Set a year before the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, this book follows Yuriko, a twelve year old Japanese girl. Yuriko seems much like any other twelve year old. She worries about her widowed father, grumbles about her controlling Aunt and avoids her annoying little cousin.

After hearing the author speak, I rushed out and bought this book. I was not disappointed. The book was extremely well written, and presents a point of view that is rarely heard from. I would love to read a sequel to this book, and look forward to reading more from this author. ( )

Thank you to the @kidlitexchange network for providing this book for review.

Yuriko is a twelve-year-old girl living in Hiroshima. She lives with her Papa and has a happy, well-to-do, life. But things begin to change for Yuriko. Not only does Yuriko notice those who leave to fight in WWII stop coming home, her family has change coming too. Her Papa and Aunt Kimiko are getting married. All of who will live with Yuriko and Papa. Just as Yuriko starts to get used to the daily air raids and the family changes, she learns of a shocking family secret.

I love that, as a reader, I got to learn about the Japanese culture and life as an adolescent during WWII. Experiencing the Hiroshima bombing through Yuriko's eyes was heart-wrenching, but important. Author, Kathleen Burkinshaw, draws you into Yuriko's world, keeping you there long after you put the book down. This book is a must-have for every school/classroom library. ( )

This middle school historical novel is set during a short span at the end of World War II. The story is generally based upon the author’s mother’s firsthand experiences of World War II in Japan and surviving the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The story is told from the point of a twelve year old, which was the age of Mrs. Burkinshaw’s mother on August 6, 1945, when the atomic bomb exploded on Hiroshima.

Young Yuriko Ishikawa was most content with life in Hiroshima with Papa. Then Aunt Kimiko and little cousin Genji came to live with them. To further complicate the peaceful life of Yuriko, the aunt and her Papa have a double wedding, bringing two more adults into the house. Noise and chaos became more the norm for Yuriko which made her far less comfortable in her own home.

The ways of war were also significantly spread into all areas of Yuriko’s life. The sirens of air-raids, preparation through drills, and the sound of American B-29s flying overhead were a continual kind of noise pollution to her. The Japanese people were kept in the dark about how their country stood in the war, especially when it came to losses versus victories. Despite the necessity of participating in the war effort, Yuriko and her family did their best to keep some semblance of normal in their lives, such as celebrating Oshagatsu (New Year’s) and the Cherry Blossom Festival.

Yuriko is shattered when a family secret is revealed. As if dealing with all of that was not enough, the atomic bomb on Hiroshima devastates the family and the community. Nothing could have prepared them for the total destruction that surrounds them.

Hope does sidle alongside tragedy in this well-written novel. Kathleen Burkinshaw writes with a reverence a fictional tale of her mother’s story…the experiences of growing up in Hiroshima and surviving August 6, 1945. She was twelve years old on that day.

At each chapter, there are actual newspaper headlines, propaganda posters, and epigraphs of radio-show transcripts making the story all the more authentic. At the end, you will find a bibliography, a glossary, and statistics about Hiroshima. It dovetails exceptionally well with a middle grade(junior high) unit on Japan during World War II.

Age Range: 11 – 13 Years

Author

Kathleen Burkinshaw has been sharing her mother’s story to middle school history and language arts classes for the past six years. She has been carrying her mother’s story her entire life and feels very honored to share it with the world. She and her family visited Hiroshima in recent years and shares that experience in her presentations to classes. Another part of the presentation includes the effects of nuclear bombs today compared to the atomic bomb in 1945. You can find information regarding all of this on the webpage for this fine debut novel…http://kathleenburkinshaw.com/

She lives in Charlotte, NC with her husband. Her daughter is away at college. Kathleen worked in HealthCare Management for more than ten years, but because of the onset of Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), she had to let that career go. Writing gives her an outlet for her daily struggle with chronic pain as well as for her love of research and writing. Her blog is @ Creating Through the Pain ( )