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Orchards

by Holly Thompson (Goodreads Author)

3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 · rating details · 446 ratings · 122 reviews

Winner of the APALA Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature
An ALA-YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Book

After a classmate commits suicide, Kana Goldberg—a half-Japanese, half-Jewish American—wonders who is responsible. She and her cliquey friends said some thoughtless things to the girl. Hoping that Kana will reflect on her behavior, her parents pack her...more

Hardcover, 336 pages

Published February 22nd 2011 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

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Jun 20, 2011 Marriah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Kana is sent to live in Japan for the summer with her family there after one of her classmates, Ruth, commits suicide. During the school year, her and her "cliquey friends" had said some careless things about Ruth. Her parents hope this trip will force Kana to reflect on her behavior as she labors for hours in the hot, Japanese sun, tending to her family's mikan orange groves. With her half-Japanese, half-Jewish American heritage , Kana learns how hard it is to fit in as she is criticized by he...more Kana is sent to live in Japan for the summer with her family there after one of her classmates, Ruth, commits suicide. During the school year, her and her "cliquey friends" had said some careless things about Ruth. Her parents hope this trip will force Kana to reflect on her behavior as she labors for hours in the hot, Japanese sun, tending to her family's mikan orange groves. With her half-Japanese, half-Jewish American heritage , Kana learns how hard it is to fit in as she is criticized by her extremely traditional grandmother, who never approved of Kana's American father. Kana begins to really understand and process the damage she and her friends have done, registering the pain and guilt for what it is. When more bad news reaches her, Kana wonders how can she mend herself and those around her. Told in an easy-flowing verse with a first person narrative and accompanied by cute illustrations, Orchards is sure to open every one's eyes to what a few thoughtless words can do.

The hardcover edition will have 320 pages , 35 chapters and is a middle-grade novel.
This book definitely surprised me. I, personally, am not a fan of books written in verse. They are too quick, never lending me time to think about the plot until it's over. Books written in verse also tend to have a certain degree of poor development, whether it be in characters or plot or, sometimes setting or premise. But Orchards, honestly, wasn't all that bad. Each chapter is like it's own individual poem and it's interesting how Kana seems to be talking to Ruth the whole time, as if each poem is a letter to her, apologizing or cluing her in on what's happening and often blaming Ruth for what she's forced to do. I learned so much about the ancestral Japanese culture as Kana journeys through holiday and rituals native to Japan.Kana is a riveting character and I simply couldn't wait to see what obstacle she'd have to deal with next.The narration was excellent and I wasn't expecting the turn of events or the ending. But some things didn't work for me. Kana's homesickness comes and goes as it's needed and she doesn't seem to whine as much as I imagine a preppy eighth grade girl from New York would if she were to work in orchards for hours on end in the blazing sun. I somehow expected more resistance to the actin the form of complaints. Kana's interest in building and physics was unique, and I like how it's used again and again, but it would have been nice if it was more developed before it became miportan tto the story.
Despite all of that, I would still recommend this book. It shows the bad side of bullying from the bystander's point of view and puts out there the new forms of bullying. Many would say in order for an act to be considered bullying, it has to be physically offensive, but Orchards deals with the catty girl exclusion trick gone awry. Newer forms of bullying need to be more publicized and this book definitely aids that cause. I do wish that more of the circumstances about Ruth was discussed. It all seems very vague and less developed than Kana's feelings about other things. But I must say Kana grows over the course of the novel, from looking to put the blame on everyone else to focusing all her power on fixing the damage. Overall a meaningful read that could open many eyes.
Level of Romance: None.
Rating: 4 out of 5
( from my blog: http://ramblingbookmarks.blogspot.com )(less)

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Apr 16, 2013 Aileen Shara rated it 2 of 5 stars

I have to stop reading teenager suicide novels. First Thirteen Reasons Why (which I didn't like either) and now this one. I don't pick them on purpose! I don't even actual like them! (I just sort of randomly picked this book off the shelves because I needed another book to fill my "check ten/eleven books out of the library at a time" quota). And yet....*sigh*

Now, it's not a bad book....If you're a seventh grader. Once you hit high school, things books written by adults from teenager's perspectiv...more

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Mar 11, 2012 Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: 7th graders and up

This book was fantastic! The tale of teenaged girls dealing with a suicide, questions of who's to blame, and how to deal with the guilt they face surrounding the suicide of Ruth.

