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Name Me Nobody
YAMANAKA, Lois-Ann., Name Me Nobody. New York: Hyperion Paperbacks, 2000. 229p., ISBN 078681466-7 (pa), $5.99.
Name Me Nobody is an exceptional coming-of-age novel for young adults written by Japanese American writer Lois-Ann Yamanaka. The novel tells the story of Emi-Lou who is a thirteen-year-old girl living with her grandmother in Hilo, Hawaii. The story follows Emi-Lou as she loses weight, experiences her first boyfriend, and struggles with her best friend, Von, being gay. The main focus of this story is Emi-Lou’s fears that she is losing her best friend and trying to find her own identity.
Lois-Ann Yamanaka was born in Ho'olchua, Molokai, Hawaii. She received Bachelor and Master degrees in Education at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She has written four other novels, a picture book and a book of poems. Yamanaka was awarded the Pushcart Prize for Poetry and the Elliot Cades award for literature in 1993. In 1994 she was awarded the Pushcart Prize again and in 1996 she was the recipient of the Rona Jaffe award for women writers. In 1998 she was the recipient of the Asian American Studies National Book award however that prize was later revoked due to controversy over her depiction of a Filipino character in her book Blu’s Hanging. Lois-Ann Yamanaka resides in Honolulu.
I have rarely seen the topic of being gay in Hawaii dealt with in young adult literature. There are young people here who are trying to understand their sexuality and need to see main or secondary characters in novels like them. They need these novels to help them realize that they are not alone in trying to understand their sexual orientation. My heart went out to Emi-Lou as I followed her throughout the novel. Everyone has had a close friend whom they struggled with losing that friend (even temporally) to something or someone. They have to figure out how to be themselves with and without that friend. They also have to figure out how to balance sharing their friend with that someone or something else. This book is well written; it beautifully describes the setting and captures the essence of the people of Hawaii. However, the language and culture may be difficult for people who are not from the Islands to understand since Yamanaka doesn’t provide a glossary for some of the words or terms, (such as ehu, brah, pau, no lick me, she gotta be ugs) which her characters use throughout the novel. In addition to the language and culture references there is also an attempted rape scene in the novel so I’d advise junior high librarians to review the novel first prior to purchasing it.
The price of the book is reasonable which makes it a good purchase. There are no illustrations except for the cover which is simple yet colorful. I would recommend that this novel be purchased for local junior high and high school libraries and public libraries for their YA section. The book over-all was well written and worth a read.
Name Me Nobody is an exceptional coming-of-age novel for young adults written by Japanese American writer Lois-Ann Yamanaka. The novel tells the story of Emi-Lou who is a thirteen-year-old girl living with her grandmother in Hilo, Hawaii. The story follows Emi-Lou as she loses weight, experiences her first boyfriend, and struggles with her best friend, Von, being gay. The main focus of this story is Emi-Lou’s fears that she is losing her best friend and trying to find her own identity.
Lois-Ann Yamanaka was born in Ho'olchua, Molokai, Hawaii. She received Bachelor and Master degrees in Education at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She has written four other novels, a picture book and a book of poems. Yamanaka was awarded the Pushcart Prize for Poetry and the Elliot Cades award for literature in 1993. In 1994 she was awarded the Pushcart Prize again and in 1996 she was the recipient of the Rona Jaffe award for women writers. In 1998 she was the recipient of the Asian American Studies National Book award however that prize was later revoked due to controversy over her depiction of a Filipino character in her book Blu’s Hanging. Lois-Ann Yamanaka resides in Honolulu.
I have rarely seen the topic of being gay in Hawaii dealt with in young adult literature. There are young people here who are trying to understand their sexuality and need to see main or secondary characters in novels like them. They need these novels to help them realize that they are not alone in trying to understand their sexual orientation. My heart went out to Emi-Lou as I followed her throughout the novel. Everyone has had a close friend whom they struggled with losing that friend (even temporally) to something or someone. They have to figure out how to be themselves with and without that friend. They also have to figure out how to balance sharing their friend with that someone or something else. This book is well written; it beautifully describes the setting and captures the essence of the people of Hawaii. However, the language and culture may be difficult for people who are not from the Islands to understand since Yamanaka doesn’t provide a glossary for some of the words or terms, (such as ehu, brah, pau, no lick me, she gotta be ugs) which her characters use throughout the novel. In addition to the language and culture references there is also an attempted rape scene in the novel so I’d advise junior high librarians to review the novel first prior to purchasing it.
The price of the book is reasonable which makes it a good purchase. There are no illustrations except for the cover which is simple yet colorful. I would recommend that this novel be purchased for local junior high and high school libraries and public libraries for their YA section. The book over-all was well written and worth a read.
Submitted in October 2009 by Heather Maggini-Mackay, LIS Student, University of Hawaii at Manoa.
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