang of pupils turned up at her home, threatening and frightening her. With plenty of time on her hands she is delighted to discover that her bedroom mirror has magical qualities. When it glows she can step through it into a castle where she meets six other pupils that have also dropped out of school. They are set a mission to find the key so that one of the seven can have their wish granted or they return to the real world with nothing. How motivated are they to actually fulfil this task? Why have these particular individuals been chosen for the mission? Who is this mysterious Wolf Girl who seems to be co-ordinating proceedings?
This is a fantasy that draws on fairy tales, time travel and other world as well as hard realities such as bullying, complicated family relationships and mental health. It is cleverly woven together but at 400 pages I found it incredibly long. I also felt at times that the structure was a bit chaotic and although I knew everything would be pulled together at the end, there needed some refinement along the way. That being said, it was thoroughly enjoyable and an excellent teen fiction. This is well worth the effort.

This is a fascinating and dreamy book.

Set in contemporary Japan it centers around a girl in her early teens who is terrified to leave the house because of her bullies. One day while she's at home alone she sees a bright light coming from her mirror and it transports her to a mysterious castle where she meets the "Wolf Queen", a strange little girl in a wolf mask.

When she comes back another day she meets a group of children all a similar age to her and all not going to school, but for different reasons. They bond is mysterious and strange ways.. They have a quest to try and find a mysterious key within one year and then their wish will be granted.

This story is light and sensitive and deals with some serious issues is a really graceful and respectful manner.

I did not expect the ending! I have read reviews about this and heard that many people were broken by the ending and it's intense! Definitely have some tissues handy.

All in all, I really liked this novel

Lonely Castle in the Mirror is a grower of a book. It's good from the off, sure, but it's one that's good and grows to be great. It's full of characters that you will love from the start, a mystery surrounding this castle in the mirror, and just generally a cast you can root for. Once you get into the book, you won't be able to put it down, you'll want answers to all your questions. It's a slow build up to the ending, but boy is it worth it.

My thanks to Ruth Richardson and Doubleday/Random House UK for a review copy of this one via NetGalley.

This was in some ways a strange read, rather hard to classify and yet one I ended up enjoying very much.

Our story opens with Kororo Anzai, a teen who has just started junior high but who we see is unable to go to school anymore because of what she faced there. She spends her time in her room, unable to eat properly, watching TV but not taking it in, not wanting to open the curtains, and certainly not ever stepping out. Her parents are very supportive, not forcing her into going to school but also find themselves helpless, since they don’t really know what she’s going through, and how they can help her (I found them refreshing since the stereotypical parent would not have reacted this way). Then one day, in Kokoro’s room, the mirror begins to glow and she is drawn into a different world. Here she meets a young girl in a wolf mask who tells her that this place, this castle will be open to her and six others—Aki, Masumane, Rion, Fuka, Subaru, and Ureshino—different from her and yet like her, who have also entered this place through their mirrors, for a period of a year, until the 30th of March. In this they must find a key and the one who finds it can have their wish come true. There are rules of course—the castle is open only from 9 to 5 and anyone who stays back after the appointed time will be eaten!!!

Told essentially from Kokoro’s viewpoint, we travel between Kokoro’s world and the world of the castle. In the real world, we start to learn what Koroko has faced at the hands of bullies, led by the ‘popular’ girl in her class, and how this had made her fearful of even stepping out of the house, even though she would like to have friends, and go to school—in fact school is the only world she can conceive of at that point. The world in the Castle at first seems to Kokoro no different from junior high—but as she begins to get to know the others, she finds she actually begins to have friends. With her we begin to see little titbits of each of their lives, and as the book moves on learn their stories. Each of them has faced some problems in their lives because of which they are unable to attend or face school—we learn of this and also of their different talents and interests. But there is more that connects them than first meets the eye, and as we read on, secrets are revealed and we also see the power of human connection—that by helping and supporting one another, much can be overcome, and one can even come out of the deepest recesses.

