Candy Bunny Reader

  Yup, this is an ongoing series. Volume 16 gets 5 stars from me.  Yotsuba spends most of this volume on a hike with her dad and one of his friends. We also see her next door neighbor Ena's teacher for the first time, who is none other than Osaka from Azumanga Daioh (both series are written by the same author).  

 TW: Bullying, predatory relationships, terminal illnesses are all mentioned here.  This book had been on my TBR forever, and I am happy to report that this book was a great one! Lonely Castle in the Mirror by   Mizuki Tsujimura follows Kokoro, a 7th grader who's been avoiding going to school after getting bullied. One day she discovers the mirror in her room is glowing! She then finds herself on the opposite side of the mirror in a castle run by the mysterious Wolf Queen. Several other kids her age are there, too, and they've all been skipping school for similar reasons. They are tasked with finding the Wishing Key, which will grant them a single wish, and they must complete the task by March 30th before the castle vanishes. However, if any of them choose to make a wish, all their memories of each other and being in the castle will be erased.  Kokoro ends up forming close bonds with each of the other kids there while dealing with her own problems back home (mostly w...

Where do we even begin?! Halfway There by Christine Mari is a graphic novel memoir about the author growing up struggling with her half-Japanese, half-American identity. During her college years, she studies abroad in Japan thinking she'll be able to find who she truly is, but instead deals with more identity crises. It all leads to depression, and she learns to reach out and ask for help from her grandparents and a therapist.  You really have to read this book to understand how lovely and heartfelt it is! For me it was relatable in so many parts (having parents from two different countries, not knowing where I belong, mental health struggles, getting help when needed, being a great artist, etc.). I really saw myself in this author! I gave it 5 stars . 

This book is a part of the 12 books 12 friends challenge, and was recommended to me by @yosoy_shin on Instagram.   Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagasawa is a literary fiction book originally published in Japanese. It follows 25 year old Takako, who quit her job after she finds her coworker/boyfriend cheating on her. She ends up settling in with her uncle Satoru above his used bookstore. While staying there, she enters a new world full of books, book lovers, coffee, and learning things about her uncle that she never knew.  In the second half of the story, Takako also ends up rekindling her relationship with her aunt Momoko, Satoru's ex-wife. Satoru himself ends up rekindling his relationship with her, too, much to his reluctance. Takako finds out why Momoko left Satoru several years earlier.  It's such a short book, but it really packed an emotional punch! I love reading books liked these, especially if they are set in and around a bookstore. I gave this book...

  The second literary fiction book I've read that was originally published in Japanese! The first one I read was Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa back in 2023. You can read that review here . We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida is one of those books where each chapter is its own story. They all follow the same formula: a person has a problem. They find themselves going to this mysterious psychiatric clinic where they get to keep a cat for about a week to help them with their problem. The problem is resolved, in an unusual way. The person found themselves very attached to their cat and end up keeping the cat.  It's a very heartwarming book, and it has great conversations about mental health! The book also has an overarching mystery with the clinic itself because it's so unusual. The last two chapters do answer some questions about the mysterious cat clinic, but a lot of it is still pretty open-ended and up for your interpretation. I won't get into it here b...

  My second attempt at something written by Io Sakisaka . A couple of years ago I tried watching the anime of Ao Haru Ride but I couldn't get into it. But I decided to give another one of her series a chance, so I picked up Sakura, Saku . So far I am liking it! I am thinking about going back and giving Ao Haru Ride another chance.  This series is about a girl named Saku who is helped out by a mysterious stranger named Ryosuke Sakura on the train to school one day when she feels dizzy and almost loses her schoolbag. But she didn't see how he looked like, and she wanted to find him to thank him, since the phone number he left her doesn't work. And ever since that one day, she's wanted to help people out every chance she gets. Saku finds out a guy in her class named Haruki Sakura has an older brother named Ryosuke, and she thinks that's the guy she was looking for. She asks him to connect her with his brother, but Haruki is reluctant because he thinks Saku is another o...

  Fun fact: I actually read part of this series way back when I was in middle school, but I never read all of the volumes. Now I'm planning on reading all of them! Yotsuba&! by Kiyohiko Azuma is a cute, chill, slice of life series about a little girl named Yotsuba, her adoptive father, and their new neighbors. Every chapter follows Yotsuba as she goes on little adventures when she becomes fascinated with seemingly everyday items and occurences, from air conditioners to cicadas. The humor in the series often comes from Yotsuba misunderstanding things.  I enjoyed this series when I read part of it as a kid, but I think I love it even more as an adult! I think it's because it's such a sweet and heartwarming series about everyday life with such lovable characters. I definitely needed this book more as an adult especially when life gets so stressful. This first volume got 5 stars from me. Excited to read the rest of the series!

Hey look! Another all time favorite! And that bookmark that matches the book was signed by the author herself.  The Last Cherry Blossom by Kathleen Burkinshaw is a historical fiction book about Yuriko Ishikawa, a 12-year old girl living in Hiroshima, Japan during WW2. The story follows her daily life and other surprises before the city gets bombed, and the aftermath of said bombing. A lot of the "daily life" stuff in this book mostly centers around Yuriko and her family. She grew up living with her single father, and then one day her single aunt Kimiko and cousin Genji start living with them, shaking up the house dynamic, which Yuriko doesn't like. She also doesn't get along with with aunt Kimiko and Genji. Yuriko's father also starts dating another woman named Sumiyo. Aunt Kimiko also starts dating a guy named Akira. The adults then get engaged and have a double wedding. Luckily, Yuriko gets along well with her new stepmom and step-uncle.  Yuriko is also not pop...

OMG.  This is a new all-time favorite! Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa is about Sentaro, an ex-convict who is paying off debt he owes by working at a small dorayaki shop. One day an elderly woman named Tokue comes in and notices the "now hiring" sign, and she asks Sentaro if she could work there. Sentaro notices that her fingers are all crooked, too, and he wonders if it's a good idea to hire her. After Tokue has him her try her own sweet bean paste recipe for the dorayaki, Sentaro loves it and hires her. More and more people start to drop by the shop and business is booming. One customer who visits frequently is a teenager named Wakana, who doesn't have a good relationship with her parents but eventually becomes friends with Sentaro and Tokue. Sentaro is happy that the shop is doing well thanks to Tokue, but the owner (his boss) finds out about Tokue and her crooked fingers, and she tells Sentaro she found out that Tokue came from a sanatorium that housed people...

TW: Mentioning of suicide and toxic relationships Pictured above are just the first 6 volumes! As of writing this I have not yet found and read volumes 7 and 8 (there are 8 volumes total), but I will eventually! Fun fact: I watched the anime for Given back in 2018 when it came out, but the anime does not cover the whole story. I decided to read the manga to get the rest of the story, but since it was a while since I watched the anime, I started to read the manga from volume 1. So far me revisiting Given has been wonderful! Given by Natsuki Kizu  is a manga series about a teenage boy named Uenoyama who is part of a new and upcoming band with two college students named Akihiko and Haruki. One day while at school he finds another student named Mafuyu hanging out at his secret location on the stairs, holding a guitar. Mafuyu asks Uenoyama to fix his guitar and teach him how to play. Uenoyama initally finds Mafuyu to be odd and frustrating, but after hearing him sing a song he wrote in ...