Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Kira-Kira
Kira-Kira
Kira-Kira
Ebook164 pages2 hours

Kira-Kira

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

kira-kira (kee' ra kee' ra): glittering; shining
Glittering. That's how Katie Takeshima's sister, Lynn, makes everything seem. The sky is kira-kira because its color is deep but see-through at the same time. The sea is kira-kira for the same reason. And so are people's eyes. When Katie and her family move from a Japanese community in Iowa to the Deep South of Georgia, it's Lynn who explains to her why people stop them on the street to stare. And it's Lynn who, with her special way of viewing the world, teaches Katie to look beyond tomorrow. But when Lynn becomes desperately ill, and the whole family begins to fall apart, it is up to Katie to find a way to remind them all that there is always something glittering -- kira-kira -- in the future.
Luminous in its persistence of love and hope, Kira-Kira is Cynthia Kadohata's stunning debut in middle-grade fiction.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJun 20, 2008
ISBN9781439106600
Kira-Kira
Author

Cynthia Kadohata

Cynthia Kadohata is the author of the Newbery Medal–winning book Kira-Kira, the National Book Award winner The Thing About Luck, the Jane Addams Peace Award and PEN America Award winner Weedflower, Cracker!, Outside Beauty, A Million Shades of Gray, Half a World Away, Checked, A Place to Belong, Saucy, and several critically acclaimed adult novels, including The Floating World. She lives with her dogs and hockey-playing son in California. Visit her online at CynthiaKadohata.com.