To start off with I will have to say that one will have to suspend disbelief a bit when reading the book because fantasy and reality intermingle throughout (in fact at some level, this reminded me a little of the anime/manga Fuishigi Yugi/Curious Play in which also the fantasy part connects up with reality in unexpected ways). At some level, one has to see it as a piece of magic that helps these kids face their problems, and gives them the strength to pull out of it.

When it started out, more than the fantasy element in the story, it was the real world that interested me—what had actually happened with Kokoro, would she be able to overcome it, how, and aspects like that. But with the fantasy element also came the other six characters and slowly we begin to learn about their lives and stories and this too begins to grip you. You want to know what they have faced, and want that things turn out ok for them too. Most of them have faced pain and hurt, and one really begins to feel for them. (One also realises how something that may seem ‘minor’ from one person’s point of view could affect another so much more deeply, perhaps another reason to be more conscious of one’s actions.)

The castle is a place of solace for them all, where they can escape reality and its problems, do things that interest them (each of them has a room there plus common spaces)—as time passes rather than being in their rooms, they begin to go to meet each other and spend time with each other. The key and the wish are secondary for it is the comfort that the castle provides that they need. They also begin to realise how they can support one and another, perhaps not just in the castle.

This story had so many secrets, twists and turns, some of which one didn’t see coming at all. The characters try to unravel them as we go along, but answers are not always easily arrived at, and there is more than one twist awaiting us. This was an element I really enjoyed in the book.

The book deals with a lot of difficult issues, from bullying and harassment to death and loss, but, it is still heart-warming and at the end of the story one, comes away feeling positive and full of hope, knowing that things will be ok.

I loved the plot, liked the characters and the incorporation of fairy-tale elements, and found this a really touching read.

4.5 stars

While this was cleverly written and woven together well, I feel that this was far too long for what happened. I liked the characters, but I never felt overly attached to any of them and I felt like some of the reasons for not going to school were really juvenile.
I think this is a book that will probably have more of an emotional impact if it's read in its original language, because as I was reading I felt that some things were said too literally, or the way the kids spoke to each other and other adults seemed too stilted and awkward.
It was a cute concept and I enjoyed how it wrapped up and made me think 'Oh!' when things were revealed, but getting through the book felt like it took an eternity.

“‘If you’re told it’ll definitely come true,’ Masamune said, ‘then everyone will have a wish or two.’”

Kokoro, a 7th grader who no longer attends school because of “the incident”, has the house to herself during the day while her parents are at work. She spends her time watching TV, hiding from the world outside her home.

One day a light appears from inside her mirror. Before she’s even barely begun investigating this strange occurrence, Kokoro finds herself on the other side of the mirror. There, in a castle that looks like it belongs in a fairytale, she meets others whose mirrors have learned the same new trick:

* Aki is in the 9th grade and appears to have her act together
* Fuka wears glasses, has a high pitched voice and is in the 8th grade
* Masamune is in the 8th grade and is likely to be playing a video game whenever you see him
* Subaru is in the 9th grade and is described as looking like Ron from Harry Potter
* Ureshino is already in love with being in love and he’s only in the 7th grade
* Rion is a handsome 7th grader who plays football.

The seven strangers are met by the Wolf Queen, who tells them the rules of the castle.

“‘From now until next March, you will need to search for the key that will unlock the Wishing Room. The person who finds it will have the right to enter and their wish will be granted.’”

Over the course of many months, the group slowly get to know one another and discover what they have in common. Despite the fairytale elements and some magical realism, the core of this book addresses some difficult topics, albeit in a sensitive way. I loved the focus on mental health, particularly anxiety, and how it impacts other areas of our functioning, including physical health and social interactions.

I liked the characters, although some were given more detailed backstories than others. I was most intrigued by Aki and wanted to spend more time behind what I saw as her protective wall. I would have loved to have learned what happened to all of the seven after the events of the story. I definitely wanted more page time with the mysterious Wolf Queen, hoarder of the best lines:

“‘Can’t you simply be satisfied that you’ve been chosen as heroes in a story?’”

