bookalicious!

hi guys.. I'm back to tell you guys more about my holiday, so this time I wanted to make a book review entitled 'this land we call home'.


Before we squirrel down, I guess I should tell you a bit about the author, Alison Lohans. Alison's mother, Mildred Lohans,used to teach in Poston Camp III between 1943-1945. She got inspired to write the story by listening to her mother's experience and also by the lovely watercolour painting of the desert by Tokutaro Tsuruoka of Poston Camp III. In school, many of her classmates were of Japanese ancestry, and when she grew up, she heard the story of what had happened in central California when Jap-Am families returned home after the war,some loses their farms,shots being fired into farmhouses at night,and more other terrible stuff. At that time, she vowed, she would write a book about it. Lovely,the book is dedicated to her mother.

So, basically the cover wasn't really attractive,it was dark and dull.Honestly,I'm the kind of person who judges the book by it's cover but since I don't have any other books anymore so, I decided to read it. And yeah, I stick to the end because I'm so touched with the story. 
When I read it, I feel like, the subject there in the story was me and all the things were meant to happen to ME!

I want to tell you the story,but before that, let me include the synopsis:
It is 1941 in rural California. Paula Harmon and Ken Nishimura have been friends and neighbours for as long as they can remember. But around them, racial tension mounts as World War II intensifies and Pearl Harbor is bombed. Suddenly,Ken and his family are considered enemies in their own country. Paula and Ken's friendship is tested and their lives changed forever by the horrifying events that follow...

So,all in all..
It was about the relationship between American and Japanese-American during world war II. (1941-1945)
Briefly about 2 families living side-to-side in a neighborhood,they're a family of Japanese-American and a family of American.
The main characters are Ken and Paula.

Ken is from the Japanese family,his parents are Japanese but lived in American much longer than they've stayed in Japan. More importantly, Ken was born in America. He is American.
Paula is Ken's neighbour. She's American too and she used to be very close to Ken. Her hateful grandfather, Grandpa Miller, always talk bad about Ken's family and sometimes spit out threatening words to them.

Before the war, they lived happily and always helps each other with their gardens. After the rumors about the war begun to spread ,things started to change in an instant.
The Japs had hard times. Some of the sellers refused to sell their goods to any of the Japs or serve them food when they came to restaurant.
Signs saying 'No Japanese allowed' are everywhere hanging on shops and roads.
The Americans see Japanese as a life threatening although they were not.
The kids from Japanese family also refused to take the school bus since majority of the passengers are Americans,they were very afraid..some even didn't go to school.

What I like about the story is about how Ken and Paula managed to overcome conflicts between them during the early war period ,how they were able to accept people with different ethnicity living in the same country,and how the Jap-American family trust their neighbour to look after their house and garden when they're being forced by the government to packed their lifetime belongings and moved to a restricted camp.The American family send foods and some form of helps required by the residence of the camp.

The story was written by different aspects and point of views, so we can see,think,and compares the different thoughts of people. I learned that the different aspects can affect and simply twist the story line, I understand the strongest message in the story, the bias, the issues and personal response of the character itself.

All and all,
The story was full of conflicts,friendship,and trusts. There's a lot of morality to learn about.If you want to know more about it, you should read it too! It might sounded boring, but trust me, the overwhelming feeling will slowly grows in you.So how's the rating?hmm..3 stars out of 5.