"Orchards" by Holly Thompson follows the journey of a Japanese-American teenager named Kana. After her friend’s tragic suicide, Kana travels to Japan to visit her relatives, hoping to find healing and understanding. Immersed in her family's orchard, she grapples with the weight of grief, cultural identity, and the impact of her friend’s death. Through her experiences in Japan, Kana discovers the complexities of life, the importance of connection, and the healing power of nature. The story beautifully intertwines themes of loss, cultural heritage, and personal growth as Kana learns to navigate her emotions and embrace her identity. [Generated by language model - please report any problems].

This book is aimed at children at US 7th grade-12th grade.

This book has been graded for interest at 12-17 years.

This book is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed. This book was published in 2011 by Delacorte Press .

Holly Thompson is the author of several novels in verse for children. Twilight Chant is her first picture book. She splits her time between Japan and Massachusetts. Visit her website at www. hatbooks. com.