From: Shutta Crum <shutta>
Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2005 11:02:40 -0500

Hey, all- I've been waiting to see what the rest of you think, but I might as well jump in as there was some discussion of Kira-Kira last night at a YA book group I belong to. (There are 12 of us, librarians, writers, Borders booksellers. A good group.)

Only a handful of us had been able to get a copy so far. Of those who had read it, most agreed that it was a story with heart--which is at least 90% of the task in writing for this group. (IMHO)

It also is a story that needed to be told from this unique perspective--in that time, in that place, and with those pressures of a hard-working family.

However, several of us had a hard time figuring out EXACTLY the year of the beginning of the story and how old the narrator was as the story progressed. It wasn't until about a third of the way through when the writer settled down into the "now" of the story that we got a real feel for that. That was unsettling, as it seems to me one of the jobs of a writer is to suck your readers in immediately and get them grounded in the story right away.

A couple of our members said they had to keep flipping back to try to figure out the year of the narrator's birth and then how old would she be when reporting in particular chapters--and did those chapters sound like they came from a child?

However once that was past, we all were thoroughly engaged and most of us read it cover to cover without interruption--and with tears. It moved us. Kadohata's language was beautiful.

Also, as a native Southerner, I enjoyed reading this fresh voice about the mix that makes up the South. Often first and second generation immigration stories, and stories of making it in this melting pot of ours, take place in urban environments and we forget that there is a rural perspective as well.

Kudos to Kadohata.




Shutta Crum www.shutta.com
 
(Bravest of the Brave, Knopf, 2005)
Received on Thu 17 Feb 2005 10:02:40 AM CST