The Color of the Sky Is the Shape of the Heart

The Color of the Sky Is the Shape of the Heart is realistic fiction with historical aspects, that was translated from Japanese to English. The main character is named Jinhee and is a Japanese-Born Korean. She has to switch schools a lot, and almost gets expelled from one of her high schools. She starts at a school in Tokyo for Korean kids living in Japan, and all of her classes have to speak only Japanese because Jinhee can’t speak Korean.

I enjoyed this book, although, at some parts, it was a bit confusing because the chapters switched from different time periods and from her speaking in her head versus out loud. My favorite part was when a classmate called to her “Nugu!!” – which means ‘to take off’ in Japanese – and Jinhee ran away weirded out. Later, the classmate explained that it was Korean for “what is your name?”, and he didn’t realize that she didn’t speak any Korean.

I think this book is for ages twelve to fifteen and teens that would like to read about the hardship of being a Korean in Japan where the two countries don’t like each other.