This book is written in verse which makes it a very quick read and allows you to gather the story all together in less than a couple hours. This book explored the ripple effects of teen suicide. It was refreshing to be able to read a book that I felt so encapsulated in. The story of this group of girls who have all gone...more

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Feb 29, 2012 Maria Arnt rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Young adults re: bullying, suicide

Shelves: work

I picked up this book from the library along with several others to see if I wanted to share them with my seventh-grade Japanese lit student. At first glance, I thought it was all flash and no bang, the unusual format seemed irritating (I never did get used to it), but eventually I felt it added a sort of awkward rhythm that suited the thoughts of a pre-teen mind. I enjoyed reading the book, and thought it well-written and less preachy and pedantic than other young adult books that deal with the...more

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Feb 01, 2012 Jules rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: youngadult, post-colonial, race, religion

Hmm. I should start by saying that I'm not generally a big fan of verse novels, so this was never going to be a huge hit with me. I felt like it was pretty solid, and there was some absolutely beautiful imagery. Plot-wise, I felt like everything wrapped up REALLY quickly; the last few developments were crammed into twenty or thirty pages, which threw me off after the more careful, slow-burning pace the rest of the book maintained. Most books dealing with the topic of suicide and mental illness t...more

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Aug 11, 2011 Barbara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: novels-in-verse, bullies

When Ruth, a troubled eighth grade classmate, kills herself in part because of her treatment at the hands of some of her classmates, Kana Goldberg--half-Japanese and half-Jewish--is sent to her mother's family where she spends the summer working in an orchard and trying to come to terms with her own actions or lack of actions regarding Ruth. Some of her other classmates have been sent to summer school or to family or friends as well as the school community tries to come to terms with this suicid...more

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Apr 04, 2011 Kristin rated it 2 of 5 stars

Orchards is a book about a group of middle school girls who contribute to a classmate's decision to commit suicide. The girls bully and ostracize her, and the ring leader, Lisa, gives Ruth a note stating, "I hope you die." Ruth then walks to her friend's family's orchard, where she hangs herself from an apple tree. None of this is a surprise - the reader goes into this novel-in-poems knowing that Ruth has killed herself. The story is told from Kana's point of view. Kana was part of the group who...more Orchards is a book about a group of middle school girls who contribute to a classmate's decision to commit suicide. The girls bully and ostracize her, and the ring leader, Lisa, gives Ruth a note stating, "I hope you die." Ruth then walks to her friend's family's orchard, where she hangs herself from an apple tree. None of this is a surprise - the reader goes into this novel-in-poems knowing that Ruth has killed herself. The story is told from Kana's point of view. Kana was part of the group who harrassed Ruth, and we learn that she is being sent to her grandmother's home/orchard in Japan for the summer to deal with the death of her classmate. Although Kana is sent to the other side of the world, it is significant that she's sent to work at her extended family's orchard; the same type of place Ruth chose to commit suicide. The reader sees Kana trying to work through her friend's death, acclimating to Japanese culture, and dealing with her bi-cultural heritage. (She is Japanese and Jewish).
I thought this book was ok. Maybe it's petty, but I am turned off when authors include too many references to cultural trappings such as Ipods and text messages. I think it ultimately leads to the degradation of the novel as it freezes it into a particular place and time, which for a novel like this, is not necessarily a good thing. (Meaning, it's not a historical novel, so its universal messages are now tied to the time period of Apple products and cell phones). Also, there are quite a number of poems devoted to descriptions of food and meals, which also annoys me. I suppose I could make some observation like: Kana is experiencing all of these mundane pleasures, like the shredded eggplant in her Bento box, or the miso soup she ate for breakfast, that her friend Ruth will never have the oppportunity to enjoy again. But, I'd rather just be irritated, I suppose. Also, toward the end, there is another tragedy that just seems haphazardly thrown in.
I don't think this book would work in a school setting. Kana's contribution to Ruth's suicide by way of being passive and allowing Lisa to bully her has potential, and could be a powerful lesson to students, but there's not much here to really excite students or motivate them to read this book. The poetry creates a veil around a difficult subject (nothing is too blatantly or violently suggested), so this novel could be read by middle school students, I think. I might recommend it to a student who has experienced bullying, depression, or suicide by a family member or friend.
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Feb 19, 2011 Ken Kugler rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 30, 2011 Melody rated it 4 of 5 stars

