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Weedflower

3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 · rating details · 1,768 ratings · 327 reviews

Twelve-year-old Sumiko feels her life has been made up of two parts: before Pearl Harbor and after it. The good part and the bad part. Raised on a flower farm in California, Sumiko is used to being the only Japanese girl in her class. Even when the other kids tease her, she always has had her flowers and family to go home to.

That all changes after the horrific events of

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Hardcover, 272 pages

Published April 1st 2006 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers

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Best Asian-American teen fiction

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Apr 30, 2009 Roos rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Roos by: Furious

Shelves: 2009, novelia

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Sumiko (12th) dan adiknya Takao lahir di Amerika dan sudah yatim piatu sejak ayah dan ibunya meninggal dalam kecelakaan mobil beberapa tahun yang lalu. Tinggal bersama Paman-Bibinya dan 2 orang kaka sepupu laki-laki, Ichiro dan Bull serta Kakek yang sangat mencintainya Jiichan. Dibesarkan di perkebunan bunga di California, Sumiko sangat mencintai Kasubana (bunga liar) dan bau tanah di perkebunan, bahkan dia menjadi ahli pemotong dan pemilah bunga yang dihandalkan oleh perkebunan bunga pamannya....more Sumiko (12th) dan adiknya Takao lahir di Amerika dan sudah yatim piatu sejak ayah dan ibunya meninggal dalam kecelakaan mobil beberapa tahun yang lalu. Tinggal bersama Paman-Bibinya dan 2 orang kaka sepupu laki-laki, Ichiro dan Bull serta Kakek yang sangat mencintainya Jiichan. Dibesarkan di perkebunan bunga di California, Sumiko sangat mencintai Kasubana (bunga liar) dan bau tanah di perkebunan, bahkan dia menjadi ahli pemotong dan pemilah bunga yang dihandalkan oleh perkebunan bunga pamannya. Sumiko lebih menikmati pekerjaannya di kebun daripada pergi ke sekolah. Dia juga bercita-cita ingin mempunyai Toko Bunga sendiri nantinya kalau sudah besar.

Keadaan berubah sejak serangan Tentara Jepang ke Pearl Harbor. Pemerintah Amerika mencurigai semua warga Jepangnya sebagai mata-mata Kaisar. Kakek dan Paman Sumiko ditangkap karena termasuk Nikkei (orang Jepang yang tidak lahir di Amerika) dan diasingkankan bersama Nikkei yang lain ke daerah Reservasi di North Dakota. Menyusul Bibinya, Sumiko, Takao, Ichiro, dan Bull bersama 'Japs' terpaksa diasingkan di Gelanggang Pacuan Kuda di San Carlos. Kemudian dipindahkan ke daerah Resevasi Poston, Arizona. Daerah yang 10 kali lebih panas dan sering terjadi badai debu yang hebat, dan ternyata Poston sebelumnya adalah area Reservasi untuk Suku Indian Mojave dan Chemehuevi. Suku-suku Indian penduduk asli Amerika yang merasa tersingkir namun tetap tinggal diarea tersebut.

Meskipun merasa mati kebosanan di kamp, Sumiko akhirnya berteman dengan Sachi, sesama gadis Jepang yang suka berbohong padanya dan Frank seorang Indian Mojave yang kadang suka melihat-lihat Kamp Jepang, juga Mr.Moto yang bersedia membagi lahannya untuk berkebun, dengan syarat Sumiko harus mengajarkan cara menanam buncis. Sumiko memanfaatkan kesempatan itu untuk menanam "Bibit bunga Jenis Sumiko" yang semapt dikembangkan oleh pamannya saat di California. dan usahanya dengan Mr.Moto tidak sia-sia, karena berhasil mendapatkan juara 3 saat lomba berkebun di kamp diadakan.

Berlatar belakang kehidupan orang-orang Jepang di Amerika tahun 1942-1946, tepatnya masa Perang Dunia II sebelum dan sesudah serangan Tentara Jepang ke Pearl Harbor. Daerah Poston yang sebelumnya panas dan susah mendapatkan air, sejak ditinggali warga Jepang atau Japs berubah menjadi daerah pertanian dan peternakan yang subur. Para Japs ini tidak mau diam menunggu nasip yang tidak menentu dikarenakan sikap Pemerintah Amerika yang masih balum percaya untuk memberikan hak-hak mereka sebagai warga negara Amerika. Maka selama tinggal di kamp reservasi tersebut para Japs ini membuat sistem irigasi untuk mengairi area pertanian mereka di kamp dan membudidayakan berbagai tanaman pangan. Bahkan hubungan dan interaksi dengan kaum Indian-pun membaik disebabkan oleh persamaan nasip. Yaitu tidak mempunyai hak suara atas diri mereka sendiri.

