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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
I don’t usually read WW2 books but this one caught my attention and had to read it.
I can only tell you that it’s a great book with a beautiful story and heartbreaking at the same time.
Forced to become pen pals, a lifetime friendship develops between Alex and Charlie who is girl mischief to Alex’s dismay.
I loved how the author tells the story about what went before and after the Pearl Harbour incident and how we get a bit of insight into people’s lives having to go through those horrible situations.
I can only tell you that it’s a great book with a beautiful story and heartbreaking at the same time.
Forced to become pen pals, a lifetime friendship develops between Alex and Charlie who is girl mischief to Alex’s dismay.
I loved how the author tells the story about what went before and after the Pearl Harbour incident and how we get a bit of insight into people’s lives having to go through those horrible situations.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
this was,,,bad?
Overall, I'm tired of reading books about WWII. I understand the importance of telling the stories of the temporary detention centers the American government forced Japanese and Japanese American citizens into, but don't read this book and read We Are Not Free by Traci Chee because it's way better.
The writing in this book is really cringey to read, and it feels like Fukuda is trying so hard to be profound and lyrical, but it doesn't work for me. The letters between Charlie and Alex don't build a satisfactory friendship, and I hate that he's "secretly" in love with her the whole time because of course a boy and girl can't be friends in a YA novel. The way Fukuda depicts Native Hawaiian people is also uncomfy to me, bordering on racism in a novel that's supposed to be about how terrible racism is.
Easily the worst book I've had to read in my YA lit class and probably also the worst book I've read this year. It could have been worse, but that doesn't stop it from being bad.
Overall, I'm tired of reading books about WWII. I understand the importance of telling the stories of the temporary detention centers the American government forced Japanese and Japanese American citizens into, but don't read this book and read We Are Not Free by Traci Chee because it's way better.
The writing in this book is really cringey to read, and it feels like Fukuda is trying so hard to be profound and lyrical, but it doesn't work for me. The letters between Charlie and Alex don't build a satisfactory friendship, and I hate that he's "secretly" in love with her the whole time because of course a boy and girl can't be friends in a YA novel. The way Fukuda depicts Native Hawaiian people is also uncomfy to me, bordering on racism in a novel that's supposed to be about how terrible racism is.
Spoiler
Also...killing off the only female character of substance? WTF. Charlie's plotline feels like Jewish trauma porn.Easily the worst book I've had to read in my YA lit class and probably also the worst book I've read this year. It could have been worse, but that doesn't stop it from being bad.
I was provided a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I wish I could put my finger on it-but something with this book just didn't ring true. Though I generally find myself interested in World War II centered books, I never was able to forget that this book has been recently written. I can't help but feel that some of it had to do with the modernity of the writing-some of the characters responses, both actions and spoken communication, felt much more like something that would happen on a sitcom or prime-time drama than what would have been done in the 1930s and 1940s.
In addition, I wish this book had told more of Charlie's story. I feel like the description led me to believe that we would see both of the main character's lives, but only learn of Charlie through her letters, which become sparse near the end of the book.
I wish I could put my finger on it-but something with this book just didn't ring true. Though I generally find myself interested in World War II centered books, I never was able to forget that this book has been recently written. I can't help but feel that some of it had to do with the modernity of the writing-some of the characters responses, both actions and spoken communication, felt much more like something that would happen on a sitcom or prime-time drama than what would have been done in the 1930s and 1940s.
In addition, I wish this book had told more of Charlie's story. I feel like the description led me to believe that we would see both of the main character's lives, but only learn of Charlie through her letters, which become sparse near the end of the book.
Read for Librarian Book Group
In the mid-1930s Alex, a Japanese-American strawberry farmer's son from Bainbridge Island, Washington and the daughter of a wealthy Parisian merchant became pen pals.
Change is on the horizon for both of them and the story follows Alex as his world turns upside down. It's a book of letters (yay!) but also of the complications and choices made when everything you once were is taken from you.
In the mid-1930s Alex, a Japanese-American strawberry farmer's son from Bainbridge Island, Washington and the daughter of a wealthy Parisian merchant became pen pals.
Change is on the horizon for both of them and the story follows Alex as his world turns upside down. It's a book of letters (yay!) but also of the complications and choices made when everything you once were is taken from you.
This book. My God, this book was one of the most painful books I've read in a long time. Every single aspect depicted the horrors of history and not the smoothed over bits. It was raw, it was told just how it was, and I tried so hard not to cry at the end. This book was absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking all at the same time.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
medium-paced