Book Review of The Lost Souls of Benzaiten
The Children’s Book Review
The Lost Souls of Benzaiten
Written by Kelly Murashige
Ages: 14+ | 304 Pages
Publisher: Soho Press, Inc. (2024) | ISBN-13: 978-1-64129-574-1
What to Expect: Friendship, trauma, relationships, healing, mental health
Touching, poignant, and gently witty, this coming-of-age novel explores what it means to live through mental trauma and find healing on the other side.
Something happened to Machi, and ever since, she’s refused to speak. Now, her life is a long string of therapy appointments that seem to achieve nothing, and she is spiraling into depression. In one of her lowest moments, she visits the long-abandoned shrine of the Japanese goddess Benzaiten and makes a desperate prayer—she doesn’t want to be human anymore. Instead, she wants to be a robot vacuum cleaner.
To her surprise, Benzaiten hears her prayer and is horrified. She insists that Machi change her prayer and allow her 4 weeks in which to help her rediscover the beauty of being human. However, Benzaiten has trauma of her own to work through—trauma that centers around her involvement with the souls of recently dead children, and a God who carries a hammer and seems to be stalking her every move. Will Benzaiten be able to help Machi reclaim her lost voice—or will she lead Machi to relive her devastating traumas?
Machi’s traumatic event may seem insignificant from the outside, but her pain and conflict are real, and readers are sure to feel validated by the seriousness and sensitivity with which the narrative handles them. Machi herself is a quiet character who feels and thinks deeply—the sort of character who does not often get center stage in fiction, but whose experiences and feelings will resonate with many young readers.
The novel encourages readers to think deeply about the same issues of identity, happiness, self-worth, and relationships that Machi herself struggles with. Layered with these philosophical themes, however, are the gripping narrative questions that drive the story forward: why won’t Machi speak, and what is Benzaiten really after? The answers unfold satisfyingly over the course of the novel, keeping readers gripped until the final page.
Importantly, The Lost Souls of Benzaiten is a story infused with hope—that even when things seem darkest, genuine human connections can show us the light again.
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About the Author
Kelly Murashige is a writer, reader, and dreamer who was born and raised in Hawaiʻi. She primarily writes contemporary fiction with fantastical twists rooted in Japanese mythology and culture. Though she is a total introvert, she hopes to connect with readers around the world.
You can visit her online at www.kellymurashige.com.
