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cakt1991's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
5.0
Of all the books I’ve read from Kristina McMorris thus far, this one is perhaps the one I felt most connected with. Like her, I’m half-Japanese (although not biracial), and I’m always looking to learn more about what Japanese Americans went through during World War II, because while there are some aspects which are public record, others are more obscure. This book is centered around one of them, the fact that there were actually many non-Japanese who voluntarily chose to live in internment with the Japanese people, many of them spouses in mixed-race marriages. Add that to the complex politics around mixed-race marriages at the time, and it makes for an intriguing story.
The heart of the story is the love story between Lane and Maddie, and their other loved ones, and the sacrifices they’re willing to make in hopes they can all live happily together. My heart hurt for them, as I deeply wanted them to be happy, and while I knew not to expect a genre romance, the ending was still a gut punch (albeit one tinged with hope).
I also love how the story charts the characters’ growth as individuals. Maddie in particular comes into her own over the course of the war, going from a bright-eyed girl to a strong woman, who’s been through a lot, but becomes stronger for it. And Lane, with his desire to prove himself, also comes of age in his own way…even as his pursuits are more perilous.
This is a beautiful book, and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for romantic historical fiction.
opalthegembookreviews's review against another edition
5.0
This book is both beautiful and stunningly written I was captured by every part and rooted deep in the family and the romances between Lane & Maddie and Jo and TJ not only is this story compelling and full of love and the learning of acceptance of loss and moving on but it is about teaching us there is no difference between them and us we are all the same with hearts and families to come home too this novel opened my eyes to what they didn’t teach us in schools the travesty of families who watched their love ones ship off to war for a country that wanted to tear them apart stripping them of their history and children, husbands and fathers but also the depths that they fought and the risks that they took to survive and make it both home and alive to see their loved ones come home forgiveness means both forgiving others, forgiving your past and forgiving yourself for we are all not to blame for what life has in store I bless this book upon the next to read, open your eyes, your mind and heart to learn just as I have ♥️
princesscat914's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this story. The author did a spectacular job of depicting how life was for Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor. However, as great as this book was, I found it a tad slow at times.
brentandvickie1978's review against another edition
4.0
Well done historical fiction. Japanese Americans live among other Americans but when Japan bombs Pearl Harbor, everything changes. Maddie and her brother TJ are already dealing with the loss of their mother through death, and the loss of their father through mental illness. TJ's best friend, Lane, is a Japanese American who was born in California. Thus begins an interesting story with a lot of turmoil, heartache, love, survival and strength.
Well-written and compelling. Lots of introspection: Would I have chosen the same path as Maddie when the war broke out? Would I have been that confident or would I have resigned to an easy out?
Well-written and compelling. Lots of introspection: Would I have chosen the same path as Maddie when the war broke out? Would I have been that confident or would I have resigned to an easy out?
ncrabb's review against another edition
5.0
It's one thing to know how to do great research that results in accurate historical fiction; it's something else again to be so skilled at crafting characters that they richly come to life and vivify the history in memorable ways.
Lane and Maddie have been surreptitiously dating for months as this book begins. His Japanese ancestry and her white girl California native upbringing aren't the problem. Not in November of 1941 at least. Since her mother's death in a car crash that also involved her dad, Maddie's brother TJ has been fiercely protective of his sister, and even though he and Lane are blood-brother friends, Maddie is a bit concerned about how her brother will feel about her dating his closest friend. But decisions need to be made quickly. Lane's parents insist that a matchmaker from Japan find a girl who will be a good fit for the family in Japanese tradition. Lane knows he cannot live with an arranged marriage, so he convinces Maddie to marry him on December 6. The world irrevocably changes the next day for Maddie and Lane. By presidential executive order, he and his family are bundled off to an internment camp, and his father is taken away by justice department officials because he is under suspicion as a banker with ties to Japan. Maddie ultimately pretends to be pregnant so she can be assigned to the camp, and from that moment on, you experience a journey of bitter-sweet love at the hands of an author whose work is at once skillful and thoughtful.
Kristina McMorris does a splendid job of pulling you into every facet of life in an internment camp. She shows both sides of the situation--those who are loyal to the United States to a fault and a smaller but dangerous faction loyal to the emperor.
With the stark camp as a backdrop, you watch Lane grow and change, you watch Maddie and Lane ultimately come to love one another more deeply despite or perhaps because of the difficulty of their circumstances, and you witness the myriad ways in which the war changes and shapes these characters. This is a masterfully written book about national betrayal and individual hope. It depicts broken dreams and healed hearts, and nothing in this panoramic perspective of wartime America and race relations is out of place or dissonant in any way.
McMorris skillfully blends subplots into the main story that enhance its excellence and keeps you reading. You're left with much to ponder about how nationalized fear can change the very character of a nation for years. McMorris is uniquely qualified to tackle this subject. Her very Japanese grandmother helped her understand life in a multi-culture setting.
