Aw =(
Kiki is no easy feat, intermediate book club members have commented on how our book seemed harder than theirs at one point, so don’t let it kill your motivation! The abundance of kana in place of kanji tends to make things more confusing – it’s really all about finding a level of reading practice that’s suited to where you are in your studies, but not only that, it’s about finding something that interests you! Otherwise it’ll just feel like a demotivating chore
Have you checked out the Yotsubato reading club? That might serve as good practice in place of Kiki with an active discussion base – the intermediate book club just started a new book this week too, it’s a collection of short stories with varying levels of difficulty, so maybe you’d enjoy that more too
Regardless, don’t let this book kill your confidence, it’s not an easy book by any means so don’t feel like you’re lacking! Find something you want to read that is challenging, but not too challenging to the point where it makes you feel like you don’t know anything. Any amount of progress is still progress, it’ll get better with time 