Read more from Cynthia Kadohata

Related to Kira-Kira

Related ebooks

Children's For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for Kira-Kira

Rating: 3.825284184659091 out of 5 stars
4/5

704 ratings60 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The Takeshima's are a Japanese-American family that lived in Iowa, then move to Georgia. The parents work incredible hours to provide for their children: Lynn, Katie and Sammy. All three siblings are close, but the girls have a very special relationship. Katie narrates the story of the lessons learned from her family. Those lessons become invaluable when tragedy strikes them.The gold sticker indicating that this was a Newbery Medal Book caught my eye, so I brought it home not knowing anything about it. I've seen reviews but haven't read them - maybe I should have, because unfortunately, I really didn't care for it all that much. The narration and characters were fine, but the whole story line was drab and on this rainy day I didn't feel like listening to gloomy text. (2.75/5)Originally posted on: Thoughts of Joy
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Kira-kira is about a poor family that has to move. They are Japanese and have to go to an internment camp. Kira-Kira is invisible because she is a person of color. Her little sister, Lynn, has lymphoma and her parents work hard to earn money for Lynn's treatments. Kira-kira is always sad. She rarely sees her parent and she is rarely seen by the world. Just when you think that her life can't be any sadder, her brother's foot gets caught in a trap and he can no longer walk properly. Then her sister dies. Somehow though even after all of the hardships and sadness Kira-Kira triumphs.This is a wonderfully written very realistic feeling book. Although it was very sad, I liked it because is reminds you to be a good person. Every one you meet has a story that you know nothing about so be compassionate. It also is a good reminder that you are the only person that can make you happy. Even though Kira-kira has all of these reasons to be miserable, she finds a way to be happy. It is also a good reminder that everyone matters. Kira-kira was invisible to her community because she was a person of color and she felt that if no one saw her she must not matter but she learned that everyone matters and that no one should be ignored.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Spoiler alert. A touching book told from the viewpoint of a young Japanese American girl. Loved the voice. While students younger than grade 6 might enjoy it, keep in mind that the older sister dies of lymphoma, so it's best for more mature readers.From the book: Tonight I was supposed to write a book report on The Call of the Wild. It was my most favorite book I ever read, so I thought the report would be easy. The question we were supposed to answer in our report was: What is the theme of The Call of the Wild? What was the theme? I could never figure out exactly what "theme" meant.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Billed as YA, but it's really a children's (MG) novel. Sad content but accessible writing for that age group.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Starts slow, but moves into a heart felt story of two sisters who are Japanese Americans and the hardships of growing up in Georgia in the 60's not being white. They weren't black or "colored" but weren't white and didn't exactly know what people thought of them and their family. When Lynn gets sick the story of two sisters who are very close becomes one of tears, joy, and love.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Narrator Katie idolized her older sister, Lynn. Her story covers several years in the life of her family, Japanese Americans, trying to get by in Georgia during the 1950s. Life is difficult for them at its best. But then Lynn becomes very sick. Their parents work harder and longer to try to keep up with the medical bills. While this is the major theme of the book, there are many many little sub-plots as well. Growing up, friendships, boys, their toddler brother getting seriously injured, union activity at their mother's factory, a peculiar uncle...Much ground is covered in a fairly short novel, and it is beautiful.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I don't know what to say about this book that won't make it seem like I'm just gushing about it because 'diversity'. This book is about a Japanese American family that tries to find success in the 1950s. Katie Takeshima narrates her life as a 11 year old and one of only 30 Japanese people in her city. Her older sister Lynn is her best friend and as they adjust to living Georgia they also gain a little brother named Samson and thick southern accent. Life goes on and Katie has to learn how to live it. A phrase that Lynn taught her kira-kira means to glimmer or sparkle helps her remember to appreciate the little things in life and be grateful that she gets to have a life.I find myself liking coming of age stories when it pertains to children rather than teenagers. I think I've finally reached that age where I don't see myself as such a young person that I can't relate to what teenagers are dealing with these days (not to mention that I never had to deal with heavy things like the hardcore party scene because I had no life) so it moves me to go back and find books that have relatable content. I'm not Japanese but I have parents that immigrated from another country in hopes of bringing up their children in a better country. I have had to balance two cultures my whole life and I still get reminders of different sayings that come from my background. The family portrayed in the book wasn't too far off from what I was used to but it's always interesting for me to compare the traits that they have in common with mine. Others may find the writing too simple but honestly I'd rather get straight to the point than fluff that doesn't move the story along or teach me anything about a character's traits other than the color on her nail polish. And when the color of a nail polish was mentioned it had everything to do with the situation Katie and Lynn were in. The sparkle of the moment was that pink nail polish. It's little moments that really get to me. And it also helps that I liked every character and those that I wasn't supposed to like or really hate all that much weren't just throwaways either. This was plain satisfying.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The 2005 Newbery Medal Winner. This is a story of a Chinese American family living in Georgia in the 1950's. A heartbreaking struggle of an immigrant family's struggles in the "land of opportunity."
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Characters: Katie, Lynn, Sammy, Uncle Katsuhisa, the parentsSetting: 1950s in Iowa, and later in GeorgiaTheme: Family, death, sisterhood, discrimination, friendship, adolescence, coming of ageSummary: Lynn is Katie's sister older by 4 years who taught her that everyday occurrences are kira-kira (glittering in Japanese) and magic. Katie looks up to Lynn as the smartest and the wisest sister. Their parents' oriental supermarket in Iowa goes out of business and the family moves to Georgia where their father's older brother, uncle Katsuhisa, and his family live. In Georgia, where the population of Japanese is relatively small, the girls are not welcomed at school or in the community. When Lynn becomes ill with lymphoma, her family moves into a new house with their younger brother, Sammy, who was born after they moved to Georgia. When Lynn dies, her death brings changes in the family. Katie, who rarely achieved higher than C at school, strives for a better grade and voluntarily does house chores. Their mom, who only had a heart for her own family, starts to share her concern with those who are suffering grief. For the family's winter vacation, they visit the beach in California, Lynn's dream place, where the waves deliver Lynn's voice saying kira-kira to Katie, who gently savors it.Review: The girls' parents reminded me of my parents and typical Asian parents for that matter. Their parents are extremely hard working who work and sacrifice day and night for family. The mom stinks of pee from wearing a pad (no bathroom breaks while working) and the dad works 90 hours a week and wrecks the boss's car in the middle of the night for injuring his little boy's ankle. It amazes me how much they go through for a family and do so as a matter of course. I enjoyed witnessing the transformation of the relationship between the girls; they started as best friends in the early age and as Lynn grew and matured, she saw her once best friend sister as a baby. But looking at her as a baby or not, not once did Lynn not hold Katie dear to her heart. It was clear that death did not part them and it never will.Curriculum ties: Health (death, coping with death of family member), social studies (historical background, discrimination), Geography (Iowa, Georgia, California, each state's characteristic, weather, culture)Award: Newbery Medal
