May 1, 2021
Heartbreak drives a teenager to do a triathlon. When Miho's boyfriend of two years breaks up with her out of the blue, she is furious and heartbroken. It's senior year, and she didn't apply for college like her friends, so the only distraction she has is her job delivering pizzas on her bike. Following a moment of inspiration, Miho decides to do an Ironman race, believing that swimming, biking, and running 140.6 miles will be enough to feel better and (figuratively) leave her ex behind. But the Ironman fee is too expensive, so her friends create a triathlon-length race for her, the Miho-man. Together they help her train, but it isn't easy, especially for a girl who hasn't even run a mile in PE. With the support of her best friends, her dad, and others in her community, Miho fights against barriers and self-doubt to finish the race. Miho's journey is a powerful coming-of-age story full of grit. Through Miho and other characters, the novel dives into the intersections of race, class, and sexual orientation. Although the book is set in Hawaii, Miho only moved there from California during middle school; the story is told from her first-person perspective, presenting Hawaii through the lens of an outsider who does not entirely understand her new home. Miho is multiracial, with Japanese, Black, and other, unspecified, ancestry. Secondary characters are diverse across multiple dimensions. A powerful story full of determination. (Fiction. 12-18)
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November 1, 2021
Gr 8 Up-Miho is having an eventful year. On the brink of high school graduation, the Hawaiian teen is navigating friendships, identity, and future plans as well as delivering pizza to help her dad stay financially afloat. As the novel opens, she has just been dumped by her boyfriend. She also learned that while they were dating, he was committed to another relationship, and Miho was the "other." Now his girlfriend is pregnant, and they are planning a wedding. While peering at her ex's fianc�e's social media, Miho learns that she was training for an Ironman triathlon. Miho decides that the best way to process her grief and anger is to complete her own triathlon. Though she lacks the resources to compete officially, her friends rally around to offer the logistical and emotional support needed for a "Miho-man." Miho and her friends navigate privilege, identity, and institutional inequality. These are complex topics, but the main focus is the characters' goal of loving and supporting a friend. VERDICT This book will appeal to readers who enjoy realistic YA fiction that touches on social issues. It may also encourage athletic kids to think about the deeper advantages of pushing themselves physically and what is lost when some people are excluded from sports.-Amelia Jenkins, Juneau P.L. AK
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