Beyond Me

This novel-in-verse examines the aftershocks of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan and damaged a nuclear power plant in March, 2011, through the eyes of eleven-year-old Maya.  Maya and her family were lucky. They didn’t lose their Tokyo home or the lives of family members, but Maya is still terrified. She feels helpless and hopeless. What can she do to help? She chronicles the 24 days after the quake, sometimes minute by minute. Maya and her friend Yuka fold paper cranes and ask for sunflower seeds to plant. She continues writing her journal for 113 days with interesting formatting and timelines. An author’s note tells more about the Great Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of March 11, 2011. mjw

Title: Beyond Me
Author: Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu
Publisher
: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Copyright
: 2020
Original Language
: English
ISBN
: 978-1-48143-789-9
Hardcover pages
: 304
Age range
: 8-12
Genre
: Fiction, Verse
Book setting
: Japan
Author’s ethnicity
: U.S.
Author’s residence
: Tokyo, Japan
Subjects
: Earthquakes, Family life, Japan, Novels in verse, Paper cranes, Sunflowers, Survival, Tsunamis

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