Skye is the daughter of a white American mother and a Japanese father. Immediately after their marriage, they moved to Virginia and never looked back, so Skye knows very little about her Japanese heritage, and has never met any of the relatives in Japan. Suddenly her parents tell her she must go to language classes on weekends to become fluent in Japanese, which to her seems pointless, and also will conflict with her passion for soccer.
Hiroshi lives with his parents and his beloved grandfather in Japan. His favorite pastime is spending time with his grandfather in his kite workshop, building fighting rokkuku kites.
Hiroshi's grandfather has cancer, and the best possible treatment for the type he has is to be found in Virginia, so quite suddenly, his family is moving to the town where his cousin Skye, whom he has never even met, live.
Hiroshi doen't want to move, doesn't want to learn English any better than his minimal grasp, doesn't want to miss the rokkuku battle in Japan, and doesn't want anything to do with his girl cousin he dosen't know. Skye is embarrassed at school by being constantly asked to assist and translate for her cousin, and feels little sympathy for his plight, though she quickly grows fond her grandfather.
It takes the death of Grandfather to make Skye and Hiroshi begin to see the value in each other, and in each other's cultures.
In addition to some of the most common YA themes, value of family, getting along with others, seeing another person's point of view, "Flying the Dragon" also explores the themes of moving to another place, culture shock, finding value in one's cultural heritage, and grief. ( )

This is a very well written story of two cousins and their families. One cousin, Skye, whose family was estranged from their family in Japan when Skye's father married and american wife and the other cousin, Hiroshi, whose family moved near the beginning of the book to live near Hiroshi's cousins family. They moved to get treatment for Skye and Hiroshi's grandfather who had developed cancer. The book explores and shows the attitudes and difficulties each cousin faces in trying to fit in and find a place for themselves in their new homes. They show the differences between Skye who is starting to adjust and fit in even though she is different from here classmates and Hiroshi who is still learning the english language and needs to lean on Skye for help. The book has a very good flow of story line and appears to be well researched. The writing is well within the reach of preteens as well as older kids. The authors shifting of viewpoint between the main character and presenting the story from their differing points of view keeps the story interesting and adds mystery to the plot. I particularly appreciated the part that "Grandfather" played in the story. ( )

Great book, lousy cover ( )

This is a nicely written story about the immigrant experience, told in alternating perspectives: Hiroshi (new to American from Japan) and his cousin Skye (Japanese-American, but not quite fitting in anywhere). Young readers will definitely identify with the realistic and well-researched characters of Hiroshi and Skye, seeing themselves or learning plenty about Japanese culture and the difficulties new immigrants face. I felt like the author tried to do a little too much with this story and I personally preferred the first half, which is more of a school story, than the second half which deals more with family. All in all, this is a valuable book with much to teach, though it never feels didactic. I think kids looking for contemporary fiction (especially kids who like learning about other cultures) will really enjoy this book. It would also be useful in a classroom setting, particularly in communities with immigrant populations. I'd hand it to fans of Linda Sue Park's Project Mulberryor Grace Lin's Pacy books for another take on the Asian-American experience (Korean-American in Park's book, Taiwanese-American in Lin's) or Silas House and Neela Vaswani's Same Sun Here for another take on the Asian immigrant experience (Indian immigrants in Vaswani's book) ( )

Skye wonders why suddenly her dad begins acting Japanese again: after living “like an American” for many years, all of a sudden he asks for Japanese food, talks to Skye in Japanese in public, and he even decides to enroll Skye in Japanese language school. When his plans collide with Skye’s much anticipated All Star summer season in soccer, she wants to know what’s going on.
Hiroshi is happy living in his native town in Japan, building and flying kites with his grandfather and training for the kite competition known as Rokkaku. His plans, however, also change suddenly when he learns that due to his grandfather’s cancer, they will move to the U.S. to begin a last resort treatment and live near an estranged uncle and his family.
Skye and Hiroshi’s paths now cross, like the strings of two kites pirouetting in the wind next to each other. The encounter of these two different cultures, languages, and worlds is a challenge for both kids. Would they find something in common? How can they stop blaming each other for their misfortunes and realize that they can be a team? And more importantly, can they do something for their grandfather?
An amazing story full of real life experiences and poetic references that beautifully serves as the context for themes such as death, belonging, the immigrants experience, family issues, and most of all, growing up.
Conclusion: I highly recommend this coming-of-age story to older children, young adults, immigrants, parents, and teachers (it is specially a treat for ESL teachers and students.) ( )