Customer Reviews

Name Me Nobody

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Name Me Nobody by Lois-Ann Yamanaka was one of the few books I couldn't put down. Being through the adolescent trauma of weight problems, school, and boys, I knew exactly where Emi-lou was coming from. As a child Emi-lou, dubbed Louie by her best friend Von, was abandoned by her mother and left to be taken care of by her grandmother. Emi-lou must put up with many hardships, mostly about her being over-weight. It seems as though whenever she does something wrong, her weight is blamed. Everything begins to change once she and Von go to play for the Hilo Astros, a woman's softball team. Emi-lou begins to realize the meaning of family, friendship, and love. She also finds that bonds between two people that truly care about each other can be torn but not completely broken.

I liked the story in "Name Me Nobody". Everyone knows the tales about girls who lose their best friends when their friend finds a boyfriend. "Name Me Nobody" puts a twist on the old familiar theme: Emi-Lou lost her best friend Von to Von's GIRLFRIEND. This is original and I like originality. Five points for that.

However, the book was very hard to follow. The huge cast of characters, many of them going by several names, frustrated me and I didn't know what was going on half the time. For instance, there's Genevieve and Viva. They're the same person. I think. But I'm not sure. I think the author could have tried harder to make the book clear and easy to follow. Minus one point for that.

Another thing that annoyed me was the language. The pidgin English did add to the authenticity of the story, which is set in Hawaii. But many times the characters inserted Japanese words into their speech and I could only guess as to what the Japanese meant. This would not have been a problem had their been a glossary enclosed, like in John Marsden's books where everyone speaks Aussie. But "Name Me Nobody" had no glossary, so the language just kept me guessing. Minus one point for hard to understand.

It was a good book, but these flaws annoyed me and I'm not inclined to buy it, or even check it out from the library again.

I've so far read most of Yamanaka's work and liked it all! The subject material is hard and sometimes painfully honest but well worth the read. At 26, I think this book can be appreciated by all ages, and really isnt a "young adult" book. It is much like her other novels, only a little less harsh in the subject matter. (In her other books the author often depicts some explicit and painful to read scenes involving the characters or animals that may not be the best images for children)Yamanaka has a knack for describing the peoples of Hawaii with a unique feel in all her books. This book, like Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers etc., can be appreciated by audiences of any age who want to have a good, cant-put-it-down type of experience. I recommend it for anyone who likes this interest group!

Name Me Nobody is original, and real. The characters are textured, and all of them flawed. Some are drawn with great depth and dimension: Emi-lou, Von, Kyle -- whilst some are less clear: Sterling, Babes, Grandma. Still, the story will keep you hooked until the very last page. Name Me Nobody explores the troubles of self perception, sexuality, broken homes, bullying, and finally -- adolescent relationships. The protagonist is a likeable but imperfect narrator who will charm your heart. Some parts were so emotionally fraught that they forced me to examine the pains and pleasures of my own life. You will ache for Emi-lou when those she once cherished turn against her. A brilliant story.

NAME ME NOBODY by Lois-Ann Yamanaka

A young adult book that will be enjoyed by adults as well, NAME ME NOBODY is the story of thirteen-year-old Emi-Lou Kaya, a very insecure overweight Japanese American living in Hawaii. Her mother lives on the mainland and she does not know who her father is. Her maternal grandmother, a very feisty strong-willed woman who is trying to correct the errors she made while raising Emi-Lou's mother and Aunt Vicky, is raising Emi-Lou. If it weren't for her Grandma and her best friend Yvonne, Emi-Lou feels she would have no one else in the world to love her.

The story details Emi-Lou's (Louie's) trials as she attends Junior High school, tries to fit in, and maintains her friendship with Yvonne (Von). When Emi-Lou notices that Von is starting to pay more attention to another girl in school, warning bells go off inside her head, and she finds herself wondering what is going on. Jealousy rears its ugly head as she lets this new friendship come between her and Von.

Emi-Lou also deals with boys, wishing to be noticed by the coolest in school, and Von helps Emi-Lou lose weight. She finds a new sense of self-esteem when they finally notice her, but maybe for the wrong reasons. It's tough growing up, especially if you don't have parents that want you, and when you are overweight and feel like an outcast.

