A review by readtotheend
Southland by Nina Revoyr

5.0

4.5 stars. Really moving historical fiction about Los Angeles in a 50 year time span between the 40s and 90s. Japanese American law student Jackie Ishida looks to the past to uncover some of her grandfather's history and secrets after he passes. The book covers the Watts Riots, internment and the LA Riots in the 90s. I haven't read a book about Japanese American and Black relations in LA and you can really see the history runs deep. It also gave a tiny glimpse of what it was like to be Asian American but not Japanese American during internment. That is something I've always been really curious about - how Asian Americans experienced the internment years when they were not Japanese. The parts about the riots always hit home for me because my parents owned a small business in a Black neighborhood for years and owned it when we had a small riot in Chicago. Very similarly to this book, my dad had a unique relationship with his neighbors because he reached out and got to know them and while many business burned, his business neighbor's stood outside my dad's business and protected it from damage. It's such a huge memory in my childhood and one that I've always been very proud of - that my dad always treated and still treats all people with kindness and respect and has always put relationship before dollars. This book was fantastic and truly a wonderful addition to the book of historical fiction, particularly that of LA.