Dari catatan akhir buku ini, ada Tim Kombat Resimen 442 yang melegenda dikarenakan Tentara Amerika yang berisi warga keturunan Jepang, sebagai Tim Kombat yang paling berjasa dalam sejarah Amerika. Dan dalam waktu itu juga tercatat ribuan orang Indian yang meninggalkan daerah Reservasi mereka dan masuk menjadi Tentara, yang tercatat juga dalam sejarah Amerika sebagai kepergian serentak terbesar yang pernah terjadi di daerah Suku Indian.

Buku yang bagus karena Cynthia menulisnya dengan melalui research yang dalam dan melakukan berbagai wawancara dengan warga Jepang dan Indian yang hidup dimasa perang dunia II. Meski alurnya yang lambat buku ini tidak kehilangan sisi indahnya diakhir cerita. No sad or happy ending. Dari sisi terjemahan juga enak dibaca. Lalu bagaimana nasip Sumiko? Apakah dia berhasil mempunyai Toko Bunga seperti yang dicita-citakan? Yang jelas diakhir buku ini, Sumiko menyadari bahwa Kakeknya Jiichan pergi dari Jepang ke Amerika bukan untuk mencari kebebasan tapi untuk bekerja keras demi masa depan. Masa depan siapa? Masa depan anak cucunya termasuk Sumiko. Sumiko menyadari bahwa Jiichan mencintainya bahkan sebelum dia dilahirkan. Nice story...jadi kangen ma Eyang Kakung nih.

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Oct 26, 2011 Imas rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: karya-perempuan

Sumiko, gadis kecil berusia 12 tahun warga Amerika Serikat keturunan Jepang dibesarkan oleh keluarga paman dan bibinya di perkebunan bunga di California setelah kecelakaan lalu lintas yang menewaskan kedua orang tuanya.

Sumiko sudah terbiasa menjadi satu-satunya orang Jepang dikelas dan menjadi bahan ejekan, namun dia bahagia karena masih memiliki keluarga adiknya Tak tak, kedua sepupunya Ichiro dan Bull, kakeknya Jiichan dan tentu saja Paman dan bibi serta kebun bunga yang dirawat dengan kesung...more Sumiko, gadis kecil berusia 12 tahun warga Amerika Serikat keturunan Jepang dibesarkan oleh keluarga paman dan bibinya di perkebunan bunga di California setelah kecelakaan lalu lintas yang menewaskan kedua orang tuanya.

Sumiko sudah terbiasa menjadi satu-satunya orang Jepang dikelas dan menjadi bahan ejekan, namun dia bahagia karena masih memiliki keluarga adiknya Tak tak, kedua sepupunya Ichiro dan Bull, kakeknya Jiichan dan tentu saja Paman dan bibi serta kebun bunga yang dirawat dengan kesungguhan dan penuh kebanggaan.

Kehidupan Sumiko dan keluarga berubah setelah peristiwa Pearl Harbor. Seluruh Nikkei-warga Amerika keturunan Jepang- dicurigai sebagai mata-mata Kaisar. Mereka dipindahkan ke tempat-tempat pengasingan, kamp-kamp konsentrasi untuk melokalisir mereka.

Menyedihkan, bagaimana Sumiko dan ribuan keluarga Nikkei harus tercerabut dari kehidupannya. Dipaksa pindah meninggalkan ladang yang telah dipelihara dengan kerja keras.

Menyedihkan bagaimana Sumiko harus membakar buku-buku kursus bahasa Jepang, tulisan-tulisan Jepang yang dibuatnya dengan bersusah payah, satu-satunya foto kedua orangtuanya karena pada foto itu terlihat bendera Jepang dan semua barang-barang yang diperkirakan akan membuat kecurigaan bahwa mereka berpihak kepada Jepang.

Menyedihkan bagaimana Sumiko memandang kebun bunga kesayangannya pada hari mereka harus meninggalkan rumah menuju kamp konsentrasi.Saat itu Sumiko sempat membawa bibit bunga hasil penelitian pamannya yang dinamai seperti namanya "bibit Sumiko".

Sumiko menjalani babak baru kehidupannya dipadang gurun terpanas di Amerika, daerah reservasi orang Indian.

Sumiko selama beberapa tahun terakhir berangan-angan untuk kuliah dan memperoleh gelar dibidang bisnis supaya bisa mengelola toko bunganya sendiri. Dia tahu dia cuma gadis petani,tapi jauh dilubuk hatinya ia percaya bahwa setiap bunga yang dipetiknya,setiap piring yang dicucinya, setiap hinaan teman sekolah yang harus ditanggungnya dan setiap dinihari yang membangunkannya akan membawa dia semakin dekat kepada impiannya, kepada penjelmaan dari gadis petani menjadi pemilik toko bunga.Dia tidak menginginkan toko bunga besar. Dia hanya ingin dikelilingi bunga tiap hari selama sisa hidupnya. Ia ingin menamai putrinya Hanako yang berarti "anak bunga".

