Well…that was certainly different. It’s hard to describe without spoilers but be prepared for all the Icks. And check the content warnings – none of them are drawn out but things pop up in sudden gut punch moments. 

 

Energy: Disturbing. Ambiguous. Mechanical.

 

🐕 Howls: The exploration of taboos and normalcy sometimes felt predictable in a test-the-limits-trying-to-gross-you-out style. The story felt a bit dated at times with huge pressure from family to marry and have kids, but that may be cultural or reflect pressures some still experience, so it wasn’t entirely lost on me. 

 

🐩 Tail Wags: Disturbing in a wtf-is-happening-one-more-page way. Rationalizing ‘alien’ thoughts in unexpected and discomforting ways. Weird, thought-provoking commentary on societal norms. How the core plot is left open to reader interpretation. The cringey, culty, strange, unsettling energy and ending. 

 

Scene: 🇯🇵 Set in the mountains of Akishina, near Nagano, Japan. 

Perspectives: Our 11-year-old main character is on family vacation at their grandparents when an incident occurs with their cousin. We then see their experience of summer school and how they come to discover their identity. Then we skip to them in their 30s, married and returning to the house where their cousin now lives.

Timeline: Unspecified (guessing 1990s and 2010s). ☀️❄️Summer and winter. 

🔥 Fuel: Moral quandaries. Intrigue and strangeness. Provoking thoughts and feels. Unpredictability. What is wrong with our main character? What will they do next? How will they reconcile their childhood views in their adult life? 

📖 Cred: Bizarro

 

Warm breeze. Incense. Baby Factory. Brainwashing. Animal smell. Sour dock. Popinpobopia.  

 

Content Heads-Up: Emotional and physical child abuse (parental rejection and frustration). Child sexual abuse, pedophilia (on page,

teacher-student

). Dismissal/disbelief of reported abuse. Victim blaming. Suicidal ideation, planning (on page; brief). Familial pressure (to reproduce, to marry). Incest (preteens; on page). Loss of parent (as adult). Murder, violence, blood, physical attack. Home invasion. Edible horror, gore (

consuming flesh, self-mutilation

).

 

Rep: Japanese. Cis. Hetero. White and ambiguous skin tones.

 

📚 Format: Kobo Plus