Marilyn HiltonRecensioni

This novel in verse is historical fiction, set in the year 1969 in sleepy, predominantly white Vermont. Mimi is a teenage girl whose father is Black and mother is Japanese-American. In her new town, her mixed race family is all the people seem to see, rather than getting to know Mimi herself, and her dreams of being an astronaut. When she is dismissed and discriminated against, Mimi doesn't back down, staying true to her dreams even when teachers don't believe in her.

I really liked this book because it shows a character facing adversity in many areas without feeling hokey or forced. None of the bullying or prejudice is so bad it's unbelievable, and the subtlety is realistic while still getting the point across. The main character is also a great representative of women who desire to go into STEM. Even though the book is set in 1969, many women still face difficulty and discrimination in the sciences.

Mimi is half Black, half Japanese, and all herself, but that isn't so easy for the people in small town Vermont to understand. Mimi misses her old home and her cousins and friends back in Berkeley, California, but in January, 1969, she bundles up against the cold to be the new kid in seventh grade. Mimi wants to be an astronaut, and doesn't understand why girls can't take shop (or why boys can't take home ec, for that matter). She makes friends with her classmate Stacy, who's from Georgia, and her next door neighbor's nephew, Timothy, whose brother has just enlisted. Mimi is perfectly herself, and she inspires incremental change in those around her, from her English teacher to her grouchy neighbor to the school principal.

Back matter includes a glossary of Japanese words.

See also: Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai, Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park, They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly

Quotes

Thursday is the only day that doesn't have a personality,
so today it borrowed Saturday's. (22)

It was like we were all in the Other check box,
having in common
speaking in English,
being American,
and feeling that we didn't belong either in our
parents' worlds
or in this one. (57)

"Our dreams are a serious matter.
When you take them seriously,
everyone else does too." (Mrs. Stanton, 77)

"So, I have to know," he says,
"what are you?"
But just because he has to know
doesn't mean I have to tell him
anything. (85)

"We can't dwell on what happened
but we need to remember
so we don't do it again.
It is our history,
but we don't want it to be our future." (Papa, re: Japanese internment camps, 120)

...angry words are like minutes on the clock -
once you use them, you can't get them back. (124)

It's funny
how other people get to decide when I'm invisible
but I can't make them disappear. (185)

Maybe
I should forget
all about what I want,
and do
what other people want me to do.
...
It's the thing he wants me to do,
but
Maybe
it's not the right thing. (282-283)

"I've decided...
there are jerks and nice people everywhere.
And you just have to hope you meet fewer jerks."
Then I say, "And try not to be one." (Stacy and Mimi, 344)

I used to think the people of Vermont
were like the snow -
crusty,
chilly,
and slow to thaw.
But now I think
they're what's underneath. (370)½

1969 Vermont was mostly white and presented challenges to a half-black, half-Japanese seventh grader, but the lessons learned in this narrative help readers answer, “Who Am I?” Read how simple deeds teach volumes.

Since anecdotal evidence indicates that the Goodreads bots have a fondness for novels in verse, I want to see if they will be drawn to my status update for Full Cicada Moon. Will having text attached to this update draw more or drive them off? Time will tell.

children's fiction in verse (4th grade-8th grade); historical fiction (Vermont in late 1960s) with ethnic identity and gender role issues as perceived in the 60s--i.e., girls not being allowed to take shop and boys not being allowed to take home ec. This is one of the few books written in poetry form that I actually liked, and Mimi's voice does feel authentic for her age and time period. Lots of kids will be able to identify with her having being asked repeatedly and rudely "what are you?" and the issues (civil rights protests, japanese internment, race issues) are handled very gently.

Loved this book!

