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What Members Thought
It's late, but I had to finish reading this book before I went to bed. Now I'm basking in the glow of my screen and the glow, for lack of a better term, inside my head as I think of the book and its historical context. So much is written about WWII, especially about what happened in Europe, and it saddens me that Europe was definitely not the only place where prejudice caused so much grief and suffering.
Every day, on my way to drop off my son at school, I pass the location of one of the camps w ...more
Every day, on my way to drop off my son at school, I pass the location of one of the camps w ...more
I never knew that the Japanese and the Chinese were so at odds leading up to and during WWII. A bit of history in this love story, plus some jazz education for those who have never heard of Oscar Holden. The author uses flashbacks to tell two stories at once, a past and a present. Usually this technic fades about halfway through the novel, but this follows through right to the end, which by the way, is the way we all like stories to end. A good read.
I really liked this book. I learned a lot about the history of what was going on on a different front (the Pacific Northwest) during WWII, especially to the Japanese Americans. I found the characters believable & engaging. The "love story" was tender, moving, realistic and squeeky clean. As I was describing the book to my husband I said (without thinking) that it was a bitter-sweet ending. Then it hit me. That is part of the title. Brilliant.
The only thing that really bugged me about the book wa ...more
The only thing that really bugged me about the book wa ...more
I picked this book for our book club pick for August 2010. I thought this was a beautiful story. It really teaches you about different cultures, and about a part of our history that took place during World War II. It was easy for me to be wrapped into the characters, the story, and the places in this book. The author does a good job of captivating his audience. This was a great read!!
This book was just ok for me. Honestly, the only reason that I bothered finishing it was because I was hosting our book club and this was the book that we were discussing. The romance between the two young characters seemed a little weird to me since they really were so young.
This aptly titled book was bittersweet indeed. I learned so much that I didn't know about the Japanese Interment's connection to Seattle through this sweet love story. I did think that it was a bit too slowly paced, but it was beautifully written. I wish there were more books written about the Interment--this was a good one!
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I listened to this one. I almost finished it in time for my IRL book club. I really enjoyed it. I loved Henry's voice. Especially the line (not exact quote) "He had an Ethyl shaped hole in his heart." The characters felt real and the story was very good. I loved the historical and cultural aspects, too.
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This is a 3.5. The reason I couldn't make myself do a 4 is because I wasn't able to invest in the characters until the second half, but then I was hooked. Good story.
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Dec 01, 2010
Dahlene
marked it as to-read
Jul 13, 2011
Teri
marked it as to-read
Dec 27, 2011
Kathee
marked it as to-read
Jan 21, 2012
Amy
marked it as to-read
Jan 25, 2012
Stacey
added it
Oct 02, 2012
Lindy
marked it as to-read
Nov 04, 2012
Kaylynn
marked it as to-read
