# The Blossom and the Firefly

**Author:** Sherri L. Smith
**Grade range:** Grades 9–12
**First published:** 2020
**Page count:** 322
**Genre:** Children's
**ISBN-13:** `9781524737917`
**ISBN-10:** `1524737917`
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/book/the-blossom-and-the-firefly
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.

## About this book

From the award-winning author of Flygirl comes this powerful WWII romance between two Japanese teens caught in the cogs of an unwinnable war, perfect for fans of Salt to the Sea, Lovely War, and Code Name Verity. Japan 1945. Taro is a talented violinist and a kamikaze pilot in the days before his first and only mission. He believes he is ready to die for his country . . . until he meets Hana. Hana hasn't been the same since the day she was buried alive in a collapsed trench during a bomb raid. She wonders if it would have been better to have died that day . . . until she meets Taro. A song will bring them together. The war will tear them apart. Is it possible to live an entire lifetime in eight short days? Sherri L. Smith has been called "an author with astonishing range" and "a stellar st

## Where this book is assigned

### Golden Kite Award

- **recommended** · 9th grade — [source: Golden Kite Award (SCBWI) winners, via Wikipedia — 2021 Winner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Kite_Award)
- **recommended** · 10th grade — [source: Golden Kite Award (SCBWI) winners, via Wikipedia — 2021 Winner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Kite_Award)
- **recommended** · 11th grade — [source: Golden Kite Award (SCBWI) winners, via Wikipedia — 2021 Winner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Kite_Award)
- **recommended** · 12th grade — [source: Golden Kite Award (SCBWI) winners, via Wikipedia — 2021 Winner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Kite_Award)

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