" I WANT TO EAT YOUR PANCREAS BOOK REVIEW" by Aaron P

(YEP Note: this title is a manga, or a Japanese comic-book-like graphic novel. You are able to find this piece in
your local bookstore or in Japan.) Despite its peculiar title, ​I Want To Eat Your Pancreas ​ , written by Yoru Sumino is a coming of age title about bittersweet romance, love if you would rather.  Love found, love lost, a common
motif throughout the book, in which gains meaning and emotional weight as the momentum of
the story drives the audience into the story, with foreshadowing and suspense to pull the readers’
attention in the story and set up an edge-of-your-seat buildup of anticipation of an unbearable
heartbreak foretold in the introduction of the book. 
Sumino’s piece is a story about a young kid, [Who Shall not Be Named-Kun] (his name is kept
secret and replaced with other phrases in brackets), who finds out that his popular classmate,
Sakura, has a terminal illness of her pancreas. The kid learns this as he finds her diary left in a
waiting room in the doctor’s office. At this point, the kid involves himself into Sakura’s life as
they adventure together, through the city of Tokyo along with their own emotions. Despite her
current condition, Sakura isn’t sad about it, rather she’s full of life and optimistic and shines as
bright as the sun. It’s rather refreshing to see that a terminal illness isn’t keeping a character
captive, but setting her free and allowing her to experience things knowing that her time is
coming soon. Sakura makes it an effort to try to see the world and experience things she
normally wouldn’t see or do without a time constraint. [Main Character-Kun] is quite the
opposite of Sakura, in that he is a very sullen and robotic person. As the work is written through
the point of view of first-person narration, it becomes apparent to the audience that Sumino
sticks true to his character. The dialogue and emotional involvement are what Sumino focuses on
to make his stories well thought out and good. Not only does this give readers something to
relate to, but they can also feel empathy towards the characters and hardships each of them go
through. In my opinion, when the author goes beyond a story and allows a connection between
his piece and his audiences, it creates a more heartfelt and relatable story. The two characters,
[Main Character-Kun] and Sakura share real chemistry between one another and their interaction
makes their two character foils more wholesome, as well as instilling complex insights of life
and faults in the human race in the main characters, which broke readers’ hearts in the end when
the chemistry between the main characters inevitably falls apart. Overall, this story is solely
driven by their relationship, which is why Sumino focuses on creating an amazing relationship
between these two characters. The ending is something that you wouldn’t expect and packs quite
a punch. The author illustrates a delectable, but cruel depiction of human life, that being
unpredictability and unreliability.
I have nothing but good words to say about this book. It was definitely a book worth picking up.
Not only did the author reel me in with its impending heartbreak at the very beginning of the
story in order to build up the anticipation of the ending, but Sumino also created the connection
between the book and the readers and that’s what every book strives for, as it allows readers to
put themselves in the middle of the story and relate towards the characters, their emotions, and
their relationship(s). This trait by far is what makes the book a worthy piece to pick up in your
free time because it takes you along with [Main Character-Kun] and Sakura and their adventure
through Tokyo. Personally, I became attached to Sakura’s character and her optimistic
personality and her ability to find light in every sad or unfortunate event. However, I also related
heavily towards [Main Character-Kun], as he was much of a pessimistic person who didn’t enjoy
talking to other people or interacting with people outside of the house. As the kid interacted with
Sakura it was a heartfelt interaction due to the influence that Sakura had on [Main
Character-Kun], essentially making him see the bright side more often than not. There is a lot of
morals that I learned during my time reading this book, including look at the positive side despite
the horrible situation that you are in and make the best of your life because life is unpredictable
and unreliable, thus no one should have certain expectations of life itself. I highly recommend
this book if you are looking for a bittersweet romance. You’ll find that the work is a very
pleasant read with a satisfactory ending, as well as an emotional connection to the characters. :)