earlronove's review against another edition
2.0
I liked the plot of this novel, however there were a few things that left me a bit annoyed. Dalkey's writing bothered me especially in the beginning when Mitsuko is writing in her diary, and yet she acted as though she were speaking. Another thing I disliked was the novel moved far too quickly. I couldn't get immersed into the setting because in the blink of an eye, Mitsuko would be somewhere else. It was entertaining and a very easy read.
booksarecute's review against another edition
4.0
Read this as a teen and the complex yet subtle relationships were captivating; I wish #ownvoices existed when I was a kid though.
racheljoy7's review against another edition
4.0
A sweet, delightful story that combines history with mythology in ancient Japan. What makes this particular book so interesting is the friendship between the two main characters: there's Mitsuko, or Little Puddle, a girl trying to save her sister's life, and there's Goranu, a mythological shape-shifting creature who helps her.
honnari_hannya's review against another edition
4.0
Loved, loved, loved this a lot!
A Heian period young adult fantasy, centered on a young noble girl named Mitsuko. She lives a charmed life with her family, going to gatherings at the palace, writing poetry, and celebrating the new marriage of her oldest sister to a very charming nobleman. However, fighting erupts between the nobles and the warrior monks of Mt. Hiei, forcing the family to flee and ending in tragedy: her brother-in-law perishes while trying to protect them and her sister falls into a deep state of grief, her soul wandering out of her body in order to find her husband.
In order to save her sister, Mitsuko travels far and wide, meeting creatures of legend and folklore in her search for answers.
Mitsuko is a fairly typical protagonist: good-hearted, kind, and devoted to her family, but there is an interesting tension that appears towards the end as she realizes that the life her sister has and her parents want for her—to be a proper court lady—is not something she can be happy with after her adventures.
You can tell that Kara Dalkey really loved researching this novel. She wrote such lovely verses to accompany various poetry exchanges between characters, and really gave readers a sense of how important letters, poetry, and those various affectations were in the Heian period.
This skewed a little younger than I normally enjoy, even for a young adult novel, but still very much entertaining and fun—especially if you like that period of Japanese history. I wish I had found this when I was at the right age range for it, as I know I would have absolutely adored this.
Looking forward to picking up the second novel in this duology, as well as Dalkey's other works.
A Heian period young adult fantasy, centered on a young noble girl named Mitsuko. She lives a charmed life with her family, going to gatherings at the palace, writing poetry, and celebrating the new marriage of her oldest sister to a very charming nobleman. However, fighting erupts between the nobles and the warrior monks of Mt. Hiei, forcing the family to flee and ending in tragedy: her brother-in-law perishes while trying to protect them and her sister falls into a deep state of grief, her soul wandering out of her body in order to find her husband.
In order to save her sister, Mitsuko travels far and wide, meeting creatures of legend and folklore in her search for answers.
Mitsuko is a fairly typical protagonist: good-hearted, kind, and devoted to her family, but there is an interesting tension that appears towards the end as she realizes that the life her sister has and her parents want for her—to be a proper court lady—is not something she can be happy with after her adventures.
You can tell that Kara Dalkey really loved researching this novel. She wrote such lovely verses to accompany various poetry exchanges between characters, and really gave readers a sense of how important letters, poetry, and those various affectations were in the Heian period.
This skewed a little younger than I normally enjoy, even for a young adult novel, but still very much entertaining and fun—especially if you like that period of Japanese history. I wish I had found this when I was at the right age range for it, as I know I would have absolutely adored this.
Looking forward to picking up the second novel in this duology, as well as Dalkey's other works.
linluvsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Strong female characters are always welcome. Interesting historical fiction/fantasy.
cmbohn's review against another edition
4.0
Children's historical fiction set in medieval Japan, before samurai. I really enjoyed this one - not what I expected at all. It would be great to read aloud. I don't want to give away too much, but let me say that it's about a wealthy noble family who run into tragedy and a daughter who fights to save her sister.
kingohats's review against another edition
4.0
Very much reminiscent of earlier stories, with a simple fetch-quest plot and the need for the main character to go to various mysterious figures to petition their help to get to the next step of the journey. Its strength is in the research the author did to incorporate the culture of Heian era Japan not just into the atmosphere of the story, but in the quirks of the main character, Mitsuko. I really enjoyed the frequent haikus and other poems.
Still, the author gets some things wrong. Dalkey writes that the word for story, or narrative as she writes in the end glossary, is 'monotogari', but it is actually monogatari. Another noticeable detail is Mitsuko and her sisters refer to their parents as "Mama-chan" and "Papa-chan", but -chan is never used towards an older person, especially one's parents.
I very much enjoyed this book and I'm definitely going to pick up its sequel as soon as I can. I can't wait to read Mitsuko's continuing adventures.
Still, the author gets some things wrong. Dalkey writes that the word for story, or narrative as she writes in the end glossary, is 'monotogari', but it is actually monogatari. Another noticeable detail is Mitsuko and her sisters refer to their parents as "Mama-chan" and "Papa-chan", but -chan is never used towards an older person, especially one's parents.