Tapi sekarang,berbaring di dipan ditengah padang gurun, dikelilingi ngengat, kelelawar dan kalajengking, Sumiko merasa toko bunga itu takkan pernah mampu diraihnya. Impiannya telah sirna.

Kebiasaan bekerja keras dan tidak tau berbuat apa, para Nikkei yang sebagian besar petani membangun ladang pertanian di padang gurun itu. Kebun bunga Sumiko yang dikerjakannya bersama Mr Moto berhasil meraih juara ketiga.

Weedflower adalah cerita tentang kasih sayang, keluarga, kerja keras, prasangka dan kebencian. Persahabatan dan kasih sayang bisa tumbuh dimana saja dengan menghilangkan prasangka.

Great book on a touchy subject(less)

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Sep 11, 2011 Helvry Sinaga rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Bagaimana rasanya kesepian? bagaimana rasanya bosan? bagaimana rasanya meninggalkan kamp? Itulah pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang diajukan Sumiko dan ia sendiri yang menjawabnya.

Novel ini bercerita tentang kehidupan keluarga Jepang-Amerika pada masa perang dunia ke-2. Sumiko, seorang gadis berumur dua belas tahun tinggal bersama Pamannya yang bernama Hatsumi, Bibinya (namanya tidak disebutkan dalam novel), Kakeknya, Masanori Matsuda yang dipanggil Jichan, dua sepupunya yaitu Ichiro dan Bull, dan adikn...more

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Apr 29, 2007 Kristl rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone! especially teens, WWII & Arizona history aficionados

Shelves: childrens-fiction

I am so satisfied that Cynthia Kadohata's Weedflower was chosen as the One Book Arizona for Kids for 2007 because I likely might not have gotten to it just yet, if at all.

Having just finished it-minutes ago, my thoughts are fresh and still congealing, which is not how I would normally write a review. However, it has been a long while since I've reached the end of a book-especially one written so quietly and unaffectedly-and had the urge to just cry.

I had to reflect upon the reason for this sudde...more

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Apr 26, 2008 Kerri rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, girl-books

Most kids don’t even realize that when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, we treated all Japanese like outcasts. We took them from their homes and put them in “camps” so that they would no longer be a part of American society. In some cases, we were not much better than the Germans because we treated them horribly simply because they were a different race. This book is interesting to use to find out more about what conditions these people lived in. Not a ton of action, but a lot of information an...more

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Dec 24, 2008 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, children

Cynthia Kadohata does a beautiful job at bringing to life the history of interned Japanese Americans. While I had considered the inequity and unconstitutional nature of Japanese interment camps, my approach to them had been rather academic. This story helped to solidify the inhumanity and cruelty of the camps. Additionally, she artfully brings in the inexcusable treatment of Native Americans as she builds a relationship between the protagonist, Sumiko and Frank, a young Native American living on...more

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Feb 18, 2013 Hazael rated it 4 of 5 stars

I think this book is a valuable read. It teaches you about culture (more than just Japanese and Japanese American culture, too), friendship, and the importance of dreams and the future. In my case, it taught me about a certain section of history that I knew about, but didn't particularly know about, if that makes sense.

This book follows a young Japanese American girl named Sumiko from California. The setting: the 1940's, during World War II. Sumiko has a pleasant life, more or less, before the J...more

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Feb 11, 2013 Kelly rated it 2 of 5 stars

A quiet novel, taking on a complicated situation with sensitivity and revealing some frequently forgotten pieces of history (such as the connection between interned Japanese Americans and Native Americans). However, while the history is interesting and the summary sounded promising, this novel did not live up to its potential for me. The narrative reads a little too young and while the character's situations evoke great empathy, the characters themselves (including the protagonist Sumiko) remain...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Keilah R rated it 4 of 5 stars

Historical FIction
By: Cynthia Kadohata
FInished November 19th
272 pages

The novel "Weedflower" is a story about a girl named Sumiko who's family is transported to a Japanese concentration camp after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. She has to leave her family's comforting flower farm and live in a dry desert camp in Arizona. The whole book is about her experience at the camp. She meets a kind man named Mr. Moto, whom she starts a garden with to occupy her time. She plants some of her Uncle's flowers th...more Historical FIction
By: Cynthia Kadohata
FInished November 19th
272 pages

The novel "Weedflower" is a story about a girl named Sumiko who's family is transported to a Japanese concentration camp after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. She has to leave her family's comforting flower farm and live in a dry desert camp in Arizona. The whole book is about her experience at the camp. She meets a kind man named Mr. Moto, whom she starts a garden with to occupy her time. She plants some of her Uncle's flowers that remind her of home. She also meets an Indian boy named Frank and they soon become friends, even though Indian Japanese interaction is not allowed. She finds that life isn't so bad at camp, and starts to get used to everything. But her aunt has found a job outside of camp and wants to move. Sumiko is faced with a big decision. What will she choose?

