Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by greatolcatsby
Nora & Kettle by Lauren Nicolle Taylor
4.0
tw: domestic violence
A historical fiction that’s loosely based on Peter Pan, Nora & Kettle takes place during the aftermath of World War II, but more specifically the aftermath of a moment during the war not many people know about and should really be discussed more. After Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans were ‘relocated’ to internment camps to be monitored for any threats by the government.
Writing in different points of view can be tricky since authors can often times make each view point sound the same as another characters. Luckily, that wasn’t the case for this. The author did a great job on making the voices of the characters very different from each other. It’s great that the book has more than point of view because that means we can see how they handle the same situations differently.
Nora is the eighteen-year-old privileged daughter of a civil rights lawyer who fights for the rights of the Japanese-Americans who were interned in camps. Behind closed doors, Nora is trapped in her home as she tries to protect her younger sister, Frankie, from the violent man their father actually is.
Seventeen-year-old Kettle is an orphaned Japanese-American is struggling with identity and to make a life after being raised in the camps. Together with his 'brother’ Kin, they make money by working on the docks to provide food and supplies for orphaned and abandoned children they’re responsible for. Everything Kettle and Kin do, they do it for each other and the rest of the group. Kettle is the leader of the group of lost boys and together they call themselves the Kings. The family-like interactions Kettle has with Kin and the rest of the group is my favorite part.
I found both the stories of these two characters very emotional. They’re fighting their own demons and nobody can really help them. The signs of abuse in Nora’s household is visible but no one does anything to stop it. Kettle is neglected by everyone, he doesn’t know what his identity means to him and he keeps his head down, moves in the shadows and refuses to give into the all the prejudice being thrown at him.
My only complaint would be the pacing of the storyline. I found it to be rather slow and it’s not until halfway through the book that Nora and Kettle meet and the story really takes off from there.
I applaud the author for her moving and realistic writing on such raw topics that is still relevant today. The elements of the story of Peter Pan being sprinkled around was very unique with Nora wanting to spread her wings and fly to a better place while Kettle has his group of lost boys.
A historical fiction that’s loosely based on Peter Pan, Nora & Kettle takes place during the aftermath of World War II, but more specifically the aftermath of a moment during the war not many people know about and should really be discussed more. After Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans were ‘relocated’ to internment camps to be monitored for any threats by the government.
Writing in different points of view can be tricky since authors can often times make each view point sound the same as another characters. Luckily, that wasn’t the case for this. The author did a great job on making the voices of the characters very different from each other. It’s great that the book has more than point of view because that means we can see how they handle the same situations differently.
Nora is the eighteen-year-old privileged daughter of a civil rights lawyer who fights for the rights of the Japanese-Americans who were interned in camps. Behind closed doors, Nora is trapped in her home as she tries to protect her younger sister, Frankie, from the violent man their father actually is.
Seventeen-year-old Kettle is an orphaned Japanese-American is struggling with identity and to make a life after being raised in the camps. Together with his 'brother’ Kin, they make money by working on the docks to provide food and supplies for orphaned and abandoned children they’re responsible for. Everything Kettle and Kin do, they do it for each other and the rest of the group. Kettle is the leader of the group of lost boys and together they call themselves the Kings. The family-like interactions Kettle has with Kin and the rest of the group is my favorite part.
I found both the stories of these two characters very emotional. They’re fighting their own demons and nobody can really help them. The signs of abuse in Nora’s household is visible but no one does anything to stop it. Kettle is neglected by everyone, he doesn’t know what his identity means to him and he keeps his head down, moves in the shadows and refuses to give into the all the prejudice being thrown at him.
My only complaint would be the pacing of the storyline. I found it to be rather slow and it’s not until halfway through the book that Nora and Kettle meet and the story really takes off from there.
I applaud the author for her moving and realistic writing on such raw topics that is still relevant today. The elements of the story of Peter Pan being sprinkled around was very unique with Nora wanting to spread her wings and fly to a better place while Kettle has his group of lost boys.