NY Public Library’s 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing

A young American girl grapples with her Japanese heritage in this “quiet, beautifully moving portrayal of a multicultural family” for middle grade readers (School Library Journal)

American-born Skye is a good student and a star soccer player who never really gives any thought to the fact that her father is Japanese. Her cousin, Hiroshi, lives in Japan, and never really gives a thought to his uncle’s family living in the United States.

Skye and Hiroshi’s lives are thrown together when Hiroshi’s family, with his grandfather (who is also his best friend), suddenly moves to the U.S. Now Skye doesn’t know who she is anymore: at school she’s suddenly too Japanese, but at home she’s not Japanese enough. Hiroshi has a hard time adjusting to life in a new culture, and resents Skye’s intrusions on his time with Grandfather. Through all of this is woven Hiroshi’s expertise, and Skye’s growing interest in, kite making and competitive rokkaku kite flying.

Winner of the 2020 Chanticleer International Book Award for Paranormal Fiction!

“A strong literary fantasy novel about race, family, and time-traveling.” — IndependentBookReview.com 
Amara knows what’s going to happen, but she doesn’t know why. She wakes on her wedding day in 1859 in West Africa, suddenly able to see the future. Through visions, she sees the slaver Van Owen, who will steal her power. She sees herself as a slave on his North Carolina plantation. She sees a Harlem family more than a century in the future. She knows these people, but how? And she sees Van Owen hunting them, too. But how can she stop him if no one believes her?