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Beyond Me
Freeman Book Award Honor 2020
New York Public Library Best Books of 2020
Sakura Medal Chapter Books 2022 nominee
Skipping Stones Honor Book 2021
Young People's Poet Laureate December Pick 2020, Poetry Foundation
"Don't miss this loving journey," Naomi Shihab Nye, Young People's Poet Laureate
"An essential read...with a message of hope and community." Booklist , starred review
In the spirit of A Place to Belong , this remarkable novel-in-verse examines the aftershocks of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan in 2011 through the eyes of a young girl who learns that even the smallest kindness can make a difference.
March 11, 2011
An earthquake shakes Japan to its core.
A tsunami crashes into Japan's coast.
Everything changes.
In the aftermath of the natural disasters that have struck her country, eleven-year-old Maya is luckier than many. Her family didn't lose their home, their lives, or each other. But Maya still can't help feeling paralyzed with terror, and each aftershock that ripples out in the days that follow makes her fear all over again that her luck could change in an instant.
As word of the devastation elsewhere grows increasingly grim--tens of thousands have perished--it all seems so huge, so irreparable. Already flinching at every rumble from the earth, Maya's overcome with a sense of helplessness and hopelessness. How can her country ever recover, and how could anything she does possibly make a difference?
Before Maya can extend a hand to others, she must dig deep to find the hidden well of strength in herself in this sweeping, searing novel that shows even small acts can add something greater and help people and communities heal.
New York Public Library Best Books of 2020
Sakura Medal Chapter Books 2022 nominee
Skipping Stones Honor Book 2021
Young People's Poet Laureate December Pick 2020, Poetry Foundation
"Don't miss this loving journey," Naomi Shihab Nye, Young People's Poet Laureate
"An essential read...with a message of hope and community." Booklist , starred review
In the spirit of A Place to Belong , this remarkable novel-in-verse examines the aftershocks of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan in 2011 through the eyes of a young girl who learns that even the smallest kindness can make a difference.
March 11, 2011
An earthquake shakes Japan to its core.
A tsunami crashes into Japan's coast.
Everything changes.
In the aftermath of the natural disasters that have struck her country, eleven-year-old Maya is luckier than many. Her family didn't lose their home, their lives, or each other. But Maya still can't help feeling paralyzed with terror, and each aftershock that ripples out in the days that follow makes her fear all over again that her luck could change in an instant.
As word of the devastation elsewhere grows increasingly grim--tens of thousands have perished--it all seems so huge, so irreparable. Already flinching at every rumble from the earth, Maya's overcome with a sense of helplessness and hopelessness. How can her country ever recover, and how could anything she does possibly make a difference?
Before Maya can extend a hand to others, she must dig deep to find the hidden well of strength in herself in this sweeping, searing novel that shows even small acts can add something greater and help people and communities heal.
320 pages, Paperback
First published July 2, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
March 30, 2021
One of those books in which the blurb is far more better than the actual content.
The actual writing goes downhill with too many spaces to waste even when it's a book in verse.
The story almost never started.
And it's annoying to read something that has been written just to fill the pages with nothing much to tell.
Irritated.
The actual writing goes downhill with too many spaces to waste even when it's a book in verse.
The story almost never started.
And it's annoying to read something that has been written just to fill the pages with nothing much to tell.
Irritated.
September 12, 2020
On March 11, 2011, a magnitude-9 earthquake, the strongest earthquake in Japan’s recorded history, shook northeastern Japan, unleashing a savage tsunami. More than 5,000 aftershocks hit Japan in the year after the earthquake. The tsunami caused the meltdown of three nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant resulting in the release of radioactive materials. (LiveScience.com and National Geographic.org)
Beyond Me is one story of this tragedy. Fifth-grader Maya lives in Japan with her American mother and Japanese father, grandmother, and great grandfather. On March 9, 2011, at the end of their school year, her class feels an earthquake, different from earthquakes they have experienced before.
