Clara Kumagai
Amulet Books
12 August 2025
400
eBook - EPUB
YA Fantasy
ARC via Edelweiss
When Japanese-American teenager, Adam, discovers a diary in his attic, he is enthralled by its account of a young woman's life in Nagasaki. A hundred years separate them, yet she, like Adam, is caught between cultures, relationships, and heartbreak.
She also writes of the ghosts that have begun to seek her out, which Adam dismisses as fantasy—until he begins to be haunted by her terrifying spirit. Unravelling the mystery of her identity—and the wrong done to her—seems to be the only way to save himself.
With the help of his new crush on a summer trip to Nagasaki, the two boys race against time to untangle a story that has rippled through generations…
As I started reading Songs for Ghosts, I thought: Well, this is basically the opera Madama Butterfly. And when I read the afterword, I found that it was indeed intended as a retelling, although that wasn't mentioned in the blurb. Where the stories differ is that this one gives the Cio-Cio San character far more agency and depth, while the male characters are the shadowy figures. The ending is also altered. Adam, too, was a likeable character, and he grew as a person while discovering the ghost's story. There was nothing wrong with this book at all, and I wasn't bored as I read, but I also wasn't deeply invested. Perhaps part of that was because, once I recognised the story, I knew exactly what the ghost's tale would be, so it lost any suspense it might otherwise have had. I also felt the subplot of his romantic relationships, while allowing us to see his character growth, didn't really add much to the main thrust of the story, so they sometimes felt like a distraction. Overall, I am giving this book 3.5 stars. As a retelling, I think it worked well, but I struggled to fully invest in the characters other than on a surface level.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
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