Half a World Away

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A kid who considers himself an epic fail discovers the transformative power of love when he deals with adoption in this novel from Cynthia Kadohata, winner of the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award.Eleven year old Jaden is adopted, and he knows he s an epic fail That s why his family is traveling to Kazakhstan to adopt a new baby to replace him, he s sure And he gets it He is incapable of stopping his stealing, hoarding, lighting fires, aggressive running, and obsession with electricity He knows his parents love him, but he feelsnothing.But when they get to Kazakhstan, it turns out the infant they ve travelled for has already been adopted, and literally within minutes are faced with having to choose from six other babies While his parents agonize, Jaden is interested in the toddlers One, a little guy named Dimash, spies Jaden and barrels over to him every time he sees him Jaden finds himself increasingly intrigued by and worried about Dimash Already three years old and barely able to speak, Dimash will soon age out of the orphanage, and then his life will be as hopeless as Jaden feels now For the first time in his life, Jaden actually feels something that isn t pure blinding fury, and there s no way to control it, or its power.From camels rooting through garbage like raccoons, to eagles being trained like hunting dogs, to streets that are pothole than pavement, Half a World Away is Cynthia Kadohata s latest spark of a novel. Read Half a World Away – kino-fada.fr I am shocked by the low average rating on this book Written from the perspective of a child internationally adopted at age 8, this is SPOT ON author nailed it heart wrenching stuff that really gets behind the fears, brain function, loss, grief, social challenges and mental illness that afflict children who were abandoned and adopted.The voice of Jaden, the main character is sweet, wonderful and completely authentic I think this book was extremely well done in the way it handled the very real I am shocked by the low average rating on this book Written from the perspective of a child internationally adopted at age 8, this is SPOT ON author nailed it heart wrenching stuff that really gets behind the fears, brain function, loss, gr...This review has also been posted on The Social Potato Actual Rating 4.5I haven t read a Middle Grade in a while, but after hitting a bump, I decided to go for this one because I knew Kadohata wouldn t let me down One of the books I can remember making a huge difference in my life as a kid was Kira Kira by the same author, which is why I was so sure I would love this one I am so glad I wasn t proven wrong I ve now read 3 of her works and have yet to be let down This woman can work magicThis review has also been posted on The Social Potato Actual Rating 4.5I haven t read a Middle Grade in a while, but after hitting a bump, I decided to go for this one because I knew Kadohata wouldn t let me down One of the books I can remember making a huge difference in my life as a kid was Kira Kira by the same author, which is why I was so sure I would love this one I am so glad I wasn t proven wrong I ve now read 3 of her works and have yet to be let down This woman can work magic Her stories are powerful and moving and this one was no different.Half a World Away really looks at love and how i...The joys, pains and ever shifting dynamics of family life prove fertile ground, once again, for Cynthia Kadohata In her new, quietly powerful nove she focuses not on the Japanese American families of Kira Kira Newbery Medal, 2005 and The Thing About Luck National Book Award, 2013 but on the fragile triad of a boy named Jaden and his adoptive parents Jaden s past has left him emotionally numb, cut off from himself and others Mary Quattlebaum reviewed it for us The joys, pains and ever shifting dynamics of family life prove fertile ground, once again, for Cynthia Kadohata In her new, quietly po...I think maybe a high 3, but I ll still stick with 3.I liked the idea of this and I reallllly liked some of the ideas that were touched on, but there was a lot going on and I didn t feel like it was satisfactorily wrapped up in the end Maybe it needed to be just about Jaden without the story of the new adoption Or maybe it could ve been about the family s decision to adopt another child and Jaden dealing with everything then.But yeah I liked being in Jaden s head I thought most of that was do I think maybe a high 3, but I ll still stick with 3.I liked the idea of this and I reallllly liked some of the ideas that were touched on, but there was a lot going on and I didn t feel like it was satisfactorily wrapped up in the end Maybe it needed to be just about Jaden without the story of the new adoption Or maybe it could ve been about the family s decision to adopt another child and Jaden dealing ...As the adoptive mother of four internationally children, all of whom were placed with me at about the same age Jaden was placed, I have very divided opinions about this book Yes it shows a journey to love I would perhaps have preferred the story to be in Jaden s voice Who is clearly very bright and who speaks excellent English after 4 years in America But the picture of international adoption didn t work for me His parents, for example, are still dealing with a child showing habits As the adoptive mother of four internationally children, all of whom were placed with me at about the same age Jaden was placed, I have very divided opinions about this book Yes it shows a journey ... Provided by the Publisher via EdelweissI adored this book It was my first time reading a book written by Cynthia Kadohata and I was blown away by how magnificent her writing was I was sucked in from page one and couldn t put it down For lack of a better word, this book was amazing.I was in love with the characters as well as the well written storyline Jaden was such a great, but sort of also a troubled kid He had been through a lot at a very young age which messed him up Penni and Steve, Provided by th...A.m.a.z.i.n.g story One of the reasons why I like to read YA is to remind me how children think The main character, Jaden, is a very mature but very broken little boy He goes on an incredible journey with his adopted parents and learnsthan he thought he could ever know what love is and what...This was a gorgeous little story about international adoption and the emotional challenges that children face when adopted later in childhood You can t help but love Jaden, even as he struggles to form at...The story Jaden s family is traveling to Kazakhstan to adopt another baby, and Jaden knows why it s because he s such a failure as a son He s got a whole bunch of terrible habits, but the worst of them is that he can t bring himself to love his adoptive parents, even after all these years It s only after he meets toddler Dimash at the orphanage, and realizes he s the only one who cares enough to ever make a differen...Half A World Away is a outstanding book How you ask well it touches your heart with the simplest story Jaden, a 12 year old boy adopted from Kazakhstan by Penni and Steve Jaden has had a rough life from being given up from his mom, because she was bored of him To being adopted and going to therapist to therapists Jaden soon discovers that his parents are wanting another kid, Are they bored of me Am I not good enough He asks himself, what will Jaden do next I believe the book started off Half A World Away is a outstanding book How you ask well it touches your heart with the simplest story Jaden, a 12 year old boy adopted from Kazakhstan by Penni and Steve Jaden has had a rough life from being given up from his mom, because she was bored of him To being adopted and going to therapist to therapists Jaden soon discovers that his parents are wanting another kid, Are they bored of me A...

Half a World Away
  • 01 January 2017
  • Hardcover
  • 225 pages
  • 1442412755
  • Cynthia Kadohata
  • Half a World Away