I knew I was going to love the book even before I had read it. Just the cover was more than enough for me and then the story did wonders as well. a found family trope and topics like mental health being touched upon was just enlightening and the ending is just like a warm hug.

Listen, I don’t know WHAT is going on at this castle, BUT! Honestly? I was confused… hw does one simply STOP going to school & one’s family asks NO questions?! 😲 Like…

𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Lonely Castle in the Mirror
𝗙𝗮𝘃 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿: Wolf Girl
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Normal
𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲: Novel
𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: Fantasy
5+/𝟱

🌱THE EXCELLENT
~ Young & innocent voice (if you likey)
~ Amazing progression into maturity
~ Well developed & rounded characters
~ Unfolding story & great twists & turns
~ Cry worthy revelations & situations

Kokoro, an impressionable middle school girl, stops going to school (like, I still wonder HOW) due to traumatic bullying that happens one afternoon outside her house. Conveniently, her mirror glows & she is taken into a world of mystery with other children around her age. As she struggles with her fears, her family situation, the mysteries of the castle, their masked host, & her ongoing trauma, the children begin to trust & unfurl to push to survive & thrive despite their circumstances.

🪷 A beautiful story about friendships, siblingships, not giving up, over-coming trauma & the importance of listening & caring about others. There are several obvious & hidden mysteries that keep you captivated as you read.

✨𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱.

🌱THE MEH
~ The caring of random ppl’s opinions 😬
~ Voice/tone of MC is initially very unsure & dependent (not comfy for me)
~ The weird, unnecessary things these ppl lie about - culturally 🤦

♡🌱 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗲 ;)

I was lucky enough to get an eARC of Lonely Castle in the Mirror. This book was insanely hyped by me, the cover art is beautiful. But this book sadly became my first DNF of the year.
We follow the main character, a junior high student who hasn’t been going to school due to bullying. The day started out as normal as any of the other’s but when her mirror starts glowing, she was able to go into it and found herself at a castle and a mysterious girl with a wolf mask. She finds out she’s part of a game, the first person able to find the special key and unlocks the door to the wishing room gets one wish. But there are rules attached. She and the other kids must be out of there before 5 or they will be eaten by wolves.
My issues with this book is the fatphobia in it. The kind of thoughts the main character is having is normal for Japan, but when the character in question is in a scene the only comments toward him are blatant fatphobia. He didn’t get to be a character, he’s just there for the main character to think less than great thoughts about him. I always consider cultural context with books that have been translated, but due to my own worsening mental health, I had to do this for myself and not finish this one. I truly hope the main character grows past this and starts to see him as human. I like to think she does. The book is about kids who were bullied or had to leave school for one reason or another. I think growth is in there, but as someone who suffers with weight problems and an eating disorder, I couldn’t wait around to find out. I truly recommend going in with an open mind and to remember the context. But it’s also important to note, these thoughts are fatphobic and it’s an issue in every society still has.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the ARC. The premise piqued my interest and I can definitely see why this has 4.31 on goodreads. I'm excited to read more from this author.

i loved how this one forces you to think and sometimes overthink once you get into it. It sure is going to be read time and time again.

I loved the premise of this, but unfortunately I just could not get invested in the characters. I will maybe give this a try a few years down the road, but I just truly was not invested in this story.

Wow, this book is now one of my new favorite books. I can see myself rereading this many times in the next few years. This had so many twists and turns that were perfectly crafted. I saw one of the twists coming, but that's because I overthink every possible outcome when I read, but this book was masterfully created. I can't wait to read the manga and watch the movie. It is a book I'll be recommending to everyone.

I love the concept and I LOVE the cover but the pacing and writing style weren't entirely to my tastes. lt's an important, clever, quietly fantastical tale about friendship and connection. And one I've thought about quite a bit in the few weeks since I've read it. If you can handle a very slow start, you'll find a good portal fantasy, a great payoff in the last third (and again in the last few pages), and a story and message that may just stick with you for awhile.

The concept was promising but the pacing was too slow for my liking and the characters were ones I couldn't connect to.

This was a powerful book, that felt let down by it's pacing. It was a very slow burn read, and not in a way that felt entirely justified, which is unfortunate because the last third or so was fantastic, particularly in terms of character development. I think if it had been a shorter read it would have been a lot more effective. However, the emotional core of this book was spot on, and it deals with difficult situations and discussions, and is a book that can and will be important to many readers.

