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A review by creepepaper
Bridge of Scarlet Leaves by Kristina McMorris
3.0
In this historical fiction, an already controversial relationship between Maddie Kern, a white American, and Lane Moritomo, a Japanese American, just began to blossom when Pearl Harbor is suddenly attacked by the Japanese. The attack throws Lane and his family into a spiral of unwarranted racism and drags Maddie into the mess. The story grows more complicated as Maddie's brother enlists in the army and Lane is forced to leave his home.
This story was informative and enjoyable, but I felt a strong disconnect from the characters. I'd been warned several times about the tear-jerker I was getting myself into and mentally tried to prepare myself. However, that was unnecessary as anything traumatic that happened to the characters, although sad, didn't strongly affect me because I never felt close enough to them. The relationship between Maddie and Lane was swift and didn't really take time to explore their romance. I couldn't decide if this was a romance novel or a drama with some romance or an action novel. The romance was definitely muddled and not focused on enough for me to be invested in their relationship.
I honestly felt the first 35 chapters were mostly unnecessary as I assume it was meant to build their relationship and show their hardships together, but it didn't stick the landing and wasn't successful. Things began to pick up once actual war-time began.
To be fair, I think a lot of the flaws of this book lie in the fact that it's not my typical genre and I'm hyper critical of romances. That's why I awarded this book 3 stars instead of 2 as I know it started at a disadvantage from me. Overall, the story was enjoyable and I felt I learned a lot as I feel school briefly glossed over the Japanese internment camps and the cruelty toward them during WWII.
This story was informative and enjoyable, but I felt a strong disconnect from the characters. I'd been warned several times about the tear-jerker I was getting myself into and mentally tried to prepare myself. However, that was unnecessary as anything traumatic that happened to the characters, although sad, didn't strongly affect me because I never felt close enough to them. The relationship between Maddie and Lane was swift and didn't really take time to explore their romance. I couldn't decide if this was a romance novel or a drama with some romance or an action novel. The romance was definitely muddled and not focused on enough for me to be invested in their relationship.
I honestly felt the first 35 chapters were mostly unnecessary as I assume it was meant to build their relationship and show their hardships together, but it didn't stick the landing and wasn't successful. Things began to pick up once actual war-time began.
To be fair, I think a lot of the flaws of this book lie in the fact that it's not my typical genre and I'm hyper critical of romances. That's why I awarded this book 3 stars instead of 2 as I know it started at a disadvantage from me. Overall, the story was enjoyable and I felt I learned a lot as I feel school briefly glossed over the Japanese internment camps and the cruelty toward them during WWII.