Half a World Away (11 page)

I'd also like to express my deepest appreciation to adoptive moms Diane Kalkowski and Season Schultz for trusting me with their experiences and the intensity of their feelings. Thanks also to adoptive mom Karen Ballinger for reading the manuscript and giving much-needed advice, as well as sharing her blog. And thank you to adoptive moms Cindy Frogatt, Jennifer Gilbert, Kimberly Patton, Tamara Rossotti, Melissa Scott, Cathy Williams, and Shanna Wilons . . . plus any moms I've missed.

Former Peace Corps volunteers Michael Hotard and Chris Chaplin, who were both stationed in Kazakhstan, were more than generous with their time. And thank you to falconers Steve Bodio and Lauren McGrough, and to Zena Tursynova and Zhanat Ismalova.

And, as always, thank you to my son, Sammy, who is my life and inspiration.

About the Author

Cynthia Kadohata
is the author of the Newbery Medal–winning book
Kira-Kira,
the National Book Award winner
The Thing About Luck
, the Jane Addams Peace Award and Pen USA Award winner
Weedflower
,
Cracker!, Outside Beauty
,
A Million Shades of Gray
, and several critically acclaimed adult novels, including
The Floating World
. She lives with her son and dog in West Covina, California.

MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT

KIDS.SimonandSchuster.com

authors.simonandschuster.com/Cynthia-Kadohata

Also by Cynthia Kadohata

Cracker!: The Best Dog in Vietnam

Kira-Kira

A Million Shades of Gray

Outside Beauty

The Thing About Luck

Weedflower

ATHENEUM BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS

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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Text copyright © 2014 by Cynthia Kadohata

Jacket illustration copyright © 2014 by Lee White

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Book design by Mike Rosamilia; jacket design by Russell Gordon

The text for this book is set in Palatino LT.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Kadohata, Cynthia.

Half a world away / Cynthia Kadohata. — First edition.

pages cm

Summary: Twelve-year-old Jaden, an emotionally damaged adopted boy fascinated by electricity, feels a connection to a small, weak toddler with special needs in Kazakhstan, where Jaden's family is trying to adopt a “normal” baby.

ISBN 978-1-4424-1275-0 (alk. paper)

ISBN 978-1-4424-1277-4 (eBook)

[1. Adoption—Fiction. 2. Intercountry adoption—Fiction.

3. Emotional problems—Fiction. 4. Abandoned children—Fiction.

5. Love—Fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.K1166Ha 2014

[Fic]—dc23 2013031627