On March 11th at 7:44am the “earth shudders.” Beginning at 2:46pm an earthquake struck the eastern coast “so strong it pushed Japan’s main island eastward, created a massive tsunami, and slashed the eastern coastline in size.” (89) And even though Maya’s family lives miles from the tsunami, they are affected, and Maya is terrified. She chronicles the 24 days after the earthquake, sometimes minute by minute, as she shares her thoughts and feelings over what is happening in her house, her town, and, through the news, the people of Northeast Japan. The house shakes, food is rationed, and transportation has stopped, but she and her family are safe.
Readers see Maya overcome her fears and reach out with her mother and father to help those most affected by the disaster. She and Yuka fold paper cranes and ask for sunflowers seeds to plant, and Maya writes notes to the “People of the Northeast.” Maya continues journaling for 113 days after she and her best friend plant sunflower seeds on her grandparents’ farm, strengthening and helping to heal Earth as the mug she put back together with lacquer and gold dust.
Through free verse, timelines, and creative word placements readers take this journey with Maya as they learn a lot about nature and the effects of earthquakes. This book would pair nicely with Leza Lowitz’s Up from the Sea, a verse novel that focuses on the story of one town and one boy directly affected by the tsunami.
Beyond Me is one story of this tragedy. Fifth-grader Maya lives in Japan with her American mother and Japanese father, grandmother, and great grandfather. On March 9, 2011, at the end of their school year, her class feels an earthquake, different from earthquakes they have experienced before.
On March 11th at 7:44am the “earth shudders.” Beginning at 2:46pm an earthquake struck the eastern coast “so strong it pushed Japan’s main island eastward, created a massive tsunami, and slashed the eastern coastline in size.” (89) And even though Maya’s family lives miles from the tsunami, they are affected, and Maya is terrified. She chronicles the 24 days after the earthquake, sometimes minute by minute, as she shares her thoughts and feelings over what is happening in her house, her town, and, through the news, the people of Northeast Japan. The house shakes, food is rationed, and transportation has stopped, but she and her family are safe.
Readers see Maya overcome her fears and reach out with her mother and father to help those most affected by the disaster. She and Yuka fold paper cranes and ask for sunflowers seeds to plant, and Maya writes notes to the “People of the Northeast.” Maya continues journaling for 113 days after she and her best friend plant sunflower seeds on her grandparents’ farm, strengthening and helping to heal Earth as the mug she put back together with lacquer and gold dust.
Through free verse, timelines, and creative word placements readers take this journey with Maya as they learn a lot about nature and the effects of earthquakes. This book would pair nicely with Leza Lowitz’s Up from the Sea, a verse novel that focuses on the story of one town and one boy directly affected by the tsunami.
April 19, 2021
This was my first experience with a novel in verse, and I thought it was truly a lovely tribute to the 2011 earthquakes and tsunami that rocked Japan. Downwerth-Chikamatsu’s language, imagery, and use of simple but poignant symbols was a moving way to share this event with my own child.
I also thought that it was a particularly meaningful story for us to be reading in the midst of COVID - though incredibly different in nature, there are parallels between these experiences of trauma. Watching Maya process her own fear and helplessness while also extending compassion to those more severely affected that herself was an insight into the way a young person experiences tragedy. It was also a good reminder that all of us, maybe children especially, need an outlet, a concrete way to help, an avenue to express empathy in situations such as these.
Beautifully rendered. Highly recommend.
I also thought that it was a particularly meaningful story for us to be reading in the midst of COVID - though incredibly different in nature, there are parallels between these experiences of trauma. Watching Maya process her own fear and helplessness while also extending compassion to those more severely affected that herself was an insight into the way a young person experiences tragedy. It was also a good reminder that all of us, maybe children especially, need an outlet, a concrete way to help, an avenue to express empathy in situations such as these.
Beautifully rendered. Highly recommend.
March 5, 2024
A middle grade novel in verse about the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. It was interesting to read a fictional account of the earthquake and review the details of what happened. I remember watching the coverage on the news and feeling the horror and devastation. This was a good way for younger readers to learn about this terrible tragedy in an age appropriate way.
