Tsunami Girl

A part-manga, part-prose powerful coming-of-age story about a fifteen-year-old girl caught up in the March 2011 Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. "Never say 'just' before you say the word 'imagination'. Never. It gives us power ..." When fifteen-year-old Yuki Hara Jones and her beloved grandpa are caught in the 2011 Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, her life is changed forever. Beyond the immediate disaster lie even greater challenges, and a journey to a zone between this world and the next. With the help of an unlikely friend, and an imaginary super-hero creation, Yuki must seek a new life from the darkest of places. Part prose and part manga, Tsunami Girl is a coming-of-age story for our times. SHORTLISTED for the CARNEGIE GREENAWAY AWARD 2022 Fifteen-year-old Yuki is struggling at school with her confidence, and goes to Japan to stay with her grandfather, a well-known manga artist and to whom she is very close. But during her visit, a calamitous event occurs - the East Coast Earthquake and Tsunami - and her beloved Grandpa is lost. Yuki and her friend Taka must make sense of the terrible situation and come to terms with the loss of their life as they knew it - and see that through renewal and with resilience, they can emerge from this tragedy with optimism for the future. Interwoven with Japanese folk tales, modern-day ghost stories, and the creation of her very own vibrant manga hero, Yuki finds the courage to overcome extraordinary odds, and take her first steps into the world that lies beyond catastrophe. Told through both prose and manga, this story for young adults will touch the heart of any reader. 'Impressive and Original' – Financial Times 'Breathtakingly Powerful' – LoveReading