Scan barcode
gmamartha's review
4.0
Novel in verse - with poetry mixed in. I know, that doesn't make sense. But these words open feelings and hearts that are inside. No small talk, just the meaningful stuff of life.
nadyapont's review
3.0
written in poetry form
Emma has unknown disease affecting her
written well despite poetry
Emma has unknown disease affecting her
written well despite poetry
ezplonk's review
5.0
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*screams in delight*
Thank you, Holly.
Beautiful.
*screams in delight*
Thank you, Holly.
Beautiful.
muddypuddle's review
4.0
This book certainly had many layers, and many, many themes. One of those books that keeps you thinking. Imagine having a stroke in your 30s that only allows you to move your eyeballs? Imagine living in America, being an American, and having half of your thoughts and dreams in another country? And then on top of that, having your mom very ill, prognosis uncertain. Tsunami devastation in Japan, the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, Japanese and Cambodian dance, volunteering in a rehabilitation center, living in a new culture and missing the old one as well as living with immobilizing migraines...well that's a lot for one book. But it works. Beautifully.
This book was written in verse and included a lot of references to poetry, which was wonderful. But some of the verses in the book did not flow well, for me, as I read them (of course, some did). Line breaks and page breaks seemed to come in weird places. Was it the way it was edited or the way it was written? No matter, the story was extremely well done.
This book was written in verse and included a lot of references to poetry, which was wonderful. But some of the verses in the book did not flow well, for me, as I read them (of course, some did). Line breaks and page breaks seemed to come in weird places. Was it the way it was edited or the way it was written? No matter, the story was extremely well done.
mherrup's review
5.0
I really loved this book. Having the poem be written like a poem made the emotion stand out even more to me. I do wish that the author had written this book from two character's perspectives, instead of just Emma's. Having both Emma's and her friend Madoka's perspective could have made the book that much more interesting.
belovedbrat's review
3.0
A cute read and different read. I had never read a book in verse, but I now want to read more books in verse.
lookingglassreader's review
3.0
The Language Inside is a meaningful contemporary novel in verse. I wasn’t blown away by it, but Emma’s narrative resembled stream-of-consciousness style, and I liked that. This story about a Japanese girl who moves to Massachusetts for her mother’s cancer treatment is one of love and newfound understanding.
Emma is pretty depressed and homesick at the beginning of the story. She is worried for her mother, restless that she can’t help her friends in Japan recover from the earthquake, and she misses all of the little things about her home.
I felt like I could connect a lot with Emma’s character. The narrative quality was amazing, I must say. However, the novel was in verse, and I found that a lot more could be said than was. It did have a minimalist quality that I didn’t really like or not like. Novels in verse usually aren’t my thing, but I’m happy that I tried out The Language Inside. It was a pleasant surprise and I liked it more than I usually like verse novels.
There is a lot of focus on family and resilience in tough times in The Language Inside. Emma’s family is dealing with her dad being gone for huge amounts of time for work and also her mom battling breast cancer. I felt like Emma as a a character could have been more developed, but I admired her resilience through her family’s hard times.
Of course, there is a boy too. I really liked Samnang. He is a dancer and is really fascinated and loves his Cambodian culture. He and Emma bond over the diversities of Japanese and Cambodian culture and they are amazing together. They both volunteer at a sort of assisted living center, which is how they meet. Emma works with a woman named Vera, who has locked-in syndrome. I loved Vera! Even though she was limited in ways of expressing herself, she was so expressive and I loved every scene with her in it!
Overall, The Language Inside was a worthwhile read. I liked the focus it had on never losing where you come from and family. There was so much rich culture references and dancing and Samnang!
Emma is pretty depressed and homesick at the beginning of the story. She is worried for her mother, restless that she can’t help her friends in Japan recover from the earthquake, and she misses all of the little things about her home.
I felt like I could connect a lot with Emma’s character. The narrative quality was amazing, I must say. However, the novel was in verse, and I found that a lot more could be said than was. It did have a minimalist quality that I didn’t really like or not like. Novels in verse usually aren’t my thing, but I’m happy that I tried out The Language Inside. It was a pleasant surprise and I liked it more than I usually like verse novels.
There is a lot of focus on family and resilience in tough times in The Language Inside. Emma’s family is dealing with her dad being gone for huge amounts of time for work and also her mom battling breast cancer. I felt like Emma as a a character could have been more developed, but I admired her resilience through her family’s hard times.
Of course, there is a boy too. I really liked Samnang. He is a dancer and is really fascinated and loves his Cambodian culture. He and Emma bond over the diversities of Japanese and Cambodian culture and they are amazing together. They both volunteer at a sort of assisted living center, which is how they meet. Emma works with a woman named Vera, who has locked-in syndrome. I loved Vera! Even though she was limited in ways of expressing herself, she was so expressive and I loved every scene with her in it!
Overall, The Language Inside was a worthwhile read. I liked the focus it had on never losing where you come from and family. There was so much rich culture references and dancing and Samnang!