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Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet: A Novel | Jamie Ford
BONUS: This edition contains a Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet discussion guide and an excerpt from Jamie Ford's Songs of Willow Frost. "Sentimental, heartfelt.the exploration of Henrys changing relationship with his family and with Keiko will keep most readers turning pages...A timely debut that not only reminds readers of a shameful episode in American history, but cautions us to examine the present and take heed we dont repeat those injustices."-- Kirkus Reviews A tender and satisfying novel set in a time and a place lost forever, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet gives us a glimpse of the damage that is caused by war--not the sweeping damage of the battlefield, but the cold, cruel damage to the hearts and humanity of individual people. Especially relevant in today's world, this is a beautifully written book that will make you think. And, more importantly, it will make you feel." -- Garth Stein, New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain Jamie Ford's first novel explores the age-old conflicts between father and son, the beauty and sadness of what happened to Japanese Americans in the Seattle area during World War II, and the depths and longing of deep-heart love. An impressive, bitter, and sweet debut. -- Lisa See, bestselling author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan In the opening pages of Jamie Fords stunning debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattles Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made an incredible discovery: the belongings of Japanese families, left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World War II. As Henry looks on, the owner opens a Japanese parasol. This simple act takes old Henry Lee back to the 1940s, at the height of the war, when young Henrys world is a jumble of confusion and excitement, and to his father, who is obsessed with the war in China and having Henry grow up American. While scholarshipping at the exclusive Rainier Elementary, where the white kids ignore him, Henry meets Keiko Okabe, a young Japanese American student. Amid the chaos of blackouts, curfews, and FBI raids, Henry and Keiko forge a bond of friendshipand innocent lovethat transcends the long-standing prejudices of their Old World ancestors. And after Keiko and her family are swept up in the evacuations to the internment camps, she and Henry are left only with the hope that the war will end, and that their promise to each other will be kept. Forty years later, Henry Lee is certain that the parasol belonged to Keiko. In the hotels dark dusty basement he begins looking for signs of the Okabe familys belongings and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot begin to measure. Now a widower, Henry is still trying to find his voicewords that might explain the actions of his nationalistic father; words that might bridge the gap between him and his modern, Chinese American son; words that might help him confront the choices he made many years ago. Set during one of the most conflicted and volatile times in American history, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is an extraordinary story of commitment and enduring hope. In Henry and Keiko, Jamie Ford has created an unforgettable duo whose story teaches us of the power of forgiveness and the human heart.
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Blueberry
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Loved this one 💛🧡 7mo
Eggs Love this author 💕💕 7mo
48 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Eggs
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Loved this one! 💛 9mo
Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 🙌🏻🙌🏻 9mo
lynneamch My first thought for #Downonthecorner Still a favorite! 9mo
Eggs @lynneamch Agreed 💯- so lovely. 9mo
60 likes4 comments
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melissajayne
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My #roll100 for June 2023

PuddleJumper Looks good! 10mo
20 likes1 comment
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mrp27
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Eggs My choice too 🤗 11mo
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Mine too!! 11mo
24 likes2 comments
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
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mrp27 I picked the same one! I still need to read it though. It‘s been on my tbr for ages. 11mo
Eggs @mrp27 Great minds!! 11mo
Eggs 🧡🧡🧡 11mo
61 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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Eggs
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Beautifully written- ❤️Jamie Ford❤️

#TemptingTitles #WithAntonyms

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I posted without looking at everyone‘s and we posted the same!! 🧡 11mo
Eggs Yes it‘s popular today @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 11mo
65 likes2 comments
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wideeyedreader
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Mehso-so

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Not the first Jamie Ford I‘ve read, but you can tell it was his first book. Overall a good story, but not compelling enough for me to come back to! #bookspin

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 12mo
34 likes1 comment
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JackOBotts
Pickpick

