Up From the Sea

Leza Lowitz’s Up From The Sea is the first artistic response I’ve seen to the Fukushima Tsunami/Nuclear disaster of 2013, and it’s a powerful, unique work. Unique, first of all, in that novels in verse are virtually unheard of, let alone carried off successfully. But unique, mostly, in that Lowitz makes this tale of a teen-ager, Kai, whose world is torn to bits by the horrendous event, serve as a metaphor for the trials of an entire society subjected to such cataclysmic devastation.Just an ordinary spring morning,ordinary fight with Mom.Maybe she spoke to me in Englishand I answered in Japanese–don’t even remember now. . . .Whatever it was seems so stupidat 2:46 p.m., when I’m sitting in mathwaiting for the bell to ringand the earth starts to shake.searchLEZA LOWITZThat moment launches the story, of course, and you’d expect to encounter lives and buildings rent asunder. Death and horror. There is all of that here, but it’s not the center of the novel. More important even than the story people trying to recover and rebuild from such a catastrophe is a story that began long before the sea washed his village away–the search for his father.Allow me a short personal detour. A couple of decades back, a fire swept our neighborhood. Flames took three thousand homes in twelve hours. Landmarks disappeared. People died. Families lost touch. Even with modern communication devices–not so modern, actually, cell phones were rare–it was difficult for a while for people to get back in touch. The devastation didn’t approach Fukushima’s, but there is a parallel. A mile or so away from our house (which the fire spared) there is a crossroads dominated by a huge eucalyptus tree. People took to posting notices. Found a dog. Lost a cat. Tell my parents I’m okay. Has anyone seen Jane?Kai has already lost touch with his father, has yearned every day to somehow reestablish the connection. Now, with everything else seemingly destroyed, finding his lost father seems the only way to make his life whole again.Talking too much, singing to himselfas he walked along the pier,laughing loudly–things a Japanese dad would never do.He embarrassed me so bad,sometimes I wishedhe’d go away.and then,one day,he did.By making Kai’s dilemma the core of this story, Up From the Sea, evokes an emotional response that the ugly pictures and statistics can’t match. And we realize that it’s the personal relationships that have priority even over the reconstruction of hearth and home. The book doesn’t need Fukushima for Kai’s search to draw us into Kai’s heart and mind. However, the way that Lowitz has joined the two is a stunning literary achievement.jumping out of chair

“The bigger the issue, the smaller you write.”--Richard PriceInstead of focusing on the overwhelming statistics generated by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan—nearly 16,000 deaths and 3,000 people missing—the event becomes even more intense and compelling as author Leza Lowitz relates the story of one town and one boy and the resilience of many.The story begins on March 11 when Kai, a half Japanese, half American 17-year-old and his teachers and classmates experience the “jolting of the earth,” and as trained, they evacuate, running for their lives, looking for the highest place, as their town is destroyed. Written powerfully in free verse, the reader feels the fury of nature as the water “churns,” “thrashes,” “surges,” “sweeps,” “charges.” Kai ends up in a shelter having lost his mother, his grandparents, and one of his best friends. His father left years before to return to America.Faced with overwhelming loss and trauma, Kai walks into the ocean but is saved by one of his classmates and convinced to accept the opportunity to go to New York City on the tenth anniversary of 9/11 where he will spend some time with young adults who lost their parents as teens in the 9/11 attacks. At Ground Zero, Fia tells him, “Bravery means being scared and going forward anyway.”Kai hopes to find his father in NYC but returns to his village to help the young adolescents who lost their families and to rebuild his town. “I want to be/ like that tree/ deep roots/ making it strong/ keeping it/ standing tall.” And it is to his roots Kai returns and stays—“The quake moved the earth/ ten inches/ on its axis./ I guess/ I shifted/ too.”This novel would serve well as an effective ending to a 9/11 study. Readers should already be aware of the events of 9/11 to understand the connection between Kai and Tom, but will comprehend the trauma and loss experienced, and resilience that is required, by anyone who faces adversity.

I was deeply moved by Up From the Sea. While the story of tragedy brought me to tears of sadness, the powerful story of the human spirit rising up out of tragedy also moved me to tears on a more profound level. This novel is written in beautiful verse which makes its message all the more poignant. I’d recommend this book to readers of all ages, and will most definitely share it with my teenage and pre-teen children as well. For me personally, it was also a reminder of the importance of helping others, something I tend to forget in my everyday busy life. I’m so thankful to Lowitz for writing this book and bringing the fictional character Kai to life in her eloquent and passionate writing style.

I read this book within a couple of hours of getting it. I can’t recommend it more. The structure, the themes, and the plot are all amazing. I just bought another book by the author because it was so good. :)

I love this book. I cried from beginning to end, touched by the heart-warming story and the beautiful writing. Having experienced the big Tohoku earthquake myself, in Tokyo, this book is close to home. My story is very different from the book's main character, but what we have in common is this: that day changed the course of our lives. Although Up From the Sea is perfect for the intended audience, I recommend it to all age groups. Through Kai's story, this book conveys what happened in Japan so well. Stories have the power to connect us on a heart-level with events that are hard to describe in non-fiction reporting. And Lowitz is a gifted story-teller and masterful writer.

I love this book, in stanza format, this book show how the Japanese tsunami felt. I highly recommend this book for anybody who likes reading short novel which are based off of real history.

It’s called YA, but I found the story compelling. A boy tragically affected by natural disaster grows up with a lot of help from his friends. A strong message for struggling youth to find hope and courage to go on.

There were some really beautiful moments in here. I didn't get the ending I wanted, but I think it was better for it. I recommend it!

I ordered this book for a school project, so I wasn't expecting much, but wow this book was amazing.It was heartbreaking, but ended on a hopefull note and I loved it!

A good fiction book for young adults to share the experiences of the Japanese 3.11 earthquake and tsunami. A rare book written in English.