April 20, 2024
An enlightening free verse novel about the 2011 earthquake in Japan. I loved how the author added the time stamps for each aftershock. I didn't realise that the aftershocks continued so frequently and for so long after the main earthquake. The story also touches on the tsunamis and nuclear power plants, but the main character is more of an outsider to those events. Very well done.
March 1, 2020
I just got an arc of this book. Wonderful novel in verse! My 10 year old loved it too. I may even by it for my high school library collection.
October 6, 2020
One of Those Prose Poetry Novels
I wish I could believe these prose poetry books are works of art but I can’t help believing it’s more about low readability or Lexile numbers. The subject is the massive earthquake and tsunami in which the nuclear power plant was severely damaged. A young girl worries about her friend who lives in the North where the earthquake’s epicenter was. I really think a full story written clearly and telling a full story using sentence and deep thoughts would be appreciated and welcomed by young readers. The format in this book is less interesting and meaningful.
I wish I could believe these prose poetry books are works of art but I can’t help believing it’s more about low readability or Lexile numbers. The subject is the massive earthquake and tsunami in which the nuclear power plant was severely damaged. A young girl worries about her friend who lives in the North where the earthquake’s epicenter was. I really think a full story written clearly and telling a full story using sentence and deep thoughts would be appreciated and welcomed by young readers. The format in this book is less interesting and meaningful.
July 11, 2021
I'm not good with poetry and have read few novels in verse. But this is the worst and I couldn't seem to enjoy it even for a little bit.
The story sets in Japan, March 2011, when earthquakes and devastating tsunami happened. Maya, the main character lives around Tokyo, not living in the northeast of Japan where the tsunami hit the land. I think the author wants to show what it was like to live in an undirectly affected area, like she did. How people had to save electricity, to watch out of fire, to worry about radiation leaks, and to help people in the northeast. And as a kid, all Maya could do to give the support is to make a thousand cranes and to send sunflower seeds. It should be heartwarming, and in a child world, this is a big thing. But as an adult living in a cynical world with no empathy, I didn't feel anything. Or maybe I expected a worse situation. So heartless.
The verse itself was rather disturbing. I understand it's hard to put how earthquake happens in sentences. It might be easier for a common novel, but not for poetry. Still, I couldn't take it.
Guess this book is not for me though I learned something from it like:
・Kelp is high of iodine and can prevent radioactive iodine of being absorbed in body. Also, based on Atashinchi's anime, kelp can help when you eat too much sodium.
・Sunflower can absorb low radiation leak from the ground, or so it said. The problem is how to get rid of it once it has done its duty.
The story sets in Japan, March 2011, when earthquakes and devastating tsunami happened. Maya, the main character lives around Tokyo, not living in the northeast of Japan where the tsunami hit the land. I think the author wants to show what it was like to live in an undirectly affected area, like she did. How people had to save electricity, to watch out of fire, to worry about radiation leaks, and to help people in the northeast. And as a kid, all Maya could do to give the support is to make a thousand cranes and to send sunflower seeds. It should be heartwarming, and in a child world, this is a big thing. But as an adult living in a cynical world with no empathy, I didn't feel anything. Or maybe I expected a worse situation. So heartless.
The verse itself was rather disturbing. I understand it's hard to put how earthquake happens in sentences. It might be easier for a common novel, but not for poetry. Still, I couldn't take it.
Guess this book is not for me though I learned something from it like:
・Kelp is high of iodine and can prevent radioactive iodine of being absorbed in body. Also, based on Atashinchi's anime, kelp can help when you eat too much sodium.
・Sunflower can absorb low radiation leak from the ground, or so it said. The problem is how to get rid of it once it has done its duty.
April 25, 2022
This is an excellent novel in verse about the 2011 earthquake in Japan.
The earthquake shakes the ground under 11-year-old Maya's feet and it doesn't stop. For more than a year, aftershocks and smaller quakes interrupt and shatter her life -- falling asleep, cowering under the dining room table is no way to live. A stray cat befriends her and stands by her. Radiation leaks from a nuclear reactor in a province to the north. Food becomes scarce, when the ground won't stand still.
