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Weedflower
by Cynthia Kadohata
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About This Book
ISBN13: 9780689865749 |
Synopses & Reviews
Publisher Comments:
Twelve-year-old Sumiko feels her life has been made up of two parts: before Pearl Harbor and after it. The good part and the bad part. Raised on a flower farm in California, Sumiko is used to being the only Japanese girl in her class. Even when the other kids tease her, she always has had her flowers and family to go home to.
That all changes after the horrific events of Pearl Harbor. Other Americans start to suspect that all Japanese people are spies for the emperor, even if, like Sumiko, they were born in the United States! As suspicions grow, Sumiko and her family find themselves being shipped to an internment camp in one of the hottest deserts in the United States. The vivid color of her previous life is gone forever, and now dust storms regularly choke the sky and seep into every crack of the military barrack that is her new "home."
Sumiko soon discovers that the camp is on an Indian reservation and that the Japanese are as unwanted there as they'd been at home. But then she meets a young Mohave boy who might just become her first real friend...if he can ever stop being angry about the fact that the internment camp is on his tribe's land.
With searing insight and clarity, Newbery Medal-winning author Cynthia Kadohata explores an important and painful topic through the eyes of a young girl who yearns to belong. Weedflower is the story of the rewards and challenges of a friendship across the racial divide, as well as the based-on-real-life story of how the meeting of Japanese Americans and Native Americans changed the future of both.
Review:
"Set in America immediately before the attack on Pearl Harbor, this insightful novel by the Newbery-winning author of Kira-Kira traces the experiences of a Japanese-American girl and her family. Sixth-grader Sumiko, the only Asian student in her class, has always felt like an outcast. Early on, a heartbreaking scene foreshadows events to come, when Sumiko arrives at a classmate's birthday party and is told by the hostess to wait outside on the porch, and is then sent away. The girl's feelings of isolation turn to fear after the United States declares war on Japan. First, government officials take away Sumiko's uncle and grandfather. Then her aunt must sell their California flower farm; they are transported to a makeshift camp and later to a Native-American reservation in Poston, Ariz. Living like a prisoner in the desert, Sumiko nearly succumbs to what her grandfather termed 'ultimate boredom' ('that mean close to lose mind,' he explains). But Sumiko finds hope and a form of salvation as a beautiful garden she creates and a friendship with a Native American boy, Frank, both begin to blossom. The contrast between the Native Americans' plight and that of the interned may enlighten many readers ('They take our land and put you on it. They give you electricity,' snaps Frank). Kadohata clearly and eloquently conveys her heroine's mixture of shame, anger and courage. Readers will be inspired by Sumiko's determination to survive and flourish in a harsh, unjust environment. Ages 11-up." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
Synopsis:
With remarkable insight and clarity, the Newbery Medal-winning author of "Kira-Kira" explores an important and painful topic through the eyes of a young Japanese-American girl living in California just as the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. Young Adult.
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tchrenka, November 3, 2006 (view all comments by tchrenka)
Title: Weedflower
Author: Cynthia Kadohata
Year of Publication: 2006
Genre: Historical Fiction
Sumiko, is twelve, Japanese- American, and living in California in 1942. She is an American girl, a Japanese niece, an orphan, a big sister, a hard worker, and a schoolgirl who wants to fit in. What makes Sumiko really special to the reader is that she feels like an old friend. In one of the book's most memorable scenes, Sumiko is asked to leave an event (I don't want to give it all away here) because she is Japanese. Her confusion, hurt and anger are touching and genuine. Her complicated life doesn't stop her from being an interesting person.
Before this story begins, Sumiko's life was turned upside down by the death of her parents. Now things are thrown into further disarray by the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. After a short time when no one seems to know what is happening but everyone is terrified, the family is sent to two different internment camps. Their orderly lives are made messy, with many questions and few answers. There are hopeful moments, like when their neighbor, Mrs. Ono receives a letter from a stranger telling her that her precious dog is being well cared for, and moments of despair like when her Native American friend Frank tells her that the government, "took our land and put you here." But mostly, this story highlights how people can manage to find small dignities even in undignified situations.
If you think kids books are just for kids, pick this one up and read it. Wow! Weedflower is more than a superbly written piece of historical fiction. It is a story with many layers, none of which Cynthia Kadohata feels the need to hits you over the head with. Ms. Kadohata allows her readers to know a real person with hopes, flaws, family and friends; and Sumiko is well worth knowing.
Favorite Quote: Mr. Moto said the fence ruined the ambience of the garden. Miss Kelly told Sumiko that ambience meant "atmosphere." Mr. Moto told Sumiko that atmosphere meant "the air in outer space." The camp dictionary was missing. Anyway, the fence ruined everything. p. 185
If you like this book, you might also like: Under The Blood-Red Sun by Graham Salisbury, Once On This Island by Gloria Whelen
Product Details
- ISBN:
- 9780689865749
- Author:
- Publisher:
- Atheneum Books
- Author:
- Subject:
- Family - Multigenerational
- Subject:
- Social Situations - Prejudice & Racism
- Subject:
- Historical - Exploration & Discoveries
- Subject:
- Social Issues - Prejudice & Racism
- Copyright:
- 2006
- Publication Date:
- March 2006
- Binding:
- Hardcover
- Grade Level:
- Children/juvenile
- Language:
- English
- Pages:
- 260
- Dimensions:
- 8.52x5.80x.89 in. .92 lbs.
- Age Level:
- 11-11