NAME ME NOBODY by Lois-Ann Yamanaka was yet another wonderful book immersed with the Hawaiian Japanese culture, complete with pidgin and culture that is part of the Hawaiian Japanese world. This reader felt very much at home with this book, being Japanese American, but a Haole should be able to enjoy the story as well, as it is a universal theme that Yamanaka explores, that of fitting in. This reviewer gives NAME ME NOBODY four stars.

Lois Ann always captures the true color of Hawai'i in her books. You are transported into the side of Hawai'i that is away from the big hotels and tourist spots. This is a great coming of age book for young girls and especially those who may have some questions as to thier sexual orientation. Von, Emi lou's older best friend, breaks away as she gets a new friend and lover who is her own age. This compounds the weight issue that Emi Lou already has and how she feels about herself. She doesn't understand being left out of Von's life after they've been so close. Lois Ann writes with a tender touch underlying the in your face and often hard hitting style she is a master of. Her style fits the life of young adults as they can use a hard exterior to mask their fears. Adults can gain alot from this book about what's going on with there teenagers.

Ashton Hinds
1/6/02
Period 6

I recently read a book titled Name me Nobody. Emi-Lou Kaya feels as if she's a nobody. Her mother abandoned her at the age of 3, and she doesn't have a clue as to who her father is or might be. The popular Japanese girls at school call Emi-Lou: Emi-fat, and Emi-oink. Because Emi-Lou is overweight she is very self-conscious. She doesn't consider herself smart enough to be a nerd, but not quite unpopular enough to be a zero (she falls somewhere in between). The only people she can count on are her grandmother and her best friend, Von. Emi-Lou starts to worry about losing Von, when Von starts spending too much time with Babes, a girl from their Hawaiian Softball team. People at school start to call von a "Butchie" (lesbian) and when Emi-Lou hears the rumor she becomes desperate to get Von back as her best friend.
I loved this book. Although it started off really slow in the beginning, from middle to end it was great. I liked it because this novel explores sexuality, racism, and the troubled times one might go through in establishing their own identity. I also loved the fact that Von always carried a place in her heart for Emi-Lou. She went so far as to shoplift diet pills to help Emi-Lou lose weight and feel better about herself.
My favorite part of this book was the ending. This was when Von discovers her true self, no matter how heart breaking it was to her family and close friends (especially her father). Eventually Emi-Lou gets over the situation and removes the wall she has built between Von and herself. Von never meant to hurt their friendship. Everyone learns to accept Von for the way she is. I recommend this book to kids who enjoy reading books with lots of drama! (Preferably for children 12 and over.)

Yamanaka describes her characters so well that I feel like I know each and every one of them. She captured the pidgin English of Hawaii and added other bits of culture throughout the story.

Lois-Anne Yamanaka is one of the most admired novelists today in the Hawaiian 'local color' tradition and probably the most popular. I find some of her 'adult' work a bit too self-consciously literary, but that is not a problem with this straight-ahead and simply told story.

She certainly dumps a lot of troubles on the head of her young protagonist: internal family trouble, overweight, lousy pseudo-boyfriend, wayward girlfriend. My kids were in a Hawaii high school a few years ago, and this book rings true, though fortunately I don't recall any one of their classmates having ALL of this girl's troubles.

Some of the other reviewers' comments were well-taken. The plots are numerous and rather complex for 'young adult' fiction. The pidgen can be intimidating. Hawaii is a real place, and different enough from the Mainland to be 'exotic' and somewhat mysterious. But, as the computer geeks say, these are not bugs -- they are features.

OK -- or ' 'kay den' as a pidgen speaker would say -- not every sentence will be crystal clear to the reader. Not every sentence has to be crystal clear to get the benefit of this lively novel.

Lois Ann hits it on head. But what should I expect from Yamanaka, who I consider to be Hawaii's most talented author? It is often hard for people to capture Hawaii pidgin properly without making it sound like some gratuitous affectation, but Yamanaka's uncanny ability to create and re-create the streams of language that I had grew up in leads me right back to the world I knew but as seen through the dazzling screen of her limitless imagination and heart. Bravo!