Although Kira-Kira is Cynthia Kadohata's first novel for young readers, the issues she raises and her narrative style bear many similarities to her previously published works of adult fiction, especially The Floating World. Critics often read her works in the context of Asian American literature published in the United States since the 1990s, especially in reference to gender, nationality, and identity. Kadohata's first novel, The Floating World (1989), is a kind of road drama featuring a Japanese American family's attempt to find a place of their own. Like Kira-Kira, The Floating World is set in the 1950s and narrated by a Japanese American girl, who recounts her family's experiences while traveling through the United States in search of good jobs and a home. While they are always included within the Asian American canon, other critics have read Kadohata's works as postmodern texts because of their emphasis on...