Lonely Castle in the Mirror

Genuinely moving, involving story following seven junior high students in Tokyo who have stopped going to school. The early part of the book may seem a little slow-paced, but I think it's just laying the groundwork and developing the characters, ready for the intensity to pick up with a wild twist in the middle and an ending that's both heartbreaking and yet, strangely, hopeful.

CWs: bullying, cancer, death, sexual assault