For me, McMorris wrote this so well as to enliven memories of my parents. Any author who can give me that kind of treasure certainly has a place in my heart and room on my shelf for her books.
Lane and Maddie have been surreptitiously dating for months as this book begins. His Japanese ancestry and her white girl California native upbringing aren't the problem. Not in November of 1941 at least. Since her mother's death in a car crash that also involved her dad, Maddie's brother TJ has been fiercely protective of his sister, and even though he and Lane are blood-brother friends, Maddie is a bit concerned about how her brother will feel about her dating his closest friend. But decisions need to be made quickly. Lane's parents insist that a matchmaker from Japan find a girl who will be a good fit for the family in Japanese tradition. Lane knows he cannot live with an arranged marriage, so he convinces Maddie to marry him on December 6. The world irrevocably changes the next day for Maddie and Lane. By presidential executive order, he and his family are bundled off to an internment camp, and his father is taken away by justice department officials because he is under suspicion as a banker with ties to Japan. Maddie ultimately pretends to be pregnant so she can be assigned to the camp, and from that moment on, you experience a journey of bitter-sweet love at the hands of an author whose work is at once skillful and thoughtful.
Kristina McMorris does a splendid job of pulling you into every facet of life in an internment camp. She shows both sides of the situation--those who are loyal to the United States to a fault and a smaller but dangerous faction loyal to the emperor.
With the stark camp as a backdrop, you watch Lane grow and change, you watch Maddie and Lane ultimately come to love one another more deeply despite or perhaps because of the difficulty of their circumstances, and you witness the myriad ways in which the war changes and shapes these characters. This is a masterfully written book about national betrayal and individual hope. It depicts broken dreams and healed hearts, and nothing in this panoramic perspective of wartime America and race relations is out of place or dissonant in any way.
McMorris skillfully blends subplots into the main story that enhance its excellence and keeps you reading. You're left with much to ponder about how nationalized fear can change the very character of a nation for years. McMorris is uniquely qualified to tackle this subject. Her very Japanese grandmother helped her understand life in a multi-culture setting.
For me, McMorris wrote this so well as to enliven memories of my parents. Any author who can give me that kind of treasure certainly has a place in my heart and room on my shelf for her books.
lanikochan's review against another edition
I wasn’t really in the mood for historical fiction (since I was back to back reading about WW2) Hopefully I’ll pick it back up someday.
celbl8o's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Miscarriage, Hate crime, Gun violence, Bullying, Death, and Animal death
Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, and Sexism
lynnlovegreen's review against another edition
Maddie, a Caucasian, falls in love with her brother's best friend Lane, a Japanese-American. It's 1941, and Pearl Harbor shakes up their families and many others. In this novel with romantic elements, the ideas of family, country, and identity weave through a story of two families and the people they love the most. This is one of those books that make you laugh cry, and fall in love with the characters.
I loved Kristina McMorris' Letters From Home, and loved this book in a different way.
I loved Kristina McMorris' Letters From Home, and loved this book in a different way.
middle_name_joy's review against another edition
4.0
Fans of Kristina McMorris' debut, [b:Letters From Home|9413657|Letters from Home|Kristina McMorris|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348594821s/9413657.jpg|14297764], will not be disappointed with her new novel. Bridge of Scarlet Leaves casts that same vintage spell, whirling you back to a moment in history so full and vivid it is hard to believe it was over a lifetime ago. The infusion of Japanese heritage only adds to the authenticity of the story. Hard to put down and easy to pick up again, this novel is one to remember.
More than chronicling three small-town lives, that of Maddie Kern, her brother, TJ, and her boyfriend of Japanese heritage, Lane Moritomo, through the WWII years, Bridge is a story of tradition, honor, and devotion; cultivating and holding on to family; the search for one’s identity, both within the world and within one’s self; forgiving who and what cannot be changed, including one’s own past; and loving without regret.
War has a way of sliding everything into perspective, and each character achieves emotional growth that is both realistic and satisfying over the course of this epic novel. With her two books, McMorris has proven that she doesn’t shy away from sorrow and loss and sacrifice at the hands of warfare or the human heart, and neither does she overwhelm her characters or readers. Even out of darkness, there is hope, a bridge to a life altered but not unoccupied by dreams and love and a future.
At times riveting and breathless, at others tender and moving, and consistently written with superb attention to historical detail, Bridge of Scarlet Leaves reads as a love letter to the men, women, and children wrongfully incarcerated in Japanese-American relocation and internment camps during WWII—and the faithful spouses who followed them.
A novel for historical fiction buffs, romance readers, and anyone who enjoys learning about a little-known piece of our past, Bridge will transport and deliver beyond all expectations. Another truly fine piece of storytelling from McMorris that is not to be missed.
