The Blossom and the Firefly | TheBookSeekers

The Blossom and the Firefly


School year: Year 10, Year 8, Year 9

No. of pages 320

Published: 2020

Great for age 12-18 years

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Japan 1945. Taro is a talented violinist and a kamikaze pilot in the days before his first and only mission. He believes he is ready to die for his country until he meets Hana. Hana hasnt been the same since the day she was buried alive in a collapsed trench during a bomb raid. She wonders if it would have been better to have died that dayuntil she meets Taro. A song will bring them together. The war will tear them apart. Is it possible to live an entire lifetime in eight short days? Sherri L. Smith has been called an author with astonishing range and a stellar storyteller by E. Lockhart, the New York Times-bestselling author of We Were Liars, and a truly talented writer by Jacqueline Woodson, the National Book Award-winning author of Brown Girl Dreaming. Here, with achingly beautiful prose, Smith weaves a tale of love in the face of death, of hope in the face of tragedy, set against a backdrop of the waning days of the Pacific War.

 

 

This book is the winner of numerous awards

This book is aimed at children at US 7th grade+.

This book has been graded for interest at 12 years.

There are 320 pages in this book.

It 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 2020 by Penguin Putnam Inc .

Sherri L. Smith (www. sherrilsmith. com ) is the author of several novels for young adults, including the critically acclaimed Flygirl and Orleans . She lives in Los Angeles, California. Follow her on Twitter: @Sherri_L_Smith

 

This book has been nominated for the following award:

Golden Kite Award - Fiction
This book was recognised in the Fiction category of the Golden Kite Award.

"Delicate and incandescent by turns, this jewel of a tale of war and love is breathtakingly courageous."--Elizabeth Wein, bestselling author of Code Name Verity

"Sherri L. Smith continues to astound with The Blossom and the Firefly, an exquisite novel that shines with compassion and empathy as it illuminates the numbing terror of war and the healing power of music and love."--Laura Ruby, Printz Award winner and National Book Award finalist for Bone Gap

"A beautiful, poignant, and heartrending journey of two souls toward an appalling inevitability. With the most delicate of touches, Sherri L. Smith creates a meticulous portrait of a nation and two of its children deceived, driven, and undone by the hubris of authoritarian rule. A gentle love story and a horrific warning for the ages."--Matt Killeen, author of Orphan Monster Spy

"A sensitive and lyrical tale, full of redemption, sacrifice, and hope. Sherri L. Smith excels at shining a light into dusty corners of history, this time giving us an intimate look at the human cost of war in 1945 Japan. A stirring, sparkling gem of a novel."--Stacey Lee, award-winning author of Outrun the Moon

"Written in gorgeous, lyrical prose, The Blossom and the Firefly transports readers to the impending doom hovering over an air base in Japan during the final days of World War II. This little-known slice of history comes alive through the voices of Nadeshiko girl Hana and tokko pilot Taro, two teenagers whose sense of duty to their country is equal only to their shared feelings of loss as they hover between life and death. Many a tear will be shed over these pages. Absolutely stunning."--Kip Wilson, author of White Rose