Temple Alley Summer by Sachiko Kashiwaba

Temple Alley Summer Book Review

Rating: 4/5

Temple Alley Summer is from the famous Japanese children's author Sachiko Kashiwaba. This book was originally written in Japanese but was translated into English in 2011. In fact, Kashiwaba's book The Marvelous Village Veiled in Mist was the inspiration behind the famous Studio Ghibli movie Spirited Away! As a fan of both Studio Ghibli and ghost stories, I was very excited to read this book. Another thing that drew me to the book was the art. I think it's super cool to have art that shows some of the scenes in the book.

Kazu, the main character, was well written, and I liked how the author maintained the fact that he was in 5th grade, by making him do things most 5th graders do, like complain about homework, and hang out with friends. Even though he was scared of Akari at first, when he figured out more about her past, he was very kind to her, and I thought that it was very sweet. Akari's reasons for coming back to life were so heartbreaking, and I was glad that she was able to get a second chance to live out her dreams. However, what I didn't like about the book was the buildup to the part when Kazu finally tells Akari that he knows about her and her past. As some of you reading might know, I like faster-paced books and the buildup to that exact moment took up half of the book. But other than that, I really liked this book, and I'd totally recommend it to anyone who is interested.  

One night, Kazu sees a strange girl leaving his house in a white kimono. The following day at school, a girl named Akari appears, but all of his classmates believe that she has been there for years. What’s even weirder is that his house used to be an ancient temple, rumored to be able to bring the dead back to life. Kazu decides to research and learn more about this temple for his summer project, which brings attention from his neighbor Ms. Minakami and his new classmate Akari. Kazu and Akari must work together to protect the temple’s power.

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