“The normal world has no room for exceptions and always quietly eliminates foreign objects”

What a great book! As someone who is neurodivergent and ACE I found myself analyzing every bit of the story and it did not disappoint!

I loved how the author took us on the journey of someone who does not fit into a perfect box of all the societal norms - shining light on norms that we sometimes follow mindlessly. The book opens with a bird dying and while everyone is sad because a living being has died, they processed to pick flowers killing other living beings in this process. This is something our main character doesn’t understand and demonstrates norms we sometimes hold they conflict with one another. There are other moments like this in the book that I enjoyed, but you will have to read it.

I also went and did some research on Japan after reading this book so as to not unfairly rate a book because I don’t understand the culture surrounding it. I learned that convenience stores are a big deal in Japan with many residents visiting 1-2x a day. The author also herself worked at a convenience store for many years!

Overall I really enjoyed it, and I can’t wait to read more from this author!