Catfish Rolling

Product Information

But it's dangerous there – and as she strays further inside in search of her mother, she finds that time distorts, memories fracture and shadows, a glimmer of things not entirely human, linger. After Sora's father goes missing, she has no choice but to venture into uncharted spaces within the time zones to find him, her mother and perhaps even the catfish itself... This book has earned all the praise and success that I am sure will come, and it has definitely secured its place as a favourite for me.

Time, mourning, and the magical slow swirl in this evocative novel about life after/with trauma. A life worth living. Marvelous!”— Hiromi Goto, author of Shadow Life Excellent, evocative, and thoughtful with genuine depth” ( New York Times bestselling author Nicola Yoon), Catfish Rolling is a wholly original and mind-bending debut YA novel by Clara Kumagai about memory, family, and an earthquake that breaks apart time. With poignant observations, Kumagai tells the powerful story of a young woman navigating grief and her new normal. [H]eartbreaking and empowering...readers will be rewarded with a rich exploration of grief, society, and finding yourself." Booklist The second side is a story about loss. Grief you can't relieve live through, but can't ignore it, either. About losing yourself, the almost impossible journey to find your place as world around tries to exclude you from everywhere. Sora is not Japanese enough to be as her classmates, but not foreign enough to be treated in different conditions. Her dad slowly floats away from his mind, forgetting little things like what day it is or when something happen. It's extremely subtle, but every action in this book is both literal and metaphorical. Finally, for younger readers aged 11-14, Friendship Never Ends by Alexandra Sheppard (Knights Of, May) follows four girls over one long summer apart: Sunita on holiday with her blended family; Dawn at drama summer school in London; Gifty with her grandparents in an isolated village; and May at home working in her parent’s Chinese takeaway. Sheppard brilliantly captures all the awkwardness and insecurities of being in your early teens in this hopeful, heart-filled paean to friendship and girlhood.

But it's dangerous there - and as she strays further inside in search of her mother, she finds that time distorts, memories fracture and shadows, a glimmer of things not entirely human, linger. After Sora's father goes missing, she has no choice but to venture into uncharted spaces within the time zones to find him, her mother and perhaps even the catfish itself...

A gorgeously written, thoughtful read that combines science, Japanese mythology and human emotion to great effect.”— Irish Examiner Set in a world shattered by loss and haunted by memories, spirits, and folktale creatures, Catfish Rolling is a stirring exploration of the relationship between time and grief. Lovingly crafted and beautifully written, this tale will linger with you long after the story comes to an end. author of Printz Honor Book We Are Not Free Traci Chee Catfish Rolling was a book with a fascinating and original premise, and I enjoyed the combination of science and Japanese myth. Sora was a well-presented character; however, some of the other characters in the story didn't feel as well fleshed out. The prose was easy reading, but the story posed a number of questions and scenarios to do with the fast and slow zones that were never fully answered by the end, which I found a little disappointing after so much build up. Even so, this remained an interesting and enjoyable read and offered something a bit different in terms of plot, so I am still giving it 4 stars. Recommended to those who like YA fantasy with an original twist.Time runs as we expect it to. Time runs fast. Time runs slow. Some fast time runs faster than other fast time. Some slow time runs slower than other slow time. And the people in Sora’s world are only barely beginning to understand what it all means. Having lived in Japan, shortly after the big quake of 2011, I could relate to many of the things in this story. I love the details of life, taking off shoes to go into the houses, bowing at the temple, giving mochi to the jizus. I was totally immersed in the place and thought it was beautifully captured in the text. A fascinating blend of magic realism and science fiction, dusted with some Japanese mythology, all combined to make a engrossing read. Sora and her father have been left to try to make sense of their new world, one that doesn’t include her mother. As someone very interested in Japanese mythology and culture (as well as the scientific implications of time rifts and the like), I was so excited after reading the synopsis, and it certainly didn't disappoint.

Like Sora, I spent the whole book, wondering what was just beyond reach, willing her to find it and find solace. Catfish Rolling is not a fast paced read, it slowly grows on you, wrapping you up in the language and the mind twisting concepts of differing time. I found some of the book a little confusing but on the whole it is well written and easy enough to follow. I've been a fan of Japanese fiction for a while now and anything that melds together the love of the natural world with a surreal story is fine with me. Emotions and loss transcend time, and this young girl only sees both as being beyond anyone's control.A dazzling debut. Magic-realism blends with Japanese myth and legend in an original story about grief, memory, time and an earthquake that shook a nation. Overall an incredibly unique and interesting concept that was executed well, I hope a lot of people will give this book a shot! Set in a world shattered by loss and haunted by memories, spirits, and folktale creatures, Catfish Rolling is a stirring exploration of the relationship between time and grief. Lovingly crafted and beautifully written, this tale will linger with you long after the story comes to an end.”— Traci Chee, author of Printz Honor Book We Are Not Free

When it happened, it was springtime. The cherry blossoms looked like clouds — so pink and fluffy, they might rain sugar”. Seventeen-year-old Sora was still a child when the quake came. Immediately after, “It felt as though the world had stopped, and for a handful of heartbeats we all floated, suspended in space”. Seven years on, it’s as if the world has still stopped for Sora. She lost her Japanese mother in the Shake and now she and her Canadian scientist father are still lost, living close to the deserted wild zones where, since the Shake, time runs differently — faster, or slower, with their own zonal micro-seasons. We follow Sora, the main character who is half Japanese and half Canadian, who feels incredibly inbetween; even more so when the catfish rolls beneath the great country of Japan, causing an earthquake that sends a rift through the entire country. Time is broken in the Japan of this world; worse in some places, like the quiet village north of Tokyo where Sora lives with her father. In the aftermath, people are lost - vanished, it seems, until we learn that there seem to be different time zones all around the country. Some slow, some fast, some somewhere inbetween. All of them in close vicinity, and each of them having strange effects on those who enter. Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Librarians Group is the official group for requesting additions or updates to the catalog, including: Next, to ancient Greece and Sarah Underwood’s Lies We Sing to the Sea (Electric Monkey). In the kingdom of Ithaca, 12 girls must be hanged each spring to appease Poseidon. When Leto awakes from her death, the enigmatic Melantho reveals her destiny: to kill the last prince of Ithaca and destroy the curse. Inspired by the fate of Penelope’s maids in Homer’s The Odyssey, this is a lavish epic of power, vengeance, love and fate.The honour of my first 5-star of the new year goes to Clara Kumagai’s phenomenal debut, that blends magical realism and sci-fi elements into a haunting tale of grief, family, time and the earthquake that shook a nation. This book is so many things I love to read about, all meshed together in a way that felt like time had changed for me too. There was the urgency I associate with a compulsive read but this was at odds with an almost tranquil feeling, as though I was casually wandering around absorbing everything this world had to offer. The concept is interesting and the book is really well written. Some of the characters are well developed, whereas others felt more two dimensional to me. I liked the idea, and whilst I wouldn't necessarily say that the execution fell flat for me - I did enjoy reading this, after all - I felt like there was a little too much repetition, as well as a lot of information being thrown at the reader. It was difficult at times to keep up, and to understand what had actually happened/what was happening within these time zones. So a confusing read, sometimes, but it had real heart, and I loved the focus on Japanese fables and mythology, and it was really interesting learning about the culture from someone biracial, like Sora. I think this is certainly one of those books where if the first couple sentences of the description interest you, just get the book and don't read the rest of the description. Stylish, accomplished and thought-provoking story-telling explores themes of identity, philosophy, science, ecology, life, loss and love. For 14+