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dani_reviews's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Forced institutionalization, and Confinement
Moderate: Deportation, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
Minor: Alcohol
joanna77_'s review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
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? Yes
4.25
โ๐๐๐, ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐จ๐งโ๐ญ ๐ ๐จ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ฒ, ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐จ๐งโ๐ญ ๐ ๐จ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ฒ, ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ฐ๐โ๐ฏ๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐๐ง ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐๐ฌ๐งโ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ฌ.โ
This is gonna be required reading in 10 years and it needs to be required reading now. Shout out to my history teachers growing up who actually taught me about this stuff, because Iโm definitely one of the few who actually was, still though, this book added SO much depth and information to what I was taught in school.
I really loved this story. It was so hard to read at points, but thatโs what makes it so good. You get so attached to these characters and begin to realize how even though theyโre not real, what happened to them was.
I got super confused with some of the characters which definitely lessened my enjoyment of this. It definitely felt like an anthology, and I feel like technically it could be considered one because the chapters are just short stories. 14 characters was just a lot to keep track of and some of the chapters suffered from being too short while others were super long.
My favorite characters were Mas, Shig, and Stan and their chapters were the most impactful, but honestly each chapter was good. I loved how this book included pictures and documents to ground you in the story, I thought that was really well done.
Iโd definitely recommend this book. Itโs super important and like the author said in the back, history is not dead and we can still see injustices inflicted against this population even close to eighty years after these events.
Read this book!
This is gonna be required reading in 10 years and it needs to be required reading now. Shout out to my history teachers growing up who actually taught me about this stuff, because Iโm definitely one of the few who actually was, still though, this book added SO much depth and information to what I was taught in school.
I really loved this story. It was so hard to read at points, but thatโs what makes it so good. You get so attached to these characters and begin to realize how even though theyโre not real, what happened to them was.
I got super confused with some of the characters which definitely lessened my enjoyment of this. It definitely felt like an anthology, and I feel like technically it could be considered one because the chapters are just short stories. 14 characters was just a lot to keep track of and some of the chapters suffered from being too short while others were super long.
My favorite characters were Mas, Shig, and Stan and their chapters were the most impactful, but honestly each chapter was good. I loved how this book included pictures and documents to ground you in the story, I thought that was really well done.
Iโd definitely recommend this book. Itโs super important and like the author said in the back, history is not dead and we can still see injustices inflicted against this population even close to eighty years after these events.
Read this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia
saintstefan's review
challenging
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Another 5 star book for me. I've always known about the camps Japanese-Americans were sent to during the era of WWII, but I was never told or really taught about them. This book really got into some details on what life was like there. All of the characters felt so real and I could relate to every single one of them in a way. I definitely suggest reading this book if you're ever in the mood to teach yourself.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia
kaitlinlovesbooks's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, and Death
Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, and Emotional abuse
houndoflove1985's review
emotional
reflective
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Grief, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia
porshea's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia
elleisntabell's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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? No
5.0
My god, this was really good.
I feel like I can't give it a 5 because there are just a couple of chapters that followed characters that I felt were weaker than the others. That had slightly less interesting plots. Also, there was an entire section in the second person, which I usually dislike (but it wasn't that bad), and a part written in verse, which I'm not always a fan of. (I like Tommy and that part of the story but the writing itself was my least favorite part of the book.) One character I forgot had had a chapter already until I realized that I was at the end.
But, this book is like a 9/10. Because the rest of the book more than made up for the weaker parts. Most of the characters were great, and I eventually got used to the fact that we wouldn't go back to them after their chapter was done. That fact made it all the better when we: 1. Got the chapter that combined them all together after Twitchy died. 2. Revisted Minnow for the last chapter. He was my favorite character and I probably would have loved this book a little less if we hadn't had his perspective again.
I learned much more about Japanese internment camps than I ever knew before. It's a subject I've been interested in ever since my 8th grade history teacher made sure to focus on it in class and played Kenji by Fort Minor. I look forward to reading more books that focus on the subject and seeing different Japanese perspectives on it.
Lastly, I just want to mention how much this book made me cry. I cried when I read Mas' chapter. I cried when Twitchy died. I cried the entire chapter after Twitchy died. I needed five tissues. It was fantastic. THat chapter was amazing. I love all the characters so much. Minnow and Frankie and Stan and Mas and all of them.
I feel like I can't give it a 5 because there are just a couple of chapters that followed characters that I felt were weaker than the others. That had slightly less interesting plots. Also, there was an entire section in the second person, which I usually dislike (but it wasn't that bad), and a part written in verse, which I'm not always a fan of. (I like Tommy and that part of the story but the writing itself was my least favorite part of the book.) One character I forgot had had a chapter already until I realized that I was at the end.
But, this book is like a 9/10. Because the rest of the book more than made up for the weaker parts. Most of the characters were great, and I eventually got used to the fact that we wouldn't go back to them after their chapter was done. That fact made it all the better when we: 1. Got the chapter that combined them all together after Twitchy died. 2. Revisted Minnow for the last chapter. He was my favorite character and I probably would have loved this book a little less if we hadn't had his perspective again.
I learned much more about Japanese internment camps than I ever knew before. It's a subject I've been interested in ever since my 8th grade history teacher made sure to focus on it in class and played Kenji by Fort Minor. I look forward to reading more books that focus on the subject and seeing different Japanese perspectives on it.
Lastly, I just want to mention how much this book made me cry. I cried when I read Mas' chapter. I cried when Twitchy died. I cried the entire chapter after Twitchy died. I needed five tissues. It was fantastic. THat chapter was amazing. I love all the characters so much. Minnow and Frankie and Stan and Mas and all of them.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Xenophobia
japanasi's review
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Racism, and Bullying
amina2002's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
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? No
5.0
This book taught me so much about the Japanese concentration camps that were created during WW2 because of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The author was able to use her own familyโs experiences in these camps to depict these character arcs. I didnโt know how far the American government really went to keep Japanese Americans away from the rest of society. In history class this was definitely glossed over and seemed like it really wasnโt that bad. In the beginning I thought that 14 perspectives would be way too much but since all of the characters were friends with each other we still got to learn about most of the characters in each chapter. I absolutely loved the potential romances in this book with Twitchy and Keiko, and Frankie and Bette, it was so cute and heartbreaking at the same time. I just wanted happiness and freedom for these kids who are Americans but happen to share an ethnicity with people who chose to come after the US. Honestly these concentration camps were eerily similar to what I have learned about what was happening in Germany around the same time. Masโs storyline where he joins the army to prove his loyalty but not having freedom in the country just aligns with how African Americans were treated at the time. How Japanese people were treated after they were able to go back home is similar to that of Asian Americans today due to the coronavirus. So many of them live in fear because Asian American hate crimes have increased substantially and people blame anybody that is Chinese or โlooks Chineseโ.
The friendships in this book were incredible and I was amazed by how they continued to grow closer together when they are in such a tough situation. I really wish that I had a group of friends who will be there for each other no matter where they are in their lives. I loved this book so much and even though it is just a YA book I feel like people can truly learn so much. I canโt wait to learn more.
The friendships in this book were incredible and I was amazed by how they continued to grow closer together when they are in such a tough situation. I really wish that I had a group of friends who will be there for each other no matter where they are in their lives. I loved this book so much and even though it is just a YA book I feel like people can truly learn so much. I canโt wait to learn more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, and Xenophobia
keelin's review
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Death of parent, Death, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Domestic abuse