{"id":43149,"date":"2018-05-13T13:15:33","date_gmt":"2018-05-13T17:15:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/?p=43149"},"modified":"2018-05-13T13:15:33","modified_gmt":"2018-05-13T17:15:33","slug":"jq-magazine-book-review-a-girls-guide-to-the-islands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/2018\/05\/13\/jq-magazine-book-review-a-girls-guide-to-the-islands\/","title":{"rendered":"JQ Magazine: Book Review \u2014 \u2018A Girls\u2019 Guide to the Islands\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“While the book is largely a ‘what we did from beginning to end’ odyssey, Kamata\u2019s vivid accounts of her journey with her daughter put you alongside them as they soak up culture.” (Gemma Open Door)<\/p><\/div>\n

By<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Rashaad<\/em><\/strong> Jorden<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(<\/em><\/strong>Yamagata<\/em><\/strong>–<\/em><\/strong>ken<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, 2008-10) <\/em><\/strong>for<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>JQ<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>magazine<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. <\/em><\/strong>A<\/em><\/strong> former<\/em><\/strong> head<\/em><\/strong> of<\/em><\/strong> the<\/em><\/strong> JETAA<\/em><\/strong> Philadelphia<\/em><\/strong> Sub<\/em><\/strong>–<\/em><\/strong>Chapter<\/em><\/strong>, <\/em><\/strong>Rashaad<\/em><\/strong> is<\/em><\/strong> a<\/em><\/strong> graduate<\/em><\/strong> of<\/em><\/strong> Leeds<\/em><\/strong> Beckett<\/em><\/strong> University<\/em><\/strong> with<\/em><\/strong> a<\/em><\/strong> master<\/em><\/strong>\u2019<\/em><\/strong>s<\/em><\/strong> degree<\/em><\/strong> in<\/em><\/strong> responsible<\/em><\/strong> tourism<\/em><\/strong> management<\/em><\/strong>. <\/em><\/strong>For<\/em><\/strong> more<\/em><\/strong> on<\/em><\/strong> his<\/em><\/strong> life<\/em><\/strong> abroad<\/em><\/strong> and<\/em><\/strong> enthusiasm<\/em><\/strong> for<\/em><\/strong> taiko<\/em><\/strong> drumming<\/em><\/strong>, <\/em><\/strong>visit<\/em><\/strong> his<\/em><\/strong> blog<\/em><\/strong> at<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>www<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em><\/strong>gettingpounded<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em><\/strong>wordpress<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em><\/strong>com<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Exploring local wonders with loved ones can conjure up magical memories\u2014and an enormous sense of satisfaction upon overcoming numerous obstacles.<\/p>\n

JET alumna Suzanne Kamata<\/a> (Tokushima-ken<\/a>, 1988-90)<\/strong> lived through such experiences, which are recounted in her nonfiction debut, A Girls\u2019 Guide to the Islands<\/a><\/em>. Such a title would indicate a guidebook for female travelers. But a scan of its second paragraph reveals the book is a first person travelogue of the author and her daughter Lilia\u2019s exploration of their corner of Japan. Despite spending most of her life in the countryside, Kamata (author of Gadget Girl<\/a><\/em> and The Beautiful One Has Come<\/a><\/em>) has not just visited some nearby landmarks; she figures playing tourist in several locations would serve as good mother-daughter bonding experiences.<\/p>\n

This treats the reader to a journey of art exploration. Lilia loves art and she wants to make a career out of it. Kamata also shares an affinity for art, which makes them perfect travel partners. A Girls\u2019 Guide to the Islands <\/em>is enhanced by the author\u2019s illumination of the art she sees\u2014such as Yayoi Kusama\u2019s My Eternal Soul<\/a><\/em>, which is painted in vivid colors that are considered unsettling in Japan (the artist\u2019s iconic pumpkin sculpture in the island town of Naoshima also graces the book\u2019s cover)\u2014as well as the works that enthrall her daughter. Fortunately for them (and possibly surprising to some), foreign art from renowned artists was easy to locate in the rural museums they visited. Kamata and Lilia find one of Monet\u2019s most famous paintings and Andy Warhol\u2019s Flowers<\/a><\/em> in Naoshima, as well as other works from other non-Japanese artists.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Turning to obstacles, a reoccurring theme of A Girls\u2019 Guide to the Islands<\/em> is the challenges Kamata faces when traveling with Lilia. The young girl is unable to hear without a cochlear implant and can only move around with the assistance of a wheelchair. Kamata doesn\u2019t hide the difficulties she faces when traveling with a disabled child, which range from a museum not offering a discount for visitors for special needs to a hotel lacking barrier-free accommodations.<\/p>\n

Interestingly enough, Kamata views her daughter\u2019s world as an opportunity to create a link with the artwork she sees. After Lilia remarks that Monet used cataracts, Kamata explains that since her daughter\u2019s school merging with the School for the Blind, the young girl has become more cognizant of issues pertaining to sight. The author then elucidates how Monet\u2019s diminished vision affected his artwork.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not into the art exploration expounded by Kamata, the write-up of her and her daughter\u2019s travels might conjure up some not-so-fun memories for those who have traveled around Japan (like being unable to board a ferry due to fog) and introduce some new places (such as Shodo Island, a major olive-producing region). A Girls\u2019 Guide to the Islands <\/em>also contains informative descriptions of various forms of Japanese culture that mother and daughter experience throughout their journey. In the end, the book seems to lend itself perfectly well to a sequel\u2014as Kamata puts it, all of the world\u2019s beauty is seemingly within their reach.<\/p>\n

While the book is largely a \u201cwhat we did from beginning to end\u201d odyssey, Kamata\u2019s vivid accounts of her journey with her daughter put you alongside them as they soak up culture.<\/p>\n

Visit Suzanne Kamata online at www.suzannekamata.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

For<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>more<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>JQ<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>magazine<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>book<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>reviews<\/em><\/strong>,<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>click here<\/a><\/em>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Rashaad Jorden\u00a0(Yamagata–ken, 2008-10) for\u00a0JQ\u00a0magazine. A former head of the JETAA Philadelphia Sub–Chapter, Rashaad is a graduate of Leeds Beckett University with a master\u2019s degree in responsible tourism management. For more on his life abroad and enthusiasm for taiko drumming, visit his blog at\u00a0www.gettingpounded.wordpress.com. Exploring local wonders with loved ones can conjure up magical memories\u2014and an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,40,408,291,58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articlejournalism","category-books","category-jet-alum-author-beat","category-jq-magazine","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pkZ7m-bdX","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43149"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43151,"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43149\/revisions\/43151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}