Weedflower

by Cynthia Kadohata

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.

That all changes after the horrific events of Pearl Harbor. Other Americans start to suspect that all Japanese people are spies for the emperor, even if, like Sumiko, they were born in the United States! As suspicions grow, 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...if he can ever stop being angry about the fact that the internment camp is on his tribe's land.

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.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Middle Grade, Historical, World War II, Childrens

260 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2006

About the author

Cynthia Kadohata is a Japanese American writer known for her insightful coming-of-age stories about Asian American women. Her first published short story appeared in The New Yorker in 1986. As she spent her early childhood in the American South, the author set both her first adult novel and her first novel for children in Southern states. The former became a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and the latter--her first children's book, entitled Kira-Kira--won the 2005 Newbery Medal.

Reviews

[Belle₊˚⊹♡ (Book slump💔) · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
(Spoiler-free)

This writing!! I loved loved the way this author wrote Sumiko’s story, I loved this girl sm 🥲🤧

This story was very educational, taking that it’s written from real life experiences it was definitely still a little eye opening and definitely important to read. 🙌🏼

So happy this was assigned for my school’s book club, knowing that I probably wouldn’t have picked this book up if not for the club! 🫢

I loved Sumiko and Frank’s friendship, it had me in tears at the end though.. 😩😭

I definitely recommend this! It was so fast and easy to read 📖📚🎧

⭐️Rating: 5/5
🔥Spice: 0/5 (clean!)
📚Age Rating: 11+


🧡Preread:

Another book club book for school 😼
I don’t think I would’ve picked this up otherwise, but I’m intrigued! Especially with the topic, have a feeling this will be educational as well :)

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kadohata is a very strong writer and I really enjoyed this YA book about a Japanese girl in an internment camp in Arizona on an Indian reservation. She weaves in history, politics, race issues, farming, and more. I think I especially loved that Sumiko is a flower farmer, and I felt that the beauty of her flower growing helped her overcome the harsh reality of their wartime existence. An excellent choice for young people, though this would likely be banned in some classrooms today, sadly. For adults, Kadohata (whose father was imprisoned in this camp) does not stray from her youthful voice, which colors the narration as well, so perhaps the book won't be as satisfying to the older crowd as much is oversimplified. But it's a beautiful book by an award-winning author and there is much to learn about WWII and the interactions between the Japanese and Indian communities in the Southwest.

[Anne Osterlund · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sumiko lost her parents in a car accident years ago. She and her brother are lucky. Lucky that her aunt and uncle have taken them in.

But Sumiko is not certain she will ever belong. How can anything be certain with war on the horizon, Japan the assailant, and her own family viewed as the enemy? The internment camp in the desert feels like both a prison and a refuge. At least here, she will not be attacked.

Perhaps she will stay here forever. In this place beyond the rules of tradition, society, and the truth. Sumiko has already lost almost everything.

Except the seeds she has brought with her.


I found the relationships in the story compelling. Especially the one between Sumiko and her younger brother. And between her and Frank, the young man from the reservation upon which the internment camp has been built. The book highlights the impact of prejudice from strikingly different points of view, and that lends it a unique perspective.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one better than Kira-Kira. This one is about a Japanese American girl in a concentration camp in Arizona in World War II. Pair it with Dear Miss Breed by Joanne Oppenheim.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quiet novel, taking on a complicated situation with sensitivity and revealing some frequently forgotten pieces of history (such as the connection between interned Japanese Americans and Native Americans). However, while the history is interesting and the summary sounded promising, this novel did not live up to its potential for me. The narrative reads a little too young and while the character's situations evoke great empathy, the characters themselves (including the protagonist Sumiko) remain somewhat flat. I was especially intrigued by the friendship between Sumiko and Frank (the Mohave boy) but the narrative doesn't devote quite enough time to their relationship to merit the emotional payoff the novel's conclusion attempts to elicit from the reader. Additionally, the plot is just too uneventful to attract most tween readers. I don't mean to imply that there needs to be artificial additions of suspense or intense physical action; the novel contains plenty of significant events and the historical situation naturally creates great deal of suspense--but the storytelling doesn't take advantage of these opportunities.

