Excerpt from The Color of Air by Gail Tsukiyama, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

The hum of voices grew and laughter filled the air. Nori looked around the room at faces she'd known for most of her life, all the while missing Mariko, the one person who should have been there for her son's homecoming. When the floorboards quivered beneath her feet, Nori imagined it was Mariko trying to return again. She paused, waiting for the tremors to end, but instead of slowing, they grew in intensity. All the voices hushed as a rumbling, quaking movement took possession of the building. In the next moment, the entire building seemed to be rocking, ceiling fans swaying from side to side, cans and bottles toppling from the shelves in small explosions of shattering glass. "Everyone outside!"

Samuel yelled. Suddenly Nori realized that she hadn't seen Koji in the crowd. He was always the one they turned to in emergencies. In her panic, Nori couldn't think of what to grab, and reached for the jar of mango jam, just as Samuel grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the front door.

Excerpt from The Color of Air by Gail Tsukiyama . Published by HarperVia. Copyright © 2020 HarperCollins.