Sisters of the Spruce

by Leslie Shimotakahara

World War One is in high gear. Fourteen-year-old Khya Terada moves with her family to a remote, misty inlet on Haida Gwaii, then the Queen Charlotte Islands, in northern British Columbia, known for its Sitka spruces. The Canadian government has passed an act to expedite logging of these majestic trees, desperately needed for the Allies’ aircrafts in Europe. At a camp on the inlet, Khya’ s father, Sannosuke— a talented, daring logger with twenty years of experience since immigrating from Japan— assumes a position of leadership among the Japanese and Chinese workers. But the arrival of a group of white loggers, eager to assert their authority, throws off balance the precarious life that Khya and her family have begun to establish. When a quarrel between Sannosuke and a white man known as “ the Captain” escalates, leading to the betrayal of her older sister, Izzy, and humiliation for the family, Khya embarks on a perilous journey with her one friend— a half-Chinese sex worker, on the lam for her own reasons— to track down the man and force him to take responsibility. Yet nothing in the forest is as it appears. Can they save Izzy from ruination and find justice without condemning her to a life of danger, or exposing themselves to the violence of an angry, power-hungry man? Drawing on inspiration from her ancestors’ stories and experiences, Shimotakahara weaves an entrancing tale of female adventure, friendship, and survival.

Genres: Canada

234 pages, Paperback

Published May 23, 2024

About the author

Leslie Shimotakahara is an award-winning author of three novels and a memoir, as well as numerous short fiction and essays. She won the Canada-Japan Literary Prize (2012) and has been shortlisted for the K.M. Hunter Artist Award. Her writing has appeared in the National Post, World Literature Today, and other anthologies and periodicals. She holds a PhD in English from Brown University, and lives in Toronto with her husband.

Reviews

[Sam Hofsink · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love a BC based read! Very cool story about forestry and infrastructure along the coast, great characters and an engaging plot!

[Rebecca Labrador · Rating 5 out of 5]

During WWI, the Canadian government passes an act to accelerate the logging of spruce trees in northern British Columbia for the Allies’ airplanes in Europe. Sannosuke Terada, who immigrated to Canada from Japan 20 years ago, is now tasked with overseeing the Chinese and Japanese workers hired to do the work but soon faces conflict upon the arrival of a team of white loggers.

Fourteen-year-old Khya is strong, independent, and embraces the hardships of a logging lifestyle. When a white logger known as “Captain” sneaks away from camp in the middle of the night, Khya convinces her friend Daisy, an underage half-Chinese sex-worker, to help her find Captain and force him to take responsibility for his actions. The two girls soon discover they are ill-equipped for the impetuous journey and struggle to remain together to reach their goal.

Sisters of the Spruce opens with a quote from Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and later Khya convinces Daisy to go with her by sharing Huck’s story, “…and he figures the only way he’ll have a decent life is to run away from home, forever.” Masterfully, Shimotakahara elevates Twain’s orphan tale by accurately illustrating how life on the run for females was (and is) vastly different than for males.

This is exactly THE book I have been wanting to read—fierce, adventuresome, vulnerable girls who never give up!

[Sandy M · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing adventure through an area and time I knew little about. Shimotakahara paints a masterfully detailed picture of life in the logging camps of BC, with vivid descriptions, incredibly researched depictions, deeply intriguing characters and a unique, inspiring heroine you want to root for throughout it all. I can’t remember the last time a book took such hold of me, with so many interesting twists and turns. A must-read.

[Hildayoung8 · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a challenging book. The story was engaging as the sisters were thrown into the wilderness where there was no law . It was every man for themselves. The main character was naive. She thought that her sisters lover would do the right thing and marry her. However she was not considering the ramifications as he was white and they were Japanese. The story of how one survives in the outback as a young lady keeps the plot moving quickly. It explores female sexuality, the brothels, postal service, food supply, and lack of any civilized facilities. The women were beholden to men. They had no rights of their own and were safest when they changed their appearance to young boys.. It would have been a harrowing time to live. Life expectancy was short. It was survival of the fittest.

[Naomi Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leslie Shimotakahara’s new novel Sisters of the Spruce tells the intriguing story of teenage Khya Terada in Buckley Bay, Queen Charlotte Islands, now Haida Gwaii. The story is highly imagined inspired by the spirit of her Japanese Canadian grandmother’s early years in Buckley Bay, a wilderness of Sitka spruce trees. Her Japanese parents ran a sawmill producing lumber to frame Allied planes in WW 1. The author’s brave young female characters, evocative writing and well researched setting and history make Sisters of the Spruce engaging and memorable. Congratulations to the author!

[Tsutomu · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a very exciting story with many twists and turns. And it kept me guessing to the end how Khya’s conflicts and struggles would be resolved. The detective Adler reminded me of Columbo in his doggedness.
A very imaginative novel !

[Sam Cooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

More thoughts to come!

[Paulina Rodriguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 rating. Great work of historical fiction about the Japanese diaspora in BC. The ending was not entirely satisfactory for me.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A piece of history many don't know about told in a very captivating story.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the subject matter in this book hard to read.