haleycorkery's review against another edition
5.0
For what this was, I loved it. A beautiful tribute.
"John Anderson survived the attack.
He'd been preparing for church.
Rescued, he asked to go back.
He begged to return, to search.
He was burned and bleeding.
"My brother's still there, " he said,
distraught, desperate, and pleading.
"Jake's there! I know he's not dead!"
But one would die, and one live on.
Identical twins. Jake and John."
"John Anderson survived the attack.
He'd been preparing for church.
Rescued, he asked to go back.
He begged to return, to search.
He was burned and bleeding.
"My brother's still there, " he said,
distraught, desperate, and pleading.
"Jake's there! I know he's not dead!"
But one would die, and one live on.
Identical twins. Jake and John."
clstrifes's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
4.0
As a Hawaiian who lived on the same island, it’s really interesting to read these stories from a personal lenses of what had happened during those times. Reading this from a personal lease helps humanize history and also helps us realize that this didn’t happen 200 years ago or in the very distant past but within a persons lifetime and how it affects them to this day, as of right now 1941 is 82 years which is literally someone else’s age today and that’s crazy to think about and comprehend. I also love how the author is very empathetic and not at all beaming hatred to anyone in her book as well as she recounts her brief personal history with the USS Arizona as well.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War and Death
Minor: Child death
cordiallykathy's review against another edition
5.0
Lois Lowry is fcking incredible. What can't she write? This poetry collection is a memoir about her upbringing along with the U.S. relationship to Japan during and after Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima. She emphasizes on how wild it is that so many people (like herself) went on with their day to day life not knowing about the unfortunate events that are/will be happening so close to them - she realized this after watching a video of her as a child playing on the beach with the ship that went down during Pearl Harbor just on the horizon...possibly a few hours before all the men on board were gone.
It's 9AM and I'm sitting here starting my day with my heart feeling heavy. I remember learning about US and Japan's conflicts but like many incidents in our history books, we have a hard time really FEELING and UNDERSTANDING it. Lowry included poems about some of the men that passed in both events...
What is even more magical was that the poems were written by her, someone who was in the US, and the illustrations were drawn by someone who was in Japan during Hiroshima...this book is a representation of the collaboration between two sides even after an unfortunate event for both.
This was so beautiful. Highly recommend.
It's 9AM and I'm sitting here starting my day with my heart feeling heavy. I remember learning about US and Japan's conflicts but like many incidents in our history books, we have a hard time really FEELING and UNDERSTANDING it. Lowry included poems about some of the men that passed in both events...
What is even more magical was that the poems were written by her, someone who was in the US, and the illustrations were drawn by someone who was in Japan during Hiroshima...this book is a representation of the collaboration between two sides even after an unfortunate event for both.
This was so beautiful. Highly recommend.
pagesofpins's review against another edition
3.0
This slim volume of poems has a distinct and haunting detail from each of the real people it depicts, and several connections between the author's childhood in Hawaii and Japan and the war.
milenatadic's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, just wow. Painfully beautiful poems about WW2.
isabellesbooks's review against another edition
5.0
What an amazing way to end 2020. This collection is the fiviest of five stars. These words beg to be read again and again, and I think they should be.
becandbooks's review against another edition
4.0
This book was great. But I don't think the audiobook does it justice.
As far as a review of the audiobook - I wish there had been more context given at the beginning of the book. I felt pretty lost through the "story" portion of the audio. And then an epiphany moment when it got to the authors note at the end.
When considering the story itself, I think this audio is ideal for if you have the physical book with you to follow along with. Otherwise, you will lose some of the context until the discussion at the end of the book.
Thank you to Libro.FM and the publisher for providing me with a DLC in exchange for an honest review!
As far as a review of the audiobook - I wish there had been more context given at the beginning of the book. I felt pretty lost through the "story" portion of the audio. And then an epiphany moment when it got to the authors note at the end.
When considering the story itself, I think this audio is ideal for if you have the physical book with you to follow along with. Otherwise, you will lose some of the context until the discussion at the end of the book.
Thank you to Libro.FM and the publisher for providing me with a DLC in exchange for an honest review!