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What Members Thought

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 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!!

I really enjoyed this book. The writing is descriptive and the story is both beautiful and heartbreaking. There is a discrepancy with time near the beginning of the story that bugged me - I'm sorry, but people weren't typically in online support groups in 1986. The story takes place in Seattle, and I loved reading about places that I know well.
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Great book! I ended up falling for the sweet little boy in this story and enjoyed learning more about what happened on our home-front during the war in the early 1940's. This book wasn't one that I had to read in one sitting, but I liked the author's writing style and overall thought it was a winner.
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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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Really enjoyed the story and the Seattle setting. It makes me want to reread books likeHiroshima and Farewell to Manzanar. My beef with the book is that some of Henry's observations are too mature for a boy his age.
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Dec 01, 2010
Dahlene
marked it as to-read

May 15, 2011
Jennifer
marked it as to-read

Jan 21, 2012
Amy
marked it as to-read

Jun 27, 2012
Judy
marked it as to-read

Oct 25, 2012
Diane
marked it as to-read

Nov 04, 2012
Kaylynn
marked it as to-read