|
Kadohata, Cynthia. 2004. KIRA-KIRA. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 0689856393.
Told with humor and honesty, KIRA-KIRA is narrated by Katie Takeshima and tells the story of one Japanese-American family's
experiences in the fifties and sixties. The novel shares the family's experiences with poverty, prejudice, illness, and death
as Katie's older sister is diagnosed with a terminal illness and slowly deteriorates before her family's eyes. It is both
painfully poignant and honest and at times laugh out loud funny. The strength of Kira-Kira is the growth of the narrator Katie
who ages from four to twelve during the course of the novel. As Katie experiences life's harshness from prejudice to poverty
to being the victim of school bullies and teasing, her narrative changes. Her relationship with her sister also changes over
time. As a child, she absolutely idolized her sister. She literally believed every word her sister told her. As the sisters
grow up, however, Katie learns that things can't stay the same. Suddenly, her sister becomes more interested in spending time
with friends her own age and even more shocking to Katie boys. Her sister no longer has time to play games with her; her interests
have changed. It is about this time in her life, that Lynn becomes sick and slowly weakens and dies. Her sister's death leaves
a hole in her life and Katie is unsure of how to cope with all the changes and losses in her life. The novel is one of strength
and hope despite its sadness.
|
