Kira-Kira
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| Author | Cynthia Kadohata |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Atheneum Books |
| Released | 2004 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 244 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-689-85639-3 |
Kira-Kira is a young adult novel by Cynthia Kadohata. It won the Newbery Medal for children's literature in 2005. The book's plot is about a Japanese-American family living in Georgia. The main character and narrator of the story is a girl named Katie, a member of the Japanese-American family. "kira-kira" means sparkling or glittering.
[edit] Plot
At the start of the novel, Katie, her older sister Lynn (whom she calls Lynnie), and their parents are living in Iowa and own an Oriental foods store. When the store is shut down, the family moves to an apartment home in Georgia where Katie's parents can work at a hatchery with six other Japanese families. Lynnie is Katie's best friend who was known for being remarkably intelligent, being able to beat her Uncle Katsuhisa at chess.
As the plot progresses, Katie enters school, earning C's throughout (which supposedly stand for consistency). A new member of their family, Katie and Lynn's little brother Sammy, is introduced, and Lynn earns a new best friend from her beauty, popular girly-girl Amber, and a boyfriend, Gregg.
In between, Lynn becomes sick with anemia. Amber (who was phony anyway) dumps her as a friend, which causes the family to take out a loan and buy the sky blue, long-wanted house Lynn desired. The house seemed to be curing Lynn, until Sammy gets caught in a metal animal trap on Mr. Lyndon's (owner of the hatchery) vast property during a picnic one day, distressing her.
Lynn slowly progresses to become blank and irritable. It turns out that she also has lymphoma, in which Katie finds out Lynn could die.
The year Katie is eleven, Lynn dies, alone, when Katie goes outside for a break shortly after caring for her. spoiler-end
[edit] Setting
Although the setting is not directly revealed, the novel is believed to take place in Gainsville, Georgia and Iowa, since Lynn's parents work at a processing plant. Gainsville is widely regarded as the chicken capital of the world.
[edit] Major Themes
A theme in the story is a lesson that the parents taught Katie and Lynn. Hitting someone was the worst thing someone could do, stealing was the second, and lying was the third. Katie then states that, before she turns twelve, she would have committed all three crimes.
| Preceded by The Tale of Despereaux |
Newbery Medal recipient 2005 |
Succeeded by Criss Cross |
