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    Weedflower
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    Weedflower
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    Weedflower
    Audiobook6 hours

    Weedflower

    Written by Cynthia Kadohata

    Narrated by Kimberly Farr

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Twelve-year-old Sumiko feels her life has been made up of two parts: before Pearl Harbor and after it. The good part and the bad part. Raised on a flower farm in California, Sumiko is used to being the only Japanese girl in her class. Even when the other kids tease her, she always has had her flowers and family to go home to.

    Now, other Americans start to suspect that all Japanese people are spies for the emperor, and Sumiko and her family find themselves being shipped to an internment camp in one of the hottest deserts in the United States. The vivid color of her previous life is gone forever, and now dust storms regularly choke the sky and seep into every crack of the military barrack that is her new "home."

    Sumiko soon discovers that the camp is on an Indian reservation and that the Japanese are as unwanted there as they'd been at home. But then she meets a young Mohave boy who might just become her first real friend. . . .

    With searing insight and clarity, Newbery Medal-winning author Cynthia Kadohata explores an important and painful topic through the eyes of a young girl who yearns to belong. Weedflower is the story of the rewards and challenges of a friendship across the racial divide, as well as the based-on-real-life story of how the meeting of Japanese Americans and Native Americans changed the future of both.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMar 28, 2006
    ISBN9780307284143
    Author

    Cynthia Kadohata

    Cynthia Kadohata is the author of the Newbery Medal–winning book Kira-Kira, the National Book Award winner The Thing About Luck, the Jane Addams Peace Award and PEN America Award winner Weedflower, Cracker!, Outside Beauty, A Million Shades of Gray, Half a World Away, Checked, A Place to Belong, Saucy, and several critically acclaimed adult novels, including The Floating World. She lives with her dogs and hockey-playing son in California. Visit her online at CynthiaKadohata.com.

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    Reviews for Weedflower

    4/5

    153 ratings19 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Sumiko, a Japanese-American, experiences racism in and out of school. Then, immediately following the attack on Pearl Harbor, life changes dramatically for Sumiko and her family. First being moved to the racetracks, then to a more permanent internment camp, Sumiko has no choice but to come-of-age.This is a perfect book for learning about the internment of the Japanese-Americans during WWII. It is told with such realism that it's easy to think it's non-fiction. The research is evident and comes through clearly in the descriptions of life in the camps. The language is geared for grades 5 - 8, but it can certainly be enjoyed by adults. I think the many issues woven into the book were visited with much care and consideration. (4/5)Originally posted on: "Thoughts of Joy..."
    • 4/5
      I liked this book for a few reasons. The first reason I liked this book was because the author did an amazing job developing the characters and the relationships between the characters. They were believable and provided a unique perspective to discrimination at the time. Another reason I like this book is because of the writing style. It was descriptive and flowed well. The author was engaging and the plot was well organized. A final reason I liked this book is because it helps readers see a time period of discrimination that is often overlooked in history classes from my experience. This book gave me insight to a whole new part of history I hadn't known much about before. I believe the message of this story is finding one's place in the world and fitting in.
    • 5/5
