ljn0614's review
medium-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? No
3.75
fieldigirl7's review
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
nicole_bookmarked's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
jennms_qkw's review
5.0
This book is many things. Insight into a family affected by FDR's terrible Japanese-American policy. A history lesson. A mystery in a culture trying to contribute to our country and being denied. The camps were only the first bad part, there was more badness to come. Also Chicago in the 1940s! In the middle of the Great Migration. The corruption. The racism and sexism. I liked this book a lot and I would highly recommend it. Reader's Choice 2022.
lastokes61's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
tense
fast-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
3.0
"Clark and Division" is the story of a Japanese-American family sent to a "war relocation camp" during WW II. Their eldest daughter, Rose, is allowed to move to Chicago to find work and create a place there for her family to follow. When the family arrives in Chicago they find out that Rose was struck by an "El" train and killed. The police tell the younger daughter, Aki, it was suicide, but she does not belive this and starts her own investiation.
The novel did a very good job at relating the terrible plight of the Japanese-Americans during this time due so prejudice and unfair treatment. The mystery of what happened to Rose and why was also very compelling.
The historical facts of the time were very good and the descriptions of the setitng in Chicago were excellent. I did find the character of Aki to be a little overbearing at times and maybe not believable but she did get things done if not always in the safest way. Although, her methods would have been necessary during this time considering the treatment of women and Japanese-Americans at the time.
The novel did a very good job at relating the terrible plight of the Japanese-Americans during this time due so prejudice and unfair treatment. The mystery of what happened to Rose and why was also very compelling.
The historical facts of the time were very good and the descriptions of the setitng in Chicago were excellent. I did find the character of Aki to be a little overbearing at times and maybe not believable but she did get things done if not always in the safest way. Although, her methods would have been necessary during this time considering the treatment of women and Japanese-Americans at the time.
jessmanners's review
3.0
Eh, sort of an unforced error on my part--I started listening to this while I was in the midst of grading truly mind-numbing essays about another novel set during and after Japanese Internment, so this was sort of irrevocably wrapped up in my impatience with those papers...
The story itself is fine, although everything felt familiar, because I found myself in one of those plot-coincidence-loops that happen when you consume a million random books in a row--there's the details about the horrors of internment and trying to survive in the US post-Pearl Harbor ([b:When the Emperor Was Divine|764073|When the Emperor Was Divine|Julie Otsuka|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1627617092l/764073._SY75_.jpg|2592921]), and the narrator trying to solve the mystery of the disappearance of their beloved older sibling ([b:The Paris Apartment|58468990|The Paris Apartment|Lucy Foley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1645550948l/58468990._SY75_.jpg|91789725]), and the revelation of who actually did it (kind of) ([b:The Weekend Away|52582029|The Weekend Away|Sarah Alderson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1585164392l/52582029._SY75_.jpg|76256765])...
So, anyway, like I said, this was fine, but never really gripped me. Also, there's this whole long part at the end where she confesses that she hasn't been her "real" self with all these people, but, like, she basically has? The character presents herself as living a radical double life, but apart from being more willing to put herself in stupidly dangerous situations than people might expect, she's more or less the same throughout.
Also: maybe a me problem, but in those high-stakes, murder-y showdowns, I found myself much more worried about whether or not she was going to be able to get her ring back from the pawn broker. She was awfully cavalier about giving it up in the first place!
The story itself is fine, although everything felt familiar, because I found myself in one of those plot-coincidence-loops that happen when you consume a million random books in a row--there's the details about the horrors of internment and trying to survive in the US post-Pearl Harbor ([b:When the Emperor Was Divine|764073|When the Emperor Was Divine|Julie Otsuka|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1627617092l/764073._SY75_.jpg|2592921]), and the narrator trying to solve the mystery of the disappearance of their beloved older sibling ([b:The Paris Apartment|58468990|The Paris Apartment|Lucy Foley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1645550948l/58468990._SY75_.jpg|91789725]), and the revelation of who actually did it (kind of) ([b:The Weekend Away|52582029|The Weekend Away|Sarah Alderson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1585164392l/52582029._SY75_.jpg|76256765])...
So, anyway, like I said, this was fine, but never really gripped me. Also, there's this whole long part at the end where she confesses that she hasn't been her "real" self with all these people, but, like, she basically has? The character presents herself as living a radical double life, but apart from being more willing to put herself in stupidly dangerous situations than people might expect, she's more or less the same throughout.
Also: maybe a me problem, but in those high-stakes, murder-y showdowns, I found myself much more worried about whether or not she was going to be able to get her ring back from the pawn broker. She was awfully cavalier about giving it up in the first place!
booktwinning's review
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0