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Lily Clairet #1
Lily Clairet, Vol. 1
A young girl is arguing with a cherry tree. That's a new one for Lily, who's managed to reach the end of her first year at high school without too much weirdness. Unfortunately for her, it's not long after solving this odd mystery that her untroubled life begins to unravel. Discovering an abandoned room at the end of the music department corridor, she finds that aside from it being utterly run-down, it's also devoid of its sole occupant:
Sonata Sonoda, the missing journalism club president.
Sonata Sonoda, the missing journalism club president.
312 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 25, 2013
548 people are currently reading
203 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
August 15, 2016
I receive a daily list of free books from which I rarely select anything. This year, I have made some strange, even to me, selections, primarily cozy mysteries on themes from superstition, mostly ghosts and witches. I avoid romances. Did I select this book because I am, at heart but not functionally, a writer? Or did I select it because the cover illustration hinted at Anime?
I confess that I enjoy watching Anime programs and movies. I got hooked when I was given a DVD of "Spirited Away" by Hayao Miyazaki. That drove me to get everything by Miyazaki and to get hooked on the series about the Avatar, "The Last Airbender" and "The Legend of Korra". But Lily isn't Anime, not directly. Like much Anime, it treats of juveniles in the frustrating process of growing up. It indirectly concerns itself with writing and the solving of mysteries.
I am an old man who grew up in California before it was civilized, before most people here were made aware of the nation and culture that is Japan, before the act that started the second World War, before the United States fell into prosperity. It was also before television (the devices existed but there were no stations transmitting where I lived), before air travel became easy and inexpensive enough for almost everybody to fly, before computers entered and dominated the household, back when communication was by letter or telegram rather than telephone, back when long distance travel was by train or steamship. Perhaps I feel out of place in this modern world and was seeking entertainment that was equally apart from the real world.
What is a Romantic Non-Genre? This first volume offers no clue.
The story was well designed and plotted. The writing was superior. I still find it strange that I enjoyed the book so much. The antics of exaggerated teenage females normally holds little interest for me.
Nevertheless, it clicked for me.
I confess that I enjoy watching Anime programs and movies. I got hooked when I was given a DVD of "Spirited Away" by Hayao Miyazaki. That drove me to get everything by Miyazaki and to get hooked on the series about the Avatar, "The Last Airbender" and "The Legend of Korra". But Lily isn't Anime, not directly. Like much Anime, it treats of juveniles in the frustrating process of growing up. It indirectly concerns itself with writing and the solving of mysteries.
I am an old man who grew up in California before it was civilized, before most people here were made aware of the nation and culture that is Japan, before the act that started the second World War, before the United States fell into prosperity. It was also before television (the devices existed but there were no stations transmitting where I lived), before air travel became easy and inexpensive enough for almost everybody to fly, before computers entered and dominated the household, back when communication was by letter or telegram rather than telephone, back when long distance travel was by train or steamship. Perhaps I feel out of place in this modern world and was seeking entertainment that was equally apart from the real world.
What is a Romantic Non-Genre? This first volume offers no clue.
The story was well designed and plotted. The writing was superior. I still find it strange that I enjoyed the book so much. The antics of exaggerated teenage females normally holds little interest for me.
Nevertheless, it clicked for me.
May 15, 2019
I am honestly torn between giving this book five stars and giving it three.
Arguing for five stars is the amazing use of humor throughout the book. The author, and thus Lily, the viewpoint character, has a dry wit and an amazing ability to draw unexpected similes.
Arguing for three stars (or even fewer) is the slow-moving plot, and the utter lack of consequence for any of the events. At least one of the secondary characters is an absolute ass, which makes me wonder why Lily considers her a friend.
I'll probably buy the follow-on volume, presuming there is one.
Arguing for five stars is the amazing use of humor throughout the book. The author, and thus Lily, the viewpoint character, has a dry wit and an amazing ability to draw unexpected similes.
Arguing for three stars (or even fewer) is the slow-moving plot, and the utter lack of consequence for any of the events. At least one of the secondary characters is an absolute ass, which makes me wonder why Lily considers her a friend.
I'll probably buy the follow-on volume, presuming there is one.
