This story was such an oddball but in the best way. It's very hard to explain, but this story is about finding a place where you finally feel at home. Both of the main protagonists have traveled the world trying to find something, but only manage to find it when they return to the island where they grew up. The main characters are pretty realistic, and it makes you root for them. The path the plot takes is pretty windy, like a backwoods mountain road. There are moments when you wonder where it's going, but it always manages to hook you back in. But it's a very charming story about how we all have people who truly love us and there IS somewhere in the world that we belong in.. Sidebar, there is one [spice] scene in this story, but it's completely plot-relevant and makes complete sense to be in there. This story also has a crazy balance of tragic and comedic, morose and light-hearted. The art, of course, was gorgeous. I love this author's art style, which is part of the reason I jumped to read this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

There were definitely some weird parts, but I do appreciate how Ozaki broaches heavy subjects while maintaining a very personable kind of levity. I like that Atsumu wasn’t irrevocably awful, though I think he deserved worse than he got. And I didn’t really get the whole dog part of the story (like, why was that relevant?) but both of our main characters were endearing and deeper than I originally guessed (which is something I’ve definitely come to expect from Ozaki main characters)