Naomi is a 12-year old Canadian girl who is forced to move to a small northern town in Japan and no one asked her if she wanted to go. She left behind her friends and her beloved grandparents and her dog Billy and she is not happy about it. Everything is strange in Japan and she’s seen as a strange outsider, not even able to read or communicate at first.
Gradually, Naomi begins to learn about Japanese festivals and foods and customs. She becomes friends with Midori, a Japanese girl her age who used to live in the US. And from there Naomi’s world begins to open up even more and she learns to love Japan and the people in her village. As she learns about her new home, the readers also get to learn about the language, writing and history of Japan. It’s a sweet, calming read and I was sad to put the book down.
This is the first book in a trilogy.