She discovers sunflowers are good at taking up radiation from soil and water and thinks perhaps she's found a way to help her neighbors to the north. But disposal of the plants, once grown, without releasing the radiation they've captured is problematic. It will take more than just distributing the seeds to bring her beloved Japan back to health.
There is no real good resolution to this natural disaster. Just children and adults, coping as best as they can in extremely trying circumstances, to find comfort, friendship and solutions to a man-made disaster.
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
The earthquake shakes the ground under 11-year-old Maya's feet and it doesn't stop. For more than a year, aftershocks and smaller quakes interrupt and shatter her life -- falling asleep, cowering under the dining room table is no way to live. A stray cat befriends her and stands by her. Radiation leaks from a nuclear reactor in a province to the north. Food becomes scarce, when the ground won't stand still.
She discovers sunflowers are good at taking up radiation from soil and water and thinks perhaps she's found a way to help her neighbors to the north. But disposal of the plants, once grown, without releasing the radiation they've captured is problematic. It will take more than just distributing the seeds to bring her beloved Japan back to health.
There is no real good resolution to this natural disaster. Just children and adults, coping as best as they can in extremely trying circumstances, to find comfort, friendship and solutions to a man-made disaster.
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
December 6, 2021
In this book, the main character Maya suffers a horrible earthquake located in Japan. She struggles to watch her family and people from all across the country suffer.
The important parts of this book include when the small quakes started, lasting a few seconds, but still powerful. Then Maya's school was shut down, and that was when the big quakes really started happening. She didn't know whether or not the people she loved would make it out of it. But her and her friend still saw each other.
Then, Maya decided to start sending out paper cranes for support. These pieces of folded paper sent inspiration and care to people in the northeast, who were most effected by the earthquake. There was also a cat, nicknamed Shadow, who appeared about halfway through the book and caused some trouble, but was mostly company.
Overall, I think that this book was kind of boring but had a good message. There were a lot of parts where it was just Maya making cranes and little things happening that didn't catch the reader's attention too much. But I think that the message was basically to not give up and to stay faithful even during harder times. I would maybe recommend.
The important parts of this book include when the small quakes started, lasting a few seconds, but still powerful. Then Maya's school was shut down, and that was when the big quakes really started happening. She didn't know whether or not the people she loved would make it out of it. But her and her friend still saw each other.
Then, Maya decided to start sending out paper cranes for support. These pieces of folded paper sent inspiration and care to people in the northeast, who were most effected by the earthquake. There was also a cat, nicknamed Shadow, who appeared about halfway through the book and caused some trouble, but was mostly company.
Overall, I think that this book was kind of boring but had a good message. There were a lot of parts where it was just Maya making cranes and little things happening that didn't catch the reader's attention too much. But I think that the message was basically to not give up and to stay faithful even during harder times. I would maybe recommend.
July 15, 2024
I don’t know much about novels in verse. I’m not entirely sure what I’m expecting or looking for but I do know that I was not expecting to feel as pulled into this as I was.
I’ve tried reading a few different novels in verse and there was only one that I enjoyed - it’s not that they aren’t good stories or not told beautifully- but it’s a different form of writing that I’m not used to. Which, of course, makes me want to read them and understand them better.
This one was interesting. There was a lot of empty space but I felt that really showed a lot of the waiting that the characters were going through, the unknown, the tension, the trauma, the fear of “will it happen again?” You can see the time passing without any words. It makes me think of someone just sitting there alone with their thoughts and fears and anxieties.
The way the earthquake was written was interesting. The font, the way certain words were mashed up between other symbols to show the shaking.
I would use this book in the future in my classrooms to try to get my students to inspect novels in verse. I think this would be a good starting book - even to just look at a few pages of it.
I’ve tried reading a few different novels in verse and there was only one that I enjoyed - it’s not that they aren’t good stories or not told beautifully- but it’s a different form of writing that I’m not used to. Which, of course, makes me want to read them and understand them better.
