Makoto Shinkai

Longing to escape his island home, a boy named Hodaka runs away during his first summer of high school to find a new life in Tokyo. As rain falls for days on end and Hodaka struggles to adjust, he meets a girl named Hina who holds a mysterious power: With a single prayer, she can part the clouds and bring back the sun. But her power comes at a price, and as the weather spirals further and further out of control, they must choose what future they truly want for themselves. Written concurrently with production of the 2019 film Weathering With You, this novel comes straight from director Makoto Shinkai, the mind behind 2016's hit your name.!

Weathering With You

Belle Ellrich

After hearing recommendation after recommendation for Makoto Shinkai's latest novel WEATHERING WITH YOU, I finally decided to buy the book off of Amazon.

And let me tell you, I was HOOKED from page one.

Shinkai has an addictive and beautiful way of storytelling, and I found myself wanting to finish this read in one sitting. However, because of life, I had to hold back on that need.

This book follows four characters. Don't let that intimidate you! It doesn't actively focus on all four, but it makes it appear as though it does. Our four main characters are Hodaka—the runaway from a small island off of Honshu, Japan; Hina—a 100% sunshine girl that holds secrets near and dear to her; Mr. Suga—a man that takes in runaway Hodaka and gives him work and a place to stay; and lastly, Natsumi—a young woman who works for Mr. Suga in search of topics for their unrealistic but somewhat believable editorial tabloid.

Each character has parts in the story that build and create their personalities and emphasize their choices and the consequences from them. The amount of development that was provided and presented to us was overwhelming, and it all felt so real. The emotions were vibrantly placed in each chapter, and by the end of it, your heart is desperately beating to escape from your chest.

While you're reading this book, you can physically imagine everything happening. That's how well it was written, and I can tell you now that I was entranced with every word.

All in all, I look forward to reading more from Makoto Shinkai, and I can't wait to see the movie. For that, I rate this novel 5 stars. I HIGHLY recommend this to fans of well-written fantasy novels.

Ananya 

Sayuri 

길선진

Hodaka has finally started to feel like he’s found his place in Tokyo with Hina and Nagi, but his sunny days won’t last forever. The Sunshine Girl powers are beginning to take their toll on Hina, putting her in danger of disappearing into the skies. And as the rain returns and Tokyo’s weather starts to intensify, an incident from Hodaka’s recent past closes in on him. He’ll have to fight to survive and keep the light of his life from fading out, but can he change the sad fate that awaits the Weather Maiden? In Weathering With You, Makoto Shinkai dives into topics like love and sacrifice to show how far one boy goes to protect the thing he loves most. This manga reveals the backstories and true thoughts of the characters who stole the hearts of fans and critics worldwide.

Weathering With You

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