Memoirs of a Geisha is an outstanding book. It may be a long, small-words one, but it taught me many things. I’d like to recommend this book to girls 10 years of age and up because there are some adult stuff in it, but not that inappropriate.
Nine-year-old Chiyo Sakamoto was separated from her family because her mother was dying of bone cancer and her father couldn’t afford to take care of Satsu, Chiyo’s sister, and her. Mr. Tanaka Ichiro is a wealthy man who takes Chiyo to a place faraway in Kyoto to the Nitta okiya – a geisha house in the geisha district of Gion- where she befriends another trainee, Pumpkin, and where she has expensive debts. Those debts were caused not by Chiyo, but by the Nitta geisha, Hatsumomo, (who is jealous of Chiyo turning into a geisha) and this ruins Chiyo’s path of becoming a geisha.
After some time passed, Mr. Tanaka announced that both of Chiyo’s parents were dead and that Satsu ran away from her new home eloping with her secret boyfriend. After that, they were never seen by anyone ever again. Satsu was unsure of her future until she meets the Chairman, who gives her money to buy ice-cream, where then does she look into the future and sets it to becoming a geisha. Mameha, a rival geisha, who’s successful, to Hatsumomo sees the charm in Chiyo and takes her in. [Note: One of Chiyos’ debts was charged because Hatsumomo blackmailed her into ruining Mameha’s very expensive, silk kimono. Why was she doing this?] After being taken in, Chiyo’s name was changed to Sayuri and Mameha trains her to be rivals with Pumpkin by holding her deflowering ceremony (where Sayuri becomes a geisha) earlier causing Mother (Mrs. Nitta. She was planning to adopt Pumpkin, but then, changed her mind) to adopt Sayuri.
After many years, Sayuri becomes successful, but then, World War II comes in and ruins everything. Sayuri secretly loves the Chairman, who she met some time ago, but it seems like he’s pushing her towards his assistant, Nobu. After the war was over, Nobu pleads Sayuri to convince the minister to let the Chairman be the Chairman again (after the war, their business was over) and if she does so, he’ll become her patron. But Sayuri loves the Chairman, not Nobu. Follow along as Sayuri faces the many problems of being a geisha. The rule was that no geisha is allowed to marry any man. To a geisha, love is just an illusion, it does not exist. Please enjoy reading this book!

Kelly H.