All the Ways Home

Kaede Hirano’s mother was born in Japan, and, when she was 10-years-old, she came to Vancouver with her mother and father. She returned to Japan for an internship after college, and there she met Kaede’s father, a widower with an eight-year-old son, Shoma. They married and lived in Japan where Kaede was born. Kaede’s father was consumed by his job as a photographer and spent more and more time away from home pursuing his dreams. Eventually, when Kaede was three-years-old, Kaede’s mother and father divorced and Kaede and his mother returned to Vancouver, leaving Kaede’s father and half-brother Shoma in Japan. The communication amongst members of the family became less and less until there was no communication at all from Kaede’s dad. Even Shoma did not always know where their dad was or see him for long periods of time. Kaede’s mother had limited communication with Shoma, and, over time, the family became strangers to each other.

As readers meet Kaede Hirano, 12, he is experiencing a very bad ending to grade seven. His mother’s being killed in a car crash has led to Kaede’s reacting badly and acting out in destructive ways, including his attempt at burning down the house of Mr. Ames, the driver of the other car involved in the fatal car accident. Fortunately for Kaede, Mr. Ames decided not to press charges. Then one day on the hockey rink, Kaede takes out his anger on his friend Jory, shoving him into the glass and causing serious injury to Jory’s eye. While Jory might lose sight in the eye, Kaede has lost his best friend.

When Ms. Nanda assigns a summer homework project, Kaede recognizes that this is his last chance to redeem himself in order to pass into grade eight with his classmates. Kaede’s topic is home, and it is the start of a journey for him. What is home? Following Kaede’s mother’s death, his grandpa has given up his life in Ontario to come to Vancouver to look after Kaede. Though the grandfather tries very hard, he is a stranger to Kaede and is not prepared to be a parent to an almost teen struggling to find himself.

After Kaede’s mother’s fatal accident, the grandfather had sent messages to Kaede’s father in Japan, explaining to him what had happened and how Kaede was experiencing a difficult time in dealing with his mother’s death. When a reply came back with an invitation for Kaede to visit his father and half-brother in Japan, the grandfather thought it would be a good experience for Kaede.

When Kaede arrives at the Tokyo airport, it is his 23-year-old half-brother, Shoma, who is there to meet him. Their father continues to be elusive, never responding to cell phone calls and never calling them. Kaede struggles with his emotions, trying not to get too attached to Shoma because he knows he must return to Canada in three weeks and he cannot bear another loss.

The author writes in Kaede’s voice. Through reading Kaede’s journal entries and his dialogue with Shoma, we feel Kaede’s emotions. We learn how his relationship with his dad petered out because his father was consumed by his job as a photographer and his traveling to all parts of the world. In the end, Kaede must reconcile himself to knowing that he will never have a relationship with his father and that, for his father, “the concept of home often feels more stifling than comforting.”

As the story unfolds against the backdrop of Japan, with its bustling cities, Kaede begins to remember the sights and smells from when he was small. Desperate to get in touch with his dad, Kaede hatches a plan to run away to Hokkaido, a place where he thinks his father is. Arriving in Hokkaido, Kaede makes one last call to his dad who finally answers. It is not what Kaede is expecting. It turns out that his dad is in New Zealand, not Hokkaido, and even Shoma is unaware of this fact. That, along with his growing relationship with his half-brother, helps Kaede unravel his thoughts. It was Shoma that sent the invitation for Kaede to visit, not his dad. It was Shoma all along who had answered the call about his mother’s death, and it is Shoma who comes to Hokkaido to bring Kaede back. Shoma too, had been abandoned, and the brothers find in each other a place to rebuild their family. When Shoma extends an invitation to Kaede to live with him in Japan, Kaede is glad to accept.

All the Ways Home is a wonderful story of resilience and a young boy’s search for his identity and a feeling of belonging. Middle schoolers can appreciate Kaede’s struggles and will find the outcome a good one.