"Luckily, I found this book in paperback when I was eleven. It is a book that should be required reading at a young age. Malcom X’s mind, struggle, fight, pain and truth will live on because this book will keep popping brains open. Look past the propaganda machine that reduces his role in history; there is a whole world of thought here, and that is a world I like to be in."

"The narrator of this novel works at a Tokyo convenience store and loves the routine of the job; she is also something of an anthropologist, noting her observations of human behavior in a distant and yet utterly open way. Watching her try to participate in the world is both moving and unsettling."

"As a child of humble means, this book allowed me to believe that I could go anywhere and do anything. It reminds us that along life’s journey, things inevitably will go wrong and we will have setbacks. But the world has too much to offer and one should be open to whatever experiences avail themselves."