Name Me Nobody

Name Me Nobody
by Lois-Ann Yamanaka

Name Me Nobody
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Book Summary Information

Author: Lois-Ann Yamanaka
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2000-07-03
ISBN: 0786814667
Number of pages: 240
Publisher: Hyperion

Book Reviews of Name Me Nobody

Book Review: Call This Book Something! (and I don't mean give it a name)
Summary: 5 Stars

At first, I was dreading that I would have a difficult time finsihing "Name Me Nobody" since the pidgin English greatly slowed my reading and I had to backtrack several times to clarify that I had read everything correctly. However, once I made it through a couple of chapters, I was able to adapt to the word flow and the book became much easier to read. Luckily, I didn't have any problem with the Japanese vocabulary since I'm studying Japanese, but a glossary in the back would definitely help those who are unfamiliar with the language. With all that said, I feel the pidgin English and Japanese are essential to "Name Me Nobody" because they help to give the characters an authentic voice. So what else can I say? I really enjoyed this book. While under the surface, "Name Me Nobody" is your standard coming of age story, Yamanaka puts a twist on it and creates a books with an addictive story and memorable characters. ALL of the characters have flaws which, for me, makes them much more beleivable. For example, when the reader is first introduced to Emmy-lou, she is an overweight, self-conscious mess. She blames every rejection she encounters on her weight problem. After her best friend, Yvonne or "Von", helps her to lose the weight, however, Emmy-lou is STILL a self-conscious mess and she still puts the blame on everything/everybody but herself. While this allows for the reader to not always be fond of Emmy-lou, this portrayal strikes me as being very realistic. Yamanaka allows for the reader to witness Emmy-lou as she learns to come to terms with and to accept herself. Aside from the great character development, the plot of "Name Me Nobody" is very engrossing. It kept me guessing as to what was in store next for Emmy-lou and I stayed up until 4 a.m. finishing this book. The lack of sleep was well worth it though, even if I was exhausted at work the follow day :) In conclusion, I highly recommend Lois-Ann Yamanaka's book "Name Me Nobody" and I will definitely be reading more of her books in the future.

Summary of Name Me Nobody

Named after Emmylou Harris because her mother used to " do it" to the Profile album, 14-year-old Emi-Lou Kaya feels like a nobody in her Hawaiian town: " I`m not smart enough to be a nerd. I`m not stink enough to be a turd. I fall somewhere right below the band geeks and right above the zeroes. " Abandoned by her mother at age three, Emi-Lou hasn`t a clue as to who her father might be, and on top of all this, she is overweight. (The popular Japanese girls at school call her Emi-lump, Emi-oink, or Emi-fat. ) Her only salvation is the strength of the hard-as-nails but loving grandmother who raised her, and the feisty spirit of her best friend Yvonne. It is Yvonne who renames the dynamic duo Von and Louie, and who puts Emi-Lou on a strict weight-loss regimen. (" Von always says she`s the tough outward and I`m the tough inward. " ) But Emi-Lou starts to worry about losing her touchstone when Von begins spending a little too much time with Babes, an older girl from the softball team. Rumors abound that her soul sister is a " butchie," and when Emi-Lou suspects it`s true, she becomes desperate to get Von back to " normal" and back to her role as best friend. With dialogue that sparks with the rhythms of pidgin (Hawaiian Creole English) , this compelling novel explores sexuality, racism, and the troubled waters of establishing one`s own identity. Lois-Ann Yamanaka, author of the equally funny and insightful Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers, creates in Emi-Lou a character as complex and lovely as the Hawaiian landscape itself. (Ages 13 and older) --Brangien Davis


Named after Emmylou Harris because her mother used to "do it" to the Profile album, 14-year-old Emi-Lou Kaya feels like a nobody in her Hawaiian town: "I'm not smart enough to be a nerd. I'm not stink enough to be a turd. I fall somewhere right below the band geeks and right above the zeroes." Abandoned by her mother at age three, Emi-Lou hasn't a clue as to who her father might be, and on top of all this, she is overweight. (The popular Japanese girls at school call her Emi-lump, Emi-oink, or Emi-fat.) Her only salvation is the strength of the hard-as-nails but loving grandmother who raised her, and the feisty spirit of her best friend Yvonne. It is Yvonne who renames the dynamic duo Von and Louie, and who puts Emi-Lou on a strict weight-loss regimen. ("Von always says she's the tough outward and I'm the tough inward.") But Emi-Lou starts to worry about losing her touchstone when Von begins spending a little too much time with Babes, an older girl from the softball team. Rumors abound that her soul sister is a "butchie," and when Emi-Lou suspects it's true, she becomes desperate to get Von back to "normal" and back to her role as best friend.

With dialogue that sparks with the rhythms of pidgin (Hawaiian Creole English), this compelling novel explores sexuality, racism, and the troubled waters of establishing one's own identity. Lois-Ann Yamanaka, author of the equally funny and insightful Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers, creates in Emi-Lou a character as complex and lovely as the Hawaiian landscape itself. (Ages 13 and older) --Brangien Davis

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