Though it took me a little to get through this, the storyline was heartbreakingly beautiful and I really enjoyed it. It poses interesting questions about life and how everything is temporary and changing. I think that taking my time and reading this over a week was better, as it allowed me to feel the full force of the story.

I say this a lot with translated fiction, but I wish I knew enough Japanese to read this in the original language, as I believe it would hold even more power. From my little knowledge of the Japanese language, the translation felt very literal, with the translator not taking many liberties in how things were explained (eg translating what I believe would have been the characters calling each other oneechan/oniichan or similar out of respect and admiration to "sis" and "bro", which holds far less weight and connotation in English language and culture). I think this did a little disservice to the storyline itself and took away from some of the emotion the original text may have had, though this is a bit of speculation.

In saying this, the book was wonderful and I am excited to continue with this series.