Spoiler free! How would you define happiness? That’s the question being asked by this thought-provoking story. I’ll be honest I wasn’t expecting a whole lot from this novel but the faint air of mystery and the brilliant, relatable characters are what kept me reading. I found myself wanting to read more whenever I had some free time. It’s never overwhelming but this is the kind of novel that will get you thinking about life, similar to that of Sumino’s other works. You’ll also be happy to know that in terms of endings a happy one awaits you, that’s not to say there are no emotional partsthough.

This does take a certain level of maturity to understand the full depths of the story as it covers a vast range of topics and themes that some may find hard to read. That in itself isn’t really why you need that level of maturity it’s more the way that these topics and themes are presented to you. The story is told from the perspective of a very outgoing grade school girl, who doesn’t fully understand the things that are happening to those around her, meaning that the topics and themes lie under a feint level of mist. This is not a bad thing at all, it’s one of the most redeeming factors about the novel.

Overall this wonderful novel is definitely one to read whether that’s online or physically (which I recommend as Seven Seas have done a great English adaptation) as it taught me to do things a little differently in life.