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book was amazing from the stories to the characters. The closeness of the family relationships and how it gave a clear view of what the Asian American family had to go through during a high time of racism in America. This book is about how kids change so suddenly. If you've ever felt like you were different from everyone else or if you've had close ties with your sisters, you would love this book. Also, I thought this book was really funny. The characters were so much like people that I knew. PS - someone below me wrote a review that they were Chinese American, and honestly, no offense to the Chinese, but how can you clearly get that one SO wrong? The book is called KIRAKIRA and there are so many Japanese references in the book. Plus, the setting was post WWII. If you read the book, you'd understand how much that bothers me. It seems like they copied and pasted a fake review.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    In this endearing book, the Takeshima family moves to Georgia so that Katie's parents can work in the chicken factory. There, young Katie learns about Southern racism and the practically-slave-labor conditions of factory workers. But when Katie's older sister Lynn becomes sick, Katie learns the hardest lesson of all...This is a sweet story - and pretty typical for Newbery winners. (Newbery judges certainly like bereavement, racism, and Southern settings!) The character in the book ranges from about 5-7, I'd say, but I think the subject and reading level is more appropriate for a 10-12 year old.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I'm not sure what to think about this book. There are hopeful messages in the book - the title itself is suggestive of the theme of finding the world glorious. And yet there is something unremittingly depressing about many aspects of the story - the pervasive prejudice that Katie and her family endure - the grinding work conditions her parents experience - the hopelessness of Lynn's illness. But there is dignity too - Katie's father doesn't allow his grief to change his essential nature or to make him give up his integrity.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Inspirational, moving, heart wrenching, and well written. Book about human struggle, human sacrafice, about change, about family, death, and life. Book about having hopes and dreams for the future. The book does tell a good story but it is somber. I believe that the story is accurate and authentic as possible, a Japanese American family moving to Georgia in the 1950s dealing with diversity and discrimination. The working conditions in the poultry plants from what I know is spot on, horrid conditions, long hours, and low pay. I do think the story does accuraetly depict and reflect the values and norms of the culture (Japanese culture...education is a prority, values, family is important, etc...). I do believe the background details are spot on, southern wealthy poultry plant owners exploiting human labor for near to no cost, white vs non-white. The themes that are presented in this story do stand up to today's time. I do not believe that the author is using stereotyping but bringing attention issues in diversity and racism. Ages 10-14
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Lyrical, interesting, but ultimately depressing. Why are the Newbery winners so sad? This one's about a Japanese-American girl growing up in the South. There's an undercurrent of prejudice and poverty, if the sickness and death doesn't make you melancholy enough. Ultimately transcendent, but be warned.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I'm a big fan of Newbery winners - I don't think I've read a dud yet. Kira-Kira (which means glittering in Japanese) shines as one of the best. Set in the 1950's, the book follows the Japanese American Takeshima family from Iowa to Georgia where the parents work long grueling hours processing poultry. Although the family faces many obstacles from the struggle of making ends meet to racial discrimination in the Deep South, life is fine for the Takeshima's until the oldest child, Lynn, becomes ill. The story is told by Katie, the younger daughter, who adds humor and innocence to this touching story. The narrator - Elaina Erika Davis was perfect - she handled the various ages of the characters as well as the challenge of Southern and Japanese accents beautifully. 5 Kira-Kira stars.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I found the book easy to become involved in. The character of Katie is presented in a way that makes her very relate-able. The love for her sister and anger at her loss is incredibly moving and I was actually brought to tears at the ending.This book might be used in a curriculum dealing with themes of love and loss or as an example of a first-person narrative story. It would be most appropriate for middle-school readers given the reading-level and emotionally difficult theme.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This book is really sad. I felt bad for Katie when she was yelling at Lynn because Lynn wanting milk then water then milk again. I'm don't say I blame her because Lynn was being whinny. My favorite part of the book is when Katie gives her speech at Lynn's funeral. It was short and sweet. I laughed when she kept thinking " Where are my notecards?".
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Oh, do you ever wish a book could just go on? Kira-kira is such a beautiful piece of writing that the story has stayed with me since I finished it two days ago. It's one of those books that makes you feel like nothing you read after that will compare. The richness of the characters is what drives this story, and by the end of the book I felt as if I knew each and every one of them.This is the story of a Japanese-American family named Takeshima. Katie, the middle child, is the narrator of their story. She is very close to her siblings, Lynn and Sammy, and their lives revolve around each other. When Katie is a very small child, Lynn teaches her the title word, Kira-Kira, which is the Japanese word for glittery or shiny. It is ironic that kira-kira becomes an important word between the girls, because their lives would not appear to be kira-kira to the outside world. Their parents, in an effort to accomplish their dream to own their own home, move the family to Georgia so that they can work in a poultry factory. As they are working themselves into exhaustion, the children are constant and loving companions to each other. As the kids assimilate into school life in Georgia, where the local people are less than welcoming, they remain each other's best friends. Together they play, talk, support each other, and dream of what life will be in the future. They create a sense of happiness and brightness around themselves.When their parents dream of owning their own home comes to fruition, the Takeshima family is very proud and they are all convinced that their lives will be forever good. But the joy of owning a piece of the American dream is soon destroyed by Lynn's growing health problems. As Lynn's kira-kira diminishes, the reader is left with a heavy heart for Katie and her family.Kira-kira is a beautiful story about spirit and strength. Kadohata's writing flows like a mountain stream, taking the reader with her. It's quietly dramatic, yet completely engaging. The story takes place over years, and the characters develop and change in obvious and subtle ways, just like children do in real life. Katie is not a magnificent, larger-than-life character in the way, say, Harry Potter is. She's a normal little girl, sometimes struggling in school, sometimes trying to find her way in a world that is familiar yet foreign to her. Even though life deals her some difficult cards, Katie is always guided by the love of her family. The reader can take comfort knowing that wherever Katie goes, the sweetness of her personality and love in her heart will always keep the kira-kira surrounding her.