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crystal_reading's review against another edition
5.0
Review Copy: Digital ARC via Netgalley.
This is a wonderfully told story of survival during a very difficult time. Like many people growing up in the U.S., history has been very internally focused. WWII information for me was usually very focused on how the U.S. or Europe was involved.
Japan had colonized many places including Manchuria. This story brings that time period to life. It also lets us see that people have been fleeing for their lives from many places for a very long time.
Natsu is persistent and smart. She learns a lot about herself and what she is capable of during this challenging time.
I'm partial to novels in verse and this is another one I really enjoyed. It's not an easy story to read. It's difficult to witness the suffering, but it's also a story of love and strength. I think it will be a way to open up peoples' ideas of the scope of the war. We call it a World War for a reason and so many more people and places were involved that I would have believed given what I learned in school.
I'd recommend this for use in classrooms, but also as reading for anyone who enjoys historical fiction, novels in verse, or survival stories.
This is a wonderfully told story of survival during a very difficult time. Like many people growing up in the U.S., history has been very internally focused. WWII information for me was usually very focused on how the U.S. or Europe was involved.
Japan had colonized many places including Manchuria. This story brings that time period to life. It also lets us see that people have been fleeing for their lives from many places for a very long time.
Natsu is persistent and smart. She learns a lot about herself and what she is capable of during this challenging time.
I'm partial to novels in verse and this is another one I really enjoyed. It's not an easy story to read. It's difficult to witness the suffering, but it's also a story of love and strength. I think it will be a way to open up peoples' ideas of the scope of the war. We call it a World War for a reason and so many more people and places were involved that I would have believed given what I learned in school.
I'd recommend this for use in classrooms, but also as reading for anyone who enjoys historical fiction, novels in verse, or survival stories.
lawbooks600's review against another edition
4.0
Representation: Japanese main character
Trigger warnings: Displacement, refugee experiences, military violence and war themes, death of an aunt, death of parents
Sounds like a very sad book but I could enjoy this one.
Update: 8/10, this was a new arrival at one of the two libraries I go to at the time I read this and I am familiar with verse novels so I went in with high expectations and you won't believe this but guess what, I was blown away by the sheer brilliance of this! This story was set during the last months of WWII and the year after that but it still resonates. I've read several refugee stories such as Illegal by Eoin Colfer, Refugee by Alan Gratz and so many others, some were good and some were not. This book falls in the former category and I'm glad it did. The writing style was minimal but amazing and the main character was so well written I could feel bad for her as she lost almost everything like her parents, her home, and her aunt but still, she has the resilience, hope, and perseverance to keep on going. Recommended if you like verse novels or a book about immigration. The only other books that are similar to this are Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga and Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhhà Lại, I'll surely look for that book in the future and I enjoyed the other one.
Trigger warnings: Displacement, refugee experiences, military violence and war themes, death of an aunt, death of parents
Sounds like a very sad book but I could enjoy this one.
Update: 8/10, this was a new arrival at one of the two libraries I go to at the time I read this and I am familiar with verse novels so I went in with high expectations and you won't believe this but guess what, I was blown away by the sheer brilliance of this! This story was set during the last months of WWII and the year after that but it still resonates. I've read several refugee stories such as Illegal by Eoin Colfer, Refugee by Alan Gratz and so many others, some were good and some were not. This book falls in the former category and I'm glad it did. The writing style was minimal but amazing and the main character was so well written I could feel bad for her as she lost almost everything like her parents, her home, and her aunt but still, she has the resilience, hope, and perseverance to keep on going. Recommended if you like verse novels or a book about immigration. The only other books that are similar to this are Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga and Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhhà Lại, I'll surely look for that book in the future and I enjoyed the other one.
lifeinpoetry's review
4.0
I had vague knowledge of Manchuria but nothing beyond generalities so took a quick foray into this YA novel-in-verse to edify myself. While the politics of people occupying and building upon the land of others is questionable it's addressed and the people who have occupied are not all bad, many show kindness to the displaced women and children and even risk their lives to help them on their retreat back to Japan. Overall, a decent introduction to Manchuria that shows the humanity of all.
tattooedlibrarian's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
emperor_e's review
4.0
Written beautifully, and with a great story, I definitely enjoyed this book. This was not a time or place that I knew basically anything about so it was really interesting. My problem is that the description does not seem to fit the book very well. My issues are that her sisters name in the book is not Cricket, and they are not in Manchuria the whole time. Overall though a good story that I would recommend.
thebookishlibrarian's review against another edition
Thanks to SLJ for a review copy of this book.
This novel in verse follows twelve-year-old Natsu and her family who live in Manchuria, near the Soviet Union during World War II. Then Natsu’s father joins the Japanese Army, and she and her younger sister Asa are left to fend for themselves. Desperate to save Asa’s life, Natsu sells Asa to a Russian family after the Soviet occupation, with the ultimate goal of getting her back and making her family whole again.
This novel in verse follows twelve-year-old Natsu and her family who live in Manchuria, near the Soviet Union during World War II. Then Natsu’s father joins the Japanese Army, and she and her younger sister Asa are left to fend for themselves. Desperate to save Asa’s life, Natsu sells Asa to a Russian family after the Soviet occupation, with the ultimate goal of getting her back and making her family whole again.
abriggs07's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
alaspooriorek's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.75
lberestecki's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0