Kira-Kira

The Thing About Luck

Saucy

Weedflower

Cracker!: The Best Dog in Vietnam

Half A World Away

Sugar Rush

The Summer I Turned Pretty

"My mother had four daughters by four different men."

There's only one way Shelby and her sisters can describe their mother: She's a sexpot. Helen Kimura collects men (and loans, spending money, and gifts of all kinds) from all over the country. Sure, she's not your typical role model, but she's also not just a pretty face and nail polish. She is confident and brave; she lives life on her own terms, and her four daughters simply adore her. These girls have been raised outside the traditional boundaries. They know how to take the back exit. They know how to dodge crazed lovers in highway car chases. They do not, however, know how to function without one another.

Then suddenly they must. A late-night phone call unexpectedly shreds the family apart, catapulting the girls across the country to live with their respective fathers. But these strong-willed sisters are, like their mother, determined to live life on their own terms, and what they do to pull their family back together is nothing short of beautiful.

At turns wickedly funny and insistently thought-provoking, Outside Beauty showcases Cynthia Kadohata's unerring ability to explore the bonds that bind.

Discover Your Child's Next Read

Kira-Kira

Cynthia Kadohata, 2005

The Thing About Luck

Cynthia Kadohata, Julia Kuo, 2013

Saucy

Marianna Raskin, Cynthia Kadohata, 2020

Weedflower

Cynthia Kadohata, 2006

Cracker!: The Best Dog in Vietnam

Cynthia Kadohata, 2007

Half A World Away

Cynthia Kadohata, 2014

Sugar Rush

Jill Penrod, 2014

The Summer I Turned Pretty

Jenny Han, 2011