First published 2010
Toshiko hears strange noises from the house next door during a sweltering August in suburban Tokyo. She and three classmates spend their days at cram school preparing for exams. Toshiko is the serious one, Terauchi excels academically, Yuzan struggles to find direction, and Kirazin loves to party. When Toshiko asks the neighbor boy if everything is okay, he says yes. The other students call him "the worm" because he performs poorly in school and looks awkward. Hours later, someone steals Toshiko's bicycle. She keeps quiet about her suspicions when she learns the boy has vanished and his mother lies dead, beaten with a baseball bat. The four girls soon discover the truth directly from the killer himself. Each girl has her own reasons for viewing him as someone who rebels against Japanese society's pressures. They decide to help him despite the violent crime he committed.
Genres: fiction, drama, crime, contemporary
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Japan, Tokyo
Period: 20th-century
216 pages · Paperback · Seuil
Content warnings: violence