January 19, 2020
Wonderful dialog, inspired by Nisioisin's best work
Think of Nisioisin's xxxGatari series, in which the best parts happen between the action -- the narrator's hilarious monologues and aimless conversations. Lily Clairet stands out for the narrator's comical take on her life and on the cast of outlandish characters that surround her. There are no Shinto God battles, however; it is 'slice of life' genre with a dash of detective Conan mystery. Without the supernatural action scenes, the dialog has to do all the heavy lifting, and it meets this challenge. Practically every paragraph has a silly hyperbolic metaphor Lily uses to describe her life. It just makes me laugh.
Think of Nisioisin's xxxGatari series, in which the best parts happen between the action -- the narrator's hilarious monologues and aimless conversations. Lily Clairet stands out for the narrator's comical take on her life and on the cast of outlandish characters that surround her. There are no Shinto God battles, however; it is 'slice of life' genre with a dash of detective Conan mystery. Without the supernatural action scenes, the dialog has to do all the heavy lifting, and it meets this challenge. Practically every paragraph has a silly hyperbolic metaphor Lily uses to describe her life. It just makes me laugh.
May 16, 2016
A nice relaxing read but...
From a technical side this is a well crafted book with few errors, but what makes a book is its story. If a slice of life comedy were not much happens and much is left hanging or unexplained is what you are looking for than this should be a good read. If you want a story where there is something going on, than this is probably not or what you are looking for.
From a technical side this is a well crafted book with few errors, but what makes a book is its story. If a slice of life comedy were not much happens and much is left hanging or unexplained is what you are looking for than this should be a good read. If you want a story where there is something going on, than this is probably not or what you are looking for.
June 8, 2020
This series of books (I've already read the first four) is incredible. Nothing horrible happens. No one gets murdered. Not one gets beaten up. This is a 'light' novel in that things that happen are centered around young people still in high school and what they are going through.
The series does an incredible job of making each character believable, but that's not just all it does. The author has a writing style that is 'light' and at times so incredibly funny that I, at least, laughed out loud a bunch of times in all four of the books I've read so far.
The first book is where, as expected, we meet or at least hear about, the main characters. Lily is forever running late to school. She hates Claire de Lune, for a good reason. She is constantly getting into one situation or another including a run-in with a squirrel.
Emiko Hisakawa is part of the school cycling club. Then there's Satake, Kaneko, Kizuna and a journalism club that does and does not really exist and has a what is basically a storage closet at the end of the hallway in which to sort of meet. Then there's the mysterious girl who is the president of the club but who has not been seen for nearly a year.
There's also the mystery about the wedding cake.
It all makes for a very, very enjoyable read.
The series does an incredible job of making each character believable, but that's not just all it does. The author has a writing style that is 'light' and at times so incredibly funny that I, at least, laughed out loud a bunch of times in all four of the books I've read so far.
The first book is where, as expected, we meet or at least hear about, the main characters. Lily is forever running late to school. She hates Claire de Lune, for a good reason. She is constantly getting into one situation or another including a run-in with a squirrel.
Emiko Hisakawa is part of the school cycling club. Then there's Satake, Kaneko, Kizuna and a journalism club that does and does not really exist and has a what is basically a storage closet at the end of the hallway in which to sort of meet. Then there's the mysterious girl who is the president of the club but who has not been seen for nearly a year.
There's also the mystery about the wedding cake.
It all makes for a very, very enjoyable read.
October 21, 2025
This book was a hidden gem, randomly recommended by our Algorithm Overlords, and what a recommendation it was.
The first thing that surprised me the most was the prose. It's not flowery by any means, but has a indirect cleverness to it. It transmits a lot of information in what at first appears to be just fluff and embellishment. I'm normally one that ignores the prose for the most part, focusing on the story and characters, and that's why I was shocked I was actually enjoying the prose itself as well.
Lily, the titular character, is a whedonesque straight [wo]man to all the eccentric characters around her. An Abbott, in a sea of Costellos. She's not very proactive, in fact, most of the book is characters dragging her by force into participating in the plot. And although this is a character flaw, is not a criticism of the book. As in fact the book is build around that.
The pleasures of the book, are the character interactions, the dialogs, and the prose (as mentioned), as it has almost no plot. It's classified as a "mystery", but only by the thinnest thread.
_______________
I highly recommend giving it a try.
