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mysterybuff's review
4.0
Aiko has dreams. She wants to meet her father - an indigo farmer in Japan. She wants to be a mangaka (Manga author) and she wants to be invisible. Or if not invisible, then at least not made fun of for her disabilities.
Gadget Girl, written by a wonderful woman I met in Paris, is a sweet coming-of-age story of a girl growing up in Michigan. Aiko doesn't have it easy. Not only is she one of only a handful of biracial kids in her entire school, AND has cerebral palsy and the use of only one arm, BUT her mother has also used her as a muse for her sculptures which, much to Aiko's chagrin, are becoming world famous. None of these things help Aiko in her quest of remaining invisible and the book deals with her acceptance of who she is and the role she has to play in the world.
I really liked this book. Read it in one day in fact. At times I wished the author would have dug a bit deeper into her world and Aiko's feelings. Quite a few things remained only on surface level and I would have liked to have gone deeper. Especially when it came to the relationship with her father. Because of that, I think this book is more a Middle Grade book than a YA book. But it is one I will be passing on to my own kids. Especially my son whose only dream in life is to go to Japan and become a mangaka. Just like Aiko.
Gadget Girl, written by a wonderful woman I met in Paris, is a sweet coming-of-age story of a girl growing up in Michigan. Aiko doesn't have it easy. Not only is she one of only a handful of biracial kids in her entire school, AND has cerebral palsy and the use of only one arm, BUT her mother has also used her as a muse for her sculptures which, much to Aiko's chagrin, are becoming world famous. None of these things help Aiko in her quest of remaining invisible and the book deals with her acceptance of who she is and the role she has to play in the world.
I really liked this book. Read it in one day in fact. At times I wished the author would have dug a bit deeper into her world and Aiko's feelings. Quite a few things remained only on surface level and I would have liked to have gone deeper. Especially when it came to the relationship with her father. Because of that, I think this book is more a Middle Grade book than a YA book. But it is one I will be passing on to my own kids. Especially my son whose only dream in life is to go to Japan and become a mangaka. Just like Aiko.
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