Anyone who knows me knows I love portal stories and I found myself bingeing this one. There weren’t as many fantasy elements as I’ve experienced in other portal stories I’ve read. I also got to know the characters and the rules of the castle at a more leisurely pace than I’d expected. Neither were a problem for me, though. The payoff at the end ticked all the boxes for me, confirming some suspicions and answering most of the questions I had. This is definitely a book I want to reread.

“How could a portal into a different world not be appealing?”

Content warnings include bullying, grief, mental health, sexual assault and mention of death by suicide.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Doubleday, an imprint of Transworld Publishers, Penguin Random House UK, for the opportunity to read this book. I’m rounding up from 4.5 stars.

Such an intriguing premise, seven children walk through a glowing mirror and find themselves in a Castle, greeted by a girl wearing a wolf mask. Lovely book about misfits finding a way to deal with challenges that come their way.

I loved the fairytale flow, the relationships, the different lives of all the children. Really engrossing and emotionally gripping.

What an interesting novel, I just wish I had read it when I was a kid or a teenager.

I believe it is a very powerful story disguised in a fantastical “fairy tale”. When I say fairy tale I do not mean love, princes and happiness. There is a magic castle and mirrors that let you in a parallel world, but the story is about vulnerability, anxiety and bullying of every kind. The physical, manipulative and mental sort of bullying. It really reminded me how hard it can be to be young and a little different. Or to be young and a little sensitive, or a little smarter. Or actually just to be young.

It is apparently a best seller in Japan and I completely understand why. Japanese society and culture are one of the most fascinating for me. While it’s beautiful, traditional and respectful, there is a very dark side to it. I would not be surprised if a lot of readers could relate to it.

I have to say that it is a very slow narrative and wouldn’t say it is a page turner but it is a very touching story.

Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Kokoro, bullied and suffering from anxiety, discovers her mirror is a portal to a magic castle. There, she meets six other teens and the Wolf Queen. They are challenged find the key to the Wishing Room.

Translated from the Japanese by Philip Gabriel, Lonely Castle in the Mirror is an allegory for the importance of sharing our problems by connecting with others. The reader is drawn in from the very first line.

Once the seven receive their mission, the key and the Wishing Room are forgotten until we are much further into the novel, after which the subject is neglected again until much later (at around the 80% mark). Then it becomes a mad dash to tie up a whole bunch of loose ends.

Despite the pacing/structural issues, this is a captivating book.

Touching.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for the ARC.

A fantastical story about not fitting in, dealing with obstacles (especially for children) that are taken for granted by a great part of modern society - such as bullying, anxiety, expectations - that takes the form of a magical castle with a search party for a wish-granting key.
A lot of credits for Tsujimura for seamlessly creating this magical realistic universe, something that must be a lot harder than it seems, and making it a very compelling reading experience with a lot of twists and turns and very lovable characters..

I don't very much agree with the comparison to Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata by the publisher. I think it has more in common with The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida by Clarissa Goenawan, as both are more relatable for a younger audience.

All and all, it was a very pleasant and captivating read, but I am a bit disappointed that it is more of a YA novel than has an adult audience in mind. It was a bit too emotional for what I was expecting of this book, but I think if I had read it knowing it was YA, I would have been more enthusiastic.

What a ride! This book was my companion for about two weeks and in the end, I grew fond of all the lovely characters in the story. So goodbye was really hard on this one.

This book tackles a topic I haven't encountered much in Japanese literature--mental health. In the back of the book, it says that Japanese children are the ones with the second-to-last worst mental health worldwide. But instead of addressing it, the Japanese seemingly want to avoid the topic. That's why I found this book to be very refreshing and insightful. Each character has to get through with different challenges in their life. I don't want to retell much of the story since it's in the description and I don't want to spoil anything, but please take a seat and go on this ride, because you're going to learn something about mental health issues overall in Japan and additionally, perhaps a thing or two about yourself.

PS: This book is currently made into a manga in Japan--so do yourself the favor of looking into a couple of pages, it really sets the mood!