(Actual: 3.25⭐️) The eponymous Amiko, a young girl who exhibits neurodivergent traits (though the author never specifies any sort of formal diagnosis), struggles to grasp basic human emotions. As such, she is a frequent target of bullying by her peers & is ostracized from those around her. Paired w/ a home life that soon becomes negligent & unstable, Amiko is left to navigate her adolescence on her own, w/ no one truly around to help further nurture her, nor does anyone attempt to meet her halfway in how she processes things.

While admittedly quite blunt, Imamura’s writing really is beautiful & clearly intentional in its style; not a word felt wasted here. All I wanted to do is hug Amiko— she longs to understand & be understood, to be seen & to be heard… she just doesn’t know how. And I think that’s ultimately what makes this story so moving yet glaringly poignant in a way that’s both realistic and, contrarily, relatable to us as readers. Because isn’t what Amiko’s searching for what we all want & yearn for in life also?