Wow. This was an absolutely beautiful story. I recently read another novel in free verse (novels in verse are not my usual) and I hesitated to rate it as less than a three despite not liking it because I assumed that the lack of depth in characters and plot was directly related to the brevity required of a novel in verse.

I was wrong. That book just wasn't very good. Orchards, on the other hand, is artfully done, with the voice of someone who knows poetry and can therefore write in free verse, as opposed to being forced to fill up the pages required for publication by breaking sentences awkwardly mid-line. Holly Thompson manages to pack centuries of history into a few lines. Less than eleven words can break your heart in this story.

I have a deep and abiding love for Japan, with no real explanation as to why. This book both quenched and deepened that thirst in its descriptions of an ancient country, rich in culture and tradition.

This book is a must purchase for libraries with binational and third culture kids. Thompson hits the nail on the head as she gently paints the picture of a young girl caught between two backgrounds with no distinct place in either one. You're pretty much guaranteed to end in tears, but it is an excellent example of the fact that "it's never too late to become who you might have been". A definite for our year of reading at my school next year.