Wait For Me Yesterday in Spring

Actual rating: 4.5⭐

A surprisingly refreshing take on time travel.

After a fight with his father, Funami Kanae runs away from home to spend spring break in his hometown which he hasn't visited in two years. On the evening of his very first day, he discovers a shrine at an abandoned park and his consciousness is thrown four days into the future, where he discovers that his childhood hero and the older brother of his best friend, Hoshina Akari, is now dead. Following Akari's wish for him to save her brother, Kanae then leaps through time in reverse order. He would spend one day before getting thrown back two days into the past, learning more about what's been happening to the Hoshina siblings since he's been away.

If you like childhood friends who have had crushes for each other for a long time, never fading with time or distance, then you will like this book. Kanae and Akari didn't talk for two years, and yet their bond remains strong... even if things got a little complicated between them as they grew up. Similarly to The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes, the author did an amazing job capturing the bittersweet essence of adolescence. The romance also has a natural progression. Since each chapter opens with Akari's thoughts before moving on to Kanae's perspective, it feels like watching puzzle pieces falling into place to form the complete picture.

The issue in this book is quite heavy, especially because it explores the theme of abuse and what it does to the victim's mental state. If you could relate to Akari, even just a little bit, then it might hit hard when her emotions come out to the surface. Due to the heavy focus on reverse time travel, the ending and epilogue do feel a little rushed in comparison, but I still enjoyed it a lot. It's a real page turner that gives off the feeling of welcoming spring after a long, dreary winter.

Again, taking off half a star because the translation is too Americanized for my tastes. Sure, it flows smoothly. Maybe a little too smooth. The story is set in Japan, and no one in Japan talks like this so it comes off as very unnatural instead.