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2treads's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The Songbird and the Rambutan Tree shows once again why I will always keep coming back to middlegrade reads. Having these young teens tackle heavy social themes and come out the other side stronger and with a deeper appreciation for their circumstances will always resonate with me.
Here Emmy and her friends are caught in the war for domination and the cruelty they experience makes them mature in ways that will give them resilience to keep on going.
Here Emmy and her friends are caught in the war for domination and the cruelty they experience makes them mature in ways that will give them resilience to keep on going.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and War
Minor: Death of parent
goldenelegy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
i was curious the first time i read the title of this book. as far as i know, "rambutan" is a tree native to tropical regions in southeast asia, including indonesia. so i wondered, could the story take place in indonesia? and the answer is yes! i hesitated for a while though, could it provide fair and sensible portrayal of the situation during the time of dutch colonialization and japanese invasion in indonesia? still, i was curious so i picked it up.
this story is about emmy, a dutch born and live in batavia (now jakarta). she used to love singing with her mom, but ever since she passed away, she couldn't continue doing what she used to love to do. she had a native friend named bakti. set amidst the WW II, the story includes the invasion of japan. after the japanese arrival in batavia, the europeans were kept as prisoners, including emmy and her father. they had to separate though, cause they had different prison for women, children, and elders; and for men.
they didn't really talk about this part in the history classes here, but i remember vaguely about the mention of europeans being kept as prisoners during the japanese invasion. the portrayal of the situation in the tjideng prison, where emmy was kept, is horrifying. they were given small portion of food, even foods that are no longer edible. they had to do tenko under the blazing sun. people became prone to more diseases. i think the writer did a good job in describing the situations there. i read in the end section of the book that the author visited the place where it used to be tjideng prison in batavia. i learnt that now it became a subdistrict in jakarta named cideng. it's completely different to what that place used to be. i thought it must be really hard picturing the place that no longer exists.
to me this book added new insights of what happened around the WW II, also the era of japanese invasion in indonesia. this book also portrays the colonial dutch governtment's unfair treatments to the natives like bakti compared to what the europeans get. i have so little knowledge about jakarta or batavia around that time though so i can't say much about the social and cultural context.
emmy is a clever and brave girl, but she's also innocent, which also makes sense because she's still a child in the story. suitable protagonist for a middle grade book. but looking at what are portrayed in the story, i wonder, is it really suitable for children? but this could add new insights to them cause i honestly barely found other historical fiction books during the WW II that is set in southeast asia.
if you want to give this book a try then give it a try!!
this story is about emmy, a dutch born and live in batavia (now jakarta). she used to love singing with her mom, but ever since she passed away, she couldn't continue doing what she used to love to do. she had a native friend named bakti. set amidst the WW II, the story includes the invasion of japan. after the japanese arrival in batavia, the europeans were kept as prisoners, including emmy and her father. they had to separate though, cause they had different prison for women, children, and elders; and for men.
they didn't really talk about this part in the history classes here, but i remember vaguely about the mention of europeans being kept as prisoners during the japanese invasion. the portrayal of the situation in the tjideng prison, where emmy was kept, is horrifying. they were given small portion of food, even foods that are no longer edible. they had to do tenko under the blazing sun. people became prone to more diseases. i think the writer did a good job in describing the situations there. i read in the end section of the book that the author visited the place where it used to be tjideng prison in batavia. i learnt that now it became a subdistrict in jakarta named cideng. it's completely different to what that place used to be. i thought it must be really hard picturing the place that no longer exists.
to me this book added new insights of what happened around the WW II, also the era of japanese invasion in indonesia. this book also portrays the colonial dutch governtment's unfair treatments to the natives like bakti compared to what the europeans get. i have so little knowledge about jakarta or batavia around that time though so i can't say much about the social and cultural context.
emmy is a clever and brave girl, but she's also innocent, which also makes sense because she's still a child in the story. suitable protagonist for a middle grade book. but looking at what are portrayed in the story, i wonder, is it really suitable for children? but this could add new insights to them cause i honestly barely found other historical fiction books during the WW II that is set in southeast asia.
if you want to give this book a try then give it a try!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Colonisation
Moderate: Racism, Torture, War, and Classism
alli_the_bookaholic13's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I enjoyed reading this middle-grade historical fiction. It was a different perspective on WWII than I’ve ever read about before, and I liked that. The author did a great job of describing the setting and Emmy’s emotions so that I felt like I was in Batavia and Tjideng along with her. Emmy’s strength and loyalty were great, and I thought her character growth was done really well.
In the beginning I did find Emmy to be a bit naive and a bit annoying at times. She was so determined to get her way, but she didn’t consider the bigger picture. Throughout the story, her character experiences a role reversal as she’s locked up in Tjideng, and this gives her a new perspective to consider. She recognizes her selfish actions, and I’m glad that she got a chance to talk with Bakti and reconcile in the end.
The writing style was easy to follow along with, and though the story touches briefly upon some of the dark elements of war, it keeps it light enough that middle-grade readers won’t be too upset. There were a couple of time jumps but they were handled well and I enjoyed getting to see the end of the war and what happened to Emmy afterwards.
I also liked the author’s note at the end about her Oma Emmy and the parts of the story that were true and the parts that were fictionalized.
CWs: prisoner of war, torture (starved, tied up, lashes mentioned but no explicit description), colonization, war, death of a parent
Content Warnings
Minor: Confinement, Torture, Blood, Death of parent, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
eleek0609's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Gun violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
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