Kira-Kira在日文中為閃亮的意思，是主角Kaite的姊姊Lyn教她說的地一句話，也是姐姐用來表示對於看待事物的正面態度。

故事發生在1950年代的日裔美籍家庭中，Kaite一家人搬到了喬治亞的一個小鎮上，小鎮上的華人不多，再加上戰後的時局影響，他們在新居的小鎮上受到了層層阻礙，父母更為了掙錢而日夜兼工。平日裡由姊姊Lyn照看一家生活起居，Kaite和姐姐經常一起聊天，談論心事和夢想，姊姊樂觀、積極的態度更深深地影響了Katie。

然而，好景不常......

但Lyn上高中不久後被診斷出罹患癌症，即將不久於世，這讓Kaite一家的經濟狀況也陷入愁雲慘霧，即便積極治療，Lyn最終仍不敵病魔過世。凱Kaite雖然和父母一樣悲痛，但她知道唯有抱持姊姊的精神，才是帶領一家人走出悲傷的唯一方法。

Kira-Kira在日文代表閃閃發亮之意，也是Lyn教導Kaite的第一個日文字，作者Cynthia Kadohata用優美的語調和文字，娓娓道來這個移民家庭的故事，反映美國多元族群社會下的真實情況，動人且真誠。

kira-kira (kee ra kee ra): glittering; shining Glittering. That's how Katie Takeshima's sister, Lynn, makes everything seem. The sky is kira-kira because its color is deep but see-through at the same time. The sea is kira-kira for the same reason. And so are people's eyes. When Katie and her family move from a Japanese community in Iowa to the Deep South of Georgia, it's Lynn who explains to her why people stop on the street to stare. And it's Lynn who, with her special way of viewing the world, teaches Katie to look beyond tomorrow. But when Lynn becomes desperately ill, and the whole family begins to fall apart, it is up to Katie to find a way to remind them all that there is always something glittering -- kira-kira -- in the future.