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The author captures so well the struggle a family goes through when someone has a long-term illness and eventually dies. She describes well conflicting emotions (guilt, anger, sorrow, and happiness) one experiences when grieving the loss of a loved one and how confusing it must be for a person around 10 years old. A bittersweet story of hope, love, and resilience.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Summary: Katie moves with her family to a town in Georgia after the families oriental grocery goes out of business. When they arrive, Katie and her older sister Lynn, find out first hand about racism and that because they are different they are not welcome in their school and community. Lynn dies of lymphoma and something changes in Katie. She tries harder in school and her mother, who concerned herself mostly with her own family, begins to concern herself with other families that are dealing with their own grief. Personal Reaction: This is probably one of my favorite stories. The parents were incredibly hard working, making sure they could provide for their children and the sisters seemed to have a really close bond. This is another story that a student who recently lost a sibling or family member could read and easily relate to. Classroom Extension:1) Create a history lesson about the south and racism.2) Use this story as part of a multicultural lesson.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I read this and then offered it to my 12 year-old grand daughter to read. Since the book is for children from 10-14, I'll wait to hear what she says about it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a 2005 Newberry Medal winner and the first book written by the author. As I turned the pages, I was aware that it would end and I wanted it to go on and on. A big thanks to Molly 4407 for recommending this one.Set in the 1950's and 60's in Georgia, told from the voice of Katie, the middle child. One Japanese-American family of only a few in the rural south, Katie's family learns of deep seated prejudice and poverty that grinds the soul.Eeking out a living, the very proud Takeshima family literally work day and night to own a small home. While temporarily happy in their hard-earned accomplishment, their joy is soon overshadowed by the serious illness of their oldest child.Kadohata's abiding theme of this wonderful book is the love Katie shares with her older sister and her family. Lynn is the mentor of Katie, the one who taught her to look at life through the words "kira-kira", meaning glittering, sparkly.As Lynn's life ebbs away, through grief and pain, the lessons taught to Katie by her sister and family shine through.I'm frustrated in writing this review because the book that is so stunningly special that words are elusive.Simply stated: This is a MUST read.There are not enough (Kira-Kira) sparkling stars or words to describe it.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Somehow, this book is a bit too much like it really was written by a twelve-year-old. It just didn't seem to go anywhere, and the big climax comes too sudden. You do learn quite a bit about how life used to be for Japenese Americans, though. And if you are still close to her age the writing style might actually help identification.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    personal response: This was a nice read. I especially enjoyed the descriptive language such as the descriptions of the Georgia environment, like the lonely roads and the murky swamps. "The road was empty, like so many roads we had driven on in my life". I am not sure if this story reflects stories from her grandparents or relatives or personal experience, but the words read like the author is writing from a culturally authentic standpoint that is thought-provoking and emotionally charged. Grades 8 - 12curricular connections:great story for classroom discussionDiscussion of World War 2 and post-world war 2 prejudice.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    As children, Katie follows her big sister out into the empty Iowa road and together they lay staring up at the stars, saying "kira-kira". "Kira-kira" means "glittering" in Japanese, and there is a sense of the wonderment or the glittering in the way big sister Lynne see the world. When the family moves out of Iowa and to a small town in Georgia (with a small community of Japanese), where the parents can work in chicken production plants, life gets difficult. The family is struggling to keep up with the bills and the parents work long hours. Things become even more difficult when Lynne becomes I'll and Katie and her family have a hard time seeing the glittering of life. This is a short, but beautiful tale about family, with culture as an integral part of the storytelling. Told from Katie's point of view, the voice is well done and the portrait of the family feels full. A terribly sad, but lovely story.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    i would recomend this book to anyone looking for a heartfelt story
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Kira-Kira was a very good book but also it was really sad. Lynn and Katie are the main characters, they are sisters. The book follows them thoughout there life from the ages of about 6 to 13. They are best friends. But as they start to grow up and move to a town they grow apart and aren't as close. Then at the end Lynn dies and it was so sad because katie just can't believe that her older sister dies
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Written as if written by a child. Makes it hard to empathize with the events, because the words are so simplistic. Not my favorite Newbery.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    One of my friends who is an English professor at SMU recommended Kira-Kira to me. I picked it up on the faith of her recommendation and am so glad I did. It is a brilliant story of a first-generation Japanese-American girl, Katie, living with her family in rural Georgia in the 1950s. It is a hard story, but is somewhat refreshing with Katie's perfect descriptions of what she is seeing around her.The target audience for Kira-Kira is much younger than me, but I felt that nothing was lost having read it at 31. Katie pulled me into her point of view and it did not matter that I am probably closer in age to her parents. It brought me to tears, but also let me be ok with the way things are, just as Katie learned to be. I highly recommend this book to pretty much anyone. Beautifully written, rich characters, and a storyline worth hearing.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book was pretty good, it had avery touching storyline. It really made me realized how lucky I really am.

