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mezzarella's review
informative
relaxing
slow-paced
5.0
Waka T. Brown recounts the 5 month journey she went on as a 6th grader to her family's home country of Japan in this nuanced and beautiful middle grade memoir. This book also serves as Brown's debut book, although with its rich descriptions and melodic pacing, it certainly feels as through the author has been writing for a very long time.
Waka is sent to live with her grandmother after her parents show concern in her ability to communicate in Japanese. As a first generation American, Waka is caught between the American culture in which she lives in and the Japanese culture her family is from. As to be expected of a 12 year old who has been told she will miss out on part of 6th and 7th grade to go to a public Japanese school, Waka is initially upset at her parent's decision to send her to her grandmother in Japan. When I first read the book, I was expecting the story to fall in place accordingly: Waka dislikes Japan and feels ostracized, but then makes friends, learns to love her grandmother, and then does not want to leave. What I received was a story that was much more nuanced. While Waka learns more about her grandmother and makes a few friends, there is an even greater focus on how Waka herself grows from the journey. Her friendships and connections made in Japan are realistic and memorable. Waka's teacher in Japan is patient and caring, making Waka feel welcome despite unruly students in the class. Children form cliques with each other, and Waka must decide who she truly wants to consider a friend on her own. There are plenty of relationships in the book to think about and delve into, and the book definitely feels true and not-larger-than-life.
The most interesting relationship in the book is certainly between Waka and her grandmother. Waka hears stories about her grandmother being harsh and favoring boys before she is even on Japanese soil. Waka is unsure about the rumors as well as being away from other people her age at home. When Waka arrives, their relationship is often shown with awkward silences and downtime. As the story progresses, Waka slowly learns more about her grandmother's life. Waka and her grandmother's relationship are not perfect. Some exchanges lead to arguments and hurt feelings. Despite this, there is an undeniable (yet unspoken) love the two foster for each other throughout the book. This relationship felt incredibly realistic considering the personalities of the author and her grandmother, and I appreciated that the complexity of the relationship wasn't simplified for a happier middle grade ending.
Other aspects that I appreciated was the fact the story did not follow a traditional three act structure like Westernized novels typically are. Instead, Brown lets the story meander and float like the flower petals mentioned in the story. Waka is a wandering spirit, trying to make sense of where she fits in the world. While I was Away is a lovely and realistic story of a girl who learns more about her language, culture, and family by returning to her parents' home country. As life changing as a 5 month journey to another country would be for anyone, it doesn't answer all of Waka's struggles and questions about the world around her. The story ends with Waka returning home to America, with a sense that she is changed, and must still decide who she is.
If this book piques your interest, please make sure to preorder this book or pick it up at your local bookstore on January 26th, 2021. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for giving me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Waka is sent to live with her grandmother after her parents show concern in her ability to communicate in Japanese. As a first generation American, Waka is caught between the American culture in which she lives in and the Japanese culture her family is from. As to be expected of a 12 year old who has been told she will miss out on part of 6th and 7th grade to go to a public Japanese school, Waka is initially upset at her parent's decision to send her to her grandmother in Japan. When I first read the book, I was expecting the story to fall in place accordingly: Waka dislikes Japan and feels ostracized, but then makes friends, learns to love her grandmother, and then does not want to leave. What I received was a story that was much more nuanced. While Waka learns more about her grandmother and makes a few friends, there is an even greater focus on how Waka herself grows from the journey. Her friendships and connections made in Japan are realistic and memorable. Waka's teacher in Japan is patient and caring, making Waka feel welcome despite unruly students in the class. Children form cliques with each other, and Waka must decide who she truly wants to consider a friend on her own. There are plenty of relationships in the book to think about and delve into, and the book definitely feels true and not-larger-than-life.
The most interesting relationship in the book is certainly between Waka and her grandmother. Waka hears stories about her grandmother being harsh and favoring boys before she is even on Japanese soil. Waka is unsure about the rumors as well as being away from other people her age at home. When Waka arrives, their relationship is often shown with awkward silences and downtime. As the story progresses, Waka slowly learns more about her grandmother's life. Waka and her grandmother's relationship are not perfect. Some exchanges lead to arguments and hurt feelings. Despite this, there is an undeniable (yet unspoken) love the two foster for each other throughout the book. This relationship felt incredibly realistic considering the personalities of the author and her grandmother, and I appreciated that the complexity of the relationship wasn't simplified for a happier middle grade ending.
