Finding Chika by Mitch Albom

A Nonfiction, 2019 by Harper, 256 Pages

What I Didn’t Like:

• It almost feels intrusive sometimes. This is a true story of Chika, a young girl born in Haiti soon after an earthquake. It reads like a personal diary. I completely understand the need to write about things that are emotional. You have to get it out. But it feels a little intrusive sometimes to read those writings. 
• Possible unpopular opinion: I didn’t like the visiting kid chapters. I like them in theory. But in practice they felt forced, like this was a way to show you Chika that was added in after the fact. 

What I Did Like:

• Emotional and raw. This is a true story of a girl brought to America for medical treatment. It’s a glimpse into the reality of serious illness in children and what they go through. It’s important to read but it’s also very difficult to read.
• This book opens up the author to questions about what paths they took and why. I’m absolutely not going to judge another person for their choices, but I know there are readers who will. It is brave of him to put this story out there even knowing that might happen.
• The pictures. I just needed to see them all. I needed to see that little face.

Who Should Read This One:

• This one is hard to read. It’s a really emotional story. It deals with childhood trauma, adoption (abandonment, really), childhood terminal illness, medical treatment, and more. I hope everyone who needs it finds it. 

My Rating: 4 Stars

• This was a hard one for me to rate. At the end of the day it is a nonfiction story but nonfiction is so broad. But I have to honor the little girl who reached so many with the short time she was given. Her story lingers in my head. For that, I’d say it did what it intended to do.