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3.5 

The Blossom and the Firefly

By Sherri L. Smith
The Blossom and the Firefly by Sherri L. Smith digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

From the award-winning author of Flygirl comes this powerful WWII romance between two Japanese teens caught in the cogs of an unwinnable war, perfect for fans of Salt to the Sea, Lovely War, and Code Name Verity.

Japan 1945. Taro is a talented violinist and a kamikaze pilot in the days before his first and only mission. He believes he is ready to die for his country . . . until he meets Hana. Hana hasn't been the same since the day she was buried alive in a collapsed trench during a bomb raid. She wonders if it would have been better to have died that day . . . until she meets Taro.

A song will bring them together. The war will tear them apart. Is it possible to live an entire lifetime in eight short days?

Sherri L. Smith has been called "an author with astonishing range" and "a stellar storyteller" by E. Lockhart, the New York Times-bestselling author of We Were Liars, and "a truly talented writer" by Jacqueline Woodson, the National Book Award-winning author of Brown Girl Dreaming. Here, with achingly beautiful prose, Smith weaves a tale of love in the face of death, of hope in the face of tragedy, set against a backdrop of the waning days of the Pacific War.

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78 Reviews

3.5
“two stars ∗ i’m sad to say that i didn’t love this as much as i hoped i would :( while i did enjoy learning more about an aspect of wwii that i was ignorant about, i just felt as if there wasn’t much of a plot to it. the writing was quite descriptive and dragged on a bit, and the switched between first person and third person pov was difficult to get used to. overall, this was a somewhat enjoyable read but just not for me, unfortunately. ∗”
“The subject was a good one, but unfortunately, it was written in a bit of a bland manner. I didn't really feel like I was there, experiencing those things with the characters. It is, however, educational.”

About Sherri L. Smith

Sherri L. Smith is the author of several novels for young adults, including the critically acclaimed Flygirl, Orleans, and Pasadena, as well as the middle-grade novel The Toymaker's Apprentice. She teaches creative writing at Goddard College and Hamline University and lives in Los Angeles, California.

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