Book 76: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

This is a recommendation from Molly K. as part of the Adult Book Discussion Group at the Smyrna Public Library. Yay, team!

This book chronicles the story of a young Chinese-American living in Seattle during World War II, who watches as his Japanese-American neighbors slowly lose everything, including their freedom, because of their heritage.

As I understand it, the Japanese internment camps were "hush-hush" history, and most baby boomers didn't even know what had happened. I, a Gen-Xer and history nut, had been taught about the camps in my high school history class. Funny how things change.

This book was well-researched and provided a probing look at the way the Japanese internment camps forever changed the lives of our fellow Americans. The author made the characters feel authentic and believable. Though the chapters jump from present day to 1943 and back again, the style eventually becomes easier to follow. It wraps up neatly at the end in a lovely, simple scenario.

Loved it.