Shizuko's Daughter

by Kyoko Mori

"Lyrical...A beautifully written book about a bitterly painful coming of age."
THE KIRKUS REVIEWS
Yuki Okuda knows her mother would be proud of her grades and her achievements in sports if she were alive. But she committed suicide. And Yuki has to learn how to live with a father who doesn't seem to love her and a stepmother who treats her badly. Most important, she has to learn how to live with a twelve-year-old Japanese girl growing up alone, trying to make sense of a tragedy that makes no sense at all....

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Japan, Japanese Literature, Asian Literature, Teen, Realistic Fiction

214 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 15, 1993

About the author

Kyoko Mori was born in Kobe, Japan, in 1957. As a young girl, she learned numerous ways to be creative, including drawing, sewing, and writing, from her mother and her mother's family. From those family members, Mori says, "I came to understand the magic of transformation — a limitless possibility of turning nothing into something."

Mori's life changed completely at age 12, when her mother died. Her father remarried one year later, but the household was not a happy one, and Mori looked for ways to stay away from home. Eventually, she moved to the United States to attend college. She then went to graduate school, where she studied creative writing.

Mori's writing grows out of her personal experiences, but she doesn't always write exactly what happens in her own life. "I think that the best thing about being a writer is that we get to make up things and tell the truth at the same time," she says. Since she received her doctoral degree in 1984, Mori has taught creative writing and has published fiction, poetry, and essays.

Reviews

[Parastoo Khalili · Rating 5 out of 5]

سلامی دوباره.

همونطور كه از اسم كتاب پيداست، كتاب درباره ي دختر شيزوكو به نام یوکی نوشته شده.
ولي به نظرم، كتاب درباره ي همه ي دختران و زنان داخل كتاب بود.
چون نويسنده ي كتاب به همه ي زنان فرصت صحبت كردن و دفاع كردن از خودشون رو داده بود. تك تك تمام زنان داخل كتاب يك فصل حتي نيم فصل از خودشون صحبت كردند، از احساساتشون از تصميماتشون، از دلايل كارهاشون.

و درآخر به نظرم شيزوكو دخترش رو قدرتمند بارآورده بود، جوري بهش عشق ورزيده بود كه بعد از اون اتفاق سرش رو بالا نگه ‌داره و نذاره ديگران واسش دل بسوزونند.
ديگراني كه همه ازشون مي‌ترسيدند! مثل پدر يوكي، مثل مادربرزگ ساما.
و به نظرم غم و اندوه هميشه در انسان‌ها وجود داره و هيچوقت ازبين نميره و فقط با كارهاي ديگر انسان‌ها، مخصوصا خودمون، بزرگتر و بزرگتر ميشه.

[Staciesakuma · Rating 4 out of 5]

