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What Members Thought
I really want to say this book was bittersweet, but given the title that would be too easy. The story was heart-renderingly tender and poignant. I knew that nearly all Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps during WWII, but I got a deeper glimpse into this travesty through the Okabe family's story. You sort of know how the story is going to go, yet at some point you just let yourself get lost in it and surrender your emotions. The looking at the past from the present narrative seemed e
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3.5***
Henry Lee, a 12-year-old Chinese American, has only one friend at Rainier elementary school in 1942 Seattle. She is his fellow cafeteria worker/scholarship student – Keiko Okabe – a second-generation Japanese American. The events of World War II will greatly affect these two young people, on the cusp between childhood friendship and teenage love. Fast forward to 1986 Seattle, where Henry has recently lost his wife, Ethel, to cancer. When the Panama Hotel’s new owner begins renovations to r ...more
Henry Lee, a 12-year-old Chinese American, has only one friend at Rainier elementary school in 1942 Seattle. She is his fellow cafeteria worker/scholarship student – Keiko Okabe – a second-generation Japanese American. The events of World War II will greatly affect these two young people, on the cusp between childhood friendship and teenage love. Fast forward to 1986 Seattle, where Henry has recently lost his wife, Ethel, to cancer. When the Panama Hotel’s new owner begins renovations to r ...more
A truly bittersweet book, perhaps a little too much on the sweet side to make it a great book, still very enjoyable. Henry Lee, a middle-aged Chinese American in Seattle, finds himself at loose ends after his wife's long death from cancer. When the belongings of several Japanese families forced into internment camps during WWII are unearthed at a local hotel, Henry is thrust back into the past and a childhood romance with "the enemy," a Japanese girl named Keiko. Ford's writing is lovely, and he
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Mar 25, 2010
Marla
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
young-adult,
historical-fiction,
adult,
asian,
war,
romance,
book-club,
teleconference,
zz-2010,
book-discussion
Sweet story of friendship and love between a Chinese American boy and a Japanese American girl.
The characters in this story were endearing. I cannot love a book, if I don't love any of the characters, and I am emotionally involved with several in this book: Henry & Keiko, Sheldon Thomas (jazz musician), and Samantha (Henry's soon-to-be daughter-in-law). And I loathed Chaz and his cronies.
Gotta love a book that made me laugh and made me cry.
The descriptions about the Japanese internment camp an ...more
The characters in this story were endearing. I cannot love a book, if I don't love any of the characters, and I am emotionally involved with several in this book: Henry & Keiko, Sheldon Thomas (jazz musician), and Samantha (Henry's soon-to-be daughter-in-law). And I loathed Chaz and his cronies.
Gotta love a book that made me laugh and made me cry.
The descriptions about the Japanese internment camp an ...more
I really loved this sweet book. It tells the tale of a Chinese boy and Japanese girl who meet in the early part of WWII in Seattle and become friends before she is sent interned. It goes back and forth between their story and Henry's modern story and tells of the complicated relationship he has with his father and his son. It was compelling and interesting and I learned a lot about Seattle during the war years and the history of jazz during that period. Great book.
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Henry is the only Chinese student at an all white school during world war II when Keiko, a Japanese girl, begins attending the school. Keiko and Henry develop a friendship that blossoms into more even though Henry's dad hates the Japanese. Henry and Keiko's relationship is tested when the Japanese are rounded up and sent to resettlement camps. A beautiful book about the lasting power of love.
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I usually don't read historical fictions, but I'm so glad I read this one! The writing was captivating and the story was sweet. I learned several facts about the Japanese internment camps across the US and even did some additional research online looking up places and people mentioned in the book. The characters are definitely going to stick with me for awhile! I didn't want the book to end.
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Absolutely loved this!
Beautiful story. Beautiful.
4.5 stars.
Jan 26, 2010
Gaijinmama
marked it as to-read
Sep 30, 2010
Lisa
marked it as to-read
Feb 11, 2011
Erin Carney
marked it as to-read
Feb 17, 2011
Martha
marked it as to-read
Sep 24, 2012
Carrie
marked it as to-read
Feb 14, 2013
Kim DeCina
marked it as to-read
Apr 08, 2017
Beth
marked it as to-read