Book preview

Kira-Kira - Cynthia Kadohata

chapter 1

MY SISTER, LYNN, taught me my first word: kira-kira. I pronounced it ka-a-ahhh, but she knew what I meant. Kira-kira means glittering in Japanese. Lynn told me that when I was a baby, she used to take me onto our empty road at night, where we would lie on our backs and look at the stars while she said over and over, "Katie, say ‘kira-kira, kira-kira.’" I loved that word! When I grew older, I used kira-kira to describe everything I liked: the beautiful blue sky; puppies; kittens; butterflies; colored Kleenex.

My mother said we were misusing the word; you could not call a Kleenex kira-kira. She was dismayed over how un-Japanese we were and vowed to send us to Japan one day. I didn’t care where she sent me, so long as Lynn came along.

I was born in Iowa in 1951. I know a lot about when I was a little girl, because my sister used to keep a diary. Today I keep her diary in a drawer next to my bed.

I like to see how her memories were the same as mine, but also different. For instance, one of my earliest memories is the day Lynn saved my life. I was almost five, and she was almost nine. We were playing on the empty road near our house. Fields of tall corn stretched into the distance wherever you looked. A dirty gray dog ran out of the field near us, and then he ran back in. Lynn loved animals. Her long black hair disappeared into the corn as she chased the dog. The summer sky was clear and blue. I felt a brief fear as Lynn disappeared into the cornstalks. When she wasn’t in school, she stayed with me constantly. Both our parents worked. Officially, I stayed all day with a lady from down the road, but unofficially, Lynn was the one who took care of me.

After Lynn ran into the field, I couldn’t see anything but corn.

Lynnie! I shouted. We weren’t that far from our house, but I felt scared. I burst into tears.

