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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
Why did I ever go into a novel based during WWII thinking that things would just be hunky-dory!!?? This book just ripped my heart out in a few pieces and now I'm going to have put it back together. I really enjoyed seeing how time and distance shaped the main character's stories and also how they changed over the course of the book. I loved the parts of the novels told through letters. When it stopped being letters, it did slow down the pace for me but I still enjoyed it!
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A ya novel about 2 teens in ww2. One is Alex a japanese american living in the west coast. He is penpals with Charlie a french jewish girl. Alex is out in an internment camp and then decides to enlist to find charlie who has stopped writing. He goes abroad to france and finds the man who tried to help her hide but ultimately discovers she died. He sees a lot of the Holocaust horrors and describes the racism japanese americans faced in the 40s.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
it was difficult to put down but also really easy to skim through a lot of the passages haha. anyway, i deeply respect alex’s resolve and development + his beautiful friendship with charlie in this span of 8-9 years. fuck war!
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
sad
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
I really liked the premise of this book - especially after finding out what inspired the author to write it. Alex's journey was difficult and heart-wrenching to read at times, but I'm glad the author chose to highlight the experiences of Japanese-Americans after the Pearl Harbor attack. I haven't seen that topic featured as often in WW2 novels. I also appreciated how Alex's emotions about these events were contrasted by his brother's. Both reactions were logical responses to the sudden shift in how others saw and treated them. But Alex's decision to rise above the prejudice (even if he had some selfish reasons) was admirable.
His friendship with Charlie was particularly sweet (albeit kind of rushed right at the start) and I enjoyed reading the letters they sent back and forth. The longer the book went on, the more I was anxious for Alex to find out what had happened to her. I wish there had been more interactions between them, even if I know that would not have made sense for the story.
Two things that I didn't like as much:
1) the magical realism - I wasn't expecting this and it really caught me off-guard. In my opinion, it took away from the seriousness of the situations that the characters were in.
2) there were some lengthy portions where the author did more telling than showing. While some of what was presented was interesting and relevant to the plot, I felt like I kept getting taken out of the story in order to attain this information.
His friendship with Charlie was particularly sweet (albeit kind of rushed right at the start) and I enjoyed reading the letters they sent back and forth. The longer the book went on, the more I was anxious for Alex to find out what had happened to her. I wish there had been more interactions between them, even if I know that would not have made sense for the story.
Two things that I didn't like as much:
1) the magical realism - I wasn't expecting this and it really caught me off-guard. In my opinion, it took away from the seriousness of the situations that the characters were in.
2) there were some lengthy portions where the author did more telling than showing. While some of what was presented was interesting and relevant to the plot, I felt like I kept getting taken out of the story in order to attain this information.
This was such a beautiful yet heart wrenching book. Seriously found myself crying at the lyrical words and the fully fleshed out characters. Really well written and with such care and respect for the historical content and context in which he was writing.
emotional
informative
sad
tense
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:
Complicated