Book One

Hiroshima Dreams, by Kelly Easton

Hiroshima Dreams is a coming of age novel about a girl with a sixth sense for seeing events of the future. However, more than that, this book is about a girl’s blooming relationship with her grandmother. By integrating some Japanese words, discussing traditions, and painting a strong picture of the relationships between mother, daughter, and grandmother, this novel does an excellent job portraying Japanese culture and intergenerational relationships. Lin’s grandmother, Obaasan, comes to America when Lin is in kindergarten. Obaasan and Lin share a special gift of second sight and it is not long before Obaasan becomes Lin’s best friend and mentor. Obaasan exposes Lin to the Japanese culture, a culture Lin’s mother chose to leave behind when she came to America as a young woman. Kelly Easton portrays the Japanese culture in a very realistic way, discussing the bombing of Hiroshima, the power of meditation, family and religion. The reader really gets a feel for how difficult it is to be Asian and living in the United States through Lin’s struggle to conform to “what society expects of her” versus what her culture expects of her, but the concept isn’t beaten over the reader’s head because the story is about so much more than the Japanese culture. The book spans from when Lin was five to when she is a teenager, covering events such as September 11th to her grandmother’s death. At times it may seem like the author did not dedicate enough time to each of these big events, but overall the book still sends many messages to the reader and is hard to put down. The many strong themes of the novel, such as being shy, learning to be confident, being lonely, left out, losing a loved one, or the theme of growing up really become apparent to the reader through the emotion they evoke in you as you read. Every reader is sure to relate in some way to this novel, which makes it an excellent read. Kelly Easton’s insider experiences allows readers, whether they be an insider or an outsider, to experience the pain and eventual triumph of a young Japanese girl growing up in a confusing culture.

Easton, Kelly. Hiroshima Dreams. United States: Dutton Children's Books, 2007. Print.