Littlefield, Sophie. Garden of Stones. Harlequin. January 2013. c.301p. ISBN 9780778313526
Lucy Takeda is 14 years old and living the life of a normal teenager in Los Angeles when suddenly she realizes she is different. After the attack on Pearl Harbor all Japanese Americans are looked at with suspicion and fear, and the government responds by forcing them to leave their homes, their belongings and their lives to move to Manzanar, a prison camp. The brutal realities of camp life hit Lucy and her mother hard and their struggle to adapt is both heart-wrenching and admirable.
Thirty six years later, Patty Takeda, Lucy?s daughter, is on the cusp of a new life herself. She is about to be married. While she waits the two weeks before the wedding she goes to live with her mother and finally comes to understand the horrors her mother endured at Manzanar. The secrets that come to light not only shatter Patty?s illusions but threaten to take away Lucy?s freedom once again.
VERDICT Bestselling mystery author, Littlefield (A Bad Day For Sorry), takes a different approach in this historical novel based on the true events of a Japanese American internment camp during World War II. There is still a mystery involved in the story telling and an unsolved murder at the heart of the novel, which only adds to the telling. The story is told from two different viewpoints, alternating between the daughter, Patty, in the present (1978) and the mother, Lucy, in Manzanar (1942). Although a departure from her regular fare, Littlefield?s fans are sure to devour this one. Public libraries should purchase multiple copies.
Lucy Takeda is 14 years old and living the life of a normal teenager in Los Angeles when suddenly she realizes she is different. After the attack on Pearl Harbor all Japanese Americans are looked at with suspicion and fear, and the government responds by forcing them to leave their homes, their belongings and their lives to move to Manzanar, a prison camp. The brutal realities of camp life hit Lucy and her mother hard and their struggle to adapt is both heart-wrenching and admirable.
Thirty six years later, Patty Takeda, Lucy?s daughter, is on the cusp of a new life herself. She is about to be married. While she waits the two weeks before the wedding she goes to live with her mother and finally comes to understand the horrors her mother endured at Manzanar. The secrets that come to light not only shatter Patty?s illusions but threaten to take away Lucy?s freedom once again.
VERDICT Bestselling mystery author, Littlefield (A Bad Day For Sorry), takes a different approach in this historical novel based on the true events of a Japanese American internment camp during World War II. There is still a mystery involved in the story telling and an unsolved murder at the heart of the novel, which only adds to the telling. The story is told from two different viewpoints, alternating between the daughter, Patty, in the present (1978) and the mother, Lucy, in Manzanar (1942). Although a departure from her regular fare, Littlefield?s fans are sure to devour this one. Public libraries should purchase multiple copies.
Comment