      I absolutely loved this book, and I think it is because the ending was completely different than the beginning. It was as if the whole story was evolving and rotating without the reader really taking notice, and I loved that. The main message of the story is, no matter what happens you will always have those that will mean the most to you. Sumiko truly gained a friendship from the war that she wasn't even expecting to have gained. I also liked how the author painted the war with flowers. She took a negative concept of history, and covered it with something beautiful and positive. There was so much beauty in this book that I could not put it down at all.
    • 3/5
      I have mixed feelings about this book. I like this book because of the writing. This book was an easy read even though it incorporated some Japanese words. I feel like the story was easy to follow which is good for young readers. I did not like this book because of the plot. After reading When My Name Was Keoko, I feel like Weedflower did not have enough action or changes in the story to keep the interest of the reader. The plot involved a lot of repetition especially while they were in the camp. This repetition is important for the reader to understand how boring it was to be in those camps, but it also made the story drag a little. The big idea of this book was to realize the difficulties others went through in order to live in the U.S. I think that many young students are not aware of how other children suffered at their age. Reading books such as Weedflower allow students to see what it was like for young children in a different time in the U.S.
    • 5/5
      A well balanced narrative.I listened to this as an unabridged audiobook, narrated by Kimberly Farr, and was particularly impressed that it told, not only the story of the internment of the Japanese, but also the effect this had on the indigenous Indian population, whose land they were encamped on.We first meet Sumiko, in the days before WWII, living in California. She is the only Japanese girl in her class, but it has never been much of a problem; she has her family and her part in the running of the family's flower farm, life is good.As WWII looms and the Japanese become the enemy, she finds that although she was born and raised in America, she is viewed with suspicion and distrust, and eventually has to move to an internment camp deep in the dusty desert of Arizona, along with the women of her family. The adult men are incarcerated elsewhere.They soon discover that the land is already occupied, by the Mohave Indians, who are not at all happy to be sharing.Sumiko is a wonderfully positive character, who makes the best of everything, even dust storms and heat. She befriends an elderly man and helps create a garden in the wilderness and she meets a young Mohave boy, learning why his people are resentful of their arrival.This was a well balanced and highly readable young adult novel that easily crossed over into adult reading. I may well listen to the audiobook again in the future.
    • 3/5
      I really liked aspects of this book. I liked Sumiko but I didn't connect with her like I would of liked too. I felt that Cynthia Kodahata forced certain aspects of her character. For instance, the lists always felt out of place. I also thought Sumiko thinking about the "ultimate boredom" frequently was very odd. It just felt like a character that wasn't quite right. Overall, I enjoyed the book, it is an easy read. Probably good for 11+ or so. Also, could be useful for teaching students about racism.
    • 4/5
      The story of Sumiko and her family, Japanese Americans interned during WWII. Covers the whole experience -- from rejection by her community to reluctance to leave when they are allowed to go, to the uncomfortable relationship between the Native tribes already on the reservation where the internment camp, Poston, was eastablished. Very thorough, very well researched, and Sumiko's often awkward navigation of friendships and family are compelling.
    • 2/5
      Boring and really young-sounding. Like, somehow sounds almost condescending.

