Songs for Ghosts

Song of Ghosts is an interesting and emotional story about a man who becomes heartbroken after a relationship ends. He feels angry, lonely, and depressed, and spends much of his time isolated in his house. One day, while exploring the attic, he discovers a hidden side drawer containing information about a girl who once lived there. This discovery changes everything and leads him on a journey to Japan to uncover the truth about her life. The book keeps readers curious because, as the mystery unfolds, we also learn a great deal about Japanese culture and traditions. For example, the story explains how different bowing angles are used to show respect: a 45-degree bow means “thank you,” a 50-degree bow is used to say “please,” and a 90-degree bow expresses a deep apology. These details make the story feel realistic and educational. Another fascinating aspect of the novel is its exploration of Japanese beliefs and spirituality. The author discusses the idea of Yin and Yang and introduces spirits that emerge and grow more powerful throughout the story. The book also describes the peaceful yet disciplined lives of monks who live high in the mountains, adding a mystical atmosphere to the narrative.

Milanpreet

Seva Reading Group

I really enjoyed the Song for ghosts. I liked how it switched from the current day life and then the letters that were being found.

Kaitlin

Rad readers

I loved the storytelling and plot development of this novel. It hooked me very quickly and remained enjoyable throughout.

Elly

Rad readers

Before reading, Songs For Ghosts was a seemingly evocative YA novel I held in high regard, just from reading the blurb. It was within the first 3 pages that my expectations were crushed, and it only went downhill as I further progressed. I felt the characters in Adam's life, and the protagonist himself, weren't fleshed out enough, with every line of dialogue sounding like the same speaker - it made it difficult for me to empathise with him, despite the cultural identity crisis many may relate to. Reading the diary entries, to me, the woman's experiences and feelings could have been delved into deeper, yet never grew into anything substantial that I could truly sympathise with. While her character development was clear, I didn't find myself congratulating her. Furthermore, the book heavily lacked world-building and description. Nagasaki, Japan is a historically rich country with beautiful landscapes, but I still didn't find myself immersed. For these reasons, I give it a 3/10 for a great plot betrayed by weak writing.

Eira-Geen

SHHS shadows

It was an amazing book, I loved the way each part of the story linked together at the right time so it wasn’t too overwhelming, and was consistently exciting throughout the story and plot. The way the characters were linked together through their likeness and their life experiences and the constant mystery kept me thinking on my own theories, and I learnt a lot about Japanese culture, especially the ‘Biwa’ instrument, which i didn’t even know about! The book stayed on track with the story with minimal drifting off of topic which i thought was great. I’d say my favourite thing was the ghosts i really liked how they had been made to appear and the separate stories told of different ones. It was overall a genuinely good book and I’d totally recommend reading it.

Myles

FAB(C)

Before reading, Songs For Ghosts was a seemingly evocative YA novel I held in high regard, just from reading the blurb. It was within the first 3 pages that my expectations were crushed, and it only went downhill as I further progressed. I felt the characters in Adam's life, and the protagonist himself, weren't fleshed out enough, with every line of dialogue sounding like the same speaker - it made it difficult for me to empathise with him, despite the cultural identity crisis many may relate to. Reading the diary entries, to me, the woman's experiences and feelings could have been delved into deeper, yet never grew into anything substantial that I could truly sympathise with. While her character development was clear, I didn't find myself congratulating her. Furthermore, the book heavily lacked world-building and description. Nagasaki, Japan is a historically rich country with beautiful landscapes, but I still didn't find myself immersed. For these reasons, I give it a 3/10 for a great plot betrayed by weak writing.

Eira-Geen

SHHS shadows

Songs for Ghosts by Clara Kumagai is a romantic fiction novel that explores gay love, reconnecting with the past, and the search for identity. The story weaves together Adam’s contemporary life with the diary entries of Kiku, a woman living in early 20th century Japan. As Adam travels to Japan to stay with a host family, he is navigating the aftermath of his mother’s death, a strained relationship with his father, and the pain of a recent breakup. He connects with a friend from his Japanese group and explores a relationship with him. Through this journey, the novel reflects on grief, love, and self discovery. I would rate it 3.5 while it wasn’t something I would normally go for, I still found it well written and deeply moving.

Georgina

Epsomians

Songs for ghosts was a very captivating book. It is filled with very unexpected twists and the storylines of the characters are all very emotional. In some way the book felt like I could relate to it and for me the storyline was beautiful. Although it took me a while to get stuck in to the book I am now very sad that it is over. I love how the author slowly reveals information as it makes you want to keep reading to see what happens next. Overall I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend.

Poppy

Ms Dodd’s Carnegie Team

Honestly, the book was good. I won't say it was jaw dropping, astonishingly amazing, but I really did like it. The message sent by the book itself appealed more to me than the plot. The way the ancestral love problems were tied up in the end was amazing. I honestly didn't expect the blood relations between the characters and the ones from the diary. Adam's cultural relationship to Japan is something I reckon everyone can relate to, regardless of ethnicity and where you live now. But my favourite part was the ending. I'm glad some things were left unresolved, that everything had a final resolution. It's a book I don't regret reading, and has helped to shape my views on certain topics. Pretty excellent, if you ask me :>

rida

HGS Book Club

I really enjoyed this book. It took me through many emotions such as sadness at the woman's story, anger at Ethan whose motives I did not understand and happiness at the satisfying ending. The book was written well as though the first hundred pages were slightly slow the latter end of the book was extremely engaging. I also liked the actual topic of the story being focused on a boy who feels split from his heritage and the ancestral connections that were heavily present in the book. A second book coming out would totally be on my to be read and my favorite character was Jo.

Lakshake

HGS Book Club