This is a tough story, sensitively told. Set in the aftermath of the American Internment of Japanese Americans, Hanako and her family are repatriated to Japan, after being forced to renounce their citizenship under duress. They are "returned" to Hiroshima and Hanako is suddenly adjusting to a country and a life that is nothing like where she grew up. It's a quiet moving book -- a lot happens, but much of the emotion lurks beneath the surface. There is the awful fear of starvation, the knowledge of hunger balanced against the freedom of a new life with her grandparents. It brings home a lot of the beauty of traditional Japanese culture and values, while embracing the West and the opportunity America represented. It holds America accountable, but in a compassionate manner. It illustrates the heartbreaking decisions that war forces families to make.

Advanced Readers Copy provided by Edelweiss. ( )

Interesting look at the life of a Japanese American family, but as far as the book itself goes I'm kinda meh on it. The story lacked structure and the pacing felt weird to me. Important topic but ( )

After spending years in an internment camp, Hanako and her family are moving to Japan at the end of World War II. But Hanako has never lived in Japan, never even met her grandparents, and she wonders if she will fit in here in her new home country.

There are not enough books about the post-World War II period in general, and I like that this one doesn’t shy away from noting the terrible effects of war, including the massive fallout from the atomic bomb, which includes devastation both physical and emotional. Kadohata also doesn’t shy away from calling the internment camps “prisons,” which is far more accurate than the innocuous-sounding “camp.” She also notes how murky life can be though, with far too few things being simply black-or-white; Hanako often questions her own decisions and wonders if it makes her bad or good to help out her starving neighbors while her own family is also struggling to eat enough.

Speaking of Hanako, I didn't super love her as a character. She has a tendency to over-exaggerate everything as 'the best ever,' particularly when trying to placate her younger brother. This isn't enthusiasm though; she herself calls it "lying" and sometimes debates whether or not to tell such a lie. Meanwhile, her younger brother Akira is considered endearing by all his family but he seems to throw epic tantrums that are more fitting of a younger child. Their parents are pretty generic and without personality. On the flip side, I absolutely loved Baachan and Jiichan, the children's grandparents. When the book was over, I was sad to be parting with them. The relationship between the grandparents and grandchildren was super sweet, with the grandparents eternally self-sacrificing and the children actually realizing this and wanting to be as loving as possible back.

While the story itself is pretty good, I am simply not a fan of Kadohata’s style. She seems to write ‘down’ to children; the subject matter can be difficult but the writing is very simplistic (little metaphor, simile, lyrical prose, etc.). Perhaps this *could* be good for reluctant readers but then the length of this book (400 pages) would turn them off. Also she excessively uses exclamation marks! Even when they are completely unnecessary! Because apparently this is the only way she knows how to create tension! Even in moments that aren’t actually tense!

The cover illustration is perfect; the inner illustrations (black-and-white pen drawings) mostly don’t add a lot, although I do really like the one of the family working in the rice paddy and the one of the family having their portrait taken. ( )

After Hanako’s family’s internment during WWII, they take a ship to Japan to live with Papa’s parents, having chosen repatriation. There Hanako sees the impact of the war and her Baachan and Jiichan’s struggle to grow and maintain their crops. Hanako feels apart from her American life but also from life and culture in Japan. As she thoughtfully takes in all that she experiences, good and bad, she always has the love of her family to keep her grounded. A deliberate pacing of prose that matches Hanako’s thoughtful observations, with moments of joy, humor and sadness that pop up unexpectedly. Surely the first title in children's literature that explores what happened after the internment. ( )