One of the reasons I liked this book was because you can see what life was like for a young Japanese girl in a concentration camp. You can understand what's going on through her eyes. You can see how she views the big change. For example, she tells you what she thinks of the Native American boy Frank when she first meets him. She was afraid of him, but then he starts to annoy her. Later, she actually finds herself missing him when he doesn't show up. Another reason I liked this book was because the narrator explains the life of the Japanese in the camps, and their way of life. For example, she explains how the Japanese people can write letters back and forth to family in other camps and how some boys in the camp formed a basketball team that would sometimes play against the Native American basketball team. It also explains the Japanese customs and words that they use, such as hajun. The only reason that I didn't give this book 5/5 stars is because it was a little slow at some parts. One of these parts is when Sumiko is expressing her boredom. Overall, "Weedflower" was a very well-written and inspiring novel.(less)

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Jul 03, 2012 Meng Zhang rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Lexile level is 750L, but the interest level could be of a middle school student. It is a 2007 Jane Addams Book Award winner. It is multicultural literature and historical fiction. Main characters include Sumiko, Tak-Tak, Bull, Frank, Joseph, Mr. Moto. The setting is the Town where Sumiko originally lives, Camp on the San Carlos Racetrack, Camp in Poston, Arizona before Pearl Harbor and part of the war. Young Sumiko and the rest of her Japanese-American family live on a flower farm in Califo...more

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Apr 03, 2012 Katherine Gingrich rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 25-books

Language 0
Sex 0
Violence There are a few fights and there is major discrimination and the results of that
Drugs 0

Weedflower is about a girl named Sumiko who lives on a farm that grows flowers. Her favorite is the 'weedflower' or the carnation. Her uncle even goes as far as to cross a special Sumiko strain that is a pretty peachy color. Sumiko is American by birth, but Japanese by blood and everyone sees the blood. After Pearl Harbor happens she and her family are scared of what will happen to them...more

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Jan 03, 2011 Nobies57 rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: hist-fic-ya

12 year old Sumiko is forced to leave their flower farm in California for a Japanese internment camp on Arizona Indian land following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Living with her younger brother Tuk Tuk, her aunt and two older cousins, Ikiro and Bull, Sumiko deals with the injustices of a country that takes away her civil rights and yet asks for her allegiance. Mr. Moto, an elderly man asks Sukimo for her help in growing a garden, a subject in which Sumiko is knowledgeable having worked her uncl...more

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Dec 21, 2010 Ashley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata is an extraordinary book. This book is about Sumiko, a twelve year old Japanese girl. She lives with her grandfather Jiichan, her aunt and uncle, her younger brother Tak-Tak, and two cousins, Ichiro and Bull. Her parents died in a car crash years earlier. Her family runs a flower farm that produces high quality flowers for florists throughout the area in California.Sumiko is used to being the only Japanese girl in her class. Even when the other kids tease her, she...more

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Dec 08, 2010 Chris Murray rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

Kadohata, Cynthia. Weedflower(2006)
Weedflower is a historical fiction novel set in the time of World War II. Sumiko and her brother, TakTak, live in California on their aunt and uncle’s flower farm. When Pearl Harbor is bombed, Japanese Americans are rounded up and sent to internment camps for the duration of the war. Sumiko and her family are forced to leave their home, the flower farm and most of their belongings and are sent to the Poston internment camp in the middle of the Arizona desert. A...more

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Jul 18, 2010 Beth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: asian-american

