Kana's sent to Japan for the summer after a girl in her class taker her own life. Her mother tells her to think about her actions. Kana begins to take summer classes and feels what it is like to be an outsider. She reflects on the past through the heat of summer as she explores Japan, her heritage, and comes to know her mother's family.My Thoughts: A novel in verse in aftermath during the summer of a tragic incident. I liked this stale of the vivid sense of the world created. I liked the layers of understanding something major happened to a classmate in a small class of girls. I liked how Kana gradually understood and came to terms with the death of her classmate. I liked how the story started after the death. I liked how Kana began to explore her roots and understand one half of her heritage.
However, I felt there were pieces missing. I wanted to know more of the back story. I wanted to know exactly what happened to Ruth - what the girls said and did to her. I also didn't understand the family connections in Japan - I think I missed something. There were bits and pieces of the culture shared that I didn't fully grasp.
The verse rang true and at times extraordinarily poetic.
Cover Thoughts: I really like this cover
Source: My Library
It always interests me when an author chooses the medium of poetry to write a novel. Is there a connection between the Japanese setting, the title, and the poetry?
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