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Songs for Ghosts

Clara Kumagai

Zephyr (14+) 9781803288086 (Hardback)

Reading resources coming soon

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Themes of belonging and loss are interwoven across a narrative that spans two cultures, Japan and America.  Adam is coming to terms with the loss of his mother when he finds a diary written by a young Japanese woman a century earlier.   A clever homage to the story of ‘Madame Butterfly,’ cultural details, messaging and the supernatural provide a rich narrative that blends magical realism and mystery.

Themes:

  • Magical realism 
  • History 
  • Japan 
  • America 
  • Belonging 
  • Identity 
  • Love and relationships

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Clara Kumagai

Clara Kumagai is from Ireland, Japan and Canada. Catfish Rolling, her debut novel, was a 2024 YOTO Carnegie Medal nominee, and winner of the 2024 KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Book of the Year. She lives and writes in Ireland. clarakumagai.com | Instagram:@clarakiyoko

Shadowers' reviews and artwork