My book club‘s selection for April. Truly a story of the bitter and sweet of first love during World War II, when American government deemed it appropriate to imprison Americans of Japanese descent and their families. Just a disappointing moment in American history (one of many…).
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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KristiAhlers
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Pickpick

Oh how I loved this story and how it was both bittersweet and engaging. I was totally swept up from the beginning and I was both sad and angry at times knowing although this story was fiction the book was based off of true events. Have kleenex handy. Such a very good story. 🌟🌟🌟🌟

IndoorDame Love this one!! 12mo
50 likes1 comment
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cephellapod
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Pickpick

This book is so sweet and so sad. It is also unfortunately relatable. I really enjoyed the alternating timelines and the pacing felt just right. “I hope you‘ll think of the good, not the bad… Of the time we spent together, not the time we‘ve spent apart.” Beautiful

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Geemom1118
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This one has been on my shelf for awhile and I figured now was a good time to dive in. I‘ve seen great reviews on this one. #3 of 2023

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KCofKaysville
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Pickpick

Young Chinese-American likes Japanese-American girl in start of WW2 Seattle and also alternates with his 1986 life. The romantic in me liked this. Somewhat like Snow Falling on Cedars.

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KCofKaysville
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I am giving this one a try also.

26 likes1 stack add
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losmith
Pickpick

7.5 / 10

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Eggs
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Pickpick
BarbaraBB Good choice! 2y
JenReadsAlot I almost picked this one! 2y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 💛📚💛 2y
63 likes1 stack add4 comments
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JenReadsAlot
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Pickpick

So glad I finally read this one. Great book!

Kristin_Reads One of my favorites! The author has a new one coming out soon. 2y
JenReadsAlot @Kristin_Reads First book I've read by this author as well! 2y
37 likes2 comments
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Eggs
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Pickpick
Clwojick I‘ve had this on my TBR for ages! Glad to see you enjoyed it. 2y
Kangaj1 He has a new one out in August that is amazing! 2y
cinda.marie My son had to read this in high school. I read it when he was done and I loved it! 💙 2y
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Eggs @Clwojick 🤗🤗 2y
Eggs @Kangaj1 thanks for letting me know 🤗 2y
Eggs @cinda.marie 🤩 2y
LinesUponAPage He has a new book coming out! Still, Hotel On The Corner of Bitter and Sweet is still my favorite of his books. (edited) 2y
CarolynM I enjoyed this one too🙂 2y
Eggs @CarolynM So memorable 💕 2y
68 likes10 comments
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Bookwormjillk
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Pickpick

I‘m ever so slowly chipping off the books that have been on my TBR the longest. This one, added in 2016, I almost skipped because it‘s yet another WWII book. I appreciated the different spin on this one though, and liked the background about jazz on the West Coast. I‘m glad I finally got to it.

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Bookwormjillk
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I braved the bitter wind to clean out my front bed. I knew I‘d be kicking myself all week if I didn‘t pull some weeds. Thank goodness for the company of audiobooks.

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actualdisneyprincess
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Finally reading this in advance of Jamie Ford‘s engagement with our library system this summer; this is SO beautifully written, but so heartbreaking. 😭 #hotelonthecornerofbitterandsweet #jamieford

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LisaLovesToRead
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Pickpick

This book opens our eyes to how terribly Japanese Americans were treated during WWII, but it also reminds us how one seemingly small choice can set us down a path. A really sweet book!

