Elsie Chapman is Canadian and Japanese like Kaede and her love for Vancour and Tokyo come through in this book. This is an interesting book because it's easy to feel compassion for Kaede, but then he keeps making horrible decisions. There are a lot of readers who will identify with his contradictory desires for connection and self-preservation. Recommended.

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This was a delightful book that followed Kaede's journey of discovering where he belongs, what home means, and what family means to him following the death of his mother. I think his search was one everyone could relate to in some way while also examining belonging in terms of being an immigrant. It was a moving, easy-to-read story and you felt as if you were exploring Japan alongside Kaede because of the wonderful descriptions of his surroundings and (possibly most importantly) the food! It was a lively, vivid journey the reader joins Kaede upon and I also loved how he and his brother ultimately bond over music. I also enjoyed the writing style of this book, which including diary entrees/letters Kaede was writing for a school project. It was a very satisfying middle grade read and I would recommend it to its target audience and older readers too!

Outstanding MG about long-term grief and parental loss. Kaede is struggling with the death of his mom a year earlier. It's led to unfamiliar and uncomfortable living situations with a grandfather he barely knows, who's stepped in to care for him in the absence of his parents. His father lives in Japan and has been estranged for nearly a decade. But when Kaede's struggles at school and in his community lead to trouble, he's invited to spend the summer with the family he hardly remembers. Hoping for a thread of stability, Kaede hops on a plane to Tokyo with a small backpack and a school project on the topic of "home" that will determine whether or not he promotes to grade 8. In a city that holds ghosts of his past, Kaede gets to know his big brother and wonders about the father who is mysteriously still absent. Can he put together enough pieces to define home, and himself?

I really liked this book for so many reasons! Tokyo is vividly brought to life, and brought back many fond memories of my visits to Japan. This is a story of being torn between identities and places, and I think many will relate. The ending was not predictable, and I can’t wait to share this one with my creative writing students—many of them have migrated back and forth between different countries and will understand Kaede's emotional journey in this book.

Still thinking about how to rate this one.
I really enjoyed being in Japan.
I felt like the messages of home were really heavy handed.
The end felt too convenient.
I don’t understand how the financial stuff worked between the brothers.
I’m glad I read it.
I’m not sure what kids I would recommend it to.
Maybe 4-5th graders?
I do think this book should be on classroom shelves and in school libraries.

I appreciated how much speed of life writing there is in this book. To understand what was going on I had to look stuff up. I like that.

Wonderful novel. As someone who has lost a mom, I understood the MC anger and sense of loss. The writing was beautiful but as other reviews have mentioned I don’t know how my students will respond to it. Nevertheless I found it profoundly moving. Has me in tears by the end.

All The Ways Home made me cry... A lot.

What a gorgeous reflection on family, friendship, and the meaning of 'home'. This book is middle-grade, but I highly recommend it to readers of all ages - as long as you're okay with your heart getting ripped apart and then lovingly knit back together.

Overall a good story. The way that Japan and the setting was explained was so well done, and made me start really wishing I could just board a plane and fly to Japan :) The themes/character arc seemed to be more told than shown, but there were definetly lots of little nuggets of wisdom here and there. Loved the brother relationship thread, it was really strong.

3.5 stars. Enjoyed, but didn't love it. Maybe as a kid I would have? And there's some really beautiful reflection on home and what it means... but ultimately, the book felt a little single-minded. There could have been so much more in Kaede's story - grief, loss, family, distance - that felt absent, pushed out by this one single theme.

Additionally, some of the premise felt contrived and unrealistic? I mean, I have never, in my many years being involved in education in Canada, both as a student and, now, an educator, heard of kids actually being assigned homework over the summer, especially not homework that would be submitted and then have some bearing on any of your marks the following September. It annoyed me that the author would choose to set the story up with something that doesn't actually happen in the real world. I mean, maybe BC is different, but I kind of doubt it. Andalso, I know there are terrible educators around, but like, the kid just lost his mom in a tragic car accident and his teachers are piling on the pressure and threatening to keep him back a year? Yeah, no.

Anyway. I know I often get hung up on these sorts of technicalities that are actually a very small part of the story. I did enjoy the setting - Japan felt exciting and vibrant and I maybe actually wouldn't mind going to visit after reading this book. And the story of two brothers reconnecting was beautiful. The ending ties up in a pretty, neat bow, which I know many kids appreciate.