Somehow or other, Lynn got behind me and said, Boo! and I cried some more. She just laughed and hugged me and said, You’re the best little sister in the world! I liked it when she said that, so I stopped crying.

The dog ran off. We lay on our backs in the middle of the road and stared at the blue sky. Some days nobody at all drove down our little road. We could have lain on our backs all day and never got hit.

Lynn said, The blue of the sky is one of the most special colors in the world, because the color is deep but see-through both at the same time. What did I just say?

The sky is special.

The ocean is like that too, and people’s eyes.

She turned her head toward me and waited. I said, The ocean and people’s eyes are special too.

That’s how I learned about eyes, sky, and ocean: the three special, deep, colored, see-through things. I turned to Lynnie. Her eyes were deep and black, like mine.

The dog burst from the field suddenly, growling and snarling. Its teeth were long and yellow. We screamed and jumped up. The dog grabbed at my pants. As I pulled away, the dog ripped my pants and his cold teeth touched my skin. Aaahhhhh! I screamed.

Lynn pulled at the dog’s tail and shouted at me, Run, Katie, run! I ran, hearing the dog growling and Lynnie grunting. When I got to the house, I turned around and saw the dog tearing at Lynn’s pants as she huddled over into a ball. I ran inside and looked for a weapon. I couldn’t think straight. I got a milk bottle out of the fridge and ran toward Lynn and threw the bottle at the dog. The bottle missed the dog and broke on the street. The dog rushed to lap up the milk.

Lynn and I ran toward the house, but she stopped on the porch. I pulled at her. Come on!

She looked worried. He’s going to cut his tongue on the glass.

Who cares?

But she got the water hose and chased the dog away with the water, so it wouldn’t hurt its tongue. That’s the way Lynn was. Even if you tried to kill her and bite off her leg, she still forgave you.

This is what Lynn said in her diary from that day:

The corn was so pretty. When it was all around me, I felt like I wanted to stay there forever. Then I heard Katie crying, and I ran out as fast as I could. I was so scared. I thought something had happened to her!

Later, when the dog attacked me, Katie saved my life.

I didn’t really see things that way. If she hadn’t saved my life first, I wouldn’t have been able to save her life. So, really, she’s the one who saved a life.

Lynn was the bravest girl in the world. She was also a genius. I knew this because one day I asked her, Are you a genius? And she said, Yes. I believed her because the day my father taught her how to play chess, she won her first game. She said she would teach me how to play if I wanted. She always said she would teach me everything in the world I needed to know. She said we would be rich someday and buy our parents seven houses. But first they would buy a house for all of us. That wonderful day was not far off. I found this out one afternoon when Lynn pulled me into the kitchen, her eyes shining. I have to show you something, she said.

She reached under the refrigerator and pulled out a tray. A worn envelope sat inside. She opened the envelope up and showed me what was inside: cash.

Is that real? I said.

Uh-huh. It belongs to Mom and Dad. It’s for our house we’re going to buy.

We lived in a little rented house in Iowa. I liked our little rented house, but Lynn always told me I would love our very own house. Then we could get a dog, a cat, and a parakeet.

Lynn looked at me expectantly. I said, Doesn’t money belong in a bank?

They don’t trust the bank. Do you want to count it?

She handed me the envelope, and I took the money in my hands. It felt damp and cool. One, two, three . . . I counted to eleven. Eleven hundred-dollar bills. I wasn’t sure what to think. I found a dollar once in a parking lot. I bought a lot of stuff with that. With eleven hundred dollars, it seemed you could buy anything. I hope our house is painted sky blue, I said.

It will be. She put the money back. They think it’s hidden, but I saw Mom take it out.

Our parents owned a small Oriental foods grocery store. Unfortunately, there were hardly any Oriental people in Iowa, and the store went out of business shortly after Lynn and I first counted the money under the refrigerator. My father’s brother, my uncle Katsuhisa, worked in a poultry hatchery in Georgia. He said he could get my father a job at the hatchery. And, he said, he could get my mother a job working in a poultry processing factory. A few weeks after the store went out of business, my father decided to take us down to Georgia to join the poultry industry.

