Welcome to Litsy!

This is an under the radar middle grade story in the vein of The Shadow of the Wind (a story within a story and a mysterious author) but with a Japanese setting! I highly recommend it! Oh, and summer is my favorite season!

#temptingtitles #withaseason

@Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

This book was awesome! Such a great summer story! ☀️🌿📚💕

Recommended by Jessie and Jesse and now by me too. 💚

#Japan #currentread #kidspick

This captivating and enchanting story has a timeless feel. It has a fairy-tale within a ghost story, with likeable characters, that tells of second chances and living a life without regrets. Fans of Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away will enjoy this, as it‘s written by the same author whose other book - The Marvelous Village Veiled In Mist - inspired the popular animated work.
#middlegrade

A fairytale within a ghost story, set in contemporary Japan—yet it feels timeless. The opening scene in this illustrated middle grade novel has a boy peeing out of his upper floor window so he doesn‘t have to negotiate the dark stairs and hallway to the bathroom. That‘s when he first spots the ghost girl. A charming tale about living with no regrets. Award-winning translation by Avery Fischer Udagawa.

“Kazu! Kazu!” my mom shouted. “Come in here, will you? Kiri-chan killed a mouse!”
I‘d been demoted from eldest son to catsitter. Kiriko saw this as a promotion for me, no doubt. Naturally our old house harboured mice. She enjoyed recreational hunting like royalty.

What are the chances that I would read two books in one week about renegade congregations? The tagged middle grade book features a secret Buddhist cult, and I recently read The Books of Jacob, which is about a Jewish mysticism cult.
(Illustration is from the tagged book.)

A cute middle grade novel translated from Japanese about a boy whole learns his home is a former temple where families can pray for a deceased loved one to get a second chance at life. The new girl in class that everyone but him seems to remember? Yeah, she's a ghost. And now the two must convince an elderly neighbor not to get rid of her. What does all this have to do with an unfinished story from decades ago? You'll have to read it to find out.

This is a lovely book, not the best start, but once the story gets going, it‘s super engaging and interesting. A young boy finds a girl who he doesn‘t remember but everyone else does. A family secret, a hidden neighborhood history, and a lost story written by an elder when she was a young girl bring a complex and beautifully sad tale to life. 4/5 stars, read if you want to consider issues of mortality and morality.

Oh how lovely! I read lots of #middlegrade but very little in translation, and I was utterly charmed by this Japanese import. Fifth grader Kazu sees a girl in a white kimono emerge from his house one night— why doesn‘t he know her, like everyone else in town seems to? Is she a ghost? What secrets does his neighborhood hold? He‘ll spend his summer vacation finding out!

Reviewers accurately describe this book as beguiling and enchanting! There‘s mystery, ghosts, witches, summer homework, a bossy cat, and so much kindness!! I couldn‘t put it down once I started. The illustrations are charming. And the story-within-a-story elevated this beyond YA to fairy tale status! This book is a must read for everyone!!!! 👻 🪄 🐈‍⬛ ⛩

This is a elementary-aged kids chapter book translated from Japanese and it‘s hilarious and lovely and has the sweetest illustrations and my kid and I both loved it. Comes out in the States in July. Good for readers of all ages. ❤️