skline 's review for:

Himawari House by Harmony Becker

3.0

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I enjoyed this story. I studied Japanese culture and language since I was a child, seeking out the opportunity wherever I could. I studied abroad at university in Tokyo for two years while fully immersed in Japanese life with non-English speaking Japanese host families. I took regular college coursework with Japanese students. When I graduated, I returned to Japan to work for several more years. So, the one issue that turned me off about this book was that the character (and the author) put down white people more than once for "acting Japanese" because they "liked it." Maybe dig a little deeper rather than assuming people are a certain way, and accept that they actually respect and love the culture? Just my two cents. I know I'm not Japanese. I knew I'd never be accepted as one, just by my skin color alone; this attitude as portrayed in the book reminds me of this fact and I don't see why the author made a point of it...unless it was to bring about awareness and raise the points that I have here. I have more to say, but I'll leave it at this