Japanese folklore – Mom Read It

Join the Night Parade…

Posted on December 21, 2015December 21, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Night Parade, by Kathryn Tanquary (Jan. 2016, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky), $16.99, ISBN: 978-1492623243

Recommended for ages 10-13

Saki does NOT want to head to her grandparents’ boring old village for the summer; not when there’s so much going on in Tokyo. She’ll be out of the social loop, and her queen bee friend will be furious if she isn’t in constant contact with her! Her father won’t take no for an answer, though, so off she goes… and finds herself caught up with the local kids in the village, who pressure her into meeting them at the ancient burial ground – and into ringing a sacred bell that brings some very serious consequences. Now, it’s up to Saki to make things right, and to do that, she must go into the world of the spirits, all assembling for the Night Parade.

This is a solid middle-grade fantasy read. There’s some beautiful language that evokes some amazing images, delving into Japanese folklore. There’s a nice emphasis on respect for tradition and one’s elders, and I enjoyed watching Saki’s progression from a follower who just wanted to be in with the in crowd, to a maturing young woman who thought not only of others, but of actions and their consequences. With a little bit of Christmas Carol (with spirit guide visits) and a little bit of Through the Looking Glass (entering a world of exciting, new inhabitants) The Night Parade blends classic story elements with a modern mindset to tell a tale fantasy lovers will love.

The Night Parade is Kathryn Tanquary’s debut novel. You can follow her blog, Dinosaur Lace, where she also talks about her work as a language teacher in the Japanese education system.

Horror, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Rin Chupeco’s The Suffering returns to the J-Horror from The Girl from the Well

Posted on August 19, 2015August 17, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Suffering, by Rin Chupeco (Sept. 2015, Sourcebooks Fire), $16.99, ISBN: 9781492629832

Recommended for ages 13+

Tark and Okiku, the boy and his ghost from The Girl from the Well are back in this sequel that takes a deeper look into the complex relationship Tark and Okiku now share following the events of the first book. Tark is now something of an exorcist, trapping wayward spirits in the bodies of dolls – a skill he learned spending time with the women of the temple in The Girl from the Well. Okiku is still restless and still seeks vengeance, spurring Tark on to hunt child murderers down so she can take her revenge and set the victims’ souls free. When he receives word that Kagura, one of the temple women, has disappeared along with a ghost hunting reality show crew in Aokigahara – Japan’s suicide forest – he and his cousin, Callie, head over to Japan to help: but what’s waiting for them is nothing they could ever have imagined.

I got sucked into The Suffering right away, because I enjoyed The Girl from the Well so much. We’ve got the same cast of characters returning for another go, and Ms. Chupeco gives us an increasingly deep look into the complex relationship between Okiku and Tark, with clues as to the changes in Okiku’s behavior between The Girl from the Well and The Suffering. There’s horror here, for sure, but there’s also mystery/thriller, and Japanese folklore. I was fascinated by the story behind Aokigahara, and Chupeco’s story takes the horror of a suicide forest even further to create a thoroughly skin-crawling reading experience. We get desiccated corpses, demonic dolls, avenging spirits, and a forest filled with dead people who may or may not want to stay that way- horror fans, turn down the lights and read this at your own risk. And when are we getting movies made about this series?

As with The Girl from the Well, more sensitive readers may shy away from the subject matter.

Horror, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

The Girl from the Well brings Japanese folktales to America YA horror

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Girl from the Well, by Rin Chupeco (Aug 2014, Sourcebooks), $16.99, ISBN: 978-1402292187

Recommended for ages 13+

Okiku is an avenging spirit – the restless ghost of a young girl betrayed and murdered long ago. She stalks child murderers and strikes without mercy, without pity, and releases the innocent souls held prisoner by their killers, watching them turn into fireflies as they finally know peace. She can never join them; her restless, agitated soul cannot find the peace she seeks. And then, Tarquin comes into her… well, afterlife.

Tarquin, or Tark, for short, is a teen with some baggage. His mother had him tattooed at the age of 5, something he tries desperately to hide from curious eyes. She’s locked away in a mental hospital and Tark’s father, a businessman always on the go, is raising him as best he can. Strange things have followed Tark his whole life – birds smashing into windows around him, accidents happening to kids around him, and even more terrifying, his own mother trying to kill him whenever he comes near her. Okiku sees Tark for the good kid that he is, but she also sees the terrifying spirit attached to the boy – and decides, for the first time, to reach out to him and help.

Anyone familiar with the Japanese horror movie, Ringu – or its American counterpart, The Ring – will have a strong idea of what this book is about. Japanese folklore and J-horror are both strong influences on this story, and will appeal to fans of both. There’s a strong story here, multilayered with a major plot and two subplots that the author weaves together to give readers an unsettling, creepy read.

I got a kick out of Tark. He battles the chaos around him with sarcasm and wisecracks. He does his best to keep the reality of his situation from his father, who really wouldn’t understand, no matter how much he loves his son and tries to be an involved dad. Okiku is a tragic figure, yet her anger and her strength make her a force to be reckoned with – you may feel for the circumstances that brought Okiku to where she is, but you will never pity her.

There are some disturbing things happening here, including depictions of sexual abuse and murder, so easily triggered or upset readers should seek their thrills elsewhere.