{"product_id":"the-language-inside-9780385739795","title":"The Language Inside","description":"\u003cp\u003eA nuanced novel in verse that explores identit  friendship  love  loss  and home in a multicultural world.  For Emma Karas  Japan is home. It is where she has lived almost her entire life. But when her mother falls ill  Emmas family moves in with her grandmother  back in Massachusetts. Emma is desperately homesick. She feels out of place in the U.S. and starts to get painful migraines. Then Emma begins volunteering at a long-term care center  helping a patient  Zena  write down her poems. There  Emma meets Samnang  a cute boy from her high school. As the weeks pass  Emma and Samnang grow close. But when Emma is given the choice  will she stay in Massachusetts  or return home to Japan?  An ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection A Bankstreet Best Book of the Year A Notable Books for a Global Society Selection A Notable Childrens Books in the Language Arts  With beautiful language and deep sensitivity  Holly Thompson explores the courage it takes to find your own voice. Patricia McCormick  author of National Book Award finalist Never Fall Down  Pulsing with pain and passion  with humor  heart  and hope. Sonya Sones  author of What My Mother Doesnt Know and To Be Perfectly Honest  Thompson captures perfectly the feeling of belonging elsewhere. A sensitive and compelling read that will inspire teens to contemplate how they can make a difference. School Library Journal  Starred  Thompson nimbly braids political tragedy  natural disaster  PTSD  connections among families  and a cautious  quiet romance into an elegant whole. This is an artistic picture of devastation  fragility  bonds and choices. Kirkus Reviews  Thompson  working in a free-verse style that becomes a seamless piece of a world imbued with poetry  weaves the plot strands together skillfully. The result is a touching portrait of Emma working through loss and opportunity as Lowell becomes not just not-Japan  but the site of new connections and a possible romance. Publishers Weekly  The vivid imagery in the lyrical free verse lends immediacy to Emmas turbulent feelings. Readers will finish the book knowing that  like Zena  the Cambodian refugees  and the tsunami victims  Emma has the strength to a hundred times fall down \/ a hundred and one times get up. The Horn Book Magazine\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45276583919669,"sku":"ByrdShop_0385739796","price":66.2,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780385739795.jpg?v=1780556732","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-language-inside-9780385739795","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}