This one was interesting. There was a lot of empty space but I felt that really showed a lot of the waiting that the characters were going through, the unknown, the tension, the trauma, the fear of “will it happen again?” You can see the time passing without any words. It makes me think of someone just sitting there alone with their thoughts and fears and anxieties.
The way the earthquake was written was interesting. The font, the way certain words were mashed up between other symbols to show the shaking.
I would use this book in the future in my classrooms to try to get my students to inspect novels in verse. I think this would be a good starting book - even to just look at a few pages of it.
July 24, 2020
"Will Earth stop shaking?" "Will radiation ever go away?" These are some of the scary and thoughtful questions the main character, Maya, asks in this nicely written prose book. It is set during The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami on March 11, 2011. Maya lives with her parents, grandma, and great-grandfather. They experience the first big earthquake and the aftershocks to comes in the next few months. Maya writes to us daily in her journal when a quake or aftershock happens. She marks each one with a timestamp as she rocks and sways with the earth. As our main characters struggle to become stronger to help others, her father tells her to, "strengthen herself". This stays with her and she finds ways of concurring her fear. She begins by farming with her great-grandfather. Follow Maya on her beautiful growth during an uncertain and difficult time.
December 5, 2020
Maya lives with her family in western Tokyo, next to her grandparents farm. In March 2011 she is getting ready to graduate from 5th grade and enter 6th grade. (Japanese schools start late March/early April and go until the following March.) She and her best friend text everyday.
Why I started this book: Recommended by a coworker this novel in verse, details the story of 5th grade Maya who lives with her family in west Tokyo during and after the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Why I finished it: With all the drama with the nuclear plant, I had no idea just how many and how long the aftershocks from the earthquake lasted, and how hard and scary that was. Age appropriate healing and discussion of fear, home and recovery.
Why I started this book: Recommended by a coworker this novel in verse, details the story of 5th grade Maya who lives with her family in west Tokyo during and after the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Why I finished it: With all the drama with the nuclear plant, I had no idea just how many and how long the aftershocks from the earthquake lasted, and how hard and scary that was. Age appropriate healing and discussion of fear, home and recovery.
August 20, 2020
I thought this was a very well-written book in verse. I liked the formatting especially, where every aftershock felt after the 2011 earthquake in Japan is marked in a timeline on the sides of the pages, so you can almost feel the shocks as the character speaks. If you've ever experienced a strong earthquake, you can definitely understand all the feelings the character goes through. It wasn't as exciting a book as I had imagined it would be, considering the topic, because the characters are a bit outside the main impact zone. Still, the book represents less the feelings of those suffering the most and more those dealing with the stress and fear after disasters like this one.
November 5, 2020
I’m always on the lookout for novels in verse for my school library collection and this one will be a great fit. (It’s also nice to add a story about Japanese characters that don’t have to do with internment camps...even if this is a story about the natural disasters in Japan of 2011).
Maya and her friend are fifth graders preparing for an upcoming school concert when the earthquakes begin. The tsunami hits Northeast of Maya’s home, but she suffers from fear and anxiety over the next weeks as aftershocks rock her home daily. Her sweet family adjusts to the new normal with grit and affection and give Maya room to grieve.
Maya and her friend are fifth graders preparing for an upcoming school concert when the earthquakes begin. The tsunami hits Northeast of Maya’s home, but she suffers from fear and anxiety over the next weeks as aftershocks rock her home daily. Her sweet family adjusts to the new normal with grit and affection and give Maya room to grieve.
February 20, 2021
An engaging story told in poetic verse about the earthquake and tsunami that ravaged Northeast Japan in 2011. Told through 11-year old Maya's eyes, the book effectively uses page design and text layout to share the anguish of not knowing, and the worry of each aftershock, which went on for weeks. Concern over the Fukushima Daichi nuclear plant meltdown begins to spread and Maya focuses on folding cranes as an offering to those suffering in the North, and also to planting sunflowers, which she believes will help remove radiation from the environment. This book will surely leave young readers wanting to know more about this horrible disaster.