I remember seeing Orchards by Holly Thompson on a few blogs I followed. Attracted by the lovely cover but more so intrigued by the plot, I decided to get a copy. When my copy arrived, I was a little surprised to find that it was written in free verse instead of a novel format. Since I have never read a book written in free verse (well they remind me of poetry, kind of) and given that the book I was reading then didn't intrigue me much, I decided to jump into it.

Half-Japanese and half-Jewish Ame...more I remember seeing Orchards by Holly Thompson on a few blogs I followed. Attracted by the lovely cover but more so intrigued by the plot, I decided to get a copy. When my copy arrived, I was a little surprised to find that it was written in free verse instead of a novel format. Since I have never read a book written in free verse (well they remind me of poetry, kind of) and given that the book I was reading then didn't intrigue me much, I decided to jump into it.

Half-Japanese and half-Jewish American, Kana Goldberg is an eight-grader whose life has taken a turn after a classmate commits suicide. Although Kana isn’t the one who had said the hurtful things to Ruth, nonetheless she still feels a little guilty since she is hanging out with the girls who were mean to Ruth. After the incident, Kana’s parents decided to send her off to Japan for the summer. Staying in her mother’s village home in Kohama where they grow mikan oranges for a living, they are hoping that her stay there will help to reflect on her behaviour.

Given her mixed heritage, Kana has difficulty fitting in and she learnt that her grandmother (whom she called Baachan) was unhappy when her mother left Japan many years ago and married an American. It took a while for the family to accept her and soon Kana adjust to her life in the rural orchard farm. Though she is far away from New York, Kana still think of Ruth, her death and how things might be different if it didn’t end it that way.

Filled with teenage angst, guilt, sorrow and reflection, Orchards is an emotional intense story told from Kana’s point of view which was directed to Ruth. I have to confess I was skeptical about the free verse format and wondered if this is suffice to tell a story, and surprisingly I found that this format works well through Holly Thompson’s prose and every of her words are enough to draw me in and pull my heartstring. I was also drawn to the few illustrations that spotlight some of the Japanese culture and symbols which I thought they somewhat lessened the brooding atmosphere given that Kana is sorting out her feelings as readers get to see her mature through the process. (less)

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Nov 10, 2011 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, verse-novels, young-adult

One of the reasons I like free-verse is that it gives the opportunity for the reader/writer to discuss topics that would otherwise be difficult to put across in a normal fiction novel, like the Holocaust and teenage suicide. Orchards is about an eighth grade girl named Kana (half Jewish/half Japanese)and her friends who unwittingly caused the suicide of a classmate by being mean. Kana is sent away to Japan, to her mother's family to work in their orchard for the summer. Kana learns that working...more

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Oct 23, 2011 Lessa Pelayo-lozada rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

A book about difficult topics -- bullying, suicide, mental illness, being biracial -- and it tackled them all in a very well thought out, particular, sympathetic manner. The biracialness, I feel, was an add-on and due to the weight of the other topics didn't receive that much attention, but it was good to note its presence, and that, in the midst of all that is going on, a fat ass from the non-asian side can still be a hinderance.

Written in verse, I was a little cautious at first, and not being...more

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Feb 21, 2011 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars

I haven't heard very much about this novel, until I won it off Random Buzzers. I was excited to see that it was written in verse and that the book was filled with beautiful illustrations. It was a very quick read, and it was different from anything else i've ever read.