[Kerri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most kids don’t even realize that when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, we treated all Japanese like outcasts. We took them from their homes and put them in “camps” so that they would no longer be a part of American society. In some cases, we were not much better than the Germans because we treated them horribly simply because they were a different race. This book is interesting to use to find out more about what conditions these people lived in. Not a ton of action, but a lot of information and a pretty decent storyline to tell the events of this girl’s life.

Summary: The excitement 12-year-old Sumiko feels when she's invited to her first birthday party is replaced by hurt and confusion when the door is closed in her face after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The family is soon removed from their California flower farm and interred on a desert reservation in Arizona, where the Indians resent the intruders.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

not too interesting needed more cliff hangers

[Imas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sumiko, gadis kecil berusia 12 tahun, warga negara Amerika Serikat keturunan Jepang. Dibesarkan oleh keluarga paman dan bibinya di perkebunan bunga di California setelah kecelakaan lalu lintas yang menewaskan kedua orang tuanya.

Sumiko sudah terbiasa menjadi satu-satunya orang Jepang dikelas dan kondisi ini membuatnya menjadi bahan ejekan. Namun dia bahagia karena masih memiliki keluarga adiknya Tak tak, kedua sepupunya Ichiro dan Bull, kakeknya Jiichan dan tentu saja Paman dan bibi serta kebun bunga yang dirawat dengan kesungguhan dan penuh kebanggaan.

Kehidupan Sumiko dan keluarga berubah setelah peristiwa Pearl Harbor. Seluruh Nikkei-warga Amerika keturunan Jepang- dicurigai sebagai mata-mata Kaisar. Mereka dipindahkan ke tempat-tempat pengasingan, kamp-kamp konsentrasi untuk melokalisir mereka.

Menyedihkan, bagaimana Sumiko dan ribuan keluarga Nikkei harus tercerabut dari kehidupannya. Dipaksa pindah meninggalkan ladang yang telah dipelihara dengan kerja keras.

Menyedihkan bagaimana Sumiko harus membakar buku-buku kursus bahasa Jepang, tulisan-tulisan Jepang yang dibuatnya dengan bersusah payah, satu-satunya foto kedua orangtuanya karena pada foto itu terlihat bendera Jepang dan semua barang-barang yang diperkirakan akan membuat kecurigaan bahwa mereka berpihak kepada Jepang.

Menyedihkan bagaimana Sumiko memandang kebun bunga kesayangannya pada hari mereka harus meninggalkan rumah menuju kamp konsentrasi.Saat itu Sumiko sempat membawa bibit bunga hasil penelitian pamannya yang dinamai seperti namanya "bibit Sumiko".

Sumiko menjalani babak baru kehidupannya dipadang gurun terpanas di Amerika, daerah reservasi orang Indian.

Sumiko selama beberapa tahun terakhir berangan-angan untuk kuliah dan memperoleh gelar dibidang bisnis supaya bisa mengelola toko bunganya sendiri. Dia tahu dia cuma gadis petani,tapi jauh dilubuk hatinya ia percaya bahwa setiap bunga yang dipetiknya,setiap piring yang dicucinya, setiap hinaan teman sekolah yang harus ditanggungnya dan setiap dinihari yang membangunkannya akan membawa dia semakin dekat kepada impiannya, kepada penjelmaan dari gadis petani menjadi pemilik toko bunga.Dia tidak menginginkan toko bunga besar. Dia hanya ingin dikelilingi bunga tiap hari selama sisa hidupnya. Ia ingin menamai putrinya Hanako yang berarti "anak bunga".

Tapi sekarang,berbaring di dipan ditengah padang gurun, dikelilingi ngengat, kelelawar dan kalajengking, Sumiko merasa toko bunga itu takkan pernah mampu diraihnya. Impiannya telah sirna.

Kebiasaan bekerja keras dan tidak tau berbuat apa, para Nikkei yang sebagian besar petani membangun ladang pertanian di padang gurun itu. Kebun bunga Sumiko yang dikerjakannya bersama Mr Moto berhasil meraih juara ketiga.

Weedflower adalah cerita tentang kasih sayang, keluarga, kerja keras, prasangka dan kebencian. Persahabatan dan kasih sayang bisa tumbuh dimana saja dengan menghilangkan prasangka.

