Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata
Genre: J/MG Realistic Fiction
Blurb (on back of book):
kira-kira (kee ra kee ra): glittering; shining 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 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.
MY OPINION: ***
Summer Reading Challenge #3: A book from the year you were born
This is my second time reading this book but the first time around was over four years ago and I wasn’t a reviewer then. I think I enjoyed it more the first time, which is probably because I was younger and this book is definitely geared to a younger audience.
The writing is very simplistic and the font is quite large, making it a very easy and quick read. This is to be expected of a middle-grade novel, so there were no complaints there. I do think it was detailed in some aspects of it, which I did enjoy because I often feel as if authors tend to leave out a lot when writing a middle-grade book. However, there was a lot of character building and scenes that seemed to play a small role but were essential to the overall themes of the story.
Katie has always looked up to her older sister, Lynn. Lynn is mature and always finds the good in life. She has her own personal dreams, such as getting their own home or seeing the ocean in California, but she is so unselfish that it’s amazing. She cares a lot about Katie and does everything she can to make sure that Katie is okay in whatever she does. I enjoyed the sisterly bond because it made the emotions that much more palpable by the end.
Katie learns from her sister of the idea of life being “kira-kira”, or glittery and pretty. She learns to look at the ocean and the sky as kira-kira, as well as Lynn herself. When her little brother is born, Katie tries to be as great of a role model as Lynn always for her because she finds it important that she be like Lynn.
Their family is poor and her father and mother work all the time at a chicken factory. Their jobs are described in detail, which added to the overall theme of making sacrifices for others and working hard to get what you want.
Then Lynn gets sick. What starts out as nothing serious then turns into anemia and then something even worse. Nobody is prepared for this, least of all Katie, who has relied on Lynn for everything her entire life. Now, she must learn to be independent and take care of her family and herself.
This book is so honest, which is something that I loved about it. We see a real family with real problems and real love for each other. We see Katie go through the five stages of grief. We see her anger towards her sick sister and the way that her emotions are playing out as she tries to deal with everything that is going on.
The book is so short and yet, you can learn quite a lot from it really quickly and with ease. I would recommend it to readers looking for an emotional story of family and love and what it means to be kira-kira.
Main Character: Katie
Sidekick(s): Lynn, Sam, parents, Silly, etc
Villain(s): Sickness, poverty, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: All of this is very real to life.
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