This Story was about a girl named Kana Goldberg, who after the suicide of a schoolmate is sent to her relatives in Japan. Kana feels guilty about Ruth's suicide due too some things that were said by her friends to Ruth, and spends...more

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May 21, 2012 Trudy rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was skeptical about the book being written in verse, but in the end, I was completely won over by it. Although the target audience for the novel is Young Adult, I found the story compelling for any reader. Turns out that, like poetry, writing in verse forces the writer to make choices that concentrate the story on essential elements. Each incident, description, and character included, served to illuminate and define the plot in a very focused way. The story is about the suicide of a classmate,...more

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May 30, 2011 Book Twirps rated it 4 of 5 stars

After a bi-polar classmate’s suicide caused by bullying, Kana is sent to live in Japan for the summer with her mother’s relatives. It was Kana’s friend Lisa that did a majority of the bullying, but Kana never did anything to stop is and it is weighing on her. While in Japan, she is to attend summer school, read a stack of books her mother sent with her, and help her mother’s family tend to their mikan orange groves. Kana is half Jewish and half Japanese and quickly finds herself an outsider in h...more

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May 25, 2012 Jonathan Peto rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

If you look, you'll see that Holly Thompson is one of my Goodreads friends. I'm under no pressure to give her book a good review though. I only found her here after she visited my school. Otherwise, we are not acquainted.

I am acquainted with her topic. Not suicide, but Japan. And orchards, both apple and mikan. As a student, I worked at UMASS's apple orchard in Belchertown, MA. I also lived in a mikan growing region of Japan at one time, so I was looking forward to reading a book that touched on...more

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Feb 22, 2011 Jenny rated it 4 of 5 stars

Orchards is an amazing little book about guilt, healing, family, and life, among other things. It is written entirely in free verse, so it reads quickly and easily even though it touches on some heavy subjects such as suicide and body image.

Kana is an easily likable and sympathetic character. In the aftermath of a classmate's suicide, she feels guilt for things that she didn't do, things she didn't know, things that in hindsight she feels that she should have done or known. But at the same time...more

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Apr 26, 2013 Aeicha added it

Holly Thompson's Orchards is told in gorgeous and thought-provoking prose as it explores the summer in one young girl's life as she travels to Japan. Kana is half Japanese, half Jewish, and when a classmate commits suicide, her parents send her to relatives for the summer to reflect on what happened.

Thompson explores grief, guilt, cultural differences, mental illness, and so much more in a really honest and captivating way. She sets out to asks readers and explore the question “Who's to blame fo...more

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Feb 22, 2012 Arthur Pengerbil rated it 4 of 5 stars

Reading Level: Grades 8-10

Kana Goldberg gains a deeper understanding of herself and others when she is sent to Japan to spend the summer with her mother's relatives after a bullied 8th grade classmate takes her own life.

Other engrossing novels told in verse are:

Karma: A Novel in Verse

Shark Girl by Kelly L. Bingham

Kaleidoscope Eyes by Jennifer Bryant

You Are Not Here by Samantha Schultz and

After the Kiss by Terra Elan McVoy

Other tales of American kids adjusting to life in foreign lands include:

Han...more

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Jun 03, 2012 Kellee rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-in-verse, multicultural, realistic-fiction, religion-faith, death-or-dying, bullying, teach-mentor-texts, ya-teen

Reviewed at:
http://www.teachmentortexts.com/2012/...

4.5 stars

After a classmate of Kana's commits suicide, Kana wonders if she is partially responsible as her and her friends were not kind to Ruth and since her death Kana has learned a lot about her. To help her get through her grief and away from the situation, Kana, half Japanese half Jewish, is sent to stay in her mother's small home village in Japan. Here Kana works in the orange groves and finds peace within the orchards. Though at times sh...more

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Feb 07, 2012 Christiane rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: teens

I admit sometimes I feel novels in verse are overdone in teen literature. And so are books about teen suicide. What set this book apart for me was the unfamiliar setting. Kana is a half-Japanese, half-Jewish American eighth grader who, after a classmate’s suicide, is sent to stay with her mother's traditional family in Japan. The family grows orange trees and Kana has to help out. I really loved this peek into Japanese culture. The book is also filled with beautiful black and white line drawings...more

