Mina's Matchbox

On sleepless nights, I open the matchbox and reread the story of the girl who gathered shooting stars.'Beguiling' New YorkerAfter the death of her father, twelve-year-old Tomoko is sent to live for a year with her uncle in the coastal town of Ashiya. It is a year which will change her life.While the 1970s transform Japan, her uncle's magnificent colonial mansion is a place out of time; its sprawling gardens are even home to a pet pygmy hippo. Equally beguiling are Tomoko s relatives, especially her cousin Mina. Their growing friendship draws her into an intoxicating world one full of secret crushes and elaborate storytelling.Rich with the magic and mystery of youth, Mina s Matchbox is an evocative snapshot of a moment frozen in time, and a striking depiction of a family on the edge of collapse. Beautifully composed Financial Times Effervescent New York Times Book Review Transfixing Time'I read Mina s Matchbox like a besotted child, enraptured, never wanting it to end' Ruth Ozeki