The following version of the book was used to create this study guide: Kawakami, Mieko. Heaven. Europa Editions, New York, NY, 2009. Kindle AZW file.

A 14-year-old boy who is never named is the narrator of the novel. He describes his life – including the excessive bullying he faces at school. Known only as Eyes, he believes that he is being tormented because of his lazy eye. When he receives a note in his desk, he imagines it is a trick perpetuated by the bullies. Eventually, he realizes that a girl named Kojima, who is also a victim of bullying, is reaching out to him. They strike up a careful friendship that does not extend to being friendly with each other at school. Kojima is tormented because she wears dirty tennis shoes and clothes and often does not bathe for days at a time. She does this as a symbol of her love for her biological father, a man she sees as honorable but who is unable to make enough money to provide a decent lifestyle. Kojima and her mother now live with a wealthy man, but Kojima refuses to change her lifestyle.

Eyes hates that he is constantly hit and ridiculed, but he feels unable to take a meaningful stand. Kojima, meanwhile, believes that allowing themselves to be bullied is a sign of strength. When the bullies beat Eyes badly, he discovers Kojima watched at least part of the scene. She helps him clean up the blood and sneak off the school property. Eyes tells his mother a bicyclist hit him, a believable issue because of his poor depth perception.

When Eyes goes to the hospital for the second time, he sees one of the bullies there – Momose. Without thinking it through, Eyes confronts Momose and tries to make him see how the bullying is affecting him. What he did not expect is that Momose sees nothing wrong with what he and his friends do to Eyes. He says there is no question of right and wrong, only a question of what an individual wants to do and can do. A few weeks later, the bullies confront Eyes and Kojima. When they threaten to force Kojima to take off her clothes, Eyes picks up a large rock and considers hitting the ringleader, Ninomiya. What he discovers is that Momose is right and Eyes is incapable of this kind of violence, even in defense of his friends. Kojima has a breakdown on the spot, lying in a puddle and laughing hysterically. It is the last time Eyes sees her.

A short time later, Eyes goes to the hospital to have surgery to repair his lazy eye. When he is leaving the hospital, he removes the patch from his repaired eye and looks at the world in full focus, the first time he has experienced this since he was a toddler.