Outside Beauty by Cynthia Kadohata

Kadohata, Cynthia. Outside Beauty.
Antheneum. 2009.
ISBN: 9781416998181
$16.99. Hardcover. 288 pages.

Readers Annotation
Shelby’s mother has had a terrible accident, and how she and her sisters will have to live with their fathers – apart for the first time.

Plot Summary
Shelby is one of four sisters by four different fathers. When their mother suffers a terrible disfiguring car accident the girls are forced to live with their respective fathers. The mother Helen Kimura is a Japanese bombshell who collects men along with their money whatever expensive jewelry they buy her. She usually leaves them by moving to a new city with her daughters. The girls are very close with the eldest taking care of the younger. Eldest Marilyn is 16 and half Italian. Shelby, the narrator is 13 and fully Japanese American. Lakey, age 8 is half Chinese, and youngest sister Maddie is 6, and half anglo. After the girls separate to live with their fathers, Shelby begins to suspect that Maddie's father is abusing her. Shelby, living in rural Arkansas with a father she barely knows is a revelation. She comes to appreciate her father for his quiet ways and knowledge. It is the girl’s fierce loyalty and determination that keeps them together in tough times.

Critical Evaluation
The novel is placed in the 1980’s without any of the cultural references expected. The novel feels like it should be placed in the ‘50s or ‘60s because – who has four daughters with four different men when birth control is so readily available? Mother Helen Kimura is a modern geisha girl. She basically prostitutes herself to get the things she wants. The only thing she cares about is beauty – the beauty you can see on the outside, not the beauty of a personality or soul. She is very shallow and selfish. When she is in involved in the accident and her faced is ruined she basically has a mental breakdown. Shelby is an insightful narrator, but comes across as much older than her 13 years. When I finished this book I wondered what the author was really saying about beauty. Maybe Kadohata just wanted to tell girls that beauty is a fleeting thing, and they are better off with familial love and being smart rather than beautiful. It seems that the author took the long way around to get to that message.  The relationship between the sisters, and Shelby and her father are precious and realistic.  Those moments are the best thing about the book.

Information about the author
Cynthia Kadohata (1956-) won the Newbery Medal for her novel Kira-Kira in 2005. Her website has not been updated to include this book (or maybe she is ignoring it). You can find out more about Cynthia and her family at http://www.kira-kira.us/.

Genre
Narrative Fiction

Curriculum ties
None

Challenge Issues
Promiscuity

Challenge defense ideas
· Become familiar with the book and its content.
· Refer to the collection development policy of the library.
· Refer to reviews from Booklist, School Library Journal, and Publisher’s Weekly available for viewing on amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Outside-Beauty-Cynthia-Kadohata/dp/1416998187/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260280946&sr=1-1
· Try to get reviews of the book from teens that have read it.

Booktalking Ideas
I wouldn’t booktalk this novel because I don’t like it.

Reading Level/Age
Young adult, ages 12 and up.

Why I included this title
I like Kadohata’s Kira-Kira, so I thought I would like this book too.