“My sister, Lynn, taught me my first word: kira-kira."
Katie looks to her big sister and best friend, Lynn, to make sense of the world around them. Lynn explains to Katie that there is kira-kira (“glittering”) in everything around them. Lynn encourages Katie to become a great doctor, scientist or tennis player. When the family struggles to afford a house, it is Lynn’s idea for them to stop spending their allowance on candy and secretly save it for their parents. Lynn is the kira-kira in Katie’s life.
But when Lynn becomes seriously ill, there is no longer a role model for Katie to follow and she must learn to be a big sister herself. She constantly sees the worry on her parents’ faces, and tries to be responsible and tough so her parents have one less thing to worry about. In between being a caretaker for her younger brother, Sammy, Katie struggles with schoolwork and daydreams about her imaginary future husband Joe-John Abondondalarama.
On a historical note, Kira-Kira explores the prevalence of racism in the 1950s and 60s South. There are only six Japanese-American families in their Georgia town. Lynn points out to the unaware Katie that she may not have many friends when she enters first grade because they are Asian-American. The conditions of lower-class factory workers are also described in detail.
My first impression of Kadohata’s novel is that it seemed too young for the tween set. We are introduced to the main character before she is even five, and tween readers may initially have trouble relating to Katie. However, throughout the course of the novel, Katie develops into a very mature and admirable young woman. Kira-Kira is a beautifully written glimpse into one family’s life through the eyes of their middle daughter.
Kadohata, C. (2004). Kira-Kira. Atheneum Books: New York, NY. ISBN 06985639-3
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