While I Was Away
Waka T. Brown
Based on the author’s childhood, this novel takes place in 1984 as twelve-year-old Waka spends an extended stay in Japan. Sent to Tokyo to strengthen her Japanese, she lives with a grandmother who initially seems strict and distant. Waka faces difficult experiences at school and culture shock while navigating life between two cultures. Over the summer, she begins to find a sense of home in both cultural worlds.
This book appears on 3 reading lists across 2 editions from 3 organizations.
