Kadohata, Cynthia. Half a World Away. New York: Atheneum, 2014.

“Jaden sat on the floor, holding on to a half loaf of unsliced bread. He switched his lamp on and off, the bedroom lighting up and darkening over and over. Electricity had always relaxed him. For sure it was the most amazing thing about America.”

Jaden is fascinated by electricity - in part because he can remember not having in his native country as a young child. He has also learned to harness his fascination electricity and use it as a focus to control other negative impulses that plague him. This twelve year old is struggling. Adopted by Penni and Steve as a four year old, Jaden struggles - struggles to believe that his adoptive parents love him, struggles to believe that he has a place in the world he is in. Through the unconditional love of his adoptive parents and some consistent and effective counseling, he begins to make slow progress. A trip to Kazakhstan to adopt a baby brother can either be his hope or his salvation.

Kadohata offers a powerfully moving story. I loved watching Jaden find his way with the help of the tiny tot Dimash, whom he’d love to have his parents adopt, and with the help of Sam, their driver who takes him to see an eagle hunt. Sam tells Jaden, who doesn’t necessarily want to see the eagle, “Why not? The eagle is a powerful bird. I can promise you, you will take some of its power home with you”
“What kind of power?” [Jaden] asked.”
“The power to become a man.”

Indeed, he discovers his power when he overcomes his fear and learns to love. Dimash first, then Penni and Steve, finally Ramazan - his new baby brother.

I will be book talking this title next week with 8th graders. I have a series of titles that are simply entitled “Kids I Love.” Jaden will be one of those kids. Kadohata offers us powerful insight into the mind of a child who be termed “difficult” by the folks around him. I am pleased any time that I can encourage our kids to be more careful about judging a book by its cover. We battle bad behavior; we encourage empathy. This book, Jaden, will allow me to talk about these things in a powerful way. The difficult ideas that this book introduces are plentiful, but Kadohata makes them accessible, opening the dialogue.