Those readers, who enjoy the emotional ride and are more into the heart than the reason, are in for a treat. After Sora's father goes missing, she has no choice but to venture into uncharted spaces within the time zones to find him, her mother and perhaps even the catfish itself. Then, it fast forwards to her graduation, where she's still suffering under the loss of her mother (years later), but considering the various time pockets, which have formed, her attitude is understandable.

A father and daughter are left puzzled and intrigued by the unusual and mysterious shaking, which causes the mother to disappear.Sora grew up with the legend of the giant catfish that lives under the islands of Japan; a creature of magic and myth responsible for earthquakes and tsunami’s by flicks of its tail. Emotions and loss transcend time, and this young girl only sees both as being beyond anyone's control.

I found myself feeling pretty confused on the timelines and locations of everything, particularly any flashbacks. Whilst she struggles to socially connect with her peers, she discovers a unique ability to travel in and out of the zones, able to feel the distinct shifts in time. After the earthquake we find that time has changed in Japan, and that some areas have time that runs faster, or slower, than “normal”. I understood the basics of the whole time zones, but I think the terminology was little confusing and could have been a bit clearer overall. I personally could imagine especially the last part of Sora’s personal adventure transformed into a Ghibli’s animation vividly.Sora is not Japanese enough to be as her classmates, but not foreign enough to be treated in different conditions. The different time zones are described as dangerous, but the actual consequences of them were not explored enough for my taste. There are flashbacks all throughout the story where we read about Sora’s life before the earthquake and it has a few beautiful friendships and love stories. Because although the sci-fi/fantasy components are fascinating, complex, and unexplained, there’s a lot more to this book than time travel and shadows with no bodies and catfish god folklore.