Halcyon Days by @AyaneNanami
Reviewed and recommended by J.
It started with Summer, a season she both loved it hate, a season of bittersweet. Then came the repetition of dreams and the haunting memories of her past.
"Even though I knew it was a dream—
It felt so real."
Sleep is another form of consciousness. In Halcyon Days, the difference between the two worlds, dream and reality, is questioned. Amaya Chan creates the story of a girl who continues to live her tranquil life through both her eyes and her mind. The protagonist was trapped in a cycle until finally, she was able to progress forward in the single dream she's had since the start of Summer, a place she so greatly dreads, introducing readers to a new character, a boy.
With the shortest chapter at just a hair over twenty words, varying up towards a high of fifty, Halcyon Days unfolds with a sense of mystique and continuity. The author separates her sentences into fragments and uses line breaks in just the right place, keeping each word in sync with the story's rhythmic pace. Its steadiness allows reader to follow the chapters without any confusion, but with a guide of curiosity.
The author leaves readers asking questions: what is this dream world, who is the boy, why is the protagonist dreaming in progressive stages, and what secrets do her dreams hold? These are all questions that keep readers coming back as the story updates, clarifying every uncertainty with each chapter Amaya Chan publishes.