A wonderful story!
Through a magical place behind mirrors, the author presents us with different portraits of teenagers and the issues that can affect them: dropping out of school, bullying, and depression... It's done in a way that is both poetic and raw, which does not leave indifferent.

In short, a superb discovery, which I extensively annotated and which echoed my own experience. ^^

I went into this book with some expectations, but sadly they weren´t delivered. The book felt really long and dragged out, and I couldn´t really connect with the characters. It is a shame due to the super exciting concept that made me want to read it, but I just wasn´t for me. I also think I would´ve enjoyed it more if I was younger.

TW: Bullying, sexual assault, and the death of a sibling.

This was such a freaking good book! I absolutely loved it and it made me tear up a little near the end. It was a really emotional ending. There were so many plot twists and reveals throughout the second half of the story that kept me super invested in the story. I like how things got revealed slowly, especially the reasons why each kid was in the castle to begin with. I love how everything was connected. Everything worked out so nicely. The castle seemed like such a nice escape and I love the camaraderie the kids formed during their time there. This book also shows how kids can struggle with the school system in Japan and how education can be stressful and anxiety-inducing. I highly recommend this book. I didn’t really like it when I first started it, but I gave it another chance and I absolutely LOVED it.

6/5 Stars

Lonely Castle in the Mirror is like an anime in a novel form. The way the author builds up the story, such as the pacing and character development, is similar to the anime style. About the first half of the book, nothing happens. You'd just find Kokoro and the other kids hanging out in the castle, playing video games. Then, around 30% toward the end, the heavy topics start to show up. If you are an anime lover, you are going to love this!

Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura - 4/5

This is a massive book filled with moments that are Brillant and some that shed light on mental health. I did notice a few trigger warnings such as - bullying, sexual assault, self-harm.

A group of outcast teenager visit the Lonely Castle in the Mirror to play a game. The game consists of find a hidden key and you can unlock one wish.

I enjoyed the story and how the students all band together regardless of the life experiences they all have had. Each individual character had their own struggles and when you faced with such things in a story you feel for the characters and root for them throughout.

🔹 My take: 2.5/5

⚠️ TW - Bullying, Self harm, sexual assault, bereavement

🔸 12 year old Kokoro is struggling to rejoin her school post a traumatic bullying experience. Her parents are unaware about it and think it is a passing phase where she is making excuses to avoid school. One afternoon, the mirror in Kokoro’s house shines brightly and when touched; Kokoro is transported to a lonely castle. Here she meets the ‘Wolf Queen’ and six other children who are more or less same age as hers and are also not attending regular school. Wolf queen has given all of them a quest to search for a wishing key and whoever finds it can fulfil one of their wish. But there are rules to be followed in the castle - like their departure time from the castle, the things that they can use within the castle, the time they have to find the key etc. The seven kids have got 11 months in hand to find the key but is that enough? And what connection do these 7 kids have with each other that they are in this castle together? And who is Wolf Queen after all? The story unravels how their friendship blossoms, the trauma that each are going through and how their lives are intertwined.

💗 This book is an award winner and tackles very sensitive topics of bullying, self harm, low confidence, death in family etc. It is not easy to discuss about these with children and convey to them to speak aloud when they fear someone/something. Author as well as translator have brought this out quite well. It’s the last 30% which was engrossing and where suddenly all the revelations are made and logic explained. My hitch is that all the action is too late in the game. Major part of the book just deals in Kokoro’s anxiety, depression and helplessness.

💔 I found this book terribly slow. The story dragged a lot and I could not grasp why Kokoro and her friends wasted months & months on idling and playing games. They neither interacted much with each other nor were interested in finding the key which sounded strange. Also, how could Kokoro’s parents not sit beside her or connect with school or friends and check why their daughter was avoiding school so badly. Till 55% of the book, nothing significant happened and I felt like giving up all along.

💫 If you love fantasy, magical realism and can move ahead with trigger warnings; only then go for this one.

Thanks @erewhonbooks and @netgalley for sharing the eRC in exchange of honest review.

Thank you Erewhon and NetGalley for sending me an eARC for review.

If you're a fan of Ghibli movies or school setting anime/manga or just a student I think this is an important book to give a read. The story revolves around a group of 7 junior high students who, for unknown circumstances, do not go to school and find solace in a castle in the mirror.