The genre of this book is Intergenerational readers and fiction. I chose this book because I read another book by Kyoko Mori (One Bird) and loved it. I wanted to see what her other book was about.
Plot:
This book is told in the third person point of view and the story starts in the mind of Shizuko Okuda. She is dreaming about the celebration going on in Kobe, Japan after the war has ended. She is confused because all of the children that are running around are not the ones that she played with before the war; they were her daughter, Yuki’s (protagonist), friends. Then, all of Shizuko’s surroundings fade and change into a park where she sees her daughter playing in the cherry blossom petals. Shizuko wakes up from her nap and has her mind made up. She writes two notes; one to her husband and one to Yuki. When Yuki comes home from her piano lesson, she finds her mother on the ground and the house filled with gas. Yuki is twelve years old and is too young to be going through something this tragic. Yuki is a bright young girl that is the smartest girl in her grade; she is the fastest runner at her school and is a fantastic artist. All of these traits contribute to Yuki’s future successes.
Just a year after her mother’s death, Yuki’s father, Hideki, decides to remarry to a woman from his work named Hanae (antagonist). Over the years, Yuki is still troubled by her mother’s death and does not like her father’s new bride. She is constantly reminded of her mother when she has flashbacks but manages to make new friends and conquer many obstacles despite her constant downheartedness. Later in the book, Yuki confronts her stepmother and tells her that she is just pretending to be the perfect piece to complete this family. This gets Hanae very angry and she smashes Shizuko’s tea set that was considered a prized possession to Yuki. As the story continues, Yuki must face some difficult obstacles that are clouding up her path to her future.
Conflict:
Man vs. Man or Man vs. Self
Yuki faces two main forms of conflict. She faces her new stepmother who absolutely despises her and Yuki also faces a battle within herself. Yuki must suffer through all of the hardships that Hanae puts her through at home. She also has to overcome all of the sadness and feelings of loneliness caused by the death of her mother.
Theme:
Love is lost easily and not gained back quickly but love will always find its way back into an open heart. Yuki loses a very important figure in her life; her mother. When her father remarries, she does not like his new bride and refuses to accept her love. When Yuki is at her grandmother’s house, she realizes that not everyone in the world is out to hurt her, and that if she allows people’s love into her heart, then she will ultimately become a stronger person.
Writing Style:
Kyoko Mori has a very unique style of writing that is strong, passionate, meaningful and detailed. She uses rather complex sayings and phrases but they are easy to understand. “I think now that it’s worth it all the same, loving someone. It may not turn out right, but I want to love someone in spite of it. In a way, it means more because the odds are against us” (142). This shows how meaningful her words are but they are easily comprehendible.
Critique:
I loved this book, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who isn’t interested in the cultural type of books. It really helped that I could, on some levels, relate to Yuki and that I could understand some of the simple Japanese words used throughout the story. But if someone is just interested in a good book, I would say to definitely read it.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shizuko’s Daughter
Kyoko Mori
208 pages
The Ballantine Publishing Group
$6.50
ISBN# 0-449-70433-5
How many times in life have you been hurt? What do you do about it? Twelve years old Yuki is so young and she is facing many difficult problems. “You’re so good; you’re only twelve and so brave! Your mom would be so proud.” Everyone around Yuki says those sentences to her and she is tired of hearing this every time. She wanted more than a couple of sentences; she wanted love from her family. The problem is will she get it? As a young teenager, she faces many challenges like loosing her mom and more. You will think that she will break down but will that happen? How well can Yuki handle the truth? As you know the truth hurts.
Yuki had moved many times, now she finally settled in Kobe. One afternoon she comes home on a pleasant day to enjoy her new neighborhood but instead she finds out her mom is died. Yuki walks in to her cozy house feeling and sees her mom lying on the floor unconscious. Yuki thought about why her mom had killed herself. She is in a state of confusion and woe. After this tragedy, nothing seemed right to her. Yuki moved in with her with her occupied father who doesn’t seem to care about her. Also her father’s new married wife, Hanae always bring trouble for her. This world seems unfair with out her mom by her side. She is so young and she is in misery. Should she just join her mom?
I like this book because Yuki who is younger than me has to go through this hard world all by herself. I like the motivation of her mom memories that pushes her into becoming a women and enjoying this world even through most her joy is taken away. The only thing I dislike about his book is that the author puts all the misery on one person, oh the poor girl but this also makes it more interesting. It makes it interesting because it makes you want to find out what happens and how a young person can handle things.
Yuki faces many challenges that can’t be changed because it is fate but she still tries to do it. I know this is silly for her to do but she is brave. I bet you can’t take all the misery Yuki had to take. I would recommend this book to anyone but I especially recommend this book to people who think their life is miserable. I recommend it to those people because they think their life is miserable but they don’t look at other’s lives and realize that other suffer more. No one has the worst life because life isn’t over yet; find a way to enjoy it. There are good things that can happen. You just have to try.

[Quirkyreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story that deals with a family tragedy. Spoiler Alert.... The tragedy is the suicide of one of the characters. And the rest of the book deals with the fall out of the characters actions.

This book can be helpful to those who have also gone through one of these fall outs. Events like this need plenty of time for healing. So please be respectful to others who are going throught this. But mostly if you know of so one who is in dire straights don't be quiet. Let others know.

[Delal · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I move to America and suddenly; every book I read talks about belonging and in the case of this book, missing parents.