      Still searching for a decent book for 8th grade summer reading that's something 8th graders will want to read. (teachers currently want the adult book Hotel on the Corner of Bitter & Sweet, which at a glance looks like it'll bore 8th graders to tears.)
    • 2/5
      Meh. I got bored and didn't get very far. It seemed like it was talking down to its audience, or written for an audience much younger than the packaging implied, or something. It's so well-received that I should probably go back to it at some point.
    • 5/5
      Sumiko loves helping her family tend to the flowers on their flower farm. She lives with her Grandma, Uncle, Auntie, 2 cousins, and brother, as her parents passed away in a car accident. She attends an American school in which she is the only Japanese girl in her class. Her life takes a dramatic change after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In this book, Sumiko learns about discrimination and fear and how people react under these circumstances. Sumiko must make a life of her own at the Japanese Internment camp she is sent to and makes an unexpected friend. I think this book is great for Junior readers.
    • 4/5
      Plot: 12-year-old Sumiko lives with her uncle’s family on his flower farm in California. Life isn’t easy. Her parents died in a car crash and as the only Japanese girl at school, she has no friends. But she’s happy and takes pride in her work with the flowers. Everything changes after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Her uncle and grandfather are taken away and the rest of the family is sent to a relocation center on a Mohave reservation. Conditions are hard and tensions are high between the “Nikkei” and the Indians on the reserve. But in the midst of it all, Sumiko befriends a Mohave boy whose life is perhaps even worse than hers.This is a very quick read; I read it in less than a day. And enjoyed it. I shed a tear a couple of times towards the end. Kadohata knows her subject well and it shows in her writing. Though this is fiction, Sumiko’s experiences are realistic and true to the experiences of Japanese-Americans if not in detail, then in feeling. If the writing is simple, it is good and clearly expresses Sumiko’s feelings: the hurt, the anger, the shame and the boredom. I felt as though her friendship with Frank, and the relationship with the Mohave, could have been explored more however. The way the novel ends and where Kadohata chooses to end it suggests that this friendship was the main element of the story but in truth they only meet briefly about 6 times. But that’s a little enough complaint I suppose.
    • 4/5
      Personal Response:This story gave me some insight to a part of our history that I didn't know much about. I think it is a reflection of what was going on at that time and how hard it was for people who were treated as enemies because of their descent. Although the claim was that is was for their protection I think the people were rounded up out of fear.Curricular Connection:I would read this aloud to my students and then have them compare/contrast the book to other periods of history when similar things happened such as 9/11. It would also be good for a Social Studies unit on WWII.
    • 4/5
      Personal Response:I enjoyed the interaction between Sumiko and Frank and the parallels drawn between treatment of the Native American tribes and Japanese Americans in American history-a subject that is often glossed over. I appreciated that these character grew to be friends after learning about one another and how similar they really are, while respecting their unique knowledge and experiences.I also liked Sumiko's battle against what her grandfather calls "the ultimate boredom" or the loss of a person's hopes and dreams to despair. Sumiko was on the brink of giving up on her dream of owning a flower shop one day, but a packet of seeds she rescued from her uncle's shed before coming to the camp helped motivate her to face each day.Curricular Connections:This book would be a great in a discussion of how prejudice can blind people and make them act in irrational ways toward one another. It would also be interesting to discuss how discrimination is visible today and connect the lessons of the story with modern times, rather than viewing this prejudice as an historical note. This book also connects very well with the events of 9/11 and how Arab-Americans were treated following the attack.
    • 3/5
      Although I liked the book, I quickly realized that it is suitable for younger readers despite the serious issues brought up throughout the story. Adults can read and enjoy this novel for what it is, but younger readers are likely to find it more entertaining. This novel is a good starting off point for discussions about World War II, Japanese internment camps, human rights, racism, life on reservations and politics. This coming of age story reads easily and quickly - it might be an excellent complement to other curriculum novels such as War Between the Classes. Overall, it was good and addresses an often 'brushed over' topic in history.
    • 4/5
      Weedflower is about Sumiko, a Japanese-American girl whose family is sent to a relocation camp in Poston, Arizona during WWII. This camp was actually on a reservation (constructed there against the wishes of the Mohave tribe who owned the land) and one of the themes of the book is the uneasy relations between the Japanese and the Indians there, shown through Sumiko's friendship with a Mohave boy named Frank.It was a good read, though unsurprisingly enraging. It's definitely a children's book, though. At first I was trying to put my finger on what made it feel so different than just a story told from a child's POV, but I think it was the all-tell, no-show style. Everything was spelled out. If I were reading an adult book like that, I'd say it was badly written, but I'll give her the benefit of the doubt that she just didn't trust kids to be able to infer anything. So that was a little annoying to me, but I'd still recommend it for the story.
    • 4/5
      Great dramatic premise for a story, but unfortunately, the narrative lacks drama. The author's style is very straight-forward, and I didn't get a sense of Sumiko's true emotional life. I was hoping for more of a Number the Stars feel, one that haunts you. Still, the narrative draws you forward, and you get a good sense of the injustice Japanese-Americans faced. I could see this as a read-aloud with lots of discussion to supplement the bare facts. Fans of Esperanza Rising may enjoy it also!
    • 4/5
      I loved Kira-Kira and was excited to find about this novel. It's great to have such a personal account with the Japanese internment camps for a younger audience. It touched on racism and how scared everyone was at the time. Sumiko grew so much in the novel. I think this would be a great read-aloud for 5-6th graders.
    • 5/5
      Loved it, & it fills a space in an overlooked period in US History--Japanese internment.
    • 4/5
      Twelve year old Sumiko and her Japanese-American family are relocated to an internment camp. This forces them to give up the flower growing business that is an integral part of who they are. Prior to Pearl Harbor and war breaking out, the section where Sumiko is uninvited to the birthday party by the mother (pg. 34 - 37) is heart breaking and would be a great hook for many readers. It feels incredibly real in its cruelty.