Sumiko is a twelve year old Japanese-American living in California during WWII. Both of her parents were killed in a car accident. Sumiko and her younger brother are cared for by their extended family. The entire family lives together on the flower farm that they own. The farm specializes in growing weedflowers and carnations. Just before WWII begins tensions between white Americans and Japanese-Americans are intense. Sumiko does not have any friends at school, and is judged by adults because of...more Sumiko is a twelve year old Japanese-American living in California during WWII. Both of her parents were killed in a car accident. Sumiko and her younger brother are cared for by their extended family. The entire family lives together on the flower farm that they own. The farm specializes in growing weedflowers and carnations. Just before WWII begins tensions between white Americans and Japanese-Americans are intense. Sumiko does not have any friends at school, and is judged by adults because of her cultural background. When the war breaks out her family and all the Japanese Americans she knows are taken away to relocation camps. All of the Japanese are forced to leave their homes and sell their belongings for extremely low prices and move to the deserts of Arizona. Sumiko’s family is taken to a relocation camp that is on Native American reservation land. She befriends a young Native American boy who helps her overcome the sadness and uncertainty that she feels by being in the camp.
This book is a historical fiction novel. The characters and events are based on experiences that the author’s father went through in an Arizona internment camp for Japanese during WWII. There is no glossary in this text, and few Japanese words. The cover is well done, but leads the reader to believe that the main character is newly immigrated Japanese, not Japanese American. This novel would be appropriate for ages 13-18. The content is more mature when discussing the living conditions at the internment camps and the feelings of the residence there. I would recommend this text to students who are interested in learning more about this none discussed time in American history. I think students would be shocked and saddened by how the American government treated the Japanese people. This book could also be read in middle school and high school when discussing the Nazi internment camps. Students could compare causes and rationales for why each were created, and what could have been done to prevent them. I felt that this story was well written and engaging throughout. As a reader I wanted so badly for Sumiko to succeed and own the flower shop of her dreams. It was an inspiring story and would engage a wide variety of readers.

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Apr 29, 2010 Monika added it

Weedflower is a touching story by Cynthia Kadohata. Sumiko is a strong and loving Japanese-American who lives on a flower farm in California. Then, War breaks out between Japan and America. Sumiko and her family are torn away from their flower farm and shipped to a military barrack in Poston, Arizona. In a place that is dry and hot with sand everywhere, Sumiko’s dream to own her own flower shop seams to disappear. Not only this, the camp is also on an Indian Reserve and the Indians are not happ...more

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Jan 27, 2011 Janeen-san rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Kenyan

This book was a great read. It's the second historical fiction book I've read recently, and both were great. In some of my earlier reviews, I said I avoided historical fiction books "like the plague", but now I guess they're not so bad. =) I really liked this book, and when I was at the library it's cover mainly attracted me. But I should know not to judge a book by it's cover! The cover was nice, but the information considering the book on the inside flap motivated me so much that I eagerly che...more This book was a great read. It's the second historical fiction book I've read recently, and both were great. In some of my earlier reviews, I said I avoided historical fiction books "like the plague", but now I guess they're not so bad. =) I really liked this book, and when I was at the library it's cover mainly attracted me. But I should know not to judge a book by it's cover! The cover was nice, but the information considering the book on the inside flap motivated me so much that I eagerly checked it out and began it the moment we arrived home.

Cynthia Kadohata wrote a interesting story, about a Japanese-American girl's life "before Pearl Harbor and after it". The U.S. suspects everyone of being spies for the Emperor of Japan, and all the Japanese in the area must burn everything Japanese, so the white men won't think they were planning a rebellion or anything.

Even so, American-born Sumiko, along with her aunt from Japan and little brother, get shipped by the 'whites' to a internment camp in a sweltering desert. Sumiko's uncle and grandfather, Jiichan, get shipped to a different camp because Jiichan was once a principal of a Japanese school.
At the camp Sumiko and her family are in, you are allowed to join clubs, go to the movies (if you bring your own chair), plant a garden, and all sorts of things. However, it just doesn't feel like home to Sumiko; home is the flower farm she and her family had back in California. Here she has no friends and doesn't fit in anywhere.
That is, until she meets a Mohave Indian boy. He is angry at her for a while, because the camps the Japanese are in are on Indian land.
I think it's amazing that all the Japanese in the story, and in real life, spent so much time in these camps. It was incredible! Sumiko spent, if my calculations are correct, almost a year and a half in the camp. It's sad but amazing, reading about these events that actually happened. The author wove, I'm sure, a fictional character or two into the story, but in the Author's Note, she said that many things, like these camps, were real. And, of course, the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
My favorite character was Tak-Tak, Sumiko's little brother. He was so cute! Cynthia Kadohata has written a really good story, and I enjoyed every page! I'm really glad I picked this book up at the library.(less)

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Sep 11, 2011 Carolyn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: wide-reading-for-ci-546, ya, multiculti, realistic, historical, fiction, teaching

wide reading for CI 546

grade level: middle school

genre: realistic historical fiction

themes: Family, friendship, survival, racism, misrepresentation, discrimination, government policy

cultures: Japanese Americans in the post-Pearl Harbor bombing U.S.

awards: Kadohata won the US Pen Award for this book -- she has won the Newbery Award for a previous novel

school use: A great book to tie in to a social studies unit on World War II! Also great to help teach kids about perspective / point of view / sub...more

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Jan 06, 2011 Travis rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008