This is a beautifully written coming of age story about young Yuki who loses her mother to suicide, and then has to find herself in a life that throws so many difficulties in her way that are just too much for a child to handle. However, being blunt and not minding what the society says enables Yuki to find herself towards the end of the novel. The novel also holds many examples of flora and fauna in Japan in the late 70's. The reason this gets three stars is that it was written as snippets from Yuki's life at different stages and in some chapters I felt I needed to know more. Also, the last chapter was from the point of view of Yuki's maternal grandmother who was previously mentioned in a few chapters. I would have loved the last chapter to be from Yuki's perspective being the main character.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shizuko and her daughter Yuki are artists, and this book is written so it helps readers see what the artist's eye sees: wherever Yuki looks, whatever is going on in her life, she sees colors, and the colors have meaning. This is part of what makes this story much more complex than "mother dies, kid suffers with remote father and hateful step-mother,kid gets old enough and moves out" though that pretty much sums up the plot line. What makes the book worth reading, though, is how Yuki processes everything that happens to her, how she interacts with the people in her life, and how she matures over the 7 years the story takes.

The fact that the story takes place in Japan provides a nice background setting, but not much more. It could've taken place anywhere.

[Amy Layton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a haunting and beautiful book--it's also the first and only YA novel to open with a suicide, which still creates some controversy.  Though at times disjointed, this tale is told both through Shizuko's perspectives as well as others.  This may work in its favor, however, given the fact that Shizuko is currently grieving and herself feels disjointed.

It's poetic, at times eerie, and sometimes disconnected--making it work on both the levels of face-level reading as well as a more attentive reading.  Shizuko is a compelling character, and even more so given that she's Japanese and abides to her own rules rather than the cultural norms.  While others don't understand her, her rebellion is so small and yet so huge at the same time--which only goes to show how rebellion doesn't necessarily translate easily across cultures.  

Overall, this book was satisfying and enriching.  Shizuko's struggles are all too relatable, and offer both understanding and resistance.  Definitely well worth the read.

Review cross-listed here!

[quinnster · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a book years and years ago about a woman who had a contentious relationship with her father after her mother died young. She was not allowed to see her mother's family anymore and he father remarried right away. As soon as she was able she moved out of Japan and away from her father and stepmother. This was the YA book of that except that it was through the eyes of the child as she's going through it and it was just really sad.

The one thing I don't enjoy about Japanese culture is the idea that it is disrespectful to anyone that a child should want to see her grandparents or aunts and uncles of their deceased parent. I understand why, I just couldn't imagine not having a relationship with half my family. Especially for Yuki, who had no other family. Her stepmother was a monster, no two ways around it and her father was not any better.

Thankfully, the book ended on a hopeful note and we do see Yuki let go of the material reminders of her mother so her father and stepmother couldn't hurt her with them, but the book left me feeling melancholy, though grateful for my parents and family.

[Elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful and sad coming of age story about young Yuki trying to grow up and figure things out in the shadow of her mother, Shizuko’s suicide. This is a story of grief which would make great bibliotherapy for a young person who experienced the loss of a parent. It is a young adult novel written before the YA label became trendy, and it was also written and takes place in Japan prior to the advent of social media. These are all good things because they allow for truly enchanting writing.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Started my obsession with translated Japanese books back in high school. The writing was so poetic. Read this book so many times just to feel empty.

[Kaion · Rating 5 out of 5]

“In spite of this, please believe that I love you… You will no doubt get over this and be a brilliant woman. Don’t let me stop or delay you.”

In the aftermath of her mother’s suicide, twelve year old Yuki can’t believe this. Not through packing away all the favorite blues and greens of her mother’s closet before the funeral. Not through her father’s suspiciously prompt remarriage to his secretary. And in the years that follow, even as she appears as the accomplished track star and class president to her peers and as the silent contrarian to her vindictive stepmother and emotionally-absent father—she struggles with the pain of trying to understand.

Shizuko’s Daughter was and is still one of my go-to coming-of-age novels. In short chapters offering windows into Yuki’s growth (mostly through Yuki’s eyes, but also from the perspectives of her father, stepmother, and loving grandmother), it unfolds a rich emotional journey I find I can keep going back to. Yuki is a very remarkably strong and resilient young woman, and refreshingly frank even as the world around her tries to make her resigned.

The novel has been described as semi-autobiographical: unsurprisingly it shows its strengths as such in how the characters react in such vivid cultural specificity of 20th century Japan while confronting universal human pains and joys. More surprisingly, it avoids the pitfalls as such in its balance- for example, even as Mori condemns Yuki’s stepmother actions, she shows an almost sympathetic fairness in the dissection of how such a bitter person comes to be.

I love Kyoko Mori’s use of language throughout. Her straightforward prose becomes almost poetic in how it uses descriptions of nature to unfold the complex internal experiences of the characters. At the convergence of memory, intention, and belief, there really underlies the oneness in our physical and emotional experience.