GondorGirl I'm a huge Jamie Ford fan. I wish more people would discover his beautiful books (though this is my favorite)! 2y
LisaLovesToRead @GondorGirl, which book of his would you recommend I read next? I had read this one several years ago & it was sweet to reread. I‘d love to read more by him. I agree he is quite talented! I love how he wrote this entertaining novel, but still opened his readers‘ eyes to historically important facts. 2y
7 likes1 stack add3 comments
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cinda.marie
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I needed a break from thrillers and my son offered his beat-up copy of a book he had to read in high school. So far, I am enjoying this new-to-me author and loving this bittersweet story. 🧡

28 likes1 stack add
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Readswithcoffee
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Pickpick

This is one of the few books I‘ve read twice - the first time years ago as a hardback & this time as an audiobook. The story takes place in Seattle in dual timelines, 1940‘s WWII & 1980‘s. It deals with father-son relationships, bullies, first love, Japanese-American internment camps, Chinese culture, an unlikely friendship, and Jazz. I‘m always surprised when people give negative reviews of a book I really like. 😂

Kimzey Do you recommend the audio or print? I‘m a big audiobook consumer. 😊 📚 3y
Readswithcoffee @Kimzey Since you like audiobooks, go with that. Hope you like it! 3y
Kimzey Thanks! Just downloaded it! 3y
43 likes1 stack add3 comments
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Come-read-with-me
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Pickpick

Such a sad, tender, beautiful, and hopeful book. This was written with such gentleness about relationships that develop during a turbulent time in the history of the world. The time line moves between the 1940s and current day life of the MC, Henry, and his life as an Asian-American during the time of Japanese internment. I was thoroughly captivated by the story. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

72 likes1 stack add
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GinaKButler
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February #bookspinbingo card. I was hoping for a bingo, but didn‘t finish Pretty Little Wife last night. I finished 9 books, including my #bookspin which I loved! Looking forward to March! @TheAromaofBooks

CoverToCoverGirl Me either! I just can‘t manage to get a bingo. 🤦🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️ 3y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! Fabulous month!!! 3y
GinaKButler @CoverToCoverGirl Here‘s to March having 31 days! 🤞🏼 And, I‘m changing my strategy...I picked 2 different options for the reading challenges I‘m doing so hopefully they land on more advantageous squares! 🤣 3y
See All 6 Comments
GinaKButler @TheAromaofBooks Thanks, Sarah! I appreciate this monthly challenge to push my reading! 3y
TheAromaofBooks I love seeing everyone's enthusiasm and bingo cards!!! 3y
CoverToCoverGirl @GinaKButler who knew that reading would be a strategic event-but I love it! 😂 (edited) 3y
17 likes1 stack add6 comments
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GinaKButler
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Diving in to my #bookspin pick. Thank you for moving this up my TBR, @TheAromaofBooks ! I‘ve heard such good things!

squirrelbrain I loved this one! Hope you do too.... 3y
Smrloomis I liked this too! ❤️ 3y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! Good luck!! 3y
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Smrloomis So good to hear that 😄 3y
squirrelbrain Oh I‘m so glad! 3y
20 likes1 stack add6 comments
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GinaKButler
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Mid-month check in on #bookspinbingo (just a little late 😊). I‘m hoping to finish Jazz tonight and start Migrations for our book club discussion next week. Then on to my #bookspin pick, which is tagged. Currently listening to This Time Next Year and Pretty Little Wife is due in from Overdrive early next week. 🤞🏼 for a bingo this month! 📚

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GinaKButler
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Whoop! Whoop! My February #bookspinbingo card!

#bookspin—Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (this has been on my shelf for AGES)
#doublespin—The Four Winds
Book Club Read—Migrations
Q1 #chunksterchallenge2021—Grant

Looking forward to a great reading month! Thank you for hosting, @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Yay!! Looks fantastic!! 3y
marleed I read your bookspin in 2020 and really liked it! 3y
16 likes2 comments
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GinaKButler
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Excited for February‘s #bookspin and #doublespin picks! Thank you for hosting, @TheAromaofBooks
Hoping to have a bingo this month! 🤞🏼

Kristin_Reads I loved Hotel on the Corner! Great picks! 3y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 3y
12 likes3 comments
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WriterAtHeart
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Pickpick

What a beautiful story about young love, prejudice, and the act of time. I was transported into this story from the very beginning. As Henry and Keiko find solace together at a young age and ripped apart due to Japanese interment during the 1940s, this story does an excellent job of weaving memories together. If you enjoy historical fiction, I recommend this to you with no hesitation.