I very much enjoyed this book and I'm definitely going to pick up its sequel as soon as I can. I can't wait to read Mitsuko's continuing adventures.
kbeddes's review against another edition
4.0
Genre: historical fiction, Japanese folktale, fantasy
Summary: Mitsuko is the fourth daughter (which is the literal translation) of a family in the powerful Fujiwara clan in Heian-era Japan. Mitsuko has an older sister that she adores. The family's home in the capital is attacked by some militant monks, so they flee into the country. However, they are attacked again on the road and Mitsuko's beloved brother-in-law is killed, and her older sister's soul has left its temporal shell. Mitsuko then commences a journey with the help of a tengu (a bird shapeshifter) named Goranu, to many otherworldly spheres, both heavenly and hellish, to find her sister's soul and to lay her brother-in-law's soul to rest. Mitsuko finds herself in the process and maybe finds something more with Goranu at the end.
Response: I remember reading this book when I was much younger and really enjoying it. Reading it again made me realize just why I loved it so much. It's one of those books that sticks with you but you can never remember the title or author, just the feeling of the story and its affect on you. I was ecstatic when I found this book again. It was fun reading this book, now that I am older, because I understood so much more. When I was younger, I understood the basic story, however, now I was able to appreciate all the research and detail the author put into it. Heian Japan is "classical Japan" just as Athens was the "classical Greece". Kara Dalkey portrayed the time period really well, giving great personality to the facts. There is also a lot of detail about Buddhism at this time period, which makes all those semesters of TA work for Hist 201 worth it. It was neat to see the history and the culture (in the form of folktales and myths) work side by side in a delightful and thoughtful read.
Summary: Mitsuko is the fourth daughter (which is the literal translation) of a family in the powerful Fujiwara clan in Heian-era Japan. Mitsuko has an older sister that she adores. The family's home in the capital is attacked by some militant monks, so they flee into the country. However, they are attacked again on the road and Mitsuko's beloved brother-in-law is killed, and her older sister's soul has left its temporal shell. Mitsuko then commences a journey with the help of a tengu (a bird shapeshifter) named Goranu, to many otherworldly spheres, both heavenly and hellish, to find her sister's soul and to lay her brother-in-law's soul to rest. Mitsuko finds herself in the process and maybe finds something more with Goranu at the end.
Response: I remember reading this book when I was much younger and really enjoying it. Reading it again made me realize just why I loved it so much. It's one of those books that sticks with you but you can never remember the title or author, just the feeling of the story and its affect on you. I was ecstatic when I found this book again. It was fun reading this book, now that I am older, because I understood so much more. When I was younger, I understood the basic story, however, now I was able to appreciate all the research and detail the author put into it. Heian Japan is "classical Japan" just as Athens was the "classical Greece". Kara Dalkey portrayed the time period really well, giving great personality to the facts. There is also a lot of detail about Buddhism at this time period, which makes all those semesters of TA work for Hist 201 worth it. It was neat to see the history and the culture (in the form of folktales and myths) work side by side in a delightful and thoughtful read.
nancyotoole's review against another edition
5.0
Mitsuko spends her days writing poetry, and keeping herself hidden from most of the world outside of her own family. But when her sister Amaiko’s husband, Yugiri, is murdered, and her sister’s spirit attempts to follows him into death, Mitsuko must flee her sheltered life and find Yugiri’s lost soul. With a crow-demon for a companion, Mitsuko begins a dangerous journey where she must deal with gods and monsters, and save her family before it’s too late.
Little Sister is a book that I first looked at when I was thirteen at a bookstore near my middle school. It’s not until now, at twenty-three, that I’ve taken the time to read it. I don’t know what took me so long. The writing (as seen above) is absolutely beautiful, the language simplistic, yet often heavy with meaning at the same time. The character of Mitsuko, starts out the story very lady-like and almost meek. To watch her growth to a fearless woman is very satisfying. Her journey flows more like a legend of a fairy tale, than a modern day novel, making for a very different reading experience to what I’ve been picking up lately. The setting of Heian Japan is an interesting choice for a fantasy novel. Dalkey has done her homework very well, and sprinkles the story lines with bits and pieces of old Japanese culture. I found myself drawn in right away, and was very sad when it ended.
Little Sister is a book that I first looked at when I was thirteen at a bookstore near my middle school. It’s not until now, at twenty-three, that I’ve taken the time to read it. I don’t know what took me so long. The writing (as seen above) is absolutely beautiful, the language simplistic, yet often heavy with meaning at the same time. The character of Mitsuko, starts out the story very lady-like and almost meek. To watch her growth to a fearless woman is very satisfying. Her journey flows more like a legend of a fairy tale, than a modern day novel, making for a very different reading experience to what I’ve been picking up lately. The setting of Heian Japan is an interesting choice for a fantasy novel. Dalkey has done her homework very well, and sprinkles the story lines with bits and pieces of old Japanese culture. I found myself drawn in right away, and was very sad when it ended.
beecatbell's review against another edition
5.0
2010
The characters in this book were amazing.
The pace was quick, the plot was interesting, the Japanese myths were highly amusing, and the tengu made me laugh.
I absolutely loved it, and will be reading more by this author.
2016
I reread this book once every three or so years. It is still one of my very favorite young adult books ever written.
The characters in this book were amazing.
The pace was quick, the plot was interesting, the Japanese myths were highly amusing, and the tengu made me laugh.
I absolutely loved it, and will be reading more by this author.
2016
I reread this book once every three or so years. It is still one of my very favorite young adult books ever written.