To live well, we make peace with transience and rise amongst the cruelties. And so it is fitting the most experienced character, Yuki’s grandmother closes out the novel with sublime bittersweet hopefulness— “She laughed and cried copious tears, until her chest and shoulders ached from joy.” Rating: 5 stars (Reread 2/12/2010)

[Samane · Rating 3 out of 5]

مادر او را نمی شد در یک فهرست خلاصه کرد. همانطور که نقاشی مونه در سه دقیقه قابل توصیف نبود. برداشتن ده بیست شیء متعلق به او کار درستی نبود، اگر این کار را می کرد انگار که او چیزی جز یک دست لباس، یک گردنبند و چند عکس نبود، انگار که آن لباس یا جواهر مخصوص، بیشتر از بقیه لباس ها یا جواهراتش می توانست معرف او باشد. یوکی شکی در این باره نداشت. برداشتن چند تکه و باقی گذاشتن بقیه چیزها در حکم پایین آوردن او به حد یک رنگ و یک بو بود. مثل دانه های نفتالین که خودشان از بین رفته بودند، اما بویشان هنوز باقی بود و او نمی توانست چنین کاری بکند

[Victoria Whipple · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yuki and her mother have a beautiful relationship. Her mother is gentle and loving, and Yuki adores her and prefers her company to friends her own age. Her life is turned upside down when her mother dies by suicide. Her father has always been an absent figure in her life, though he lived in the same house. For the year after her mother's death, Yuki lives with her aunt, but must return when her father remarries. Her relationship with her father never improves, and his new wife certainly doesn't help it along. Yuki bides her time well, becoming a stellar student and track star, but she can't wait to leave the house and all the memories it holds. The reader first meets Yuki when she is 12 years old, and we get to know her and her family up to the time she is about 20 years old. She is a strong, resilient girl who will always be a little bit broken, but does the best she can to move on and live a happy life. A beautifully written story that brings the country of Japan and its culture alive for the reader.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

A YA novel about Yuki, a Japanese girl whose mother commits suicide when Yuki is twelve. The author does an excellent job of conveying Yuki's sense of difference from other children, as well as her confusion about what to feel towards her mother. I did feel frustrated in that Yuki's stepmother, Hanae, is pretty much unrelentingly meanspirited, and Yuki's father isn't much better. I suppose, however, that while in the third person, the novel is told predominantly from Yuki's point of view, so Hanae is likely to come across as a fairly unsympathetic character, anyway.

[Firefly_1824 · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I've read others' opinions that said this wasn't very interesting (it's not very active), I do find it very Japanese, in that most of the story takes places in the character's heads. There is a lot of thinking inside with much less action outside. In this respect it is a very introspective novel, and deals with many deep issues.

[Corinne Morier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cue spoiler-free review!

Yuki is only twelve when her mother commits suicide. Her father almost immediately remarries, to a woman in his office named Hanae. Yuki knows that her father was having an affair with Hanae before her mother's death, but keeps her mouth shut, instead deciding to honor her mother's memory by going on and living her life, as she had promised her mother years ago.

The novel is a collection of snippets from Yuki's life, from the time she's twelve and discovers her mother on the kitchen floor to the time she's nineteen. We see Hanae trying to erase Shizuko's memory in any way possible, Yuki fighting to stay in contact with her mother's relatives even against Hanae's direct orders, and her father's inability to say no to his new wife, even to the point that it causes pain for Yuki. Such a tearjerking novel, about the deep bond between a mother and her daughter, that is never broken despite death and a father and stepmother's attempts to pretend as if Shizuko never existed.

I first picked up this novel when I was in high school, but I remember not really being very interested in it at the time. I decided to give it another chance and oh, my, gosh, I'm so glad I did. Yuki is such a real, empathetic character that she feels as if she could be one of my students (at least in the beginning of the novel while she's still in grade school lol, cause I teach elementary school) and I want to just give her a big old hug and tell her everything's going to be okay. This novel gives us a good taste of the real Japan, of the Japanese tendency to talk in circles rather than be blunt, making Yuki's straightforward attitude even more refreshing. All terms and locations are defined in the glossary in the back, but enough context is given in the moment that there's no need to stop reading to look something up.

