Kira Kira

I know this book won a medal for excellence but, I'm sorry, I just don't see it that way. I find the book is one of the most boring young adult novels I have read. It's painfully obvious right from the earliest part of the novel that the story will concern Lynn's death. There is no surprise in the book. The reader just treads through the novel knowing what the end will be; the only thing to do is see how the people in the story react to Lynn's death.

Katie, the main teller of the novel, is a fairly interesting character. Her Uncle Katsuhisa is also somewhat interesting. Some of the most interesting material, however, has nothing to do with the story.

On the 30th page there is some material about the Ainu, the original inhabitants of Japan, and how they called themselves the Sky People, believing that their ancestors came from the sky. There's some other material on the Ainu that is equally informative. Then, a few pages later, there's a brief insight into prejudice against Blacks in the south during the 50's, when the story takes place.

Outside of that, though, the story just doesn't seem to stand out from any other story about people's daily lives, even with most of the story revolving around Lynn's illness. The author's second book, Wildflower, was much better.

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