Praise for Asha Lemmie and Fifty Words for Rain

Novels like Asha Lemmie s debut allow me to experience the high of the endurance athlete consumed by a far-flung odyssey, coming up only for a sip of water I inhaled Fifty Words for Rain in one day. I had no choice.   The New York Times Book Review

Usually I take my time with books, but I found it very hard to step away from this story. Filled with mystery, music, sadness and adventures, Fifty Words for Rain flies by yet lingers long after Anyone who has ever lost a friend or, more happily, found a family will love this beautiful story. Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist 

"Fifty Words for Rain is a lovely, heartrending story about love and loss, prejudice and pain, and the sometimes dangerous, always durable ties that link a family together. This coming of age tale about a biracial girl in postwar Japan is an assured, confident debut by a talented new author."  Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale 

A hugely compelling debut about Noriko, a mixed race girl growing up in Japan after WWII. Moving and honest and at times intense, Asha Lemmie takes us on an emotional journey that spans years, one which sheds light on Noriko's family traditions, prejudices, struggles, triumphs and ultimate transformation. This is a well-researched and eye-opening tale, told with compassion that breathes through each page.   Abi Daré, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl with the Louding Voice

[An] epic, twisty debut Sometimes bleak, sometimes hopeful, Lemmie s heartbreaking story of familial obligations packs an emotional wallop.   Publishers Weekly

Lemmie s debut novel is a gripping historical tale that will transport readers through myriad emotions  Lemmie intimately draws the readers into every aspect of Noriko s complex story, leading us through the decades and across the continents this adventure spans, bringing us to anger, tears, and small pockets of joy. A truly ambitious and remarkable debut.   Booklist  

Lemmie s sweeping historical backdrop, from the post World War II decline of minor royalty through the expanding liberations of the 1960s, is breathtaking . A bold historical portrait of a woman overcoming oppression   Kirkus 

"This is a debut you won t want to miss."  Erin Kodicek, Amazon Book Review 

"This virtuosic debut enthralled me from the very first page. Lemmie s compelling and compassionate portrait of a young girl in post-WWII Japan is meticulously researched and beautifully crafted. What a heartbreaking, exceptional story by a sublime talent I can t wait to see what she does next!" Fiona Davis, nationally bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue

"Fifty Words for Rain is an impressive debut novel about a mixed-race girl growing up in post WWII Japan. Sensitive and bristling with closely-observed humanity, Asha Lemmie tells a story that we have not heard before with an ending that is as surprising as it is brutally honest." Mark Sullivan, bestselling author of Beneath a Scarlet Sky

Asha Lemmie s debut novel Fifty Words for Rain follows eight-year-old Nori after she is abandoned by her mother and left to fend for herself in the unkind graces of a family built on tradition and power. Lemmie has penned an impassioned story that confronts the uncomfortable truths behind institutionalized prejudice and the history of violence and subjugation of the powerless by those on the highest rungs of society. It s an emotional journey with an unexpected ending. Mary Lynn Bracht, author of White Chrysanthemum

"From page one, I was rooting for Nori, the illegitimate daughter of a Japanese aristocrat and an African-American soldier. Shackled by family condemnation and the prejudices of post-WWII Japan, Nori must transform from docile young girl into fierce, unapologetic heroine. A wholly immersive coming-of-age epic from a talented young writer Asha Lemmie pours her passion onto the page. Mira T. Lee, author of Everything Here is Beautiful

Prelude

Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Summer 1948

The first real memory Nori had was pulling up to that house. For many years afterward, she would try to stretch the boundaries of her mind further, to what came before that day. Time and time again, she d lie on her back in the stillness of the night and try to recall. Sometimes she d catch a glimpse in her head of a tiny apartment with lurid yellow walls. But the image would disappear as quickly as it came, leaving no sense of satisfaction in its wake. And so if you asked her, Nori would say that her life had officially begun the day she laid eyes on the imposing estate that rested serenely between the crests of two green hills. It was a stunningly beautiful place there was no denying it and yet, despite this beauty, Nori felt her stomach clench and her gut churn at the sight of it. Her mother rarely took her any where, and somehow she knew that something was waiting for her there that she would not like.