Other aspects that I appreciated was the fact the story did not follow a traditional three act structure like Westernized novels typically are. Instead, Brown lets the story meander and float like the flower petals mentioned in the story. Waka is a wandering spirit, trying to make sense of where she fits in the world. While I was Away is a lovely and realistic story of a girl who learns more about her language, culture, and family by returning to her parents' home country. As life changing as a 5 month journey to another country would be for anyone, it doesn't answer all of Waka's struggles and questions about the world around her. The story ends with Waka returning home to America, with a sense that she is changed, and must still decide who she is.
If this book piques your interest, please make sure to preorder this book or pick it up at your local bookstore on January 26th, 2021. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for giving me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Child death, Death, Sexism, and Violence
Bullying, ableism:ashylibrarian's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
**Thank you to NetGalley, author Waka T. Brown, and HarperCollins Children's Books for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.**
Wow, what an amazing debut novel by Waka T. Brown. This memoir is full of emotion, inspiration, frustration, and self-discovery. Brown shares her story of traveling alone and living in Japan with her Obaasama (grandmother) for five months in 1983-'84. She shares the raw emotion behind not wanting to go by herself and attend the local Japanese school along with the adventures that helped her to discover who she truly wanted to be.
One of the pieces of this story that I absolutely loved was the Japanese culture intricately woven throughout. Brown added in the Japanese spelling and writing for words with descriptions of what they meant, shared traditions of food and dress, described the beautiful natural scenery of Japanese streets, and so much more. This was a really interesting part of the story for me as a reader because I was able to learn more about the life that Brown and her family grew up in, and her descriptions made it easy for me to paint the pictures in my head.
The writing is engaging but not too mature for the intended audience. Brown does a wonderful job shaping together words and stories that brings her experiences to life. I also really hope that the final edition will keep the images throughout. This was a great addition to the story and did not take away from the writing or age-level at all. I really enjoyed seeing the flowers, letters, and words that Brown was experiencing in those moments.
The one thing that did stand out a bit was the pace of the story for the audience. Though this is written from a middle-grade perspective, I think the content of the story is more suited for a young adult reader and up. By this, I mean that the content is not quick-paced and action-packed (not a bad thing!), but because of this, I am not sure how interested middle-grade readers would be in the story. As a new-adult-aged reader, I was really invested in Brown's story and found it engaging to learn so much about her experience with American and Japanese cultural overlaps and the traditional Japanese culture that is woven throughout, but for a younger reader, this may not be as appealing because there was not a ton of "high-intensity" moments.
Overall, though, I see this as a book that I will recommend in the future for those looking for an interesting, engaging, and inspiring nonfiction memoir.
Wow, what an amazing debut novel by Waka T. Brown. This memoir is full of emotion, inspiration, frustration, and self-discovery. Brown shares her story of traveling alone and living in Japan with her Obaasama (grandmother) for five months in 1983-'84. She shares the raw emotion behind not wanting to go by herself and attend the local Japanese school along with the adventures that helped her to discover who she truly wanted to be.
One of the pieces of this story that I absolutely loved was the Japanese culture intricately woven throughout. Brown added in the Japanese spelling and writing for words with descriptions of what they meant, shared traditions of food and dress, described the beautiful natural scenery of Japanese streets, and so much more. This was a really interesting part of the story for me as a reader because I was able to learn more about the life that Brown and her family grew up in, and her descriptions made it easy for me to paint the pictures in my head.
The writing is engaging but not too mature for the intended audience. Brown does a wonderful job shaping together words and stories that brings her experiences to life. I also really hope that the final edition will keep the images throughout. This was a great addition to the story and did not take away from the writing or age-level at all. I really enjoyed seeing the flowers, letters, and words that Brown was experiencing in those moments.
The one thing that did stand out a bit was the pace of the story for the audience. Though this is written from a middle-grade perspective, I think the content of the story is more suited for a young adult reader and up. By this, I mean that the content is not quick-paced and action-packed (not a bad thing!), but because of this, I am not sure how interested middle-grade readers would be in the story. As a new-adult-aged reader, I was really invested in Brown's story and found it engaging to learn so much about her experience with American and Japanese cultural overlaps and the traditional Japanese culture that is woven throughout, but for a younger reader, this may not be as appealing because there was not a ton of "high-intensity" moments.
Overall, though, I see this as a book that I will recommend in the future for those looking for an interesting, engaging, and inspiring nonfiction memoir.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying and Child abuse
Minor: Cancer and Death
brief discussions of body image;