Kira-Kira, Cynthia Kadohata
Kira-Kira is a Newbery Medal winning novel by Cynthia Kadohata. Although Kadohata had previously written other books, Kira-Kira was the first one she wrote for younger audiences.
It wasn’t easy being Japanese and living in America in the 1950s. Katie lives in a small rented house in Iowa with her parents and older sister (and best friend), Lynn. After their Oriental food store goes out of business, the family relocates to Georgia, where her parents find work in the poultry industry. Life is hard. The parents work around the clock under deplorable working conditions in a company owned by the extremely wealthy, powerful, and tyrannical Mr. Lyndon. Katie’s mother wears special pads to work that are designed for urine breakthroughs, because the company doesn’t allow unscheduled bathroom breaks. Her father’s working hours are so long that he often sleeps at the hatchery during the few hours he has between shifts. The mother has another baby, but when babysitting stops being available, Katie and her baby brother sit in their hot car during her mother’s long shifts because they have no place to go and are not allowed in or near the building. They rent a small, cramped apartment and struggle to make ends meet. They are shunned in their community for the work they do and for being Japanese, however, they are an extremely loving and close-knit family. Despite their many hardships, they have each other. Katie and her sister, Lynn, share an unbreakable bond. Lynn teaches Katie about everything under the sun, including the word kira-kira, which means glittering. This becomes Katie’s favorite word and she uses it to describe everything she sees, from butterflies to Kleenex. Lynn teaches Katie to focus on the future, which she promises will be brighter because she is saving to purchase a house for the family. But then, the unthinkable happens. A horrible diagnoses changes everything, and their already difficult lives shatter.
Narrated in Katie’s optimistic voice, Kira-Kira is a story of love, family bonds, loss, and survival. It is a story of racial prejudice, clashing cultures, schoolyard cruelties, the sting of middle school social ranking, and the ever-present line in the sand between the haves and the have-nots. Kadohata interweaves each and every one of these themes into a novel that is a gripping, honest portrayal of life in the deep, rural south during the 1950s. We see a family of undeniable integrity struggling to make it while enduring brutal treatment, followed by an unimaginable tragedy. We see the core of human emotions and vulnerabilities, and the strength to endure and survive.
The family characters in this novel were likable and relatable. The parents were hard-working, honest people who deeply loved and cared about their family. I especially enjoyed the close sisterly relationship between Katie and Lynn. Lynn was the responsible, studious older sister who was always protecting Katie, and guiding her through their world with kindness, time, patience and support. Then there was Katie, the sweet but not so serious little sister. Katie was smart, but unconcerned about grades, had a tendency to be impulsive, and got herself into trouble at times. Yet, she was quite lovable and had an endearing innocence about her, and I loved how Kadohata found ways to insert humor into her dialogs:
Lynn was the bravest girl in the world. She was also a genius. I know this because one day, I asked her, “Are you a genius?” And she said, “Yes.”
As time went on, I enjoyed seeing Katie’s character evolve and mature throughout the book in a coming of age sort of way, and these transitions flowed beautifully. It was easy to become engrossed in this novel. I felt deeply for the characters, and shared their wide range of emotions – anger, sadness, humor, grief, admiration. For young readers navigating the social scene at school, I think this novel is highly relatable as it clearly demonstrates the pain of social hierarchy during this vulnerable stage in life. Kira-Kira is well written, educational and offers a vivid, poignant look at the human spirit and what we will do for those we love. I highly recommend this historical fiction novel for tween and teen readers.
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Since the publication of Kira-Kira, Cynthia Katohata has written several additional books for young readers that focus on the struggle of Japanese-Americans. If you enjoy Kira-Kira, then I highly recommend The Weedflower, a novel about a young Japanese-American girl living in an internment camp. See my review for Weedflower here.
It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from. The ability to triumph begins with you – always. — Oprah Winfrey