What a beautiful, heartwrenching story. The reason this doesn't get five stars is because it was Yuki's story, and while we did spend some time with her maternal grandmother in a few chapters, the epilogue was from her grandmother's point of view and didn't even mention Yuki, which was rather disappointing.

This book has no explicit content, but I don't think it would be very appropriate for children, as the subject matter is rather mature and a child might get bored of this book or it might go over their head. However, I would recommend this book to a teenager or an adult looking for a well-written chracter-driven story that is impossible to put down once you've started.

[Chazzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm marking this a "really liked it" as I think it will stay with me for quite a while. I had to put it down a few times as the subject matter got a bit heavy.

Yuki Okuda is a bright, artistic and athletic 12 year old girl. Her mother, Shizuko, spend much time together drawing, painting, reading, enjoying the beauty of Nature and music. Yuki's father spends most of his time away from home working or otherwise busy. This world comes to an abrupt end when Yuki comes home from piano lessons to find her mother dead on the kitchen floor. Shizuko has committed suicide and left Yuki a note about it.

From this point on, the book tells of Yuki's dealing with this shattering of her life. She withdraws and becomes blunt to the point of rudeness with people. Her father continues to be distant and adds to it by taking a new wife only a year after Shizuko's death. The relationship between the new wife and Yuki never gets off the ground. Added to that is Yuki is no longer alloowed to spend time with her maternal grandparents, because it would be awkward with the new wife.

Yuki finds it hard to understand why her mother would leave her like she did. The stigma of suicide, a stepmother who can only criticize Yuki and who promptly disposes of anything related to Yuki's mother by storing it in the attic or throwing it away, the lack of contact with the only grandparents and aunts and uncles she has known is a lot for a child to work through.

The chapters were written at various times, so each is like a short story yet they tie together well. Starting at twelve years old and working on through college age, the book give an interesting look at Japanese culture and behaviour in this type of situation. A culture who is centered on not behaving in any that would give scandal or gossip for people to talk about, and the secrets that are concealed behind that façade.

Though it is a young adult book, it can easily be read by adults, both groups getting a goodread from it.

[brightredglow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up "Shizuko's Daughter" by Kyoko Mori at a used bookstore recently. The cover is what caught my eye because it is the type of book cover art that isn't fashionable. It screamed "Book from the last century!" so of course, I wanted to read it.

It is definitely a time and writing style that I don't see much these days, especially in YA novels. Published in 1993, author Mori writes in a straightforward manner but here and there, there are bursts of poetic language that heightens the feelings or senses.

The story opens in 1969 Kobe Japan. Shizuko is dreaming of herself and then her daughter, Yuki. Then the reader watches as Shizuko goes through mundane tasks as she prepares to take her own life. Yuki is the one who finds her. She's only 12.

As Yuki copes with this tragedy, she will go to live with an aunt until her father remarries. Unfortunately, her father is distant and her stepmother is hostile. Some might consider this a cliche, but my mother was a good woman and she wasn't a good stepmother to my stepsister. So reading the interactions between Yuki and Hanae rings true for me.

I think what is also unique of the time that this book was written is that Yuki's relationship with her father and stepmother is never resolved. There's no miracle. It is a story about living and coping and moving forward. Yuki is exactly as her mother saw her. She is strong and she is full of potential that will be realized.

For myself, I liked the book. Maybe because the era that Yuki grew up is near to when I came of age. The book's prose and sentiments are something that feels familiar to me.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was gearing up for our Japan trip and realized most of the Japanese books I've read are by Murakami, who is not my favorite. Cue: a library holds stack of Japanese women.

Mori provides a compelling, semi-autobiographical glimpse into the inner life of a 12-year-old Japanese girl in the aftermath of her mother's suicide. I read this as a companion to some of Mori's more straightforward autobiographical work, which provides a lot more background for the limitations Japanese culture and marriage traditions place on women, particularly in the context of marriage.

The book excelled at its exploration of grief, and how the protagonist, Yuki, worked to construct her memory of her mother through the artifacts--art, tea sets, fine embroidery on clothes--she left behind. It was somewhat lacking in providing depth or motivation to any of the book's tertiary characters, though.

