Shy Ways

by Susan Griner

Sarah Templeton dreams of escaping a Tennessee town where the kids call her “slanty eyes” or ignore her because she is the only Japanese-American anyone has ever seen. She never defends herself because she cries too easily like her Japanese mother. She wishes she were more like her father whose temper she mistakes for strength. Sarah’s dad keeps secrets about his new job but Sarah hears rumors about accidents at the plant and sick employees. When a strange cloud of gas floats out of the plant and drifts toward town, everyone panics. Sarah forgets her own troubles when her mom who falls into a deep depression after the crisis is over. Sarah understand her mother’s fear of the accident at the plant when she learns about the bomb that destroyed her mother’s in home in Nagasaki. Sarah’s mom recovers enough for a visit to Sarah’s school, but the sound of the fire alarm reminds her mom of the air raid sirens she heard during the World War II. When her mother refuses to leave the school, Sarah has to find a way to wake her mother from the past. As Sarah realizes her mother’s inner strength, she begins to embrace her heritage.

312 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

Susan Griner is an author of children's fiction. She's written two books for the Girls Survive Series. Fumiko and a Tokyo Tragedy and Rei Escapes Disaster. Her picture books include Kitchen Chaos and Ivy and Grandma. She has written short stories and poetry for both Cricket and Babybug magazine. She lives in Washington state with her husband and two daughters.

Reviews

[Rachel Barnard · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I wanted a day off from being part Japanese, part anything." (Page 145).

Sarah doesn't like her new home or her new school. The other kids call her mean names because she's half-Japanese. She wishes she would stand up for herself and speak up, but every time she doesn't say a word and sometimes cries instead. When the plant where her father and most of the town works has an accident with a chemical leak, it will affect Sarah's entire family and the whole town. Sarah will forget all about the mean, ignorant comments at school when her mother falls into a deep depression. Taking charge, Sarah will have to find her voice and help her mother.

The story really picks up after the incident at the plant, but we see such a change in Sarah's home life from before the accident to after. Sarah herself goes through quite a transformation from the beginning of the book to the end. She grows up a lot for a young girl and learns quite a few lessons - like standing up and saying something when someone says something ignorant and mean. She also learns to embrace her mother and her ethnicity, even though it isn't a part of her life at all except for her heritage.

Both Sarah and her sister were so true to their ages that I could picture them clearly as the kids they were. The young one blurts out whatever's on her mind and the older one tries to do what she thinks she's supposed to or follow social norms.

This is a great example of a book of diversity - drawing on issues that kids face when they grow up as second generation Americans.

[Chelseyam · Rating 5 out of 5]

It seems like we are living in darker times today, which is why I enjoyed such an exceptional story. The main character struggles with being bi-racial, until she realizes that her heritage brings her so much more than the children in school could ever imagine. I love that this book touches on so many major factors that we face today. Racism, chemical pollution, PTSD, depression and more. The writing in this novel is obviously designed for children, so it is a quick read for adults. However, this is certainly a book I will encourage my daughter to read when she is old enough. The book not only teaches children to accept their peers for who they are, but it also gives a much needed history lesson that might teach children to learn from the past. I would recommend this book to young adults, but also to parents wanting to teach compassion and strength to their children.

[Michellej · Rating 5 out of 5]

So touching! “Shy Ways” is about a young girl dealing with being different – first generation Japanese American – and being strong in the face of racial slurs, meanness and stupidity. The writing allows you to feel the pain that she feels and recognize the senseless in ostracizing persons because of their birth. A good story to be read by young adults who would better appreciate and embrace positive individualism. I felt that the sensitivity with which this story was written made it very engaging and heartwarming.

[Lynda C. Griner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A special book

A great read for all of us who were "different" when we were growing up and that would include most of us!