“Water Moon,” by Samantha Sotto Yambao
(2025, 374 pages, Genre: Fantasy)
There is a very popular – and very small – ramen restaurant in Tokyo. People wait in line for a table and it takes a bit to get one. But when some people pass through the door of the restaurant they find themselves in an otherworldly pawnshop instead. It is literally in another world, and in this pawnshop you can rid yourself of your deepest regret. Hana has helped her father Toshio manage the shop for years and now he is going to retire and she will take over. But the morning after they celebrate this milestone, Hana finds the shop ransacked, her father missing, and Keishin, a physicist from our world, on her doorstep.
“Water Moon” is the story of Hana’s quest to find her father with Keishin’s help. Exploring Hana’s world explores Keishin’s scientific, fact-based world view while Hana is desperate to find answers for herself and for the strange fish-kin who rule her world and believe that her father has stolen something of theirs. Their journey is a reflection of everyone’s need for their lives to have meaning.
I really enjoyed the world building and exploring so many fascinating facets of Hana’s world. There is also a gentle romantic element, as Hana and Keishin are drawn to each other even though he is not on her predetermined list. The Shinkai are scary, the adventures are spectacular and the ending is satisfying.
Pick up a copy of “Water Moon” at the Concord Public Library and see for yourself.
Visit Concord Public Library at http://www.concordpubliclibrary.net
— Julia Miller
