Book Review: When Haru was Here

By Dustin Thao 

5 Stars 

When Haru was Here by Dustin Thao is a calm LGBTQ+ novel about life. Eric met Haru during his school trip to Japan; he got lost among the crowds, and despite having to head the totally opposite way, Haru went out of his way to help lost Eric. Well, after he took Eric out for a tour Eric didn't ask for. They ended up going their separate ways after. Not long after, Eric lost his best friend, which led him to depression, and his mind created an imaginary Haru to keep Eric company. But Eric's life doesn't end there. More and more unfortunate events keep coming rushing into his life. How will Eric deal with it?  

I decided to read it since there were a lot of people recommending it on BookTok, and dare I say it is not overrated.   

There was one thing that I was disappointed in, which was how people were saying that the book itself has a very sad ending, and that they cried over the ending. When I read the book, some scenes were indeed sad to see, and what Eric (the main character) was going through was so tragic that it led to him having illusions and imaginations to make himself happier. I would say that the book was sad, but not the way I expected it to be. And in my opinion, I would say this novel has a happy ending.   

Also, there were so many twists that you wouldn't expect, there were many scenes that left me shocked and wondering why would the author do that to poor Eric. So, if you really love a good plot twist, this is meant to be for you. For me, though, it still left a scar, and I haven't fully healed from it yet.   

Overall, it's a pretty nice book to read; it was only 300 pages, so it went by pretty fast. I totally would recommend this novel to anyone.    

Reviewed by Jennie 

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