Poignant and inspiring Your Lie in April was a story that truly captured the hearts of those who have either read the manga or seen its anime adaptation. Even today I find myself thinking constantly about it. It is undoubtedly one of the most memorable tales in any form of media to this day. So when I heard that Your Lie in April: A SixPerson Etude which serves as a companion novel to the original series had been translated into English I was excited to have the opportunity to revisit some of my favorite characters and gain further insight into the plot as a whole. But while I did somewhat enjoy the novel there were several noticeable flaws which prevent it from detracted from the experience. Etude is not as much one story as much as it is a series of interconnected tales written from the perspectives of several key figures from the source material. These stories help paint a detailed picture of what Kouseis life was like prior to and during some of the events of the manga. Unfortunately in its six chapter span Etude suffers from a feeling of drawnout repetition that plagues the novel. This is especially obvious in the first half of the book. Takeshi Aiza and Emi Igawa each of whom are given their own chapters tell a nearly identical story to one another AND the source material which makes their inclusion into the novel feel unnecessary. The fact that their chapters make up a large portion of Etude feels like wasted potential and space. Their stories are simply rehashes of their original arcs in the manga and anime. Nothing is gained from reading their chapters. The rest of the chapters are decent with the standout chapter being Ryota Wataris which really goes indepth about the relationship between Ryota and Kaori. One of my complaints about the original was that Ryota felt sidelined in terms of the plot. Thankfully the author adds some muchneeded insight into Ryotas thoughts. Disappointingly however Kaori Miyazonos two chapters add little to the series. While they do start and close the novel with some wellplaced emotion I really wished they did something more with her character in the novel given that she is arguably the driving force behind the entire series. To conclude Etude is a flawed entry in the series. Aside from that one great chapter the novel suffers from a great deal of wasted potential. I dont regret reading the novel as it was definitely nice returning to Your Lie in April just one more time but I really wish there was more to this novel.