The House of the Lost on the Cape by Sachiko Kashiwaba and Yukiko Saito - OPTIONAL

The House of the Lost on the Cape by Sachiko Kashiwaba, illustrated by Yukiko Saito (translated from Japanese by Avery Fischer Udagawa), 224 pages. Yonder, 2023. $18. 

Language: G (0 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (attempted kidnapping, monster violence, some pets and people injured - not gory) 

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - OPTIONAL 

APPEALS TO: SOME 

Yui and Hiyori are strangers on a train, but when an earthquake followed by a tsunami destroys the town they have stopped in, they find themselves together in a shelter. When an old woman, Obächan, mistakes them for her daughter-in-law and granddaughter, Yui goes along with it and they begin a new life as a family. Renting a house near the sea, Hiyori, is enrolled in the 5th grade at the local school, and although she has been silent since the death of her parents, she quickly makes a friend. But the twin disasters have opened a portal that may have released a dangerous monster. Good thing Obächan has connections to the magical world and knows a thing or two about protecting her community. 

I struggled to keep track of all the characters, as The House of the Lost on the Cape was obviously written for a Japanese audience who would be familiar with the mythology. There's not much world-building, and my digital copy didn't have a glossary. I'm certain a Japanese reader, or someone with more cultural knowledge than I would find it engaging and exciting. The suspense was well delivered, and the battle with the Sea Snake was satisfying, but I was painfully aware I was missing a huge part of the story. The characters are Japanese 

Lisa Librarian