REVIEW: LONELY CASTLE IN THE MIRROR

Lonely Castle in the Mirror, by Mizuki Tsujimura, is a Studio Ghibli-esque fantasy novel that follows Kokoro, a young girl that hides from her family and friends in her room due to the bullying she received in school. One day, the mirror in her room begins to shine and when she touches it, she gets transported into a magical castle straight from a fariytale. She and six other students are told by the girl in a wolf mask that the castle has a hidden room that can grant a single wish but if they break the rules while trying to find it, the consequences will be dire.

I was recommend this book by a friend of mine and I'm so glad I read it! Arguably one of the best books I've ever read, Tsujimura tells a beautiful story about friendship and loneliness that anyone can relate to. You connect and sympathize with Kokoro so quickly and can really feel the layers of her relationship with her family as they try to reconcile and understand each other. The struggles that Kokoro faces, which we are privy to but not her parents, drives a wedge between her and them as they fail to recognize/misinterpret the signs and Kokoro's actions, which naturally causes a lot of grief for everyone, though not intentional.

Fortunately, Kokoro finds respite and solace with the other kids in the castle. It takes a little while for everyone to begin opening up, but strong friendships blossom between them all and as the story progresses, we begin to see the nuances of each character as we slowly learn more about them and their reasons for spending time in the castle. Their friendship and interaction is what truly makes this story amazing and work so well, which is enhanced by the hidden room that grants the finder a single wish, at the cost of forgetting each other and their time spent there. They have about a year to find it before the castle disappears and as the deadline draws nearer, the question of what they would rather choose, the wish or each other, becomes ever more prevalent.

I mention this in my quicky review, but this book is riddled with mind-blowing plot twists that I genuinely feel are on-par with those from Attack on Titan. If you haven't seen that show and are an anime fan, then I highly recommend you watch it and avoid spoilers as much as you can but suffice to say the story is so well thought out that even the smallest of details play a huge role later on while still managing to avoid feeling contrived. Because I was so invested into the characters, there were moments where I was genuinely cheering for them and others where I wanted to throw the book across the room because something got in the way of what should have been an amazing moment. Being able to draw out those kinds of emotions and feelings from a reader is, I think, one of the hallmarks of a great book.

If it wasn't obvious by now, I can't think of anything negative or something I didn't enjoy about this book. It's one of those rare books that borders this elusive and quite possibly impossible idea of perfection. If I had to rate this book out of 10, I'd give it a "heartbreaking and jaw-dropping story that refuses to let you put the book down" out of 10.

Thank you once again to my friend, Joan, who recommended this masterpiece to me. To anyone who reads this (blog or book), know that you are never alone and that there will always be people who make life brighter each day. Happy reading!

- Kennan Hodovic