Kadohata, Cynthia. Weedflower

[Mary]

I have not yet read this book, but it is a title that I cannot wait to read! Here is a brief description from Kadohata's website: "Weedflower is the story of the rewards and challenges of friendship across
the racial divide, as well as the based-on-real-life story of how the meeting of
Japanese Americans and Native Americans during WWII changed the futures
of both. " This is another book that I think we'll want to add to our list for discussion.

[Mary]

Weedflower is an incredibly powerful & thought-provoking book. The plot is well-developed, the setting is so clearly written that you can almost taste the dust of the desert. I love this book! It is a book that I’ll re-read and one that I hope many preteens, teenagers, and adults will pick up as well.

[Becky]

I just finished Weedflower and I'm sure that I'll be thinking about it for a long time. I remember the group of children's books released several years ago when America seemed to discover the Japanese internment and I'm so grateful to Cynthia Kadohata for adding this perceptively written piece of historical fiction to the collection. It’s a painful but resilient look at a family in upheaval--through the eyes of a girl as she sweetly moves from childhood to adolescence. Characters are interesting and never trite -- there's such a variety of cultures portrayed in the book. And could flower-farming be written about in a more engaging manner?

While the book teaches (and I do mean teach, not preach) much about the path Japanese Americans and Immigrants were forced to walk during World War II, the story offers a great deal more than that. I keep thinking about Katrina victims and wondering if Sumiko’s feelings mirror those of the children who have been yanked about with their families or parts of their families.

I read an advanced copy and I’m anxious to compare some small errors to what was finally published. Hopefully they’re gone and Weedflower can remain at the top of my Newbery-so-far list.

[Tess]

I have barely started reading an advance copy of this title. Thanks for your comments, Becky. I will wait for a published copy and read the many other books on my nightstand.

[gbishop]

I think this book is good but I don't think it is a Newbery winner. The descriptions in Weedflower were done very well. I could clearly see the the flower gardens and then the horrible dust storms. It is a story that I will think about for a long time because of how sad it was for both the Japanese Americans and the American Indians. I think it would be a great book to use in an American History class.

I have to be honest and say I did not like this book as well as Kira-Kira. The family relationships felt distant and cold to me and in Kira-Kira I didn't get this feeling. Even before Sumiko's family lost everything and was put in the camp everyone had their place in the family and that was where they stayed. Bull was the only one who went to Sumiko in compassion after the disaster of the birthday party. Shouldn't her aunt been more supportive to the young children especially in the camp? It was as if she just disappeared in the camp.

I liked the relationship that developed between Sumiko and Frank . It showed how a friendship can help both people to grow and to think of others besides themselves. It also proved the old say even in the darkness situation if you look there will be a ray of sunshine.

[Mary]

POSTED FOR PHYLLIS:

Hi all. This is my first time to post anything...Mary reminded me that she had yet to see my any posts from me. So here goes... I read WEEDFLOWER and at first didn't think I'd like it. I was prepared to have it be very sympathetic to the Japanese Americans and down on the Americans for placing the Japanese in camps, regardless of the attack on Pearl Harbor. By the end of the book I didn't feel that way. The book made me do a lot of thinking about what it must have been like during that time...I was all of 10 months and 18 days old at the time...and it sparked quite a discussion with some friends of mine. I liked the book a lot, and kept cheering for the main character. It broke my heart when she was denied entry to the party (altho I saw that coming), and then to have her have to sit on a bench for 2 hours, waiting for her ride. I particularly liked her relationship with the boy she meets in the desert, and her older cousin. It's been some time since I read it so names have escaped me. Should it win the Newbury...not sure about that. It does draw a clear picture of Japanese American life during that time, before and during internment. Forgive me if I'm a little rusty at this...I've been retired now for 3 1/2 years and don't do much reviewing of material anymore.
Phyllis

[Tess]

I read the first chapter of the advance reading copy and couldn't get much past the first chapter. I then borrowed the book from the library and avoided it for quite a while. It's really holding my interest now. I am only to p. 67, so I can't comment too much further. But, I wanted to ask, for those who have an advance reading copy (I've misplaced mine), did the beginning change drastically since the advance and the final published form? It seems to be completely different or is my memory much worse than I feared?