Mieko and the Fifth Treasure by Eleanor Coerr

Rating: 5/5

Summary:

Mieko's story is an intense one. Mieko is a gifted calligrapher and musician (handwriting artist). During the airstrikes of the war, her hand is seriously injured. The terrified young girl is sent to live with her grandparents in the country, where she will be safer.

Strengths:

This is a really straightforward story. It doesn't deal with the consequences of the atomic bomb, but rather with people's "everyday" brutality to one another and one girl's reaction to it.

Weakness:

While reading this novel, I had the impression that Eleanor Coerr hadn't given it her all and that she should have done more, as I had with her earlier and more acclaimed work, "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes."

My Opinion:

I'm delighted to have had the opportunity to read this marvelous story; it's delightful, funny, and full of wisdom. I started reading this book about a month ago, read a few chapters, and couldn't finish it, but I kept returning to it. I'm just curious as to why I didn't like it as much the second time around; I'm sure I was just in a bad mood at the time.