Mieko and the Fifth Treasure by Eleanor Coerr
I'm really glad to had the chance to read this wonderful story; it's extremely delightful, amusing and filled with wisdom. I picked this book up a month ago, I read few pages and I couldn't finish it but I kept coming back to the same book. I'm just wondering why I didn't enjoy it the way I did the second time, I bet that I was just in a bad mood that time...
The story is about a Japanese girl named Mieko, who was injured by the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, she was born with a natural gift of calligraphy but her twisted leg or her "monster leg" -as her friends in school used to tease her- prevented her from painting and from her daily activities too. She got harmed deeply inside too; she lost her inner strength, confidence and her vitality; she became sad and pale.
Meiko's parents sent her to her grandparents' house to recover from the shock of the atom bomb and to be able to use her leg quickly but as the dreary days dragged on; Meiko longed for her past life when she had the fifth treasure and could practice her favorite hobbie and she wished hopelessly to regain it as soon as possible.
The poor girl was paralyzed with fear because it was the first time she had ever been away from home alone. She coudn't accept her new life and also adapting with the nasty friends in her school until she met Yoshi, who was beautiful and a smooth girl, she was a real crony for Meiko. I considered her like a compass that Meiko followed to reach her hidden treasure and her own happiness. That confirms that real friendship can change our lives head over heels if we just chose the right person.
This book is great, recommended for kids and adults as well, it is simple and well wrritten. I didn't want to reach the end of this story because I related to some portions of it.
"A nasty word was like a bird; once it flew out of her mouth it would never fly back"