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From the book jacket: Glittering. That's how Katie Takeshima's sister,
Lynn, makes everything seem. The sky is kira-kira because its color is
deep but see-through at the same time. The sea is kira-kira for the same
reason. And so are people's eyes. When Katie and her family move from a Japanese
community in Iowa to the Deep South of Georgia, it's Lynn who explains to her
why people stop them on the street to stare. And it's Lynn who, with her special
way of viewing the world, teaches Katie to look beyond tomorrow. But when Lynn
becomes desperately ill, and the whole family begins to fall apart, it is up to
Katie to find a way to remind them all that there is always something glittering
-- kira-kira -- in the future.
Luminous in its persistence of love and hope, Kira-Kira is Cynthia
Kadohata's stunning debut in middle-grade fiction.
Comment: Kadohata's first novel for children and her fourth novel overall
was the well deserved winner of the 2005 Newbery Medal. Although her
previous novels are all ostensibly written for adults they all feature young
protagonists and, as the reviewer for The Boston Globe comments, Kira-Kira
could just as easily be read by a 41-year-old as a 14-year-old. In other
words her books are ones that can easily cross age boundaries.
This is a heartbreaking, gorgeous book written from the point of view of young
Katie, who is only 10 when her 14 year old sister falls sick and dies. The
prose is clear, simple and authentic and, most importantly, is clearly touching
the hearts of young readers as you can see by the
reader reviews posted at BookBrowse (a sample of which are below).
It is particularly interesting to note how glowingly positive these reviews are
considering that most of the reviewers read Kira-Kira as a school
assignment. Over the years, I've read many thousands of reviews posted at
BookBrowse, and those that have been written by students for school
projects run the gamut from positive to negative, but more often than not they tend towards the
vitriolic or just plain bored. As most of us probably recollect, there's nothing that takes the joy out of reading faster than being forced to read a particular book! For a case in point, take a look at the reader reviews for
Founding Brothers!
A sample of the visitor reviews at BookBrowse:
"Kira-Kira was an awesome book. I read it in one day because I was so into it
that I couldn't put it down! Kira-Kira reminded me so much of my sister and me
when we were young. I love this book so much and I want everyone to read it."
- Sarah.
"This book is a very emotional and heart-pounding. I chose to read this
book from a reading list. Because of the title, I thought it would be
interesting and more original than other books. As I began to read, I realized
that these fictional characters could very well be real people. This book
touched my heart, and made me incredibly thankful and humble to be who I am.
This was an amazing book, and I would recommend it to anyone of any age." -
Sara.
"It's no wonder that this book got a medal! I really hate reading! But, while
reading this book I looked forward to reading a chapter every night! It was an
amazing story, that made me cry! I would recommend this to any person who wants
to enjoy reading in a big way! Two thumbs very high up!" - Dani.
This review first ran in the January 4, 2007 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.
This review is available to non-members for a limited time. For full access become a member today.If you liked Kira-Kira, try these:
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