Abstract

Winner of the 2nd Froebel-kan Monogatari Newcomer Award Grand Prize. Winner of the 49th Children’s Literature Newcomer Award. This story should be read by everyone from upper elementary school students to adults. Sayoko, who is emotionally closed off from her family and classmates, has a black cat that only she can see. A transfer student named Akuru shows up and begins to annoyingly follow her around. Sayoko and her black cat are wary of Akuru, but he blends in with the class with surprising speed and becomes quite popular. One day, the black cat realizes that Akuru has seen her and decides not to talk to Sayoko at school in order to protect her secret. However, Akuru actually has his own secret that he cannot tell to anyone.

Author’s Information

Born in 1991, she grew up in Kamakura City. She began writing children's literature seriously in 2011. She debuted in 2019 with "That Girl's Secret," which won the Grand Prize at the 2nd Froebel-kan Storytelling Newcomer Award. In 2020, she won the 49th Children's Literature Newcomer Award for the same work. In 2022, she won the 1st Kakegawa Literature Award, selected by high school students, for "Ribbon-chan." Other works include "Candle," "Tell Me Your Story," and "If Beyond" (all published by Froebel-kan).