Natalie Dias Lorenzi

Moving story of a family that flees Pakistan, but has to leave their father behind. Bilal, 10 years old, fifth grade. Learning the difference between cricket and baseball. Learning how to be a friend despite peer pressure to not be friends with a girl who is the best baseball player on the team. I like that there's very little bullying of Bilal -- his challenges with English do not include a lot of mockery. I like the secondary story; Jordan is worried about her father, who is deployed to Afghanistan for his 3rd tour. I like that she calls him on his poor friendship, and that he finds a way to heal the breach. I like Bilal's ingenious attempt to help his father. A satisfying story.… (meer)

Bilal has to leave Pakistan quickly without telling any of his friends. What makes it worse is that it is his birthday and the family is leaving without Baba. Will he make friends in the United States? Do they play cricket there? When will Baba join them? Why can't he come with them? There are so many questions that Bilal has about leaving Pakistan that he is nervous and scared. When they arrive in Washington they are met by his aunt and uncle. Living with his relatives, he is able to learn some things from his cousin Jalal.

Even though Jalal is much older than Bilal, he takes him under his wing. He teaches him about baseball and takes him to baseball camp. Bilal meets some boys there and one girl, Jordan. The boys do not want Jordan on the team because she is a girl, but Bilal feels a special kinship with her. School is another problem for Bilal. He has difficulty with English and again, does not make many friends. The boys he knows from baseball camp are in another class but Jordan is in his class. He develops a reluctant friendship with her and learns that her father is deployed in Afghanistan and she is living with her uncle. He continues to play baseball and Jordan helps him with his pitching and hitting on the sly. He does not want the boys to know they are friends. When his father still does not come to America after almost a year, Bilal is getting worried. He will do whatever he can to get his Baba to come and live with them. He takes a chance at the biggest baseball game of the year, but will it pay off.

This is a great story about coming to America as an immigrant family. It deals with separation from loved ones, dealing with a new language and culture, trying to make friends and fit in as well as making decisions to be true to yourself. I enjoyed this book and recommend it to schools, class libraries, community libraries and to middle grade students.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.… (meer)

Skye is the daughter of a white American mother and a Japanese father. Immediately after their marriage, they moved to Virginia and never looked back, so Skye knows very little about her Japanese heritage, and has never met any of the relatives in Japan. Suddenly her parents tell her she must go to language classes on weekends to become fluent in Japanese, which to her seems pointless, and also will conflict with her passion for soccer.
Hiroshi lives with his parents and his beloved grandfather in Japan. His favorite pastime is spending time with his grandfather in his kite workshop, building fighting rokkuku kites.
Hiroshi's grandfather has cancer, and the best possible treatment for the type he has is to be found in Virginia, so quite suddenly, his family is moving to the town where his cousin Skye, whom he has never even met, live.
Hiroshi doen't want to move, doesn't want to learn English any better than his minimal grasp, doesn't want to miss the rokkuku battle in Japan, and doesn't want anything to do with his girl cousin he dosen't know. Skye is embarrassed at school by being constantly asked to assist and translate for her cousin, and feels little sympathy for his plight, though she quickly grows fond her grandfather.
It takes the death of Grandfather to make Skye and Hiroshi begin to see the value in each other, and in each other's cultures.
In addition to some of the most common YA themes, value of family, getting along with others, seeing another person's point of view, "Flying the Dragon" also explores the themes of moving to another place, culture shock, finding value in one's cultural heritage, and grief.… (meer)

This is a very well written story of two cousins and their families. One cousin, Skye, whose family was estranged from their family in Japan when Skye's father married and american wife and the other cousin, Hiroshi, whose family moved near the beginning of the book to live near Hiroshi's cousins family. They moved to get treatment for Skye and Hiroshi's grandfather who had developed cancer. The book explores and shows the attitudes and difficulties each cousin faces in trying to fit in and find a place for themselves in their new homes. They show the differences between Skye who is starting to adjust and fit in even though she is different from here classmates and Hiroshi who is still learning the english language and needs to lean on Skye for help. The book has a very good flow of story line and appears to be well researched. The writing is well within the reach of preteens as well as older kids. The authors shifting of viewpoint between the main character and presenting the story from their differing points of view keeps the story interesting and adds mystery to the plot. I particularly appreciated the part that "Grandfather" played in the story.… (meer)