The faded blue automobile skidded to a stop on the street across from the estate. It was in the traditional style, surrounded by high white walls. The first set of gates was open, allowing full view into the meticulously arranged courtyard beyond. But the inner gates to the house itself were sealed shut. There were words engraved at the top of the main gate, embossed in gold lettering for all to see. But Nori could not read them. She could read and write her name No ri ko but nothing else. In that moment, she wished she could read every word ever written, in every language from sea to sea. Not being able to read those letters frustrated her to an extent she didn t understand. She turned to her mother.

Okaasan, what do those letters say?

The woman seated beside her let out a stifled sigh of frustration. It was clear that she d been a great beauty in her day. She was still gorgeous, but her young face was beginning to reflect the toll life had taken on her. Her dark, thick hair was bound behind her head in a braid that kept attempting to unravel. Her soft gray eyes were cast downwards. She would not meet her daughter s gaze.

Kamiza, she answered at last. It says Kamiza.

But that s our name, isn t it? Nori chirped, her curiosity immediately piqued.

Her mother let out a strangled giggle that made the hair on the back of Nori s neck stand up. The driver of the car, a man Nori had never seen before this morning, shot them a startled glance in the rearview mirror.

Yes, she responded softly, eyes alight with a strange look that Nori s limited vocabulary did not have the means to name. That is our family name. This is where my mother and father live, child. Your grandparents.

Nori felt her heartbeat quicken. Her mother had never before made any mention of relatives or family. Indeed, the two of them had drifted along in solitude so long it seemed strange to Nori that they could actually be anchored to a tangible place.

Did you live here once, Okaasan?

Once, her mother said dryly. Before you were born. A long time ago.

Nori scrunched her face up in a frown. Why did you leave?  

That s enough questions now, Noriko. Get your things. Come.

Nori obeyed, biting her lip to refrain from inquiring further. Her mother did not like questions. Every time Nori asked something, she was met with a disapproving glance. It was better not to ask. On the rare occasions Nori was able to please her mother, she was given a dry half smile in return. Sometimes, if she was especially good, her mother would reward her with some candy or a new ribbon. So far, in eight years of life, Nori had a collecti

A Good Morning America Book Club Pick and New York Times Bestseller!
 
From debut author Asha Lemmie, a lovely, heartrending story about love and loss, prejudice and pain, and the sometimes dangerous, always durable ties that link a family together. Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale

Kyoto, Japan, 1948. Do not question. Do not fight. Do not resist.

Such is eight-year-old Noriko Nori Kamiza s first lesson. She will not question why her mother abandoned her with only these final words. She will not fight her confinement to the attic of her grandparents imperial estate. And she will not resist the scalding chemical baths she receives daily to lighten her skin.

The child of a married Japanese aristocrat and her African American GI lover, Nori is an outsider from birth. Her grandparents take her in, only to conceal her, fearful of a stain on the royal pedigree that they are desperate to uphold in a changing Japan. Obedient to a fault, Nori accepts her solitary life, despite her natural intellect and curiosity. But when chance brings her older half-brother, Akira, to the estate that is his inheritance and destiny, Nori finds in him an unlikely ally with whom she forms a powerful bond a bond their formidable grandparents cannot allow and that will irrevocably change the lives they were always meant to lead. Because now that Nori has glimpsed a world in which perhaps there is a place for her after all, she is ready to fight to be a part of it a battle that just might cost her everything.

Spanning decades and continents, Fifty Words for Rain is a dazzling epic about the ties that bind, the ties that give you strength, and what it means to be free.
Asha Lemmie is the New York Times bestselling author of Fifty Words For Rain and The Wildest Sun. She holds a BA in English Literature from Boston College and is currently a graduate student at Columbia University. She resides in New York City but can frequently be found wandering. Asha writes historical fiction that focuses on bringing unique perspectives to life.