River is sad because her 18-year-old brother, Theron, left home... him angry with their parents, them angry with him. More than anything, she wishes for him to come back. In school, she is bullied by Daniel, a boy who was in Theron's car when it went off a bridge into the river. (It is plain from the outset that there is a hidden story here to be revealed later.) There is also a strange new girl at the school, Meadow Lark. She has a damaged eye, bad limp, and scars all over her stomach from "many operations" which she doesn't want to talk about. She manages to invite herself to move in with River's family for several weeks at the end of school because her father has to work "in the field." (It is plain from the outset that Meadow Lark is lying about her father, and several other things... another hidden story to be revealed later.)
There was a lot to like about this book, but it has one glaring defect: All of the secrets about Meadow Lark are never revealed at all. A major character in the book seems not to have parents, has several very odd habits, and doesn't seem completely trustworthy. I was wondering much more about what her story was going to be than I was about Theron's and River's (River's back story was easy to guess.) But Meadow Lark just leaves at the end of the book as mysteriously as she arrived. I assume the author was presenting her as an angel... for angels are discussed a number of times, but I didn't buy that. I wanted resolution with that character that was just totally absent.

Oh my. I read this book in a few hours. I loved it! A suspenseful story about a girl with many wishes, a lost brother, a new peculiar friend, hope, love, and Angels! Do you believe?

Mimi moves with her mother from Berkley, CA to Vermont to join her dad who has taken a position as a college professor. Written in poetry, this novel gets to the heart of being asked about identity and race. Often it is an intrusion. Mimi is Japanese from her mother, African-America from her father and as she says all me. She is passionate about science and space. There are issues about gender equity explored too.
It's a struggle at first, but Mimi finds her way along with some good friends.½

I read thus in less than 24 hours, so good.
This is also a 2015 middle school novel and a Newbery 2016 possible in my opinion.I think the cover is just exquisite.
Great book about acceptance and tolerance. The historical parts added so much to the story; the moon landing, Martin Luther King Jr., etc.

This beautiful book is written In free verse. The narrator is Mimi Yoshiko Oliver revealing her seventh grade year at a new school in 1969 Vermont. Mimi's family has moved from Berkley California, where her father is a professor at a small college. Mimi’s ethnicity puzzles people: on the first day of school, a classmate asks, “What are you?” a question Mimi often hears: “I am/ half my Japanese mother,/ half my Black father,/ and all me.” Her father advises, “ ‘be kind, be respectful, and persist.’/ ‘Like raindrops on granite,’ I say,/ because we know that’s how I persist—/ drip, drip, drip/ until the granite cracks.” Mimi makes friends, excels academically, and dreams of being an astronaut; however, “I feel like I have to be/ twice as smart and funny at school/ and twice as nice and forgiving in my neighborhood.” Throughout the year, Mimi confronts obstacles; when told that girls take home economics and boys take shop, she politely and repeatedly protests this rule, eventually engaging in civil disobedience. When the school suspends her for two weeks. During her absence, her classmates organize a sit-in. All the boys go to home EC and the girls to shop.

A terrific story about a multi racial girl who moves to a small town in Vermont in the 1960s. She's smart and wants to grow up to be an astronaut. The story is told in free verse which give an opportunity for lovely lyrical language and metaphors but also might make it less accessible to some kids.

The story follows young River Rose Byrne in the wake of a tragedy - her brother Theron, accused of drunk driving, has disappeared after driving his car into the river with a classmate inside. After the accident, River Rose's life is turned upside down. She now speaks with a strange accent, her mother and father are subdued and sad, and her classmates all hate her because of what her brother is accused of doing. In addition, River Rose is struggling to learn about her birth mother and why she has suddenly begun dreaming in detail about a house she feels is utterly familiar.

Then into her life enters Meadow Lark, or as her classmates call her, Frankenfemme. Meadow Lark is mysterious in every way - she is disfigured, covered in scars, with one good eye and one good leg, and brings with her from Arizona a whole new mystery. When she comes to live with River Rose, the girls are determined to solve the mysteries in River Rose's life - and to grant the wishes of the people they love.

The story is a short read for an adult, partly because it's a short book, and partly because it's a compelling read. Meadow Lark remains a mystery until the end. Filled with unreliable narrators and mystery, the big plot twist will become obvious to adult readers fairly early - but it doesn't make it any less enjoyable to read as it unfolds. Some will pick up on the undertones of religion, magic, and psychological issues that have an effect on both girls which add another layer to the story.