Well now.
Would you look at that.
A whole new year has started, and we're just now getting to a review!?! Don't worry, I'm not giving up the game...in fact, it's just getting started. I've got LOADS of bookish fun coming your way this year, let alone this month, so be sure to keep your wish list at the ready, and a spot cleared on your shelf! Now, let's get down to business as we take a look at a Historical Fiction title releasing TOMORROW via Black Rose Writing...
by
Shirley Miller Kamada
9781685130978
Black Rose Writing
About the book...
After the U.S. declares war on Japan in 1941, all persons of Japanese descent in the Western U.S. come under suspicion. Curfews are imposed, bank accounts frozen, and FBI agents search homes randomly.
Despite the fact that two generations of the Miyota family are American citizens, Fumio and his parents and sister Kimiko must pack meager belongings and are transported under military escort to the California desert to be held at Camp Manzanar, leaving their good friends and neighbors the Whitlocks to care for their farm and their dog Flyer.
The Miyotas suffer unimaginable insults, witness prejudice and violent protests, are forced to live in squalor, and are provided only poor-quality, unfamiliar food which makes them ill. Later, they are transferred to Idaho’s Camp Minidoka, where Fumio learns what it means to endure and where he discovers a new world of possibility and belonging.
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Our United States of America has a history. At times, the situations faced brought us together...but sometimes, the uncertainties and suspicions that can come from being a "melting pot" can get the better of us, diverging us instead of uniting. Did we make the right choices? Someone thought so, at the time, but hindsight gives us a chance at 20/20 vision...what we do with that clarity is what marks us as triumphant or no better than the rest.
I know, that's a bit contemplative, even to me, but this is a book that makes you think. It's not fast paced, and builds itself around one family, the Miyota's, and the lives each member touches in their journey from American citizens living their dream to one of many members of an interment camp created because people just didn't know. They didn't know better, they didn't think bigger, they didn't see these families, these people as people, not just a race, or culture. YES that is a part of them, but just because the sky is blue doesn't mean the clouds in it must be too. People are individuals, they make choices, have values, and follow their own hearts. To condemn a "people" because some of them choose a violent path doesn't make it right...especially when those falling into the hole of injustice were law abiding citizens in this country. I get the fear and uncertainty that must have been running rampant at the time this occurred, but in my heart of hearts, I honestly believe there had to be another way. Do I know what it was? No...and that's why I can't condemn their choices fully, but it doesn't make it right.
The story that unfolds between these pages is historical, yes, but so much more than as well. You get to become a member of the Miyota family, getting to know each member well, from Mr. Miyota to little Kimiko. Most of our time is spent with Fumio, and Flyer...his dog. Yes, his dog gets a voice here as well, and why not! He has quite a tale to tell as well, a great reminder that you should never underestimate any living creature. By book's end, my heart was moved, and I found myself unexpectedly brought to tears. What started as a slow turning of pages had wrapped itself around me, making me care about each person we encountered, and wanting to see how everything played out. I must remark on the author's writing in regards to how she showed not only the prejudice being shown against Japanese Americans, but also others looked down upon due to status, or perceived intelligence. It really showed how it can happen to anyone, and perhaps will leave readers more aware, more considerate of what they say and do to and for others in the future.
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About the author...
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Shirley Miller Kamada is a former educator, education director, and bookstore owner. She lives in Moses Lake, Washington, with her husband Jimmy and their two small adopted dogs, Priscilla and Phoenix. No Quiet Water is her first novel.
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Special thanks to Bryn at Mindbuck Media Book Publicity for the chance to bring this title to you and for the copy for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title celebrates its BOOK BIRTHDAY tomorrow, January 5th, 2023, so mark your calendar or pre order your copy today!
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
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