Hiroshima Dreams

Children's Literature - Phyllis Kennemer

Lin is five years old when her grandmother comes from Japan to live with them in Rhode Island. She and Obaachan establish a special relationship based in part on Obaachan's recognition and nurturing of psychic abilities that the two share in common. Obaachan teaches Lin how to meditate and helps her appreciate subtle joys in life that might otherwise be overlooked. Shy little Lin blossoms into a talented, self-reliant teenager throughout the course of the story. She learns about her Japanese heritage on her mother's side as she begins to understand the tragedy in Hiroshima which killed Obaachan's mother and has caused her own health to slowly deteriorate due to leukemia. Lin's good natured Irish father is always optimistic and happy. Each of the well-developed characters contributes to Lin's maturity and growth. Her older sister teases her about being so quiet and about her cello playing in the beginning, but they develop a friendship by the end. This is a lovely coming-of-age story, filled with poignant images that will remain with the reader long after the book has been completed. Reviewer: Phyllis Kennemer, Ph.D.

School Library Journal

Gr 6 Up
Lin is five years old when her grandmother arrives from Japan. She feels an immediate kinship with Obaachan, who teaches her to meditate and shares stories of her former life. They also share the gift of vision, or second sight. Lin is a musical prodigy; aware of her otherness, she struggles to find her voice. Unlike her mother and older sister, Sally, who embrace American culture, Lin is drawn to her Japanese heritage. Her story spans 11 years, as she discovers her strengths and overcomes her shyness. After she hears her grandmother's horrific story of surviving the atomic bomb, Lin is troubled by images of Hiroshima, and this is later linked to September 11 and its aftermath. Easton's prose throughout is heartfelt and insightful, but, ultimately, Lin's development follows a familiar path. Secondary characters are interesting if somewhat one-dimensional, and some incidents seem gratuitous, such as when Lin uses her second sight to help police locate a missing boy. These flaws notwithstanding, this pensive coming-of-age novel may hold appeal for readers who appreciate a sensitive, character-driven story.
—Marilyn TaniguchiCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Lin is extraordinarily shy but forms a bond with Obaachan, her Japanese grandmother, who comes to live with Lin's multi-racial family in New England. In three parts, Lin's first-person narration spans kindergarten to fifth grade to high school, steeping the reader in Lin's present and subtly drawing out the details of her family and school life: finally making friends, sharing a room with her extroverted older sister, observing the strained relationship between her mother and Obaachan. Lin's bond with Obaachan centers around the two's "special sight," which is handled very naturally, without sensationalizing. Underlying Lin's narrative is her curiosity about Obaachan, who was present at the bombing of Hiroshima, and who is now dying very slowly. Neither of these things is spoken of in the family, yet clearly they define everyone's relationships. Lin's observations of her family drawn between two cultures-with very different ways of seeing the world and speaking about it-has appeal for a remarkably wide range of ages, especially fans of An Na's A Step from Heaven (2001) or Cynthia Kadohata's Kira-Kira (2004). (Fiction. 9-16)