Was all set to rate this book a strong three stars but upon reviewing the points of the novel with my boyfriend I realized it had one amazing trait of a great novel and that is that is was unforgettable and made me think..for that it deserves the four stars and a commendation. After reading Out by this author I knew I wanted to read other books by her because as other reviewers commonly state her work is chilling, haunting and so tragically real. This book also centers on life in Japan where the children there attend school eleven months a year and endure extreme pressure to excel-this story follows four seventeen year old girls Toshi,Terauchi, Kirarin and Yuzan who remain friends despite hiding themselves from each other. With their own personal issues the girls each willingly and unwillingly become embroiled in a loner boy (Worm)'s brutal murder of his mother for their own reasons with fatal consequences. It was here the story gets unrealistic as aside from Toshi who was Worm's next door neighbor, actually hears the murder then has her bike and cell phone stolen by Worm the other girls had no reason to involve themselves...however with Toshi's stolen cell phone he calls the girls and has them help him in some way or another: Yuzan looking for her own form of freedom and empathy for Worm and loosing a mother gives him a bike and cell phone to help him evade capture (stupid), Kirarin decides to release her inner "bad girl" and run away with him and Terauchi, perhaps the darkest and most troubled helps in her way and takes it to the extreme and Toshi is the only one left to explore what the real world is...Brillant upon reflection so recommended for those with patience and someone receptive to your discussion