Kakigori Summer

Reach for this book when your child feels like an outsider within their own family or is struggling to bridge the gap between different parts of their identity. This middle-grade novel follows Maya, a Japanese-English girl who travels to Tokyo for the summer, where she must navigate a new language, a grieving grandmother, and the discovery of a long-hidden family secret. It is a tender exploration of belonging and the ways food and shared history can heal old wounds. Parents will appreciate how it handles the weight of cultural expectations and the complexity of grief with a gentle, age-appropriate touch. It is perfect for children aged 8 to 12 who are beginning to realize that their parents and grandparents have whole lives and histories they never knew about.