The Blossom and The Firefly by Sherri L. Smith - ESSENTIAL

The Blossom and The Firefly by Sherri L. Smith 310 pages. Penguin Random House Publishing, 2020, $18.

Language: PG; Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS – ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Taro and Hana are two 15yo seeing World War II from different points of view in Japan in 1945. Taro is a young soldier who is a talented musician who has given it all  up to be a death bomber for his country. Although still a boy, he knows he is ready to complete his duty and die for his Emperor and people. Hana is the young girl who does the laundry and cleaning for his barracks. She has lost her brother and father and all the men in her village and given up hope, until his music brings her back to life.  His violin and passionate playing bonds them together and they each begin to dream of a life that will never be and that they will never have.

The genius of this book is that it has a male and a female voice in a historical fiction novel to engage the whole classroom learning about the Eastern Front of World War II. There are haunting images of Japan before and after the war from both Taro and Hana’s perspective and their viewpoints of the Americans and Japan’s Emperor and the war in Europe and how it differs from their own battle. Although I am not sure how many students would read this book on their own, it is perfect for small book clubs and a classroom read when studying World War 2 and Japan.

Dina W. - ELA teacher