Songs for Ghosts, Clara Kumagai
Songs for Ghosts, Clara Kumagai
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Songs for Ghosts
A Novel

Author: Clara Kumagai

Narrator: Kenichiro Thomson, Susan Momoko Hingley

Unabridged: 11 hr 51 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 08/12/2025


Synopsis

This genre-bending YA novel follows a boy who finds a century-old diary written by a young woman in Nagasaki, Japan—and becomes haunted by her vengeful spirit.

When 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 like Adam, she 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.

This leads Adam to a home stay in Nagasaki, where he begins to reconnect to his heritage not only through Japanese language and culture, but also by connecting with long-lost family members. And then begins a race against time as Adam and his new crush, Jo, attempt to untangle a story that has rippled through generations . . . 

Reviews

Goodreads review by Laura on July 07, 2025

I was immediately hooked by the diary in the beginning, but it took Adam’s more mundane story a long time to catch up. He feels very passive, not shaping his own story pretty much at all - and that doesn’t feel resolved over the course of the story. Poor Daniel, for example, relegated to a plot devi......more

Goodreads review by YSBR on August 15, 2025

This ambitious retelling of Madame Butterfly explores themes of grief, consent, “Oriental” fetishism, and family. Seventeen-year-old Adam (Japanese-American) feels kicked in the teeth after being dumped by his boyfriend. Moping around the house he shares with his white dad, stepmother, and baby half......more