Atheneum Books for Young Readers
New York - (c)2004 - 244 pp
ISBN: 0-689-85639-3
2004 Newbery Medal Winner
A young, Japanese girl faces racism, death, family pride, and unionization for workers in the Midwest and South in the late 1950's.
I am disappointed that this novel was chosen for the Newbery Medal Award. While not a bad book, by any means, I didn't feel that this story every struck any particularly strong chords or said anyting in a new and creative way. It seemed all too obvious that the sister was going to die, very early in the book. It also seemed too obvious that the parents were likely to vote for the union despite their talk against it.
The only thing that made this story slightly unique was that it was a Japanese family working in the Midwest and deep South. Otherwise, I didn
t feel there were any fresh angles for this kind of story.
A disappointing choice for medal winner, and not likely a book that I will go about recommending.
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