A review by carmillionaire
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

4.0

For me, there was something emotionally gripping about how Ford formed the identities of the lead and sub-characters. I often judge a book by how well it can compel me to become emotionally invested in the wellbeing and the outcomes of the characters -- and boy, was I super invested in Henry and Keiko's story and that of their families! I cried more times than I care to share because I was rooting for them so hard! I also cried at how upsetting it is to recognize over and over again throughout the book the colonial patterns of racism and discrimination against those who do not look like the typical American and/or have cultural values that clash with mainstream American ones. It's the same shit this society continues to repeat today - resulting in separation, violence, destruction, acquisition by theft, and marginalization.