The first thing that surprised me the most was the prose. It's not flowery by any means, but has a indirect cleverness to it. It transmits a lot of information in what at first appears to be just fluff and embellishment. I'm normally one that ignores the prose for the most part, focusing on the story and characters, and that's why I was shocked I was actually enjoying the prose itself as well.
Lily, the titular character, is a whedonesque straight [wo]man to all the eccentric characters around her. An Abbott, in a sea of Costellos. She's not very proactive, in fact, most of the book is characters dragging her by force into participating in the plot. And although this is a character flaw, is not a criticism of the book. As in fact the book is build around that.
The pleasures of the book, are the character interactions, the dialogs, and the prose (as mentioned), as it has almost no plot. It's classified as a "mystery", but only by the thinnest thread.
_______________
I highly recommend giving it a try.
October 30, 2019
Lily Clairet vol. 1 is such an interesting book and somewhat difficult to describe or place. It is a bit on the slow side, sometimes a bit wordy, meanders a fair bit seeming to barely manage to move the plot forward. And yet it manages to do this in a way with some interesting characters against which to showcase our eponymous main character. While it would be (is?) likely classified as a slice-of-life book, it does not come across as having nearly the number of shenanigans as others and then there is a bit of a mystery in the second half.
Like I said, it is difficult to describe. If you're looking for something that is clever, has some wit, and isn't isekai (and mind you I read a LOT of those and love them too). Give Lily and her friends a visit. Don't give up on the slower than standard beginning. I'll definitely be picking up vol. 2 one of these days.
Verdict: A slow starter but once it gets going it burns clean and steady. Worth a look.
Like I said, it is difficult to describe. If you're looking for something that is clever, has some wit, and isn't isekai (and mind you I read a LOT of those and love them too). Give Lily and her friends a visit. Don't give up on the slower than standard beginning. I'll definitely be picking up vol. 2 one of these days.
Verdict: A slow starter but once it gets going it burns clean and steady. Worth a look.
December 9, 2020
I’m having a hard time rating this because objectively most of the things in this book make absolutely no sense. I wanted to smack the MC for being a pushover when half of her friends just railroaded over her. Their antagonist had WAY too much drama. 🤨
There were a few funny and even touching moments. But I like my characters to have agency of their own and not just get pulled along by a semblance of a plot. I might try another book because, free, and light reading. but the Journalism Club had better actually DO something in the next one or I am done with this series. 2.5 ⭐️, probably.
There were a few funny and even touching moments. But I like my characters to have agency of their own and not just get pulled along by a semblance of a plot. I might try another book because, free, and light reading. but the Journalism Club had better actually DO something in the next one or I am done with this series. 2.5 ⭐️, probably.
April 11, 2025
I’m here because of the author’s well-written Villainess series. I wasn’t sure what to expect. What I got was a very relaxing “light” read sprinkled with simple humor. It centers around high school girls but in a light manner. There’s colorful characters. A few mysteries are afoot. Is the pace slow? Yes. Is it tedious? Absolutely not. You have to be in the vibe for a relaxing, humorous read. A slice of life book I guess? I like the characters. The writing is excellent. It simply feels comfortable even though this 50+ years old guy has zero in common with the cast, I’m invested now.
July 9, 2020
I got the audio book on audible, cause that's where you get them, and I'll be honest, I'm not sure how long I got in listening to it before I just gave up. I dont know what I was expecting from this, but the main character and her friend were just pointlessly faffing about, Eventually figuring out a squirrel stole some little girls cookies, and the girl, who's supposed to be young of them talking in a way no girl her age talks about her problems, and nothing was being accomplished.
April 8, 2021
Cute story
I've got to admit that I didn't know what to expect going into this. It was slow to start and the main character uses a lot of $25 words. It seems wierd that the main character Lilly is the only non Japanese, I hope this is explained at some point. All in all it was an interesting change of pace from what I usually read and I'll be continuing on to the next book in this series.
I've got to admit that I didn't know what to expect going into this. It was slow to start and the main character uses a lot of $25 words. It seems wierd that the main character Lilly is the only non Japanese, I hope this is explained at some point. All in all it was an interesting change of pace from what I usually read and I'll be continuing on to the next book in this series.
