This is what it felt like to be lonely:
- Like everyone was looking at you. Sumiko felt this once in a while.
- Like nobody was looking at you. Sumiko felt this a lot.
- Like you didn't care about anything at all. She felt this maybe once a week.
- Like you were just about to cry over every little thing. She felt this about once daily.
It is December 1942. The United States has an oil embargo on Japan because Japan signed a pact with Germany and Italy.
After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, everything changes for Sumiko, her family, and all Japanese Americans on the West Coast. They have to destroy anything they own that is "Japanese" - photos, souvenirs, heirlooms, letters. The FBI arrested community leaders and Issei, first generation Japanese Americans. Sumiko's grandfather and her uncle were arrested and taken to a prison camp in North Dakota.
In three months 2,000 Nikkei were arrested without being charged with a crime.
Five months after Pearl Harbor, Sumiko and her family have to evacuate their home and farm. Before Sumiko left, she found a special strain of kusabana that her uncle had developed, the Sumiko Strain.
Sumiko arrives in Poston, Arizona. Her family is assigned to live in Camp Three in the Colorado River Relocation Center on a Mohave Indian reservation. They were told that they weren't in jail; they're doing their patriotic duty, supporting the war by staying in the camp. The camp is run by the Office of Indian Affairs.
"We're in camp because of prejudice, pure and simple," shouted Ichiro's friend.
"We were put here for our own protection," Auntie insisted again. "To protect us from all the people who hate us."
Sumiko meets Frank, a Mohave. He understands very well what Japanese Americans are going through.
"You're not the first people to lose things."
Frank's family wants to farm the dry, arid land after the war. They need to learn what Sumiko's family knows about irrigation. Sumiko finds meaning in her life as she helps her family and neighbors, holding tight to her dream of one day owning a flower shop.
Weedflower is a fascinating read, and people who enjoy books about World War II, Japanese culture, or like to learn more about different cultures would like this book. It's an interesting time in American history for young adults. A good companion to this book might be Farewell to Manzanar (Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston) for middle school students.
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars
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