paperbacks_and_ponytails's review
4.0
A story about a Japanese American girl who is sent to Japan to go to school for awhile to learn the Japanese culture of her family. She really doesn't want to go, but ends up learning a lot, meeting new friends and growing her relationship with her grandmother.
My favorite part in this story was the relationship between grandmother and granddaughter. Even though the Japanese culture in people makes them seem more proper and not so touchy feely like us Americans, you could see the emotions play out in the authors writing and I loved that.
This is a great story to learn more about Japan culture and it was even sprinkled with Japanese words along the way.
My favorite part in this story was the relationship between grandmother and granddaughter. Even though the Japanese culture in people makes them seem more proper and not so touchy feely like us Americans, you could see the emotions play out in the authors writing and I loved that.
This is a great story to learn more about Japan culture and it was even sprinkled with Japanese words along the way.
heyfarahey's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
liralen's review against another edition
4.0
What a compelling look at a bicultural experience. When Brown was a preteen, her parents decided that her Japanese wasn't up to snuff and sent her to spend five months with her grandmother—attending a Japanese school and generally connecting with her family's culture in a way that was not possible in Kansas. Brown was fortunate in that not only did she already speak Japanese well, her Japanese teachers were prepared to meet her where she was in terms of reading and writing skills.
There are natural threads of tension woven throughout, from Brown's trepidation over living with her grandmother (who has had a hard life and is known in the family as a forbidding figure) to how to manage a different schoolmate social structure than she's used to in Kansas to whether Brown's Japanese will improve to a level she—and her family—is satisfied with. This definitely feels like a book that should make its way to many middle school and high school libraries.
There are natural threads of tension woven throughout, from Brown's trepidation over living with her grandmother (who has had a hard life and is known in the family as a forbidding figure) to how to manage a different schoolmate social structure than she's used to in Kansas to whether Brown's Japanese will improve to a level she—and her family—is satisfied with. This definitely feels like a book that should make its way to many middle school and high school libraries.
signediza's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
readingthroughtheages's review
4.0
I loved reading about Waka's experiences in a country that was not familiar to her and the relationship she forged with her grandmother. And it absolutely made me want to go to Japan again (this time when a pandemic is not still happening).
julieartz's review
5.0
This book is such a gift to kids straddling two cultures and/or dealing with relatives in the grips of generational trauma. I loved it even though it made me ugly cry.
lovesarahmae's review
3.0
#WhileIWasAway by #WakaTBrown
...
A sweet story of a first-generation Japaneese American returning to Japan for an extemded time. I adored the narration on the audiobook, amd the story really gives a middle school perspective of going to your familial "home." There are wonderful comparisons of cultures, and a darling series of middle-school-sucks-everywhere adventures.
...
...
A sweet story of a first-generation Japaneese American returning to Japan for an extemded time. I adored the narration on the audiobook, amd the story really gives a middle school perspective of going to your familial "home." There are wonderful comparisons of cultures, and a darling series of middle-school-sucks-everywhere adventures.
...
yapha's review
5.0
This powerful memoir takes place in 1984, when the author was sent from Kansas to Japan to live with family for 5 months because her mother felt she wasn't acting Japanese enough. Based on her memories as well as journals and letters written at the time, the range of emotions are real and raw. Waka attended 5 months of 6th grade in Japanese school, and did in fact accomplish her mother's goals of reading, writing, and speaking Japanese fluently. She also connected with her cousins and grandmother. She also had to deal with missing her friends and family, feeling like an outsider, being teased, and of course the friend drama that is pervasive in middle school everywhere. Readers will connect with Waka and be drawn into her story. Highly recommended for grades 4 & up.