14 year old Melanie Tamaki lives in a world that runs without her. She has classmates that taunt her endlessly and lives with a family composed of only a sad but endearing mother whom she loves dearly. When Melanie comes home to find her house in disarray and her mother missing, she finds herself terrified yet enraptured by the realm into which her mother has been sucked back into: the Realm of Half World. Once balanced and beautiful in its past and now plagued by its imbalance, Half World has created monsters like Mr. Glueskin, who has tormented Melanie’s mother once before and has taken her back, as was the promise made 14 years ago. We follow Melanie as she goes on a search in a realm she doesn’t know, determined to find her mother.

I mainly enjoyed this book only due to its fantastical premise and the imaginative world Half World seemed to be alongside the darker, more disturbing aspects that played a significant role in alluding to a haunted place that once had balance and beauty. Goto’s imagination was amazing to see. Moreover, I think the writing was nice to read and there were definitely beautiful passages. Other than that though, I could not find anything in the book I felt attached to or that was particularly out of the ordinary. Though the world was beyond interesting, the book never touched upon its true nature or used it as a strong idea. The characters felt two-dimensional to me and there was not a lot of development, particularly regarding our protagonist who I thought could have grown a lot. I felt like her companions were only in the book to amplify the main character. I felt as if the relationships in the book seemed abrupt and sometimes unrealistic. Lastly, there were an alarming amount of aspects that I felt the book never addressed, like her father, the actual nature of the realms and so much more.

I would recommend this book if you’re looking for a quick read, have a love for magic or science fiction with a fantasy side, and want to try something new.

Lastly, there are so many beautiful materials that are much more developed than this but with a similar premise, including Spirited Away, a Studio Ghibli film and Howl’s Moving Castle, a novel by Diana Wynne Jones.