All Four Quarters of the Moon by Shirley Marr

Peijing and her little sister Biju have moved to Australia with their parents Ma Ma, Ba Ba and her grandmother Ah Ma. Everyone in the family has to make huge adjustments in order to cope with this new place. Peijing loves her Ah Ma but Ah Ma is beginning to act strangely as her memory deteriorates. None of the adults seem able to talk to Peijing about this. Back in Singapore Ma Ma was popular and confident but with little or no English here in Australia she has retreated into her home. It is so difficult to mesh traditional family customs and expectations with the new life Peijing is experiencing at her school. And also she has new levels of responsibility towards her sister and her mother. 

Peijing and Biju share a Little World. It is all made from paper and they love to add new creatures and invent stories as they play.

"Little World was something familiar. Something safe. Something to escape into. Where minutes could become hours and hours grow into days. Where in the blink of an eye, ecosystems could grow and flourish and collapse again back into the ocean, and large herds of beasts that only existed in your mind could cross from one continent to another. Where something you made yourself could be your home, even just for a while."

"There were zoos and farms and a network of underground burrows and branches of trees made of many pieces of paper sticky-taped together. There were oceans, rivers and lakes too but some of them were so big they stretched from one side of the room to the other."

In a moment that lingers with me, on the day the family leave for Australia, everything in their Little World box is gone. Peijing knows that her mother has done this. Biuj is distraught but the girls find one paper rabbit hidden under a flap in the box. Peijing tells Biuj to hide the rabbit so they can take him to Australia. There is such a raw honesty to this scene that it must be a memory from Shirley Marr's own childhood. In fact I wonder how much of this story is autobiographical such as the scene where Biju refuses to use chopsticks (chapter 10). I also adored the unfold friendship between Peijing and Joanna. Every story needs a special and kind friend like Joanna. 

"Peijing's heart was beating fast. She wanted to yell at the boy to take back what he said about Joanna. She wanted to punch him in the face for saying what he did about her. Then she wanted to run out of the school gates, run until she reached the ocean and, even though she could now swim, make it impossibly back home."

Interspersed between chapters are Biju’s own retellings of myths and fables, offering the sisters a chance to consider elements of Chinese culture as Peijing seeks to navigate between the values of her family and their teachings and what she learns in Australia. And we also witness a transformation of each family member - Ba Ba softens, cooks and forms a relationship with his daughters and Ma Ma finds a job at the Asian Mart. 

This is a read with tons of heart. Peijing, is a kind and family orientated girl, who tries her best to keep a positive outlook but often feels like she's sinking, instead. She struggles not only with the new environment and language but can't seem to find her place in school. Still, she does her best and keeps an inspiring and heart-warming attitude...even when it proves difficult, at times. Especially her relationship with her younger sister touches the heart (even when things aren't always smooth) and makes this a wonderful read about the sisterly bond. Book Worm for Kids

There are so many things to say about this book – it’s lyrical, magical, beautiful, and comforting – because it reassures all readers that we are not alone in feeling like we don’t fit in, and lets readers know that we can find a way to fit in and be ourselves. The Book Muse

As I write this it is Book Week here in Australia and one of the major things that happens this week is the announcement of our National children's book award winners by the Children's Book Council of Australia.  There are six categories of awards and one of these is for Younger Readers (in the US you might call this elementary school).  The winner for 2022 is by Shirley Marr - A Glasshouse of Stars.  

When you read both of these book I recommend you should then try to find books by Gabrielle Wang and Grace Lin (especially Where the Mountain meets the Moon). 

Hurricane Child by Kacen Callender

 

Caroline's mother gave birth to her daughter during a hurricane. " ... it's a curse being born during a hurricane. I won't have an inch of luck for the rest of my days, and sadness will follow me wherever I go."

There is a deep sadness in Caroline's life. "One morning my mom got up and went halfway across the world ... "  All she has now are occasional postcards sent from faraway places and now the postcards have stopped coming.

She also seems to be under a curse: "Seeing that I'm the littlest girl with the darkest skin and the thickest hair in the whole Catholic School, Missus Wilhelmina doesn't like me - no not at all. I get a smacking on my bum for everything: not looking her in the eye when spoken to, laughing too loud during playtime, and thinking I'm better than everyone else because I know the answers to her questions in class, for asking too many questions in class, for not crying after those bum smackings. I always refuse to cry after a bum smacking." The other girls taunt and tease her, no one is her friend. Every day Caroline makes the long journey by boat from her home on Water Island to Saint Thomas and everyday her experience at school is utterly dreadful. 

All of these things motivate Caroline. She is determined to find her mother. She needs answers to her desperate questions - Why did her mother leave? Does her mother love her? Was it Caroline's fault that she left? Will she please come back? 

Caroline mostly does not worry about being different but she is deeply lonely until a new girl arrives in the class. Kalinda is a special girl. She is not bullied by the other horrid girls, she is confident and wise. It seems impossible to Caroline that Kalinda could very be her friend but somehow this does happen and life feels better until the terrible day when Kalinda (and those other horrid girls) read the beautiful love letter Caroline has written to Kalinda. This love is more than the love of a friend. This is a deep first love. The Wikipedia entry for this book says: there is a "romantic relationship that is developed between two of the main adolescent characters."

This is another one of those books where I feel quite conflicted.  Many reviewers list this book for ages 9+ or even 8+.  When I finished reading Hurricane Child I declared it was a Young Adult title for 12 or perhaps 13+. If you look at my list of labels I have assigned to this post it is clear this book has mature themes.  

Here is a quote from the New York Times (part of their discussion of four recent books including Hurricane Child)

Reading a middle-grade novel can feel like opening Pandora’s box. Devastating storms. Racial injustice. Violence, divorce, bullying, class conflict, depression, displacement, illness, grief, homophobia, abandonment, isolation, money worries and suicide attempts.

I did enjoy so much about this book. The voice and honesty of Caroline, the descriptions of the Caribbean islands, and the unwavering determination of Caroline to find her mother.  The way Kacen Callender describes the Caribbean islands reminded of the way I felt reading Turtle in Paradise set in Key West Florida. Here are some maps to help orientate you to the setting of this book:

Here is a photo of the type of Taxi Caroline catches after her boat ride. 

Why do I think this book is for older readers: Caroline's mother has previously attempted suicide; every day Caroline is beaten by her Catholic school teacher; Caroline is making new discoveries about her own sexuality; and then there is the violence of the bullying inflicted on Caroline every day.

Each of these reviews has more plot details:

Kirkus Star review

Horn Book

Ms Yingling Reads

School Library Journal

You can see several awards on the front cover - Stonewall Award (Given for exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience in English-language books published in the U.S.) and Lambada Literature Award (Created over 30 years ago to recognise the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world). Here is a video review by Andrea Pinkney.

Companion reads:

Jubilee

October October