Little Sister

by Kara Dalkey

Book Overview

As a girl in the Japanese imperial court of the 1200s, Mitsuko is shielded from reality. But when her brother-in-law is murdered, and her family taken away by a warlord, she summons the courage to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 015201392X
• ISBN13: 9780152013929
• Release Date: January 1996
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.2" x 9.2"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

Hey, little sister, what have you done?

Author Kara Dalkey flies quietly under the radar, not attracting too much attention to herself. Like some kind of authorial fairy, she drops delightful little books and stories hither and thither for those readers canny enough to discover her. I first noticed Ms. Dalkey after reading her original take on "The Snow Queen" in the collected book of stories, "Firebirds: An Anthology of Original Fantasy and Science Fiction". Aside from that, one of the only other works of children's fiction she's ever published is the unassuming but delightful, "Little Sister". Culling myth, religion, and legend from a variety of sources and placing her book squarely in twelfth-century Japan, Dalkey produces a story in which the fantastic and the mundane integrate seamlessly with one another. This is undoubtedly Dalkey's finest work. Mitsuko does not consider herself to be of much worth. She is the younger sister of the stately and kind Amaiko and part of a rather noble family as well. When Amaiko is engaged to be wed, Mitsuko is as thrilled as anyone. All the more tragic then that while en route to their father's summer home, the girls are attacked by a clan of warrior priests. Amaiko's potential husband is killed, sending his fiancée into a stupor from which she will not leave. Determined to save her sister from wasting away, Mitsuko sets out to find Amaiko's dead husband and bring him back (thereby bringing back her sister to herself). Along the way she befriends a mischievous tengu, or shapeshifter demon. She tells her tale to deities, visits various hells, meets her ancestors, and outsmarts her enemies time and time again. By the end, the quest has not turned out the way she expected it to, but Mitsuko is no longer the trembling child she was when she began. The book is an interesting take on the lives of Japenese women in the 13th century. Mitsuko begins the book with pounds of prejudice weighing on her head. By the book's end, she's shed these ideas, though she still carries some of them with her unknowingly. Her quest has the original bent of not being a search for her own beloved, but for her sister's. She's like Orpheus's stand-in. The quest itself bears many similarities to classic folktales like, "East of the Sun, West of the Moon", in which a young woman must make friends and defy enemies carefully. What made the book so delightful, however, were the characters. Mitsuko isn't your typical blank slate without thought or opinion. She's feisty and opinionated, even if she suffers from a classic case of low self-esteem. Goranu, the tengu who falls in love with her, is somewhat similar to the character of Nawat in Tamora Pierce's, "Trickster's Choice". In both cases, crows are potential lovers as well as warriors. One of the best elements in the book were the poems that dot it continually. I don't exactly consider myself a scholar of haiku. For me, Jack Prelutsky's, "If Not For the Cat", is the height of haiku brilliance. Dalk

One of the Best books EVER!!!!!

This book is not only interesting but it also gives the reader a good idea about how life was in ancient Japan. It has such a variety of genras that I would recommend this book to everyone. One of my favorite things about this book is the love that Goranu and Mitsuko have for each other. It is unlike any other! Little Sister is truly a masterpeice! This is one of my all time favorite books!!!!!

A colorful fantasy

This book helped a lot in my understanding of Japeneseculture. I did pick the book up because of its pretty cover, but Ienjoyed reading it very much.I never read a book like it. The glossary at the end is really helpful!

Refreshing Japanese Fiction

Sadly, I have to admit what inticed me to but Little Sister was the cover...it was enchanting and mysterious. Not only was the cover that, but the story as well. I was surprised to be so drawn into the character and her family problems, how traditions are floating around as questions. People not familiar to the mysterious Japanese will find this book beautiful and refreshing.

Praises for "Little Sister"

"Little Sister" is a wonderfully written book that leaves you begging for a real end.That was its only real weak point,but it also lets your imagination run wild with what Mitsu-chan might do. It was much more fun than "Of Nightengales that Weep" which was much more serious. Having Mitsuko go and meet all sorts of mythological characters was a very interesting twist,especially her meeting up with Susano-o and the god of the dead. Read this book now, it's worth it!!