A Moment In The Sun by Tory Gates.
Reading Ages: 16+
Sixteen-year-old Rei Murata appears to have everything: good looks, brains, artistic skill and admiring friends. But Rei is a survivor—of loss, neglect and of self-isolation. Locked away from a world where she felt unwanted, Rei was one of the millions known as the hikikomori.
A chance meeting leads Rei to discover the online world of the Dwellers. Astonished to find her former classmate Sho among their number, Rei is determined to rescue him. Rei learns she must come to terms with her past before she can face her future. For her peers, the barriers of class and society must fall, so they too can move forward.
No one is ever lost, Rei believes. She hopes to lead Sho, and the rest to their moment in the sun.
Review by Richard Warnock: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. YA book with a cultural spin. Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2020. Verified Purchase. This is a young adult book that I greatly enjoyed. It places us in a culture most of us only know from the movies, anime, and manga. The book takes us through stages in Rei’s life via flashbacks and current day references. This has lighter and darker moments and doesn’t pull punches on the seamier side of this society. I enjoy books that bring me into their world and this book does that; it is important to me to care for the characters in a book and this is indeed handled quite well. Some of the issues touched on are love, the lack of love, the love of friends and of romantic love, loss of family, not having a support system of any sort, and distancing from society for personal reasons as a coping mechanism. These young people are in many ways better people as teenagers and are more mature and caring than I myself am. One sidelight that hopefully will not be a spoiler: the scene late in the book where the center group sings and chants struck a chord in me. In short, this book affected me emotionally by making me happy, sad, and proud.
Review by Amazon Customer: 5.0 out of 5 Stars. I loved this book. Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2016. Verified Purchase. I loved this book! The story holds your attention. It moves right along, and takes some unexpected turns along the way. Although the story line deals with the frailty and complexity of human relationships, it is also about discovering courage, hope, and even love. It’s a lot to pack in a small book! Incidentally, I am 68 years old!
Product Details:
Paperback: 196 Pages
Publisher: Sunbury Press, Inc. (February 26, 2016)
Language: English
Fiction (Time Travel)
Fiction (Music Reference)
Fiction (Young Adult)
Fiction (Contemporary)
Amazon Print:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1620066327/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2
Customer Ratings:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1620066327/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2#customerReviews
Author’s Page At Book Marketing Global Network
https://bookmarketingglobalnetwork.com/book-marketing-global-network/author-tory-gates/
