Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

Catfish Rolling has a really strong premise and I loved the magical realism that married modern Japan with it's folklore. I also found Sora to be quite relatable as an older teen at the precipice of adulthood who has no idea what she wants.

I found the relationship between Sora and her father frustrating, but I think that was the point. I did struggle to stay engaged around the middle of this novel. I persevered and was rewarded once Sora went to Tokyo and the pace seemed to pick up. I think with it being a YA novel, I expected it to be a bit pacier, with slightly more external action, and less existential crisis. I can't think of many of my students who would stick with this novel, but the eldest of them is 16, so perhaps it's more of a New Adult than Young Adult book.

A moving tale on grief and family, Catfish Rolling is an incredibly moving tale of a young girl after she loses her mother. It has an interesting concept where there are places where time moves differently, and these are the places where Sora hopes to find her family.

I liked the immersion into Japanese culture and folklore. This novel has a lovely take on family and how far we’d go for our loved ones.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Catfish Rolling" wasn't quite my cup of tea, but I can't deny that the incorporation of Japanese folklore into the narrative added an intriguing and fun twist to the story. While it may not have completely won me over, the inventive blend of elements made it an enjoyable read for those who appreciate a fresh take on storytelling.

This was a really gorgeous, meditative read on time, grief, and moving on. Definitely recommend for people who are looking for quieter, more literary fabulist stories. Personally I thought this read more like adult literary fiction than YA, so hopefully that means it will appeal to both audiences--it's really lovely.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

I want to thank NetGalley and Abrahm's Kids for providing me with an eARC to read and give my honest opinion. The opinions expressed her are my own.
Magic realism which weaves in Japanese folklore as Sora tells her story of living in a Japanese town where time is not as it seems after a big earthquake.
The premise of this book sounded so interesting. I love magical realism and this one really started off interesting. Unfortunately, it didn't stay that way for me and I ended up DNFing this one at about 60% in. I really wanted to love it but it became really slow and I grew uninterested.
I really was looking forward to getting to know Sora. But I just didn't connect with her. She feels so sorry for herself the whole time. It dragged me down. I thought maybe her relationship with Koki would go somewhere, but it didn't.
And I'm not really sure what the plot was. Her wandering through her life and noticing all the time differences? Maybe you learn more later on in the book but by halfway through I would have liked to know. It just felt repetitive to me. I didn't know what I was supposed to be looking for. It felt stilted and stale.
I'm sure others will love this one but ultimately it was too slow for me to continue on and finish.

Not my thing but a fun concept! Will be buying in regardless. There will be browsers who will love this, but it just wasn't for me. I'm sure others will adore!

This tells the story of Sora, who lost her mother and other family in an earthquake - when the catfish rolled. According to legend, earthquakes are caused when the giant catfish sleeping under the islands of Japan wakes and rolls. This time the quake caused some very disturbing fractures in time; in some areas it moves slower and in others faster. Everyone caught in the different time zones disappeared. Sora and her father are desperate to find out more about the zones and what happened to Sora’s mother. However, frequent exposure to the different time zones has affected her father and she fears losing him too. I loved the magic realism of this story and the weaving together of myth and legend with hard headed science. The grief felt by Sora and her father was very vividly displayed and I thought that the other relationships were well portrayed.
This book would certainly appeal to fans of Studio Ghibli and I’m hoping to entice a few manga fans into reading this!

I struggled to get into Catfish Rolling for a long while, but once I did, I was thoroughly invested. A fabulous story with some supernatural ideas that are strange and awesome. Highly recommend!

Touching, charming, and haunting all at once. I really felt for the main character and the world building both internal and external was very nice. A lovely take on a fable I hadn’t heard of before this. Really loved it.

3.5 stars. You should read this, but also I am so incredibly excited for Kumagai's next book because I loved most of this but some aspects felt very much like a debut. The premise and vibes are the best thing about this book, with Sora's philosophical thoughts were also great. It's so sad and cathartic and satisfying. The time stuff is perfectly balanced between explanation and keeping things suspenseful. However, the pacing is really not so good - the first half is so. slow. and I'm afraid that I may have DNFed if I didn't want to push through to review.

This book is a masterpiece (it even made me cry!), but it is also very heartbreaking. It speaks mainly of grief and loss, even the time zones (zones where time moves slower or faster, that were caused by the earthquake that killed Sora's mom) are a metaphor for grief.
The design of the book is gorgeous. Each chapter has an illustration regarding to the title and they're beautiful.
The first half is a little slow-paced, but the second half completely makes up for it. The final emotional moments where Sora confronts her mother's death and the grief that comes with it are so emotional. Sora and her father have been surviving, but they haven't really enjoyed life since her mother died. It was time for them to let go and to start living again.
Sora's budding relationship with Maya is very sweet. Now that she has someone to get her out of her shell, her college life will probably be easier. While her childhood best friend also helps her, he didn't push her to be adventurous and to live her life like Maya does.
Yamagata was the real MVP. He was stuck up and cold, but he did save Sora and her dad. He wanted to keep her safe, so he followed her into the zones to saver her dad. He's nicer than he wants people to think he is.

TW:death, grief, earthquake, implied sexual content, drinking,memory loss.

A giant catfish under Japan; this tale includes earthquakes and time quakes; love and friendship; grief; and self discovery.
A really gorgeous debut novel.