When eighteen-year-old Monika decides to save her recently deceased childhood friend by entering a legendary local tunnel said to resurrect the dead, she soon learns he’s not the only ghost of her past—and she’s not the only one who’s heard the legend.After the worst year of her life, new high-school graduate Monika isn’t exactly feeling up to living it up during her last summer before college like her other classmates. Instead, she is still grieving the loss of one classmate who didn’t make it to graduation, a boy named Shun with whom she had a complicated relationship.Then Monika hears about the existence of a mythological passageway during a Japanese Club meeting. The Yomigaeri Tunnel is hidden somewhere in her small town. According to Japanese urban legends, those who venture into the Yomigaeri Tunnel are subjected to a harrowing journey through their worst fears and hidden secrets. The tunnel is said to reward anyone who makes it through with a prize—the ability to resurrect one soul from the dead.Thinking of Shun, Monika jumps at the chance to revive her classmate. But she quickly finds she isn’t the only one to have heard of the passageway. Another girl her age, sharp-tongued and plucky Shiori, is hellbent on reviving her mother and has no plans of letting anyone stop her.Together, Monika and Shiori have to figure out whether they are partners or rivals on this harrowing journey—all while they are forced to relive their worst moments and face their most painful secrets in the hopes of bringing their loved one back to life.From the acclaimed author of The Lost Souls of Benzaiten comes yet another heartwrenching, offbeat, utterly charming exploration of the acute anguish of being a teenager—while also looking toward a poignant future.

Publication Year: 2025