So we owed Uncle Katsuhisa a big favor for helping us. Katsu means triumph in Japanese. For some reason I always thought triumph and trumpet were the same thing, and I thought of my uncle as a trumpet.

Lynn said Uncle Katsuhisa was an odd fish. He was as loud as my father was quiet. Even when he wasn’t talking, he made a lot of noise, clearing his throat and sniffing and tapping his fingers. Sometimes, for no reason that I could see, he would suddenly stand up and clap his hands together really loudly. After he got everyone’s attention, he would just sit down again. He even made noise when he was thinking. When he was deep in thought, he had a way of turning his ears inside out so they looked kind of deformed. The ears would make a popping sound when they came undone. Lynn said you could hear him thinking: Pop! Pop!

A buttonlike scar marked one side of Uncle Katsuhisa’s nose. The story was that when he was a boy in Japan, he was attacked by giant crows, one of which tried to steal his nose. He, my father, and my mother were Kibei, which meant they were born in the United States but were sent to Japan for their education. The crows of Japan are famous for being mean. Anyway, that was the story Lynn told me.

It was a sweltering day when Uncle Katsuhisa arrived in Iowa to help us move to Georgia. We all ran outside when we heard his truck on our lonely road. His truck jerked and sputtered and was generally as noisy as he was. My mother said, Will that truck make it all the way to Georgia?

My father hit his chest with his fist. That’s what he did whenever he wanted to say, Definitely! He added, He’s my brother. Our father was solid and tall, six feet, and our mother was delicate and tiny, four feet ten. As tiny as she was, she scared us when she got mad. Her soft face turned hard and glasslike, as if it could break into pieces if something hit it.

As my parents watched Uncle’s truck my father reached both of his arms around my mother, enveloping her. He stood with her like that a lot, as if protecting her.

But his being your brother has nothing to do with whether the truck will make it all the way to Georgia, my mother said.

My father said, If my brother says it will make it, then it will make it. He didn’t seem to have a doubt in the world. His brother was four years older than he was. Maybe he trusted Uncle Katsuhisa the way I trusted Lynn. Lynn whispered to me, Frankly, I wonder whether the truck will make it all the way up the road to our house, let alone to Georgia. Frankly was her favorite word that week.

Our mother looked at us suspiciously. She didn’t like it when we whispered. She thought that meant we were gossiping, and she was against gossiping. She focused on me. She was trying to read my mind. Lynn said whenever our mother did that, I should try to think nonsense words in my head. I thought to myself, Elephant, cow, moo, koo, doo. Elephant . . . My mother turned back around, to watch the truck.

When the truck finally rumbled up, Uncle Katsuhisa jumped out and immediately ran toward Lynn and me. I stepped back, but he swooped me up in his arms and shouted, My little palomino pony! That’s what you are! He twirled me around until I felt dizzy. Then he set me down and picked up Lynn and twirled her around and said, My little wolfie girl!

He set Lynn down and hugged my father hard. He hugged my mother delicately. While Uncle hugged my mother, she turned her face away a bit, as if his loudness made her feel faint.

It was hard to see how my father and Uncle Katsuhisa could be related. My father was mild, like the sea on a windless day, with an unruffled surface and little variation. He was as hard as the wall in our bedroom. Just to prove how strong he was, he used to let us hit him in the stomach as hard as we could. Some days we would sneak up on him and punch him in the stomach, and he never even noticed. We would sneak away while he kept listening to the radio as if nothing had happened.

My father liked to think. Sometimes Lynn and I would peek at him as he sat at the kitchen table, thinking. His hands would be folded on the table, and he would be frowning at nothing. Sometimes he would nod, but only slightly. I knew I would never be a thinker like my father, because I couldn’t sit that still. Lynn said he thought so much that sometimes weeks or even months passed before he made a decision. Once he decided something, though, he never changed his mind. He’d thought many weeks before deciding to move us to Georgia. By the time he decided, there was only six hundred dollars in cash left in the envelope under the refrigerator.

The night Uncle Katsuhisa arrived in Iowa, he left the dinner table early so he could go out and take a walk and maybe talk to himself. After the front door closed, my mother said that Uncle Katsuhisa was the opposite of my father in that he didn’t look before he leapt, didn’t think at all before he made decisions. She lowered her voice and said, "That’s why he

Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1