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BarbaraBB
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#BookReport 24/20

Another good reading week. I am happy with the variety of the book I read thanks to the challenges. These three were all so different but I enjoyed them all!

Cinfhen Need to check out your other reviews...somehow I didn‘t catch any of your posts this week xx 4y
72 likes1 comment
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BarbaraBB
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Pickpick

“I am Chinese”.
This is the text on the button his father makes 12 year old Henry wear to school so his American classmates know he is not one of Seattle‘s despised Japanese population. The button is at the heart of this touching book that taught me about the internment of Japanese Americans in WWII but is also a story of first love, pride, jazz, fathers and sons.

Thanks for this wonderful gift Cindy!
#ATY2020 book with emotion in title

Cinfhen I‘m so glad you enjoyed it 💕 4y
Cathythoughts Great review! Sounds good , stacked 4y
LeeRHarry Loved this one 😊 4y
76 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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Kshakal
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I love historical fiction!! #ww2 #jamminjune @Eggs

Crazeedi I've read 4 of these!! 4y
Eggs I‘ve read 4 too @Crazeedi ❤️❤️ 4y
Eggs Great choices Kerri ❣️ 4y
34 likes3 comments
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MallenNC
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I loved this book when I read it years ago. I learned a lot about the internment of Japanese Americans by reading it. #Sweet #BoundTogetherJune

OriginalCyn620 Pretty cover! 💛 4y
MallenNC @OriginalCyn620 It is a pretty cover. I have always liked it. 4y
29 likes2 comments
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Abecker15
This post contains spoilers
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Found this copy at a second hand store. When I started reading I realized that someone had made some notes in it! I don‘t mind if I find notes in books as long as I can still read it. It was interesting to see notes written in what I assume is japanese, but I could be wrong!

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marleed
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Pickpick

Il finally read this book! And I loved it! Children are taught to be racist by the errant example of adult(s) in their lives, but this book reminds us that sometimes that example has no hold. I often see the tagged in the ‘School Reads‘ section of books. Today, I wish I were in a.classroom so I could speak aloud of the beauty that is this story.

#ReadTheUSA2020 Washington

squirrelbrain I adored this one too when I read it last year (and I used it for the same state prompt last year too!) 4y
marleed @squirrelbrain Although I‘m discovering varied locations is not my favorite way to choose a book, I am grateful for this challenge because I‘m trying to pull from my physical TBR to respond. It a great bonus when like this one I end up loving the book! 4y
CarolynM I liked this one a lot too. 4y
marleed @CarolynM I‘m so glad I finally read it. It‘s so good. 4y
73 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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PurpleTulipGirl
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Pickpick

Such a good book! Henry, a Chinese-American boy, meets Keiko, a Japanese-American girl. But it‘s World War 2, and Keiko‘s people are the enemy. The story hops back and forth from the 1940s — Henry and his complicated relationship with his parents, and his growing bond with Keiko, who is not a suitable friend for him — and 1986, Henry‘s complicated relationship with his son after Henry‘s wife dies.

Beautifully told story, with a satisfying end.

marleed I just finished this one too - loved it! 4y
7 likes1 comment
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PurpleTulipGirl
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Beginning the interminable process of binding off the body of the sweater in knitting, which requires some lighter reading than what I was already in the midst of.

#alwaysknitting

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MaggieCarr
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Pickpick

My 3☆ rating is simply because I expected a bit more of a climax but at the same time a bigger climax may have ruined the simplicity of the story itself. Racial discrimination and cultural norms/expections aren't to be taken lightly and the characters feelings, attitudes, and expectations feel so detailed and real that the emotions will continue to stay with me awhile. Preferred Monica Hesse's The War Outside regarding domestic internment camps.

