1001 Cranes by Naomi Hirahara (Review)

bigWOWO rating: Asian American Gold

Someone asked why I’m reading YA Lit.  Here’s are some of the reasons:

1. I read this article in the New Yorker:
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2010/06/14/100614crat_atlarge_miller
I was intrigued by what the author says about the contrast of “didactic”-ness in adult dystopian lit vs. YA dystopian lit.  Of course the books I’ve been reading aren’t dystopian, but I figured the same principles would apply.

2. From an activist standpoint, I wondered what YA writers are telling kids.  Frank Chin once wrote something about Asian American authors/readers saying that it’s late to be children but it’s not too late to be children.  They didn’t have any of these ethnic children’s/young adult books when I was young, and so I’m checking them out now.

3. I think there are around three YA Asian American novels for every adult novel.  I have no idea why, but there are tons of YA AA authors.  I figured I should at least read one.   Actually, I plan on reading a few.  I heard of Naomi Hirahara from Gil’s blog and figured that I’d check her novel out first.

Anyway, onto my review (no real spoilers below, so read without fear):

1001 Cranes is about a twelve year old Japanese American girl named Angela Kato who is sent to spend the summer with her maternal grandparents in the LA area.  As the story unfolds, Angie learns that her parents have sent her away while they work on their impending divorce.  Her grandparents own a flower shop, and her Grandma Michi puts her to work while she’s staying in LA.  Angie’s main job is to fold Japanese paper origami cranes for wedding/celebration displays.  Through her relationship with her family and others, Angie learns about love, friendship, culture, and family.

Here’s what I liked about this book:

First, Hirahara is a great storyteller.  From Gil’s blog, Hirahara’s other genre is adult mystery, and when she tells her story, there is always something around the corner.  She expertly includes little secrets and twists that keep her reader intrigued.

Second, I loved the fact that Hirahara portrays a non-traditional family with balanced portrayals of both men and women.  Angie’s parents name her after Angela Davis, the Black Panther, and Angie, her parents, and her grandparents are all three dimensional characters.  None of them are perfect, but none of them are perfectly bad either.

Third, I liked the story’s arc in terms of understanding and covering culture.  It becomes teachy at some points of the story in relation to Japanese American culture, but it never becomes overly teachy.  Even though the main point of the novel is the development of the characters, Hirahara still manages to portray themes of assimilation, love, and culture.  (And I think she has a genuine distrust of Rice Chasahs, which might appeal to people on this blog.)

Definitely check this book out.  If you’re looking for a good story about an empowered Asian American character, you’ll find it here.

Closing thought: The story reminded me a bit about the Japanese American world portrayed in R.A. Sasaki’s The Loom and Other Stories.  When I first read the Loom, I wasn’t sure if that JA world really existed.  Then I moved to Portland, and learned that it did.  And with this book, I read about it again.  We really do need to encourage more people to tell these stories.

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2. Review of Lac Su’s I Love Yous are for White People
3. "Orange Days": Review and Ideas