Over the past month, I read this book based on a recommendation from and it was honestly really good.
I wrote a brief synopsis last time, but essentially Kanou Yuri is fed up with her current life and school/family situation. She has a fight with her mother and “runs away”, but ends up goes back going back to 1945 at the very end of the WWII in the summer. Here, she meets these young soldiers training to be Kamikaze pilots. You can sort of see where this is heading already. It’s definitely a sad premise even from the start.
Honestly, I really enjoyed it. I think mainly because the story pacing was really good. There was never really a dull moment and it just keeps going. I read Japanese books slowly, but with this book I was really invested in it.
Book Review
Essentially this is a love story, but set in this wartime period. Before you even get far into the book, you can already assume what is going to happen, but at the same time, there’s this feeling that you have to keep reading. I liked how most of the characters, including the other soldiers, were given personalities and not just flat background characters.
Yuri is really headstrong and blunt, and I liked that about her. She said what was on her mind even straight to the soldiers’ faces. The other characters in the book even describe her as a “yankee” because of her blunt personality and partially blame it on her having no father figure. Her name also means the lily 百合 (ゆり), which is a key part of the story.
I also really liked the ending. I felt like there was sort of closure in a sense. However, there’s actually a sequel that was written a couple years after the original called .
There also seems to be a manga version now. It’s a lot easier to understand if the novel is too high of a level yet.
Overall
I highly recommend this book. I think it’s the best one I’ve read so far (though I haven’t read many JP books). If you like romance or sad stories, it really hits all the feels. Even if you don’t care for romance stories, the story is interesting enough being set in this wartime period.
This was the first time I’ve read anything focusing on the Kamikaze pilots (even though it’s fictional characters), so it was really intriguing. These young men were all drafted to become soldiers, but why did they choose this path given they knew they wouldn’t be able to return home?
The only thing I had a little against it was the age gap between the main characters. She is 14 (middle school and he is about 20 (college). It just seems a little less believable, but there is a reason that they even address within the story. If they make a movie (which seems very likely), I hope they make them a little closer in age.
JLPT Language Level
I would rate this book at a low N2 level. I think besides the war or military-related vocabulary, it’s not that difficult to understand. There isn’t even much N2 grammar points I felt like. I think even higher N3 level might be able to read it. There’s a lot of dialogue, which tends to be easier to read and the military terms are repeated a lot, so it’s not so hard to figure out. The flow is fast paced too, so there is never really a dull or filler moment.
Key Words
特攻隊（とっこうたい）- Kamikaze pilot unit
特攻（とっこう）- kamikaze suicide attack
爆弾（ばくだん）- bomb
防空壕（ぼくうごう）- bomb shelter
百合（ゆり）- lily
framed in beige 