January 16, 2022
This was a thoughtful read. I love that it sparingly yet vividly shows the experiences of this family living just outside Tokyo in 2011. The author shows the emotions and the struggles of the people of Japan during the Tohoku earthquake, even though the main character was many miles away from the worst damage and doesn't witness any of the most violent or traumatic events firsthand. (This would be a perk if you are looking for a book for a younger or more tender reader who may want to learn about the earthquake.)
I thought it would be distracting, but the manipulation of the text is a neat effect.
I thought it would be distracting, but the manipulation of the text is a neat effect.
October 22, 2020
Nothing like a pandemic to highlight the slow horror of a natural disaster. This book, despite being about a major earthquake/nuclear issue, is very undramatic because if you're living on the outside of such things - you're impacted just not in the "Ah! I lost a limb/house/life!" way.
It is interesting if you have the outside context for it but rather slow and slice of life-ish if you don't have that in your pocket.
It is interesting if you have the outside context for it but rather slow and slice of life-ish if you don't have that in your pocket.
December 12, 2020
I went back and forth between 3 and 4 stars. It is written in poetry form. The story is about the Great East Japan earthquake and Tsunami. It was a part of Japan's history that I didn't know that much about. The story focuses on Maya and her struggles on dealing with what is going on and how she feels about the others that the tsunami and earthquake are effecting. She is trying to deal with how she feels about it all and not being able to help others in need.
December 4, 2020
I think this is a great book for young readers to learn about the tragedy that occurred in Japan after the earthquake and tsunami. I enjoy books in verse, but the continuous time stamps distracted me. I know they were meant to mark the time and length things were happening, but it took away from the story a little bit.
February 3, 2021
I loved this book, which is written in prose.
The main character, Maya, tells her story of what it was like, for her and her family, to live outside of Tokyo during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The clever graphic representation of time and quaking really makes you feel as if you are right there with Maya as she grapples with her fear and turns it to something helpful and good.
The main character, Maya, tells her story of what it was like, for her and her family, to live outside of Tokyo during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The clever graphic representation of time and quaking really makes you feel as if you are right there with Maya as she grapples with her fear and turns it to something helpful and good.
May 11, 2021
I enjoyed seeing the Japan disaster through the eyes of Maya and how it felt to be there when it happened. The fears and uncertainty of the future brought out the best in the people as they reached out to help in ways they could. I enjoyed getting to know the loving family that supported and looked out for each other.
September 26, 2021
Probably more like 3.5 rounded up—I really liked a lot of this book, and loved that it was in verse and took us through the earthquake and tsunami and aftershocks. It was just a little slow in the plot and more character-driven than I am used to in middle grade. Still a solid read, and one that will give both kids and adults a lot to think about.
October 28, 2021
A beautiful perspective of the 2011 Japanese earthquake/tsunami. It made me realize how much I had forgotten/didn't know. I found the style unique as well- the way she portrayed the aftershocks was particuarly well-done. This is for very intrepid readers, but I think kids who are looking for serious realistic fiction will enjoy.
December 22, 2023
This book approaches the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami not from the most affected areas, but relatively unaffected Tokyo. And yet the effects in Tokyo were real, and each character has a different way of dealing with those effects. My daughter was just a year older than the main character in 2011, and similar in having a Japanese dad, American mom, and farming grandparents, so the story and its details rang true for me.
July 21, 2020
What a beautiful book! Such a stressful time to live in Japan for a child. The timeline (counting minutes at times) and the formatting of the text really bring the situation to life for the reader, and the verse is just lovely. My twelve-year-old and I both loved it!
November 2, 2020
Donwerth-Chikamatsu captures the widespread anxiety and confusion in the aftermath of the 3/11 multiple disaster in Northeastern Japan, but there is also hope and beauty. I especially loved the evocations of the natural world, and the introduction of Shadow, the cat.
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November 29, 2020Maya a fifth grader, and her family are lucky to have a house that is intact and a garden full of food. On March 11, 2011 a Earthquake shakes Japan. Now Maya measures time by the aftershocks. As people jump into action Maya is stuck feeling helpless. She doesn't know what she can do to help.
April 26, 2020
4th/5th grade and up
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews