I have seen this book on the paperback best seller list for more than a year and was anxious to read it. We are now featuring two copies as part of our display of “Summer Reading.”
Written by Jamie Ford, it is a story of two American-born Asian children living in Seattle during World War II. Henry Lee is the son of a Chinese immigrant, whose father wants him to wear his “I am Chinese” button at all times. Keiko Osabe is of Japanese heritage, but doesn’t even speak the language. Both are typical in many ways of American children living during that time period. But because they are Asian, their lives are not the same as the non-Asian children living in the area.
After Pearl Harbor their destinies are forever changed. Ford has written a story of a first unforgettable love between two young teens. Because this story is set in the war years and because they are of Asian heritage, Henry and Keiko’s lives are forever changed by those events.
“Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet” is a story from which the reader can learn or relearn about a very important part of American history. The treatment of Japanese-Americans living on the west coast of the US was a sad part of our past. Ford details the hatred, discrimination, and cruel treatment of all those of Asian background, but especially the Japanese. This is a book I would recommend to middle and high school students who want to learn a more personal story of two people caught up in the events of the time.