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meme_too2's review against another edition
5.0
This is about a little white girl who wants to be japanese more than anything, during WWll, and her Japanese girlfriend wants to be white. Very interesting ideas to discover as you read.
susanp's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent book, but it would have definitely been better as two books or a series. The first half, set in California before and during WWII, had fantastic character development and dealt with the complexities of a childhood friendship between two children, one of Japanese descent.
Fast forward to the Civil Rights Movement 20 years later. While I found the second half of the book well-written and fascinating and could hardly put it down, the characters were either purely good or entirely evil and could have been better developed.
Fast forward to the Civil Rights Movement 20 years later. While I found the second half of the book well-written and fascinating and could hardly put it down, the characters were either purely good or entirely evil and could have been better developed.
auntieg0412's review against another edition
5.0
Wonderful book! As I read I began to wonder: in what ways do I make judgments about others, and do I ever consider that each person has hurts hidden inside them that are powerful drivers of behavior? There is much to think about in this book, and that is always a good thing.
mstera's review against another edition
2.0
I think the initial idea was good but it seemed like the author tried to tackle too many stories or injustices at once and it just became a hodge podge of messages.
cdel13's review against another edition
4.0
This was a surprise for me. I loved it and read it all day today. The only thing that keeps it from five stars for me is the way the author writes the dialogue of the Black characters.
jenpurlteach's review against another edition
3.0
I love a satisfying ending! This one touches on civil rights in WWII and in 1965 Mississippi. It's in the Christian section of the library where I picked it up, but I think it can speak to a broader audience. Lots of themes here besides civil rights: what family is or ought to be; the tragedy of war, alcoholism, and racism; friendship; not judging by outward appearances; secrets; searching for God and not finding him where one really ought to; perseverance in trials; loneliness vs. a solitary lifestyle; standing up for what's right in the face of real danger. Lots to think about and colorful characters and issues to ponder.
lturner's review against another edition
5.0
Auggie & sunny' friendship is a powerful force in a chaotic world. I loved this story
evamadera1's review against another edition
4.0
Tatlock's wordsmith ability increases tremendously with each book she writes.
I really enjoyed this story though I would have enjoyed it more had she spent more time developing the first half of the story, the part describing Augie and Sunny's childhood friendship. That likely would have required a second book since this book is already quite long. I wouldn't have been adverse to that though I understand why Tatlock chose to structure the book as she did.
Once again I am amazed at how capably Tatlock makes her narrator's voice appropriate to the age of the character. Young Augie and Sunny behave as nine-thirteen year old girls would and should have acted in that time period.
I also appreciated how Tatlock chose to end the story. (Mild spoiler alert) More specifically, I love that she had Augie return to see her Uncle Finn.
While this book is not quite good enough for five stars, I did thoroughly enjoy it and highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.
*Update*
While others did not like the "split narrative" aspect of the book, I appreciated it. Unlike other of Tatlock's books, the narrative didn't suffer any confusion in narration. She also limited the number of characters in comparison to other works.
I absolutely loved the implicit comparison between the bigotry Sunny and the Yamagata's experienced to the racism of the Civil Rights Era south. That comparison draws unmistakable parallels and highlights the ugliness of bigotry in any form.
This book survived round two of the "purge."
I really enjoyed this story though I would have enjoyed it more had she spent more time developing the first half of the story, the part describing Augie and Sunny's childhood friendship. That likely would have required a second book since this book is already quite long. I wouldn't have been adverse to that though I understand why Tatlock chose to structure the book as she did.
Once again I am amazed at how capably Tatlock makes her narrator's voice appropriate to the age of the character. Young Augie and Sunny behave as nine-thirteen year old girls would and should have acted in that time period.
I also appreciated how Tatlock chose to end the story. (Mild spoiler alert) More specifically, I love that she had Augie return to see her Uncle Finn.
While this book is not quite good enough for five stars, I did thoroughly enjoy it and highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.
*Update*
While others did not like the "split narrative" aspect of the book, I appreciated it. Unlike other of Tatlock's books, the narrative didn't suffer any confusion in narration. She also limited the number of characters in comparison to other works.
I absolutely loved the implicit comparison between the bigotry Sunny and the Yamagata's experienced to the racism of the Civil Rights Era south. That comparison draws unmistakable parallels and highlights the ugliness of bigotry in any form.
This book survived round two of the "purge."
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