The Language Inside Hardcover – May 14, 2013

This book is out of publishing (SO SAD!) so make sure to pick it up while you still can. It's a wonderful read that dives into what it means to truly belong. It's a great pairing with the graphic novel American Born Chinese. American Born Chinese

I absolutely loved this book. It was so gentle and soft, like reading poetry while learning a deeply intricate story. The descriptions of nature, running, Emma's feelings, her internal wars, were so spot on, so wonderfully unfolded. It was just beautiful to read from start to finish.

Emma, though American, has lived in Japan all her life, and considers it her home. When her mother becomes ill, the family moves to America until her treatment is done and they can move back. Emma misses everything about Japan and feels like a fish out of water with her school mates and everyone's American ways. After she starts volunteering, she meets Samnang and they grow close.There is a lot happening in this book - earthquakes, tsunamis, cultural differences, cancer, death, friendship, first love, migraines, PTSD, war, family relationships and obligations... Sometimes I felt like it was maybe one issue too many, but I think Holly Thompson did a pretty good job of keeping everything moving and meshing it all together into one fluent story.I really liked Emma, she was kind and thoughtful and so nice. There was nary a sign of teenage brattiness to her. She had lovely parents, who cared about each other and talked to each other and their kids. Emma's little brother didn't play a big part, but he seemed nice enough. You could call this your average nice family. I also liked Samnang, though I found him to be a bit on the quiet side for me. I loved the woman in the nursing home Emma started visiting, Zena. She was bedridden and unable to move anything except her eyes. Even with those limitations, you could tell she had a great attitude and a fun sense of humor.The words were written in free verse form with very little punctuation, and only line breaks to help keep everything in order. The times when someone was talking were indicated by italics, not quotation marks. It only took a page or two for me to get into the flow of the words, and after that, I zipped through, able to follow along perfectly.I don't know when to say whatI don't know if something's funny or notI don't get sarcasmlayered over sarcasmand jokes made byunjoking facesI know how to read silence in JapanI can read the air in Japanbut I don't have a cluehow to read the air hereWith such sparse words and free-flowing nature of the words, Holly Thompson knows how to paint a picture. She made you feel how lonely Emma was, even when surrounded by people. And though there wasn't a lot of talk about her mom's cancer, Holly still managed to express how scared Emma was.

Having lived in Japan myself, and experiencing the reverse culture shock the main character does, I deeply connected with her. The way it was written in blank verse grew on me and was very lovely.

Good book

The Language Inside was a a beautiful creative look into Japanese culture and the impact poetry can have on people. A unique mix of poetry, dance, family, and friendship inside a dramatic and romantic contemporary, this novel is interesting and creative beyond belief. An insightful look into Japanese culture, life after the tsunami, trauma, and many other problems, this novel not only is enjoyable, but also teaches many morals.A nuanced novel in verse that explores identity in a multicultural world.Emma Karas was raised in Japan; it's the country she calls home. But when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Emma's family moves to a town outside Lowell, Massachusetts, to stay with Emma's grandmother while her mom undergoes treatment.Emma feels out of place in the United States.She begins to have migraines, and longs to be back in Japan. At her grandmother's urging, she volunteers in a long-term care center to help Zena, a patient with locked-in syndrome, write down her poems. There, Emma meets Samnang, another volunteer, who assists elderly Cambodian refugees. Weekly visits to the care center, Zena's poems, dance, and noodle soup bring Emma and Samnang closer, until Emma must make a painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return home early to Japan.The plot of this novel was magnificent. It flowed nicely as it followed the young Emma as she left her home in Japan to live in America as her mom has to have her breast removed and participate in treatments due to breast cancer. Emma is faced with many of the usual struggles, like making new friends, missing her old friends, and dealing with family, friendship, and possible relationship problems. But she is also faced with dealing with her healing mother, helping out her new friend Zena at the care home, trying to think of ways to help out with the Tsunami victims, and struggling to find out where she fits in this whole situation and how she can help. One thing I really liked about Emma is how she strives to help everyone and spreads herself thin without even realizing she isn't living her own life. Until the end. There is quite a lot of character change that takes place within this interesting and creative plot, and it is sure to keep you enchanted.I will briefly touch on the characters in this novel, since I found them all so wonderfully interesting and unique. They each played their own important role in the novel's story and each one had an interesting back story. Each character's dialogue fit perfectly and they were all very realistic. I especially loved Samnang's character and the way he accepted his past and strived to change for himself and for Emma. The way he interacted with her was very natural and sweet, and the romance that budded between this was very magical and classic.The writing was eloquent and beautiful. Written with such skill and simplicity, this novel's writing came across beautifully, both dramatic, tragic, romantic, and compassionate. Those four words can describe this novel perfectly and entirely. Thompson writes a novel in beautiful prose that is both flowing and descriptive, something that cannot always be accomplished in prose. I very much enjoyed her writing and I cannot wait to read more in the future.The beginning of this novel was a little slow, and at times, I felt like the writing was a bit choppy and disinteresting, and a little bland as "filler type" writing. Aside from these few qualms I had with the story, I saw The Language Inside as a beautiful, simple contemporary that was a wonderful mix of Japanese culture and family. With drama, romance, trauma, and more, this novel is one that fans of all genres can enjoy. Simply beautiful.