review 1: Orchards by Holly Thompson. Kana which is half japanese and half Jewish American went to japan to spend time with the family over summer. After her classmate commits suicide she wonders what lead her to this. Her friends and her have been saying rude things to this girl. Her parents realize how bad her attitude has been the past couple weeks. They send her to her grandparents to work in the hot burning sun to think how she has been. Kana always think it is hard to fit in since her grandmother hasn't liked her father since day one. But since summer has been going by she realizes how much she feels bad for her culture. The social issue in this book is bullying, suicide and school problems. This book is written how Kana sees everything. She is the big bully in the story. My f... moreavorite quote or saying in this story is “I sit there stunned so used to no one around me talking about you and then I have to stand and turn the face the cliff and its eroded contours because I am crying.” Kana may not feel bad, but she does and she did not realize that she did this and she did not know how she made that girl feel. review 2: I picked this up to read for national poetry month. It is always interesting to read a story told through poetry. I appreciated all of the Japanese culture woven through the story of a 1/2 Japanese 1/2 Jewish American girl sent to live with her grandmother in japan for the summer after the suicide of a bipolar classmate. The story deals with a lot of emotions and topics. My favorite part of the story hands down was the story of how her parents got together...it was the lox. I think a lot of couples have stories like that. :) less
