Kira-Kira is a novel about a young Japanese girl, Katie Takeshima, growing up in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Though she lives in a volatile time, she is oblivious to everything around her except the security of her family's love. That cocoon of love is slowly shattered, however, beginning with a move that takes her family from the familiar cornfields of Iowa to Georgia.

At five, Katie believes Georgia is a foreign land where everyone speaks with such a strong southern accent that she will never be able to understand a word they have to say. Imagine her surprise when, within a few short months, she finds herself speaking with that same thick accent as though she had been born there.

Life is much different in Georgia for Katie and her family. In order to save for a home of their own, Katie's parents must...