About the Author

Mariko Nagai was born in Tokyo and raised in Belgium and the United States, where she graduated from NYU's creative writing program. She has received numerous awards and fellowships for her poetry and short stories, including the Pushcart Prize in both fiction and poetry. She teaches creative writing at Temple University in Japan. This is her first book for children.

Reviews

"[A] vividly wrought story of displacement." -- Kirkus Reviews
"Nagai does a wonderful job examining what it means to Mina and her family members to be American while not being treated as true citizens." -- School Library Journal
"This is an honest and thoughtful exploration of a complicated chapter in American history, and the book's strong narrative voice and solid imagery will help contemporary readers understand those complexities." --The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Nagai's writing is spare and rhythmic--it's real poetry." -- The Horn Book Magazine