Somewhere Among

Finished January 28

Somewhere Among by Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu

This children's novel is narrated by eleven-year-old Ema. As the story opens Ema and her parents are taking taxi from their small apartment to the other side of Tokyo where her father's parents live. Ema's mother is from the United States and teaches English at a college. She's having a difficult pregnancy, so the plan is to live with her Obaachan (grandmother) and Jiichan (grandfather) so that her mother can rest. This means that Ema can't go to her usual school as it is too far away. 

At first her Papa tries to stay there as well, but the commute to his work is too long and he gets too tired. It is June, shortly before the normal school year ends, so Ema will get tutored by her Obaachan until she starts at the new school in September. Ema is a pretty good kid, and she's excited to have a sibling, so she tries to not worry her mother over things. Usually in the summer she goes with her mother to visit her California grandparents, Nana and Grandpa Bob, but this year she will miss that, so she talks to them on the phone and writes to them. 

The novel is told in a series of poems, with each one dated. We see how Ema has some trouble adjusting to living with her grandparents. Her Obaachan runs the house and has rules and expectations, so Ema finds her a little cold, but she is close to her Jiichan and they spend time together. 

By the time school starts, he finds her a used bicycle to go back and forth with and he fills in her mother's duties on the Mama Patrol that watches out for the kids safety going to and from school. But this novel also takes place in 2001, and when the planes hit the towers in New York City, Ema is unable to prevent her mother from learning the news. 

I really liked Ema and understood her feelings of not fitting in due to her mixed heritage. Changing schools is hard and she also has to deal with a bully, something she hasn't encountered before and tries to hide from her mother. 

This is a book that draws you in with the character and the poetry format means that a reader can take their time as they go through the book.