The Water of Possibility

by Hiromi Goto, Aries Cheung (Illustrator), Janet Lunn (Preface)

The last thing twelve-year-old Sayuri wants to do is move to the country, on "a trip to eternal boredom." Sayuri loves her life in the city and her achievements as a competitive swimmer. But her father, a nurse, has found a job in rural Alberta. Sayuri is also not impressed by the dilapidated old house they rent. One day after school, she and her little brother Keiji explore the dark root cellar and are transported to Middle World, a woodland full of figures from Japanese folklore. When Keiji, who has serious asthma, gets lost, Sayuri must find him. A giant yamanba woman, a shapeshifter fox, and a green water sprite called a kappa all help her on her way. In the meantime, Sayuri discovers and helps attack an evil blight that has befallen Middle World. As Sayuri struggles to battle this great evil, find her brother, and lead them both home, she finds new strength in herself and grows in wisdom. Finally, she does find her brother and together they stand before the magic Water of Possibility. They must find the courage to each take from it one good and one bad thing. When they do this, and confront their worst fears, they are also able to find their way home. Hiromi Goto is an award-winning author whose 1994 novel A Chorus of Mushrooms was a co-winner of the Canada-Japan Book Award and the Best First Book Award for the Canada/Caribbean region of the Commonwealth Writers Prize.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens, Speculative Fiction

319 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2001

About the author

Hiromi’s first novel, Chorus of Mushrooms (1994), received the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book in the Caribbean and Canada region and was co-winner of the Canada-Japan Book Award. Her short stories and poetry have been widely published in literary journals and anthologies. Her second novel, The Kappa Child (2001), was a finalist for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Regional Book, and was awarded the James Tiptree Jr. Memorial Award. Her first children’s novel, The Water of Possibility, was also published that year. Hopeful Monsters, a collection of short stories, was released in 2004. Her YA/Crossover novel, Half World (2009), was long-listed for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and received the 2010 Sunburst Award and the Carl Brandon Society Parallax Award. Her long poem, co-written with David Bateman, came out in Fall 2009. Wait Until Late Afternoon is her first book-length poetry publication. Darkest Light, companion book to Half World, will be released in 2012 with Penguin Canada.

Hiromi is an active member of the literary community, a writing instructor, editor and the mother of two children. She has served in numerous writer-in-residencies and is currently in BC, working on Darkest Light.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

When twelve-year-old Sayuri Kato and her little brother Keiji enter the root cellar in their new home, they find themselves transported to Living Earth, a magical world in which humans are the story-book characters, and kappas, shape-shifting foxes, onis, tanukis, and other creatures of Japanese folklore are the real-life beings. When Keiji becomes lost, Sayuri must journey through this myth-inhabited land, accompanied by her new friends Echo and Machigai. Her search leads her to Great Uncle Mischief the fox, who calls himself the Patriarch, and is destroying Living Earth and its inhabitants in his quest for power...

This lovely book was published by Coteau Books, a small Canadian press located in Saskatchewan, and is part of their multicultural series In the Same Boat. It functions on a variety of levels, all of which appeal to me. First and foremost, it is an engaging fantasy story that should please young readers of all stripes. It is also a multicultural story that encourages the young reader to think about issues of diversity, without ever being preachy. It is especially valuable in this regard, because of its genre, since so much fantasy has a European or Euro-American cultural background (which I don't object to, as long as it's not the only thing being made available). The folkloric content is especially high, which pleases the researcher in me.

But most of all, it is a very philosophical book. During her journey, Sayuri learns important lessons about balance, and the need for all beings to respect one another and the environment in which they live. In keeping with the idea of balance, Goto resists the urge to demonize the villain of the piece, and although Great Uncle Mischief's actions are seen as evil, he is never depicted as completely bad. His great crime, in trying to usurp all power for himself, was to ignore the virtue of balance: between creatures and environment, and between male and female (his overthrow of Yamamba). But even he is not hopeless, and is offered a chance to redeem himself... which in avoiding extreme notions of punishment, again demonstrates balance. Goto's strong feminist and ecological themes are worked seamlessly into the excellent writing and storytelling. A simply wonderful book...

[Shauna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is wonderful. I bought it as an adult at a book signing event years ago and enjoyed reading it. Now, many years later I’ve pulled off the shelf to read with my 10 year old daughter and we absolutely are loving it. It is well written, the characters are amazing. I spent time living in Japan, and my daughter also has an interest in Japan. I highly recommend this book!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyed the story telling style and the creatures in the book.

[Shinyfluff · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun adventure with some beautiful ideas and prose

[Elana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book as a middle schooler, and now at 18, I'm still thrilled with it. To me, The Water of Possibility is best described as a synthesis of A Wrinkle in Time, the Narnia series, and a Miyazaki movie. It's a moving and engaging narrative of a young girl struggling to deal with adolescent self-confidence issues, the disconnect between her cultural heritages as a Japanese-Canadian, an annoying younger brother, and, of course, the overhanging specter of puberty. Sounds complicated, but it's actually a very quick, enjoyable and adventure-filled read!

My one pet peeve with The Water of Possibility is that Goto has a penchant for extremely short sentences, which can be a drag to read until you really get sucked into the story. Sometimes she will even. Split a single clause. Into multiple sentences. This can be kind of weird, especially if you're an overly grammar-concerned reader (like yours truly).

Overall, I totally recommend this book. Buy it for your kids, but read it yourself before you pass it on!

[Maria (Ri) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just OK for me. I enjoyed the "reality" world of Sayuri's life moving to rural prairie Canada from the city much more than the fantasy portion of the story, though I do enjoy a lively tanuki or two! I was distracted also by how crass the discussions were among characters. It seemed that there was much talk of boogers, butts, crapping of pants, etc and little else. I get that kids talk like this on occasion (mine certainly do!) but it is not their only topic of conversation, especially at 7 and 12 years old.

I read this for a readathon celebrating the life of nwpassage who recently passed away from cancer. Thinking of you, Holly! <3