Kira-Kira

"Katie loves and admires her older sister, Lynn, only to lose her in this story that reads like a memoir about a Japanese-American family in the 1950s.

Built around the loss of Lynn to lymphoma, it belongs to Katie and stays true to her perspective. The supporting cast of extended family and friends also fits within Katie’s vision of life. Humor keeps the depth of sadness at bay as Katie reports events: “If a robber came to our apartment, I would hit him over the head with a lamp. So I didn’t need a bank, personally.” Starting out in Iowa, the family moves to Georgia; both parents work long hours in the poultry industry to buy and then pay for a house of their own. Kadohata weaves details of life for a Japanese-American family show more into the narrative along with Lynn and Katie’s gradual acquirement of understanding of the dominant culture around them. The vivid writing and the portrayal of a most loving and honorable father lift this above the norm.

“Kira-kira” is Japanese for glittering, and Kadohata’s Katie sparkles. (Fiction. 10-14)" From Kirkus Reviews, www.kirkusreviews.com show less

Well, now it feels like winter in Seattle and I'm ready to read bummer books for the next eight months so my literary life can match the weather. First up, Kira-Kira, a book in which not much happens, and what does happen is mostly sad.

That's not much of an endorsement to start off, but you have to give author Kadohata mad props for her clear, elegant, perfectly constructed prose. Katie's voice was like a bright light, glittering in it's own kira-kira way. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator really did the work justice.

When this won the Newbery Medal in 2005, Award Committee Chair Susan Faust said, "Young readers will be drawn into a narrative that radiates hope from the inside out." I'm not sure I agree with her about the show more book radiating hope. I mostly found it depressing, but I thought it was depressing in a really beautiful way.

Take the premise. The Takeshima family lives in Georgia in the 1950s and are socially isolated from all but the few other Japanese-Americans in their town. Katie worships her older sister, Lynn, but Lynn becomes ill and her health deteriorates. Both Katie's parents work exhausting and degrading jobs in the poultry industry. Katie grows up watching her parents struggle to pay Lynn's medical bills and their mortgage. The book is full of her observations about life and her community.

It's definitely a good read, but a hard sell. It's tough to guess what ages are going to enjoy this book. It starts off sounding very young (Katie is just 5 or 6 in the beginning), but it doesn't have much of plot to keep young readers interested. Older readers may be put off by the main character being so young in the beginning, but they'll be more apt to appreciate this book's strengths and make it though to the end. show less

This is one of the best novels that I've read this year. At first, all I could think about was "kwaii." The first part of the story is nothing but cute, not the clinging, annoying kind of in-your-face cute either. It's cute as endearing. Then the novel turns less playful as events unfold. When the novel turns, your heart turns too. Ms. Kadohata has made her characters so important to you that you feel anguish as life's inevitability shows itself. In the end, you survive and are thankful for "tender mercies."

I'm a big fan of Newbery winners - I don't think I've read a dud yet. Kira-Kira (which means glittering in Japanese) shines as one of the best. Set in the 1950's, the book follows the Japanese American Takeshima family from Iowa to Georgia where the parents work long grueling hours processing poultry. Although the family faces many obstacles from the struggle of making ends meet to racial discrimination in the Deep South, life is fine for the Takeshima's until the oldest child, Lynn, becomes ill. The story is told by Katie, the younger daughter, who adds humor and innocence to this touching story. The narrator - Elaina Erika Davis was perfect - she handled the various ages of the characters as well as the challenge of Southern and show more Japanese accents beautifully. 5 Kira-Kira stars. show less

Lyrical, interesting, but ultimately depressing. Why are the Newbery winners so sad? This one's about a Japanese-American girl growing up in the South. There's an undercurrent of prejudice and poverty, if the sickness and death doesn't make you melancholy enough. Ultimately transcendent, but be warned.

Plot:Katie, a Japanese-American girl living in the 1950s, adores her sister Lynn. It is Lynn who has taught her about the beauty of the world (everything is “kira-kira”, shiny) and helped her understand some of the ugliness, like the racism of classmates and neighbours. But everything changes when Lynn contracts a deadly illness. Her parents, working long shifts for little pay in poultry plants, can barely afford her medical bills. Katie must care for her sister, a difficult and heartbreaking task, and learn to deal with the loss of the person who was the center of her world.

Though this is the one that won the Newberry, I personally found her later novel, Weedflower, more interesting. Still, it is hardly a book without merit. The show more writing style is the same, simple and short but clear and poetic; good for 10 to 12 year olds interested in history, Japanese culture and loss. Kadohata is addressing a different aspect of Japanese-American history here, one that may be less familiar to her readers. We all know about relocation camps but what about the day-to-day racism, the poverty and struggles that continued to exist for long afterward? But as well executed and researched as this history may be, it is only a backdrop. Ultimately this story is about losing a beloved sister and dealing with the loss. But this isn’t some big melodramatic tragedy. It is a very quiet, gentle sadness. This isn’t a story that made me sob uncontrollably, but it did make me think. If you are looking for strong emotions, this may not be the book for you, but if you are trying to find was to think about and deal with loss, it may be worth a read. show less

Narrator Katie idolized her older sister, Lynn. Her story covers several years in the life of her family, Japanese Americans, trying to get by in Georgia during the 1950s. Life is difficult for them at its best. But then Lynn becomes very sick. Their parents work harder and longer to try to keep up with the medical bills.
While this is the major theme of the book, there are many many little sub-plots as well. Growing up, friendships, boys, their toddler brother getting seriously injured, union activity at their mother's factory, a peculiar uncle...
Much ground is covered in a fairly short novel, and it is beautiful.