[Rachel DeRienzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I feel like I haven’t read a book in awhile where I felt like I couldn’t put it down, and finally this book had me hooked.
The author does an incredible job of illustrating grief and how that follows and influences the main character as she grows up. As the narration happens, Yuki (main character), will often start reminiscing on the time her mother was alive. She thinks of the clothes she wore, the moments they shared, and her gentle and patient character that held strong through her difficult life. These tangents were wonderfully executed and I felt like I was following along with her grief as she experienced it.
I highly recommend reading this book if you’ve experienced grief, there is something comforting about knowing that someone has experienced what you have felt.

[Alisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of Yuki, a young girl from Kobe, Japan. I picked it up at the library based on title and then took it home because the author is not American born. I am purposefully seeking out books by people of color.

This books was surprising. Written in 1993 it touches some themes that I was not expecting. I think I really fell for the book for Yuki and Hanae fight. I found myself writing down the names of flowers as I read this book to look up later. She describes color vibrantly and shows Yuki’s grit through a neglected adolescence without praising her for it. No one does. There is something in that which feels very real and universal.

I was surprised this was a youth fiction book.

[Rachel Lisner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that this book was pretty good, particularly at the start of the novel. The author did a good job developing the character of the protagonist and establishing a connection between the reader and the protagonist. The novel started very intense and emotional, with Yuki's mom killing herself, and Yuki having to deal with the repercussions- both emotional and quite literal. However, after this event occurred, the book got kind of boring. The rich symbolism that was found at the start of the novel with colors and clothes tapered off, leaving a bland story of a teenager in high school. Overall, this book was alright; however it was definitely not the most interesting book that I have read.

[cam · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was so precious. it has to do with death and suicide, the family you’re not so connected with, the family you *are* connected with, the friends that come and go… it’s a wonderfully written novel, and i fell in love with it immediately. it is so touching.it tells the story of a girl as she grows older and stronger after her mother’s suicide, trying to shape herself into a better woman, into someone her mother would be proud of. the strong bond that yuki had with her mother was so beautiful, and that too was written splendidly. this book shows the experiences of yuki as a young girl, as a teenager, and as a fresh new adult, showing the different stages of her life after losing a close family member/parent. shizuko’s daughter was a very quick read and i loved it a lot :)

[Kirstie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was kind of a strange and melancholy book but also very beautiful. Reading this book I kept thinking about relationships and why we chose to love and how we react when we get hurt. Is it worth it to feel love and joy when we know that pain and sorrow will always accompany those feelings? As we grow and develop I think everyone grapples with this question at some point and what we decide to do will shape the rest of our life! I believe in the end this author chose to be joyful and move on and accept all the emotions together and appreciate them.

[Marcel Beauchamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the ending of this book left me slightly unsatisfied, that reaction itself is a reflection to the realism that this book conveys. Sometimes there is no finite or good ending, which is ultimately indicative of life itself and the pain and pleasure it brings. This book offered such a unique perspective to me at the time that I read it through its dedication to grounding itself in reality and culture. I’m glad I read this book while still in my teen years because it resonated with the bitterness that comes with adolescence.

[A Library Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was not expecting to like this book as much as I do. It’s beautifully written, with a mixture of childlike simplicity and the maturity that comes with sudden trauma. As someone who has dealt with the near loss of a parent, reading about Yuki’s journey was cathartic and healings in its own way. This was a hard book to get through in some places, but it was completely worth it.

[Nolisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a teen I was sent away to live with a stepmother who hated me. I did poorly in school and I had really given up on life at age 13. Then in the library I found this book and it changed me. Reading it again as an adult I wouldn't expect it to have such an impact but when I was going through one of the hardest times in my life this book got motivated me to keep living.

[Johanna]

This book was the first book in middle school that I read for the literature class. 13 yo me totally loved the book bc the main character is also a fellow teenager (and when she is growing up). The Finnish cover of this book was so pretty too. The story was sad but interesting, might be triggering for some but at least for me, it was pretty good and beautiful.

[cyd⭐️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

💐🌼🌷⭐️(5/5)⭐️🌷🌼💐
this was such a beautiful book omg 😭😭😭 im so in love with the writing, the characters and the plot!! this is probably the best book I have read this year and I'm so happy I picked it up 😍.

but also it was the longest 213 pages of my entire life (?) 🤷‍♀️😬

i loved reading this book. Young fiction literature at its best. ❤️🪷

[Amber Robbins · Rating 2 out of 5]

If suicide is something you struggle reading about- especially generational suicide brought on by social pressuring- do not read this. I only pushed through it because I realize Japan views this very differently than the west does.