Full Cicada Moon

“Where are you from?” Sometimes, this feels like such an innocuous question. But often, it isn’t. For Mimi Yoshiko Oliver, growing up in 1969 Vermont, it feels like a particularly loaded question because her mother is Japanese and her father is African-American. She is American, but she doesn’t “look” it.

Full Cicada Moon is a beautiful novel in verse that takes us through Mimi’s ups and downs as she finds her feet in a new school. Several sections in the story made me stop and sigh—particularly moments when Mimi experienced kindness and sensitivity from her father, a potential friend, or a teacher. Laced with light humour, this middle-grade book is a quick and easy read that juxtaposes the tiny steps we take as individuals with Neil Armstrong’s small step on the moon. 

Whenever I read books that bring in other languages, I love it when these words aren’t explained to us in the middle of the story, but woven in naturally, the way one would speak. Sometimes, we understand from context. At other times, we get a sense of the word. I like it so much more than an artificial introduction of meaning!

Full Cicada Moon immerses us in Mimi’s life and reminds us that things don’t change overnight. Yet, when we take the first small step and slowly, relentlessly, keep going, someday, something’s got to give. More than once, the verse felt like prose with line breaks. While it bothered me in some places, I was soon sucked into this gentle story of courage and hope, love and belonging. I finished the book with a smile and a warm, fuzzy feeling that ultimately, things turn out okay.