Sarah Sundin's Blog, page 479
May 1, 2012
Today in World War II History
70 Years Ago—May 1, 1942: Japanese take Mandalay and Monywa, Burma. British and Chinese troops begin retreat from Burma to India and China.
April 30, 2012
Book Beat - Bridge of Scarlet Leaves
Readers often ask for recommendations of other novels set during World War II, and I love to refer them to Kristina McMorris's books. Her first novel,
Letters from Home
, grabbed me, and her second novel,
Bridge of Scarlet Leaves
, is even better.Before I'd read her work, Kristina and I had started exchanging research resources, and I found a kindred spirit. Her love for research spills over on every page of Bridge of Scarlet Leaves. She gets the details right without ever making it sound like a history tome.
In Bridge of Scarlet Leaves , Maddie Kern dreams of becoming a concert violinist while her brother T.J. dreams of a career in professional baseball. Unknown to T.J., Maddie has fallen in love with his lifelong best friend, Lane Moritomo, a Japanese-American. In California, interracial marriages were illegal, so the couple elopes to Seattle and gets married. On December 6, 1941.
The next day the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor. American-born Lane and his family find themselves on the wrong side of the racial divide. T.J. is infuriated that his best friend betrayed him and married his sister behind his back, and he enlists in the Army Air Forces. While Lane insists Maddie must divorce him, she chooses to follow him to the relocation camp at Manzanar.
The story takes you from Los Angeles, to the dust of Manzanar, to a B-17 bomber over Hawaii, to a banzai charge in the Aleutians, to a critical moment in the Philippines. The research is impeccable, the characters are realistically drawn and thoroughly relatable, and the story is gripping. I highly recommend this novel.
**Caution to my more sensitive readers: this is a mainstream novel and includes coarse language. There are a handful of mildly sensual scenes within a marriage and very tastefully written.
Today in World War II History
70 Years Ago—Apr. 30, 1942: First use of US P-39 Airacobra fighter plane in combat—from Australia. USS Peto, first sub built on Great Lakes, launched at Manitowoc, WI. Japanese secure central Burma.
April 29, 2012
Today in World War II History
70 Years Ago—Apr. 29, 1942: Jews in Vichy France and the Netherlands required to wear stars. Japanese take Lashio in Burma, cutting Burma Road and blockading China.
April 28, 2012
Today in World War II History
70 Years Ago—Apr. 28, 1942: Coastal dim-outs go into effect in 15-mile strip on East Coast, around New York City. US Office of Price Administration freezes prices of all essential items.
April 27, 2012
Today in World War II History
70 Years Ago—Apr. 27, 1942: Explosion at Japanese mine in Manchuria kills 1527—worst mine disaster ever. In US, registration begins for upcoming sugar rationing. In plebiscite, Canadian voters approve conscription for service, except voters in Quebec.
April 26, 2012
Today in World War II History
70 Years Ago—Apr. 26, 1942: German Reichstag gives Hitler absolute power, removes all legal restrictions on him.
April 25, 2012
Today in World War II History
70 Years Ago—Apr. 25, 1942: British Princess Elizabeth registers for youth war service. New song in Top Ten: “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree with Anyone Else but Me.”
April 24, 2012
Today in World War II History
70 Years Ago—Apr. 24, 1942: German paratroopers take Greek islands of Samothrace, Limnos, and Thasos.
April 23, 2012
Today in World War II History
70 Years Ago—Apr. 23, 1942: Luftwaffe bombs Exeter in first of “Baedeker Raid,” bombings of British historical sites listed in the Baedeker guides. As the Japanese advance, Chinese Sixth Army retreats from Burma back into China.
