A good read, based in a seaside town in Japan - it was scary to how similar it sounded to a British seaside town. I will be looking out for more of her work.
Read for the Olympic Challenge: Japan

Reserved for the Around the World VBB

Going into Asian bookbox

Taken from soffitta1's asian theme bookbox

I really didn't enjoy this book...nothing seemed to happen at all and I found Tsugumi to be an obnoxious, unpleasant idiot who just annoyed me all the time. No action, no excitement, no point!

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

This book is travelling on in soffitta's Oceania/Island bookbox. Enjoy!

Arrived in bookbox.

Tsugumi is Maria's cousin, but they are more like sisters, fighting like cats, close despite, or because, of their bickering. Their statuses are different, Tsugumi is the indulged daughter of Maria's aunt, who has taken in her and her mother while her father finalises his divorce with his wife. Maria and her mother are not able to forget the fact that until the divorce, she is just the mistress of a rich man. The girls grow up together, play together, with Tsugumi pushing Maria, until one day she snaps, a turning point in their relationship. There is a mutual respect that grows slowly, especially as Maria is the only one who treats the sickly Tsugumi without kid gloves.

I enjoyed this, a story of a close relationship, as well as first loves and the complications of family lives. It has the feel of a coming of age novel, the summer that changed your life. I also liked the fact that the story is universal, but has well-depicted Japanese roots.