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Mar 17, 2011 Katie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arcs

This is one of the best poetic verse novels I have read in a very long time. I love the way the book is written and the message that it sends out I think is a great one. It talks about suicide and how it affects everyone that was connected to the person committing suicide. I really liked the characters as well.
Kana has just experienced a traumatic event and blames herself and her friends for that experience. There are many things that happen. Her parents send her to Japan to live with her grandm...more

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Jan 29, 2013 Hailey Campbell rated it 2 of 5 stars

Orchards by Holly Thompson was an interesting book. It was about a girl whose best friend committed suicide. Her parents decided it would be best if she went to live with her grandparents and Aunt and Uncle in Japan for the summer. Although she originally did not want to go, she ended up having many good experiences and finally figures out why her best friend committed suicide. I did not like the book though because it was too fast paste and did not explain anything. It was also very hard to und...more

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Apr 18, 2011 Bethany Miller rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: royal-march, ms-miller-s-book-list, new-in-the-lmic, ms-miller-recommends

After Kana’s classmate Ruth kills herself, Kana’s parents decide to send her to Japan to spend the summer with her mother’s family. Kana –who is half Russian Jew and half Japanese – resents being sent away. She does not feel that she is to blame for Ruth’s death. Ruth had gotten on the wrong side of Lisa – the most popular girl in the eighth grade – and soon the rumors and hateful remarks began to fly amongst the rest of the eighth grade girls. While in Japan, Kana must figure out how she fits i...more

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Apr 17, 2011 Cathy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: verse-novel

There is much to love in this novel in verse: Kana's journey through grief and guilt to understanding and acceptance; the secondary characters painted deftly in the sparse, poetic language; the value of hard, physical labor in aiding with emotional healing. Over all of this, though, is the setting, so beautifully and lovingly drawn. It is difficult not to think of this a novel of "before" - before earthquakes and tsunamis and nuclear crisis. The hope Thompson leaves the reader with is not only h...more

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May 11, 2013 Katy Vance rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, diversity, favorites, friendship, international, japan, judaism, middlegrades, poetry, race-ethnicity, religion, young-adult

Wow. This was an absolutely beautiful story. I recently read another novel in free verse (novels in verse are not my usual) and I hesitated to rate it as less than a three despite not liking it because I assumed that the lack of depth in characters and plot was directly related to the brevity required of a novel in verse.

I was wrong. That book just wasn't very good. Orchards, on the other hand, is artfully done, with the voice of someone who knows poetry and can therefore write in free verse, as...more

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May 31, 2012 Ayushi rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book definitely surprised me. I don’t particularly like books written in verse, as they are too quick and I get confused. Books written in verse also tend to not develop the plot completely, and some of the characters or setting remains brief. But Orchards wasn’t that bad. Each chapter is like it's own individual poem and it's interesting how Kana seems to be talking to Ruth the whole time, as if each poem is a letter to her, apologizing or telling her what's happening and, often blaming Ru...more This book definitely surprised me. I don’t particularly like books written in verse, as they are too quick and I get confused. Books written in verse also tend to not develop the plot completely, and some of the characters or setting remains brief. But Orchards wasn’t that bad. Each chapter is like it's own individual poem and it's interesting how Kana seems to be talking to Ruth the whole time, as if each poem is a letter to her, apologizing or telling her what's happening and, often blaming Ruth for what she's forced to do. I about the ancestral Japanese culture as Kana goes through holiday and rituals native to Japan. Kana is an amazing character and I simply couldn't wait to see what obstacle she'd have to deal with next.The narration was excellent and I wasn't expecting the turn of events or the ending. However, some things didn't work for me. Kana's homesickness comes and goes as it's needed, and she doesn't seem to whine as much as I imagine a preppy eighth grade girl from New York would if she were to work in orchards for hours on end in the blazing sun. I somehow expected more resistance to the actin the form of complaints. Kana's interest in building and physics was unique, and I like how it's used repeatedly, but it would have been better if it was more developed before it became more important to the story.
Despite all of that, I would still recommend this book. It shows the bad side of bullying from the bystander's point of view and puts out there the new forms of bullying. Many would say in order for an act to be considered bullying, it has to be physically offensive, but Orchards deals with the catty girl exclusion trick gone bad. Newer forms of bullying need to be more publicized and this book definitely aids that cause. I do wish that more of the circumstances about Ruth was discussed. It all seems very vague and less developed than Kana's feelings about other things. Kana grows over the course of the novel, from looking to put the blame on everyone else to focusing all her power on fixing the damage. The book showed me that sometimes it’s not about the big things, but even little things like exclusion can affect people more than it should.(less)

