The Night Parade

3.5 stars

I don't know why I wasn't pulled into this book. It has so much that I like– Japanese culture, Japanese folklore, fantasy elements, character development, etc. I guess I just wasn't feeling it?

Let's talk first about the characters– or rather character. Saki is our main character who is going on this journey. We see what kind of person she is and she isn't the most likeable, although I really do pity her knowing what her alternatives to her given situation are. Finding a friend group is difficult and once you are in one you can't leave or be ostracized. During her development she takes huge risks which we don't see the conclusion of, which I was most worried about. Yet, there is development which makes her more “likeable.” The other characters are pretty much background, except for the spirits who do play more active, but temporary roles.

Storywise this is somewhat like a fairy tale. There is a lesson to be learned, people change, and the relationship between humans and spirits is built upon. For the most part, I really enjoyed the story and the writing. I think it was well plotted and I enjoyed the... I can't think of what it is called, but scenes/actions are looked at differently in the spirit world– kinda shadowing the real world and what happened. Anyhow, I enjoyed it.

I think my biggest problem is how technology is seen as the enemy. In a story where it is basically traditions v. modern tech, I get it, but I wish it did not need to be framed that way. People can enjoy traditions and older things while still taking part of technology. This is probably what really negatively affected my feelings for the book.

Honestly, I hated how giving up her phone is part of what made her develop into a better person. And "I'll send you letters!" instead of e-mails is stupid. You can draw, scan to the computer and send in an e-mail. I'm so tired of this mindset of how tech is the enemy.

Overall I think it is a good book. I would have preferred a glossary in the back of Japanese terms and spirit names, so that people might understand them better. Also, I really should have waited to read this in the summer since it is such a summer book.
This is a book I will definitely be recommending to other people, especially my friends who studied Japanese.

If you can get over how bratty Saki is for the majority of the book, it is a surprisingly delightful read.

I almost put it down early on, and if I wasn't waiting for the odd things to start happening (and the yokai to show up) I would have because Saki was insufferable. But then when things finally started happening, I had something else to focus on - like the awesome spirits and the wonderful story and the great setting - and before the end of the book Saki had grown and changed and actually became some one that was actually a decent person.

I must add that I especially liked the Japanese setting and the Night Parade itself and was totally thrilled that so much of what I already knew about yokai and such agreed with this book. And my favorite was definitely the tengu. The kitsune and the tanuki were both fun, but it was definitely the tengu that I wanted to see more of.

In case you didn't already know, I'm a crazed Miyazaki fan. It's the enchanting mix between reality and fantasy, plus the reminder of our deep connection to the world around us, that always captures me. So you can imagine my delight when I realized that Kathryn Tanquary had done the same thing, but in book form. I was transported to a small town in Japan. One where the old ways are still honored, and the veil between the world of spirits and the world of living is thin. A place of magic. This was absolutely wonderful, and I hope you're prepared for some gushing!

Let me get this out of the way straight off, and admit that I didn't like Saki for a good portion of this book. It becomes apparent, pretty quickly, that it's supposed to be that way. It took me a while to separate my adult self, from my childhood self, and realize that MG fiction generally needs to be pretty polarized in terms of character growth. Saki had to start out selfish, stubborn and mildly unbearable because, as the book progresses, she slowly loses all of those traits. A Middle Grade reader would see that, and accept it as fact. People who start out terrible in books, don't stay terrible forever. I needed to remember that, even though I do think she could have been a bit less grating. I'm warning you, because you'll need to remember it too. Trust me, it's worth it.

Now that we've addressed that, on to the gushing! The way that Saki was taught her lessons, and the way that she grew, was my absolute favorite part of this story. During Obon, it is said that the barrier between the living and the spirit world is the thinnest. Traditions are upheld, to honor the dead and keep the spirit world pure. Tanquary took this concept, and wove a whole magical world on the other side of the veil. A world with trickster foxes, terrifying monsters, and ogres with a soft side. A world that was beautiful, but also dangerous. I fell into that world head first, and I was enraptured. I want to see this made into a movie so much! Being part of the Night Parade was intoxicating.

As the story moves forward, and Saki becomes a heroine in her own right, things just got better and better. I couldn't stop reading. My eyes were glued to the page as Saki met wave after wave of fascinating and terrible creatures. I held my breath as she scaled walls, fended off the darkness, and grew ever closer to her goal. I'm not even the target audience for this book, and I felt the magic roiling off of the pages. This book is brilliant. It's addictive. Middle Grade readers are going to love it.