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A review by kimiloughlin
Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata
4.0
This was a cute story with an important backdrop. Sumiko lived with her Auntie, Uncle, Jiichan, two older cousins, and younger brother on their flower farm in CA. When Japan bombs Pearl Harbor, Sumiko and her family as well as hundreds of thousands of Japanese American citizens and immigrants were rounded up on the West Coast and put into incarceration camps. Sumiko was sent to Poston which was erected on Mohave land. She soon befriends a local Mohave boy despite dissent between the Indigenous population and the Japanese Americans.
I think the most unique part of this book was examining the delicate relationship between the local Indigenous population and the Japanese Americans. Both were confined to this land by the US government. To the Mohave, it feels as though their land was taken from them to house other people. And those people, no matter the wrongs done to them, are given running water, electricity, and food while the Mohave live in poverty. To the Japanese Americans, they just had their rights stripped away and are essentially imprisoned for the length of the war. Tensions rise when the Mohave put up a barbed wire fence to separate the two groups. Both are treated unfairly but somehow they get pitted against each other because of circumstances. The friendship between Sumiko and Frank is really precious. Despite aggression on both sides, they continued to meet up and learn from one another. While Kadohata touches on some very interesting topics amidst the Japanese American incarceration camps, I almost wish there was more leaning into the Indigenous population and their history.
My other favorite part of this book was the love and passion Sumiko has for dirt and growing flowers. I feel like the protagonists of middle grade and YA literature often balk at family responsibility and the family business but Sumiko embraces it wholeheartedly. I loved that she was able to grow a little garden and befriended an older man in doing so.
Overall, this was a cute story that holds importance as well. I did feel this book moved a little slowly despite it's length and while it still shines with Kadohata's wonderful characters, fell slightly flat compared to some of her other works. I really enjoy that she has written books telling all aspects of the Japanese American incarceration camps!
I think the most unique part of this book was examining the delicate relationship between the local Indigenous population and the Japanese Americans. Both were confined to this land by the US government. To the Mohave, it feels as though their land was taken from them to house other people. And those people, no matter the wrongs done to them, are given running water, electricity, and food while the Mohave live in poverty. To the Japanese Americans, they just had their rights stripped away and are essentially imprisoned for the length of the war. Tensions rise when the Mohave put up a barbed wire fence to separate the two groups. Both are treated unfairly but somehow they get pitted against each other because of circumstances. The friendship between Sumiko and Frank is really precious. Despite aggression on both sides, they continued to meet up and learn from one another. While Kadohata touches on some very interesting topics amidst the Japanese American incarceration camps, I almost wish there was more leaning into the Indigenous population and their history.
My other favorite part of this book was the love and passion Sumiko has for dirt and growing flowers. I feel like the protagonists of middle grade and YA literature often balk at family responsibility and the family business but Sumiko embraces it wholeheartedly. I loved that she was able to grow a little garden and befriended an older man in doing so.
Overall, this was a cute story that holds importance as well. I did feel this book moved a little slowly despite it's length and while it still shines with Kadohata's wonderful characters, fell slightly flat compared to some of her other works. I really enjoy that she has written books telling all aspects of the Japanese American incarceration camps!