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Mar 29, 2012 Briana Hyon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Kana Goldberg is a half Japanese half Jewish-American girl who has just finished 8th grade. She is sent to Japan for summer vacation, only thing is that it’s not for vacation. She is sent to live in her mother’s ancestral home, after Ruth, a classmate, hangs herself from a tree in an orchard. She is not the only one that is sent away, the other girls in 8th grade are also sent away from each other, to reflect on their behavior and emotions. Kana believes that it is not fair, insisting that she...more Kana Goldberg is a half Japanese half Jewish-American girl who has just finished 8th grade. She is sent to Japan for summer vacation, only thing is that it’s not for vacation. She is sent to live in her mother’s ancestral home, after Ruth, a classmate, hangs herself from a tree in an orchard. She is not the only one that is sent away, the other girls in 8th grade are also sent away from each other, to reflect on their behavior and emotions. Kana believes that it is not fair, insisting that she didn’t do anything wrong, even though she admits that she and her friends said some inconsiderate things to the Ruth.
While living with her family in Japan, Kana spends her free time working hard in the family’s mikan orange grove and helping in frequent family ancestral ceremonies. When she hangs out with her cousin more and more and has a good time, Kana finally begins to understand and enjoy spending time in Japan. Unfortunately, that does not last for long, a friend, Lisa, commits suicide in summer camp, turning Kana’s world upside down again. She slowly begins to recover from the blow and her life is back to normal.
This is not really my favorite scene, but when Kana finds out that Lisa commits suicide, I can literally feel what was going on through her mind. I could feel how she felt, she had just finished re-building her world, but it’s now slowly being crushed again by emotions, thoughts. But then, she slowly builds up her strength and becomes fine again, which made me really relieved.
There is one other scene I particularly liked, and it was in the end of the book. Kana is back in America and she is talking with a boy named Jake underneath the tree where Ruth was sent off. Jake was the only one that actually had talked to Ruth, when she was still alive. They talk about how they can honor Ruth and Lisa. And how they can reflect on the sins they have committed, by dropping a bread crumb in the river for each sin. Kana admits that she would need a whole loaf of bread, and she tells Jake that he would only need one crumb, for blaming himself for Ruth’s death. I found it the scene very sweet and meaningful. It shows that Kana learned something while she was in Japan.
In my opinion, Holly Thompson wrote this book very well and made it interesting to read. She told this incredible story from Kana Goldberg’s point of view by using poetry, which I think made the story nice to read and it really enhanced and expressed Kana’s emotions and what she was going through. I enjoyed reading every part of this book. Orchards by Holly Thompson is great for people around age 13 and up.(less)

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Sep 08, 2011 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

Orchards

Characters: Kana, her friends her family Kana is an 8th grade girl who is sent away because of the suicide of a classmate that one of her friends supposedly caused she is punished and sent to japan. All the characters are flat at times it was hard to remember who her friends were when one of there names would pop up or even what her name was. Random characters would be named out of no where random crushes and friends which really did nothing for the story. What pulled the characters dow...more

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Apr 26, 2011 the golden witch. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, best-of-11, teenage-shennanigans, wishlist, wishlist-priority, reviewed

When I saw this book at the library, I knew I just had to read it. I love fiction that’s written in free verse (“Sharp Teeth” would be the best example of this that I’ve encountered so far) – it’s rare to find, but even rarer to find within the confines of YA fiction alone. “Sharp Teeth”, meet your new rival, “Orchards”.