January 1, 2025
Umm okay
I’m not sure what I was expecting with this story, but a madcap rush of a story that literally takes place over like 4 days wasn’t it.
It’s fine, there’s some cute drawings scattered in the story and the main character is fun. But it wasn’t for me ultimately.
I think if you like slice of life, with lots of odd humor, high school students, and a mystery involving stolen sweets, then give this a try.
I’m not sure what I was expecting with this story, but a madcap rush of a story that literally takes place over like 4 days wasn’t it.
It’s fine, there’s some cute drawings scattered in the story and the main character is fun. But it wasn’t for me ultimately.
I think if you like slice of life, with lots of odd humor, high school students, and a mystery involving stolen sweets, then give this a try.
February 28, 2025
And here, of this story nobody has heard of, I will post my first review. This is one of the most uniquely written novels I have ever read. While it might not capture your attention as well as other novels, the style and the way it dramatizes everything is very fun. I love the similes. It might be difficult to keep with the series given its tendency to… you will see. It’s an experience. Pick it up once.
October 10, 2019
I kinda want to hang out with the MC in RL
Lily is snarky, cynical, smart, unmotivated, and has less spine than a sea slug. She also has hints of a mysterious past.
Add in high school drama. Lily is apparently viewed as a potential ally or rival by the ruling girls, although she'd prefer being left alone.
Lily is snarky, cynical, smart, unmotivated, and has less spine than a sea slug. She also has hints of a mysterious past.
Add in high school drama. Lily is apparently viewed as a potential ally or rival by the ruling girls, although she'd prefer being left alone.
January 14, 2020
I have been curious about this one for a while and finally got around to reading it. Wish I would have read this one a while ago, this book was surprisingly good. The characters and their interactions had me bursting out in laughter often. It was a goofy mystery worth reading.
July 28, 2025
Sooooooooo boring… who knew you could write an entire novel where absolutely nothing happens? I quit halfway through. Don’t care if it “gets better” in the second half. If you can’t get your story moving in the first quarter, the rest doesn’t deserve to be read.
dnf-dnr
May 11, 2020DNF/DNR : I gave up at 29% for lack of interest...high school girls with a mysterious extra room just didn't do it for me. Totally the wrong audience.
September 10, 2023
So it's good but there isn't a plot.
January 31, 2024
So pricelessly clever and witty — absolutely awesome you should listen to it for sure!!!!
July 28, 2022
Lily Clairet is great at character introductions. Every scene where a new classmate appears and her appearance and personality are brutally taken apart by Lily's sarcastic inner monologue is delightfully entertaining. The writing style is generally good, and the concept of a mystery story about things as inconsequential as a squirrel stealing a little girl's cookie has a lot of potential, even if the conclusion of the book was a bit anticlimactic. The problem however is that after a character is introduced all their subsequent appearances lose all the magic that came with the initial one. Their funny quirks get repetitive and annoying, and very few of them have any kind of meaningful depth. It makes the experience of a full read leave you feeling a bit empty, but still adequately entertained.
July 15, 2024
White day thief
This story revolves around candy stolen on White day, but it takes a long time to get there. The intro section of the book is about half the book, and it goes on for too long without a lot of story. The second half is much more interesting.
This isn't a "cozy romance slice of life" story but a "cozy mystery slice of life" story.
This story revolves around candy stolen on White day, but it takes a long time to get there. The intro section of the book is about half the book, and it goes on for too long without a lot of story. The second half is much more interesting.
This isn't a "cozy romance slice of life" story but a "cozy mystery slice of life" story.
July 21, 2016
The student approached the master, "Master, what is Zen?" "Go ask the pine tree."
The clue is in the title.
If "Daria" we're Japanese manga.
You must, like Lily, remain in the moment.
The clue is in the title.
If "Daria" we're Japanese manga.
You must, like Lily, remain in the moment.
December 17, 2016
Enjoyed
This was just a very touching and so well written book to Read clean and cute and so fun to read
This was just a very touching and so well written book to Read clean and cute and so fun to read
January 13, 2025
slow-moving, but ever amusing
Read
July 1, 2017It was a bit too slice of life for my taste. What little plot there was meandered then wandered back again and again. The number of metaphors were staggering. It was in excess but even so I must give props that the plethora were all original.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews