Lonely Castle in the Mirror
In a neigbourhood in Tokyo, seven young people wake up to find their bedroom mirrors shining.
Placing their palms on the surface, they are pulled through into a wonderous castle, where they encounter not only each other, but also their taskmaster: a bossy young girl in a mask, named Wolf Queen.
Though they don't know it yet, they all have one thing in common.
Eager to uncover the secrets of the castle while keeping their own, their time here will not be without glitches.
For a start, each day they must leave by five o'clock or face a terrifying penalty; they must all hunt for a key that will grant only one wish; they must tell no one about their experience.
As they struggle to abide by the rules of the game and each other's emotional boundaries, a moving story unfolds, of seven characters trapped in a cycle of misunderstanding and loneliness, who are ultimately set free by the power of friendship, empathy and sacrifice.
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Mizuki Tsujimura
Tsujimura Mizuki (辻村深月) (b. February 29, 1980) is a Japanese writer from Fuefuki, Yamanashi. She writes both for adults and children and specializes in mystery novels. She has been writing them since she was a high school student. She decided to go to Chiba University because there was a mystery research group. Her debut novel A School Frozen in Time was published in 2004. She professes herself to be a fan of Doraemon and wrote the screenplay for the movie, Doraemon: Nobita's Chronicle of the Moon Exploration and its novel version in 2018. After being shortlisted several times for the Naoki Prize, she received it in 2012 for her novel Kagi no nai Yume wo Miru (I Saw a Dream Without a Key). Tsujimura won the 2018 Japan Booksellers' Award for her novel Lonely Castle in the Mirror.