All the Ways Home by Elsie Chapman - OPTIONAL

 

All the Ways Home by Elsie Chapman, 216 pages. Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan), 2019. $17.  

Content: Language: G; Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG.  

BUYING ADVISORY: MS – OPTIONAL  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE  

12yo Kaede is angry and confused.  He just lost his mom in a car accident because of a distracted driver and he acts out by throwing a flaming brick at the driver’s home and he lashes out at his best friend, causing serious harm. Kaede’s grandfather is trying to take care of him, but Kaede is excited to have the opportunity to go and live with his father and older brother in Japan.  He has questions for his brother, Shoma, and his dad. Kaede is especially wondering why they haven’t kept in contact with Kaede, so he is disappointed when he arrives in Japan and his father is out on a photography assignment.  Shoma is a great brother and tries to help Kaede, but Kaede is distracted by the fact that his father never shows up.  Kaede has to learn to accept what he does have in his life and Shoma is there to help him.  

I enjoyed the parts of the story that showed the power of familial bonds.  Kaede is hard to like and I felt like the author was taking me on a tour of Japan, with details and descriptions of Tokyo which got a bit boring after a while.  The ending wasn’t very realistic, and parts of the story portrayed Kaede doing things that a 12yo wouldn’t be mature enough to do.  

Reviewer, C. Peterson.