Weedflower is about Sumiko, a Japanese-American girl whose family is sent to a relocation camp in Poston, Arizona during WWII. This camp was actually on a reservation (constructed there against the wishes of the Mohave tribe who owned the land) and one of the themes of the book is the uneasy relations between the Japanese and the Indians there, shown through Sumiko's friendship with a Mohave boy named Frank.[return][return]It was a good read, though unsurprisingly enraging. It's definitely a chi...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Michiyo 'jia' Fujiwara rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: asian-literature, american-literature, historical-fiction, japanese-literature

Tahun 1940-an sebelum pecah Perang Dunia ke-2. Masyarakat Jepang telah melalang buana ke berbagai belahan dunia untuk mencari sebuah penghidupan yang lebih baik lagi..salah satunya, sebuah keluarga Jepang yang ada di sebuah perkebunan bunga di California..

Sebelum insiden Pearl Harbour..Sumiko, gadis 12 tahun yatim piatu, adik lelakinya Takeo (Tak-Tak), Paman dan Bibi, Bull dan Ichiro (kedua sepupu lelakinya) dan Jiichan (kakeknya) tinggal dan hidup dalam damai, sebagai sebuah keluarga imigran..m...more Tahun 1940-an sebelum pecah Perang Dunia ke-2. Masyarakat Jepang telah melalang buana ke berbagai belahan dunia untuk mencari sebuah penghidupan yang lebih baik lagi..salah satunya, sebuah keluarga Jepang yang ada di sebuah perkebunan bunga di California..

Sebelum insiden Pearl Harbour..Sumiko, gadis 12 tahun yatim piatu, adik lelakinya Takeo (Tak-Tak), Paman dan Bibi, Bull dan Ichiro (kedua sepupu lelakinya) dan Jiichan (kakeknya) tinggal dan hidup dalam damai, sebagai sebuah keluarga imigran..mereka-mereka ini berusaha untuk lebih membaur dalam masyarakat Amerika kulit putih (anglo savon).. tapi yang terjadi adalah sebuah penolakan..seperti yang dialami oleh Sumiko..pada sebuah pesta ulang tahun yang diselenggarakan oleh teman sekelasnya.. masyarakat Amerika mulai memandang Jepang sebagai musuhnya..termasuk kepada keluarga Sumiko yang telah lama berusaha untuk menjadi warga negara Amerika, diskriminasi yang dialami oleh Sumiko makin diperparah ketika Jepang menyerang Pearl Harbour (Hawaii)..segala yang berbau Jepang; foto-foto keluarga dimana ada sebuah gambar Jiichan yang memegang bendera Jepang berukuran kecil, demi menghindari kecurigaan harus dibakar..yang membuat Sumiko menangis, foto itu adalah foto kenangan almarhum kedua orangtuanya, buku-buku pelajaran bahasa Jepang juga harus dibakar, kimono dan apapun yang membuat kecurigaan pemerintah federal harus disingkirkan.. karena Jiichan adalah seorang imigran (bukan kelahiran Amerika), dan Paman pernah menjadi ketua sebuah perkumpulan petani bunga..kedua orang ini dibawa dan dipenjara di sebuah tempat di North Carolina..

Tak lama berselang setelah penangkapan Jiichan dan Paman, sisa anggota keluarga lainnya harus pergi meninggalkan apa yang mereka miliki selama ini, untuk ‘dikandangkan’ / ditampung ke sebuah kamp, pertama mereka ditempatkan disebuah tempat yang sebenarnya adalah arena pacuan kuda, kemudian mereka dipindahkan dan dikumpulkan ke Arizona, tempat yang sangat panas dan gersang, sebuah area gurun yang juga tempat reservasi orang Indian suku Mohave..pertemanannya dengan Frank anak laki-laki Indian..dan kehidupan yang ia harus jalani ‘layaknya penjara’ di kamp Poston, membuka mata Sumiko mengenai.. Amerika.. tempat yang kini ia pijak..benarkah ini semua salah bangsa leluhurnya (Jepang memulai penyerangan ke pangkalan militer Amerika di Pasifik dan Amerika membalasnya dengan menjatuhkan Bom Atom di Hiroshima dan Nagasaki..yang korbannya langsung adalah masyarakat sipil) ?? dan Sumiko mulai mempertanyakan; apakah dengan mengurungnya membuat mereka puas??