This book deals with several issues all at once – being bicultural, bullying, suicide, and death. And I usually try to avoid books like these because there is rarely a new voices...more When I saw this book at the library, I knew I just had to read it. I love fiction that’s written in free verse (“Sharp Teeth” would be the best example of this that I’ve encountered so far) – it’s rare to find, but even rarer to find within the confines of YA fiction alone. “Sharp Teeth”, meet your new rival, “Orchards”.

This book deals with several issues all at once – being bicultural, bullying, suicide, and death. And I usually try to avoid books like these because there is rarely a new voices strong enough to attention to these issues long enough for people to notice.

But this book is very different. Thompson took a huge risk by writing this in free verse instead of traditional fiction structure. She took a double risk with creating a character based on friends and family and her own experiences in Japan – a bicultural teenage girl – when she herself is not ethnically mixed (or so it seems – correct me if I’m wrong on this one). But you know what? Because she has thorough knowledge of both cultures, these risks pay off, big time. Because she did research and has experience with her subject, it makes Kanako that more alive, that more real. She could be your neighbor or acquaintance at school, talking on Facebook about her experiences over the summer at her matrilininal ancestral home.

And at the same time, her friends could also be the kids you know down the street. The grief she experiences could be the subject of gossip you discuss in whispers with your own friends. And Thompson is not afraid to impress this on her audience. She says it best in this scene with Baachan and Kanako:

“suicide can spread
Baachan finally says
utsuru she adds
like a virus

you have to stop it
put up barriers (page 285, hardcover edition)”

The idea of suicide virii in Japan is nothing new (tons of pieces of popular culture can back this up), and I thought it was particularly skilled of Thompson to extend this idea to her audience – an American YA audience with little to no knowledge of this urban legend outside of movies like “The Ring” or anime. Thompson really helps her audience understand the idea that suicide IS a virus but moreover, it’s a virus vectored by bullying and guilt among the ignorant. This is a masterful work and only through this idea in Japanese culture, I think I can safely say, can really convey the vicious cycle of bullying and suicide within a particular group of people that know each other.

This book NEEDS to be made mandatory reading for all American middle and high schools. The bullying epidemic is out of control (though in Japan, it’s just as bad, if not worse), and we need to put up barriers, strengthen our immune systems against this vector and the result, the suicide virus.

If you want a book that doesn’t sugarcoat this subject yet brings it to the table in a fresh, new, and unforgettable way, this is the book for you. Arguably one of my top ten of 2011 so far.

(crossposted to librarything, shelfari, and witchoftheatregoing.wordpress.com)(less)

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Aug 11, 2011 Jeanna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own

Kana goes through a hard time after a student at her school commits suicide. When she is sent to Japan to live with her relatives, she realizes a few things about herself and others along the way.

I enjoyed Orchards. It was a fast read, mostly because it was a verse novel. I was surprised that a verse novel was able to hold such emotion and feeling into so few words. It was remarkable how the book talked about bullying and suicide and didn't make it seem like too much topics in one. The writing d...more

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JPL YA Reading Ch...: Novel in verse	1	4	Apr 29, 2013 02:23pm
UWCSEA English/Li...: Suicide in middle school novels?	3	6	Nov 04, 2012 06:08pm

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Genres

Young Adult

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Realistic Fiction

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Poetry

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Young Adult > Teen

11 users

Contemporary

9 users

Cultural > Japan

9 users

Cultural

4 users

Death

3 users

Family

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Religion

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About Holly Thompson

Holly Thompson was raised in New England, earned her B.A. in biology from Mount Holyoke College and her M.A. in English with a concentration in creative writing/fiction from New York University. Long-time resident of Japan, she is a lecturer at Yokohama City University, where she teaches creative writing, academic writing, short stories and American culture.

Holly's fiction is often set in Japan.

More about Holly Thompson...

Books by Holly Thompson

Tomo: Friendship through Fiction: An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories

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