Catfish Rolling

Clara Kumagai's debut young adult novel begins with a folk explanation: a giant catfish lies beneath Japan, and when it shifts, the ground rises and falls. Sora was given this explanation after an earthquake took her mother's life, a quake so violent that it damaged the flow of time itself. Now Sora and her father are among the few people still living near the zones, areas where time has been permanently sped up or slowed down. The novel explores memory and family against this strange backdrop.

Sora's father leads a research team that studies these zones. Even as his colleagues begin to fall ill, he keeps entering them himself. Sora is left on her own as her father becomes confused and seems to be losing his memory. In the meantime, she has been investigating the zones in secret, seeking out a time expert in Tokyo. She also finds herself drawn to Maya, a confident girl who, like Sora, is hafu, and the two form a bond almost immediately.

When Sora's father vanishes, she has no choice but to return home, bringing Maya with her, and set out into the abandoned zones. Her search is for her father and, perhaps, for the catfish itself.