Masyarakat Amerika, bukan seluruh masyarakatnya.. telah lama dikenal dengan selalu berprasangka buruk pada hal yang sifatnya ‘bukan seperti mereka’ dan ada kalanya, tindakan mereka, yang sifatnya memberikan paham ‘kebencian’ bukan hanya menimpa bangsa Jepang pada tahun 1940-an..pada masa kini (pasca WTC) kita semua tahu apa yang mereka lakukan..
(less)

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Jan 06, 2012 Lila Cyclist rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: private-collection

Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata
Bagaimanakah rasanya kesepian yang amat sangat? Apakah ketika engkau merasa tidak seorang pun sedang tidak menatapmu meski di tengah2 banyak orang? Sumiko, gadis Jepang usia 13 tahun sering mengalami hal ini. Sebagai anak Jepang yang tinggal di America, bersekolah dan bertetangga dengan Americans, jangan terlalu berharap mempunyai seorang teman. Sumiko, gadis yatim piatu, bersama adiknya Takao atau Tak Tak dibesarkan keluarga paman dan kakeknya yang berimigrasi ke A...more Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata
Bagaimanakah rasanya kesepian yang amat sangat? Apakah ketika engkau merasa tidak seorang pun sedang tidak menatapmu meski di tengah2 banyak orang? Sumiko, gadis Jepang usia 13 tahun sering mengalami hal ini. Sebagai anak Jepang yang tinggal di America, bersekolah dan bertetangga dengan Americans, jangan terlalu berharap mempunyai seorang teman. Sumiko, gadis yatim piatu, bersama adiknya Takao atau Tak Tak dibesarkan keluarga paman dan kakeknya yang berimigrasi ke Ameica demi perbaikan nasib. Menjadi saksi ketidak adilan perlakuan selama peristiwa Pearl Harbor, Sumiko harus berpindah-pindah tempat dari satu kamp ke kamp lainnya.

Dari sudut pandang seorang bocah usia 12-13 tahun, Cynthia Kadohata mengalirkan kisah seputar kehidupan di kamp Poston. Kehidupannya yang meski sepi teman di perkebunan bunga di California, sangat menyenangkan. Ketika Amerika mulai menyatakan perang dengan Jepang setelah peristiwa Pearl Harbor, kehidupan keluarga Sumiko berubah drastis. Mereka harus menyatakan kesetiaannya pada Negara Amerika meski mereka sudah menjadi warga Negara Amerika. Tak cukup dengan itu, karena kekhawatiran pihak Amerika, mereka dipaksa meninggalkan kehidupan mereka menuju padang gurun Poston, sebuah wilayah sangat dekat dengan warga Indian.
Demi membunuh kejemuan di kamp, Sumiko kembali berusaha membangun impiannya, memiliki kebun bunga sendiri. Selain kegigihan Sumiko dalam mewujudkan impiannya di tengah gurun pasir, kisah ini dihiasi dengan politik2 Amerika yang cenderung mempermainkan warga imigrasi Jepang. Setelah bertahun dipaksa hidup dalam isolasi Poston, pria Jepang yang sudah berusia lebih dari 17 tahun, diminta untuk memperkuat tentara Amerika. Istilah yes yes boy untuk mereka yang menjawab 2 pertanyaan ini dengan ya: 1. Bersediakah anda mengabdi melalui angkatan bersenjata AS dalam tugas pertempuran kemanapun diutus? 2. Bersediakah anda bersumpah setia kepada AS, membela Negara Negara dari serangan kekuatan asing dan domestic dan bersumpah untuk menghentikan segala bentuk kesetiaan terhadap Kaisar Jepang ataupun pemerintah, kekuasaan ataupun organisasi manapun? Sementara mereka yang tidak bersedia disebut sebagai no no boys.

Keluarga Sumiko harus memberi jawaban. Menjawab YA, mereka bisa kembali ke dunia luar, dan kembali menjadi terasing dengan fisik sebagai orang Jepang, namun berwarga Negara Amerika. Atau tetap tinggal, mengurus segala sesuatu yang sudah mulai ‘normal’ meski dalam siolasi kamp Poston.

Comments:
saya sangaaaatt suka novel ini. Meski tone kisahnya cukup sedih, tapi Cynthia KAdohata meramunya dengan polos dari kacamata Sumiko. Celetukan lucu dari Tak Tak dan pertanyaan polos Sumiko pada para sepupunya sangat menghibur novel setebal 270 halaman ini. Beberapa kali tenggorokan saya tersekat, beberapa kali mata saya berkaca kaca, dan tiba2 bisa tergelak selama membaca novel ini. Saya sangat suka pada saat Bull menceritakan kisah lucu pada Tak Tak pada saat suasana yang tidak menentu. Suara tawa Tak Tak yang polos adalah melodi terindah bagi keluarag imigrasi Jepang yang tengah hidup di kamp kering Poston. (less)

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Aug 04, 2010 Jenne rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, teens