Tsujimura write about anxiety in such a heart wrenching way, I too felt what Kokoro was feeling. The absolute dread and anxiety of being near classmates. The characters were well written and each had a distinct voice. You definitely get the feeling that the other characters are side characters though. We learn about each character's backstory very slowly but at a pace that would seem natural to our MC. I do wish we got to learn more about the other 6 students themselves.

The story definitely is more character driven than plot. I would say the goal is to learn about these characters, why they're all in the castle, and what comes next for them. Unravelling the mysteries of the castle/circumstance was also fun but I wish we got to learn more. The world-building was lacklustre but I get that that isn't the point of the story, it's not about the other world it's about a sanctuary for the students.

The story itself was touching and I did cry at the end of the book. Me crying doesn't mean a whole lot, I cry easily, but I was moved! I also recently discovered that there is an anime adaptation being released Dec 2022 in Japan. I was thinking that this would be a great anime movie and ask and ye shall receive. This very much will have the same vibes as A Silent Voice, so if you like that movie give this a read!

4.5/5

3 to 3.5/5 stars. This was a very wholesome kind of book about some sad realities of dealing with hard social environments, being misunderstood, being bullied and scared, and various other mental health struggles. Being a translation from Japanese, there are some very specifically Japanese cultural things happening that may make some of the story a bit more work to fully understand. However, the story itself was very good and kept me reading and curious to know what kind of world I was reading about.

For a few blissful and emotionally moving days, I had the privilege of travelling to the Lonely Castle in the Mirror with Kokoro and a group of solitary, outcast, and otherwise misfit junior high school students, with the purpose of a mysterious game created by a girl in a wolf mask and a frilly dress:

Find the key, hidden somewhere in the castle, and unlock one wish...

This story caught me completely by surprise. Much like the children in the book, I was enticed by the iridescent glow of the mirror, and sucked into a mystifying and inexplicable world that felt just like a fairy tale.

If you love classic fairy tales, portals, magical-realism, and things outside of our reality that are hard to understand, this is a book for you.

This is also a book for people who have (or still do), longed to be understood and to find your place amongst your peers.

"You're battling every single day, aren't you?"


If you've ever felt like you were drowning a well of loneliness, sucked in to a black hole of despair, or paralyzed by the incapacitating power of rejection.. You will surely relate to at least one of the characters in this book, if not all of them.

If I could hug and protect each and every one of the children in this story, I would do so with the fullest ferocity of a heart that knows the feelings of exclusion, abandonment, trauma, and unbearable loss that these children battled with every day.

But I didn't need to do that because they did it for themselves!

"We're going to support each other.
We'll fight - together."


This is the type of story that makes you want to be a better listener, to be more inclusive of those left on the outside, and to be a more care-ful toward the people around you.

The children in this story are ordinary kids who carry SUCH heavy burdens in each of their hearts, and yet they show us each of their brilliance, their ability to be exceptional friends to one another, and their determination to find ways to hold on to hope.

It is actually inspiring to read :')

I was completely undone by the emotional plot twist conclusion of this story. Tender, powerful, devastating, and delicately sensitive in just the way I needed it to be.

The ending was perfect. It holds the characters' hearts and the reader's heart together in a warm hug and leads us all to small reassurances that things will not always hurt as much as they do now, and that, with some help we can all overcome very difficult and painful things.

I finished reading this weepy and tearful and very very touched.

Thank you to Kokoro & friends, the Wolf Queen, and all the young people in this world who face the darkness of this world with courage, curiosity, and kindness - for making me feel proud to have been one of them.

"I was rescued.
There are children somewhere who, trembling, and at the risk of their own lives, pulled me by the arm and brought me back to this world... kept me tethered to the world, gave me the chance to grow up... now I'd like to pull those children by the arm."

This was a really beautiful and heartfelt book that sparks conversations about mental health and well being among Japanese children. Each of the 7 children in the story have their own issues, resulting in an extended absence from school and I found the way in which each back story unfolded was really nuanced and lyrical. You can't help but feel for these kids and the pressures they are under, whether it be from bullying, or familial trauma or pressure to succeed and the way in which they all come together to support each other is stunning. I have to say that the reading experience for me was a bit of a struggle, as I did find that whenever I put the book down, I didn't really want to pick it back up again. I think that this was because the plot was definitely secondary to the characters, which is not what I usually read and often need a strong plot to compel me. With that being said, I definitely enjoyed this overall and would recommend it widely to anyone looking for a hopeful book.
I received a free copy of this from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.