Reviews with content warning for Racism - Love in the Library

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Love in the Library by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

11 reviews

bi_n_large's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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jessereadsthings's review

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challenging emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

5.0

A really good book with beautiful art. The book itself and the author’s afterword made me extremely emotional. Definitely worth the read and I encourage everyone to pick it up and give it a read.

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serendipity421's review

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emotional inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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ruthypoo2's review against another edition

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hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

This story is just perfect for what it is - a snippet from the life of two individuals who met, fell in love, and created a family while living in an American internment camp in the 1940’s following the Japanese military attack on Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor.

Though categorized as a children’s book, the tone is mature and not sugarcoated. The author’s storytelling is concise and straightforward in describing the decision made by the US government to imprison Japanese-American citizens solely based on their country of birth or ancestry, and strip them of the majority of their property and livelihood with no legal cause. The story relates in an honest way the sadness and fear that have become part of main character Tama’s life, while showing how she lifts her days with work in the camp library. In the story, Tama not only finds hopefulness through her love of books, but also finds love with the smitten George who visits the library every day just to see Tama.

The book is unflinching when talking about the injustice that resulted from government overreach at this time in history, and the Author’s Note does not mince words on how racism and oppression continue to this day for so many American citizens. But there’s also optimism where in Tama and George’s story love is able to transgress the injustice they experience early in their lives.

The language of the story may be a little too direct and come across as bitter for readers that are very young and don’t understand the context, while this story might serve as the perfect primer for mature preteens and young teens where it could pique their interests to learn more about WWII and/or the internment camps.

I listened to the audiobook and liked the clarity and vulnerability of the narrator, Sura Siu. There were also gentle background noises and musical interludes that enhanced the story and didn’t compete with the reader’s voice. I think the artwork in the book is lovely and fits the story and era so perfectly. Even the colorization of the artwork conveys a mood. The book’s graphics help to visualize the lifestyle of living in the internment camps along with a representation of the kinds of escapist imagery brought to the world of the characters when reading books from the camp library. It’s a treat to listen to the audio while paging along in a physical version.

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bookwyrmknits's review

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emotional hopeful slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I picked up this book from my local library because of the news stories telling about how Tokuda-Hall was offered a deal with Scholastic if she omitted a part of the author's note at the end talking about how the racism that allowed the Japanese Internment Camps is the same racism that still exists (and flourishes) in today's America. I don't think I would have heard of this book otherwise; I'm not generally in the market for picture books these days. However, I'm very glad that I did hear about this book and read it. It's a very important topic to learn about, and the hope and joy that was sometimes found in the camps is a good reminder too. I am not excusing what happened; it was wrong then, it is wrong now. But I do appreciate stories of hope that flourish in adversity. If you are able to, I suggest you read this book and share it widely also. (Plus, the illustrations are lovely!)

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