12 year old Sumiko, a Japanese-American girl, lives with her Aunt and Uncle on a little flower farm in Southern California. The only Japanese at her school, Sumiko yearns to belong and have friends, but with the attack on Pearl Harbor all her hopes and dreams are shattered and her family torn apart.
Suspected of being terrorist, Sumiko’s uncle and grandfather are sent away to a prisoner of war camp, and she, her Aunt, two older cousins and brother are sent to a camp in the Arizona desert on the M...more

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Sep 18, 2012 Alice Cai rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1st-quarter-2012

Weedflower
By Cynthia Kadohata
272 Pages
Historical Fiction

This story Weedflower tells about a Japanese girl named Sumiko (Sumi) during World War II. Her family owns a flower farm, and are law-abiding citizens. Even though kids tease her at school and she can't go to birthday parties, she always has a home to turn to- until the day the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. Then, everything changes. Sumiko's grandfather and uncle are taken away, and she, her aunt, her two cousins, and her younger brother are...more

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Feb 07, 2011 Nancy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: asian

Published: 2006, Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Age: 10-13
Sumiko is a 12 year old Japanese American girl whose parents died in a car accident. She and her little brother live with their aunt and uncle, grandfather, and 2 older male cousins on a flower farm in southern California. Sumiko is content at home but feels rejected by the white children from her school and actually has a horribly humiliating incident happen to her at a birthday party of one of her classmates. Eventually her family is...more

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Jun 09, 2010 Amanda Yeargin added it

Shelves: 8th-grade-ir-books-sam

i read Weedflower as an IR book. this book is about Sumiko having a normal life. even though others teased her in her class she stil had her fmaily and flowers to go to. but once pearl harbor happened everything changed. everybody got scared all Japanese were spies. so she and her family got sent to an internment camp. there she finds out its an indian reservation, she makes a friend but how can she survive.
i have an text-to-world connection. this connects to the holocaust. both Japanese and...more

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Dec 06, 2012 Samantha rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 13-25

Sumiko is twelve years old, and a Japanese American. She has no friends and isn't popular, but she has her flowers and her family. Then Pearl Harbor is bombed, and all Japanese people are considered "the enemy". Sumiko and her family are forced from their home, and taken to an internment camp. This camp is in a hot desert, on an Indian reservation, and the Japanese are just as unwanted there as elsewhere. Sumiko doesn't wish to be there either, for she still has no friends, and is without her fl...more

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Mar 19, 2009 Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: children, historical-fiction

Great book on a touchy subject. Most people don't realize (or block it out) that Americans had internment camp for the Japanese during WWII. I will say that I was interested in this book because of the subject matter, which I knew about before but didn't have a whole lot of information on. I do know about how some people of that generation, esp those that fought in the Pacific half of WWII, had towards Japanese people and it wasn't very positive. My grandfather served with the US Air Force in th...more

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Apr 08, 2010 Mateo rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 8th-grade-ir-books-betts

This book was about a girl named sumiko. She was just a regular japanese-american student when pearl harbor was bombed. Things changed. Nobody liked her anymore and the U.S government put her and her relatives in a camp with thousands of other japanese-americans.
I can relate to sumiko because we both faced challages being the color or race we are in certain groups/places. I haven't faced discrimination but I felt what it felt like to be hated.
I gave this book 5 stars because it was a book th...more

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Feb 19, 2013 Yuska Vonita rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, own, japanese-lit, middle-grade, tbr-2013

Berkisah tentang Sumiko, anak yatim-piatu, yang hidupnya berubah setelah peristiwa Pearl Harbour. Sumiko yang cinta dengan tanah (juga) baunya, bercita-cita ingin memiliki toko bunga.
Sumiko menerima perlakuan kurang menyenangkan karena ia berdarah Jepang. Well, ras kaukasia Amerika tidak suka dengan Indian, kulit hitam, juga Jepang.

Sumiko harus rela berpisah dengan kakek dan pamannya. Mereka dibawa ke tempat penampungan, sedangkan rumah dan harta yang dimiliki keluarga Sumiko harus direlakan un...more

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Feb 28, 2012 Mari rated it 5 of 5 stars

Cynthia Kadohata tells us the story of a Japanese girl who lived in California after the Japanese attack to Pearl Harbor. Sumiko expresses her concerns about being Japanese during that period of time. Tears rolled down my cheeks when Sumiko is invited to a birthday party. Even though she has been invited to many birthday parties, she has never been invited to a "white" birthday party. Sumiko plans what she wants to wear for over a week. She is so exited. Nonetheless, when she arrives to the part...more

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About Cynthia Kadohata

Cynthia Kadohata is a Japanese American writer known for writing coming of age stories about Asian American women.

She spent her early childhood in the South; both her first adult novel and first children's novel take place in Southern states. Her first adult novel was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.

Her first children's book, Kira-Kira, won the 2005 Newbery Medal. Her first published s...more

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