Orchards

Title: Orchards

Author: Holly Thompson

Publisher: Random House Children's Books

Publication Date: February, 2011

Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction-Multicultural/Novel-in-Verse

Summary: After a classmate of Kana's commits suicide, Kana wonders if she is partially responsible as her and her friends were not kind to Ruth and since her death Kana has learned a lot about her. To help her get through her grief and away from the situation, Kana, half Japanese half Jewish, is sent to stay in her mother's small home village in Japan. Here Kana works in the orange groves and finds peace within the orchards. Though at times she feels out of place or that her grandmother is being too tough, she begins to heal. 

What I Think: When a novel in verse is written well, it can have such an emotional presence and this book is one that is and does. This book not only deals with grief, it deals with being conscious of your actions and being responsible for your words. Kana, being an 8th grader, says that the words were only words, but to Ruth, the words hurt her so much she didn't feel like she could live anymore. This intense novel, filled with beautiful moments (and some funny ones) keeps you emotionally attached throughout the whole novel. 

Read Together: Grades 7 to 9  

Read Alone: Grades 7 to 11

Read With: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson, Dear Bully edited by Megan Kelley Hall, Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol

Snatch of Text: "Chapter 1: Because of You

One week after

you stuffed a coil of rope 

into your backpack

and walked uphill into

Osgoods' orchard

where blooms were still closed fists

my father looked up 

summer airfares

to Tokyo

why?

I protested

it wasn't my fault

I didn't do anything! 

exactly!

my mother hissed and made the call 

to her older sister

my aunt

in Shizuoka

nothing would change 

their minds." (p. 1-3) 

"when you started talking

to Jake Osgood

who Lisa liked

who Lisa hoped to go out with

who Lisa had enlisted all of our help

all winter

to get

when you and Jake 

just sat down on the 

sidewalk and

leaned back against the school wall

     and laughed

     and shrugged

     and just talked casual

          like you were best friends - 

what did you expect?" (p. 37)


Also check out page 72 & 200

Mentor Text for: Novel in verse, Setting, Free verse

Writing Prompts: Do you think that Kana and the other girls's bullying pushed Ruth to suicide? What could Ruth have done instead?; Research bipolar disorder. What are some ways that Ruth could have gotten help for her disorder?; How can you stop bullying in your school?  

Topics Covered: Cross curricular- Physics, Suicide, Bullying, Identity, Ancestors, Family, Culture, Heritage, Hard work, Bipolar Disorder, Clique, Responsibility

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