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Gr 7 Up—Emma, a 15-year-old American raised in Japan, feels adrift when she is transplanted to her grandmother's home in Massachusetts so her mother can undergo breast-cancer treatment. Though she is not Asian, she considers Japan her home. But to her surprise, she starts putting down roots in her new home by volunteering at a long-term care center and navigating a tentative relationship with another volunteer, a Cambodian American boy named Samnang. Emma's story weaves together a variety of disparate topics, including reverse culture sh...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

In this verse novel set just after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, Emma, an American raised in Japan, and her family temporarily relocate to Massachusetts for her mother's cancer treatment. Emma is heartbroken to leave Japan, especially in its current state of crisis, and feels disoriented and lonely in America, where "the language outside / isn't the language inside." Emma finds some stability in her volunteer work at a long-term ...Log In or Sign Up to Read More