More than chronicling three small-town lives, that of Maddie Kern, her brother, TJ, and her boyfriend of Japanese heritage, Lane Moritomo, through the WWII years, Bridge is a story of tradition, honor, and devotion; cultivating and holding on to family; the search for one’s identity, both within the world and within one’s self; forgiving who and what cannot be changed, including one’s own past; and loving without regret.
War has a way of sliding everything into perspective, and each character achieves emotional growth that is both realistic and satisfying over the course of this epic novel. With her two books, McMorris has proven that she doesn’t shy away from sorrow and loss and sacrifice at the hands of warfare or the human heart, and neither does she overwhelm her characters or readers. Even out of darkness, there is hope, a bridge to a life altered but not unoccupied by dreams and love and a future.
At times riveting and breathless, at others tender and moving, and consistently written with superb attention to historical detail, Bridge of Scarlet Leaves reads as a love letter to the men, women, and children wrongfully incarcerated in Japanese-American relocation and internment camps during WWII—and the faithful spouses who followed them.
A novel for historical fiction buffs, romance readers, and anyone who enjoys learning about a little-known piece of our past, Bridge will transport and deliver beyond all expectations. Another truly fine piece of storytelling from McMorris that is not to be missed.
unabridgedchick's review against another edition
4.0
While I don't traditionally get my history lessons from celebrities, I was incredibly moved by actor George Takei's comments about living in an internment camp for three years as a child.
I'd had Kristina McMorris' novel in my review queue and was excited to start. I love historical fiction for making real events in the past, and this book doesn't disappoint. Maddie Kern, an Anglo American, and Lane Morimoto, a Japanese American, fall in love and decide to elope, much to the displeasure of their families. They wake the next day to find Pearl Harbor bombed by the Japanese. Overnight, their already misunderstood marriage became something that provoked criticism, critique, hatred, fear, and horror. The events that followed were worse than they could imagine.
McMorris humanizes this incredibly fraught era, making very real a story that seems too horrifying to be true. It's a part of American history that is uncomfortable, easily ignored, but crucial to remember, and McMorris's novel is an excellent introduction. Her cast isn't enormous, but even the secondary characters get full stories and personalities, and there was much to hook me.
In fact, I cared about the characters to the point that I actually was quite angry with one of the plot twists -- there was a very tragic event that I could have lived without. I suppose the story needed that gut punch but I felt almost betrayed -- I wanted so badly for something else to happen.
In her author's note, McMorris writes about some of the themes and images she wanted to explore in her book -- brother pitted against brother, families forced to chose country or spouse -- and for the most part, she manages to convey that epic scope while keeping the story manageable and human. My only frustration with this novel, if anything, was that I wanted more.While a chunky 430 pages, McMorris doesn't focus on every life event, and as a result, some momentous moments are skipped, referred to by other characters in flashback or thought. I wanted to be with the characters during all their victories and tragedies. But that's my only quibble, and a small one at that.
Fans of WWII fiction will love this -- it's a lovely contribution to the historical fiction genre and I'm eager to see what McMorris does next!
I'd had Kristina McMorris' novel in my review queue and was excited to start. I love historical fiction for making real events in the past, and this book doesn't disappoint. Maddie Kern, an Anglo American, and Lane Morimoto, a Japanese American, fall in love and decide to elope, much to the displeasure of their families. They wake the next day to find Pearl Harbor bombed by the Japanese. Overnight, their already misunderstood marriage became something that provoked criticism, critique, hatred, fear, and horror. The events that followed were worse than they could imagine.
McMorris humanizes this incredibly fraught era, making very real a story that seems too horrifying to be true. It's a part of American history that is uncomfortable, easily ignored, but crucial to remember, and McMorris's novel is an excellent introduction. Her cast isn't enormous, but even the secondary characters get full stories and personalities, and there was much to hook me.
In fact, I cared about the characters to the point that I actually was quite angry with one of the plot twists -- there was a very tragic event that I could have lived without. I suppose the story needed that gut punch but I felt almost betrayed -- I wanted so badly for something else to happen.
In her author's note, McMorris writes about some of the themes and images she wanted to explore in her book -- brother pitted against brother, families forced to chose country or spouse -- and for the most part, she manages to convey that epic scope while keeping the story manageable and human. My only frustration with this novel, if anything, was that I wanted more.While a chunky 430 pages, McMorris doesn't focus on every life event, and as a result, some momentous moments are skipped, referred to by other characters in flashback or thought. I wanted to be with the characters during all their victories and tragedies. But that's my only quibble, and a small one at that.
Fans of WWII fiction will love this -- it's a lovely contribution to the historical fiction genre and I'm eager to see what McMorris does next!