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yvo_about_books
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Spending my Sunday on the corner of bitter and sweet... 😉 So far it is turning out to be a very interesting story! 🤗

9 likes1 stack add
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Eggs
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Mixed reviews on this one but a “pick” for me

#antonymsintitle

#auldlangreads

@OriginalCyn620
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

OriginalCyn620 👍🏻📚😊 4y
Librarybelle I really liked this one! 4y
See All 9 Comments
marleed Oh I‘m going to read this soon for Washington State. It‘s been on my physical TBR for so long! 4y
Come-read-with-me @eggs I really enjoyed this book. Thought the characters were strong, learned about a segment of society of which I knew very little, and the story stayed with me. I give it a rousing ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4y
SilversReviews I loved it...thanks for the reminder. 4y
Eggs @marleed I hope you love it! 4y
Eggs Yayyy agreed @Come-read-with-me 💗 4y
Eggs @SilversReviews 📚💗💕 4y
69 likes9 comments
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Jas16
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Pickpick

At the last Friends of the Public Library book sale the stranger browsing next to me thrust this book at me and told me that if I hadn‘t read it, I needed to. I hadn‘t read it and even though I had read another by the author I didn‘t particularly enjoy I couldn‘t refuse that kind of enthusiasm. While I didn‘t love this as much as she did, I am glad I took her advice. Sweet, moving, and touching upon history that too frequently gets brushed over.

Soubhiville Excellent photo! 4y
readordierachel Nice review! (And I recognize those sphinxes 😍) 4y
59 likes2 comments
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SaunteringVaguelyDownwards
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Pickpick

A lovely meditation on interpersonal relationships, set during the Japanese internment during WWII. When a hotel discovers lost belongings of Japanese families, Henry sees a familiar parasol. It prompts him to search there for his rare record of Oscar Holden. In reality, the search leads to a better relationship with his son and a reunion with his childhood love Keiko.
#PopSugar: a book with title containing "sweet", "salty" "bitter" or "spicy"

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Mich_lynn
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Warming up this cold evening by starting a new book with a fall scented bath and IPA. 🍂🍁

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DrSabrinaMoldenReads
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Day 5: #7covers7days

Intriguing

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Librarybelle
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Jamie Ford is at my library this evening!

BTW...love this book!

SheReadsAndWrites I love his books!!!! 5y
BarbaraTheBibliophage Oh nice! We visited that hotel in real life a few years ago. Were able to see the basement, where all the Japanese left their stuff on the way to the camps. One of the most intense experiences of our lives. 5y
CarolynM I loved this one too. 5y
See All 7 Comments
MallenNC I love that book too! 5y
Honeybeebooks Great book. He did a wonderful job when he visited our library. Enjoy! 5y
Eggs Love Ford‘s writing ✍🏻 5y
84 likes2 stack adds7 comments
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thepostman96
Pickpick

This book wounded me, but in the best way possible. It was nice to learn about the part of WWII that always gets glossed over in US history classes.

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sammisho
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Pickpick

🌟🌟🌟
#pop19

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sprainedbrain
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Pickpick

I‘ve read a lot of historical fiction, but I‘ve honestly not read anything quite like this. Dual timelines during WWII and the 1980s, set mainly in Seattle (❤️), this is the story of first love, family, and identity. Henry is a Chinese-American boy who falls hard for Japanese-American Keiko just as America started interring people of Japanese decent after Pearl Harbor. Well-written, funny, sad and moving. Beautifully done on audio, too.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

LeeRHarry I really enjoyed this one too 😊 5y
CarolynM I thought it was lovely💕 5y
LatrelWhite Loved it!💕 5y
118 likes7 stack adds3 comments
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TheSpineView
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squirrelbrain I was going to pick this one! 😁❤️👍 5y
Eggs My choice too🤗🥰 5y
OriginalCyn620 😊📚🏨 5y
71 likes3 stack adds5 comments