Great book on a touchy subject

[mitchell dwyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twelve-year-old Sumiko lives on a flower farm in northern California with her little brother, her aunt and uncles, and her grandfather. In every way, hers is like other American farming families: every member does his or her part to keep things running, there is never a shortage of work to be done, and complaining is both pointless and unheard-of.

In a few ways, Sumiko's is unlike many farming families, because her grandfather came to America from Japan. Although Sumiko doesn't look like her classmates, and although she is never invited to their weekend activities, she has established some friendships with the other girls in school. Her grandfather says the happiness she was born with seems to be returning for the first time since her parents' deaths.

But then the Japanese military attacks Pearl Harbor, and everything changes. Sumiko's grandfather and his eldest son are taken away to be "questioned," and they do not return before the rest of the family is taken to a relocation camp in Arizona, to live behind barbed-wire fences, prisoners in their own country 'though they are never charged with crimes.

Weedflower is not the first book I've read about the Japanese relocation during World War II, but it is the most affecting. Told from a young girl's point of view, Sumiko's story is heartbreaking on multiple levels. The umbrella over everything, of course, is the treatment of its own citizens by the United States government, but there are also the daily heartbreaks suffered by hard-working rural families in general, by immigrant families particularly, and by little girls especially. To Sumiko, which is the greater injustice: the seizure of her family's property by the government or her friends' parents telling her she's not allowed to socialize with their children?

There are a million things to say about a book like this, and I've written several paragraphs exploring the author's choices in telling this story, but I've deleted them all because what I really want to say is that Cynthia Kadohata tells a wonderful, painful story, creating characters who feel completely authentic to this Japanese-American reviewer. I recommend it not because of what it's about, but because it's a well-written, well-told story.

And it will tear your heart to shreds.

[Helvry Sinaga · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bagaimana rasanya kesepian? bagaimana rasanya bosan? bagaimana rasanya meninggalkan kamp? Itulah pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang diajukan Sumiko dan ia sendiri yang menjawabnya.

Novel ini bercerita tentang kehidupan keluarga Jepang-Amerika pada masa perang dunia ke-2. Sumiko, seorang gadis berumur dua belas tahun tinggal bersama Pamannya yang bernama Hatsumi, Bibinya (namanya tidak disebutkan dalam novel), Kakeknya, Masanori Matsuda yang dipanggil Jichan, dua sepupunya yaitu Ichiro dan Bull, dan adiknya, Takao yang dipanggil Tak-Tak.kakeknya Matsuda, adiknya Takao, yg dipanggil Tak-Tak. Mereka tinggal di suatu perkebunan di California.

Sumiko dan Tak-Tak yatim piatu. Kedua orangtuanya meninggal karena kecelakaan mobil ketika Sumiko dan adiknya masih kecil. Sumiko tidak sempat mengenal orangtuanya, ia hanya melihat gambarnya lewat foto dan dari penuturan kakeknya. Setelah kejadian kecelakaan itu, ia dan adiknya kemudian diasuh oleh Paman dan bibinya. Ichiro dan Bull berjarak enam tahun dan sembilan tahun dari Sumiko, kedua sepupunya inilah yang menghibur Sumiko.

Sumiko diberi tanggugjawab untuk memetik dan memotong bunga di kebun bunga millk pamannya. Keahliannya memotong bunga membuat sumiko bangga pada dirinya sendiri. Pamannya pun menghadiahkan sebuah pisau pemotong bunga yang berukir nama Sumiko di atasnya. Sumiko biasanya bertugas memetik bunga sebelum pergi sekolah, setelah itu bunga yang dikumpulkan akan dibawa oleh sepupunya untuk dijual.

Saat itu di Amerika sudah ada ketidaksukaan dari warga amerika asli terhadap penduduk Jepang. Hal itu dikarenakan Jepang adalah sekutu Jerman dan Italia yang menjadi musuh Amerika di Perang Dunia II. Sumiko merasa tertolak ketika ia menghadiri pesta ulangtahun temannya, Marsha Melrose. Saat itu tanggal 6 Desember 1941. Ternyata kehadirannya tidak disukai. Padahal ia sudah menyiapkan gaunnya yang paling bagus dan ia sudah meminta pada pamannya untuk membeli hadiah buat temannya. Ia merasa terhina dan marah, dan ia pulang. Inilah kesepian yang ia rasakan:

1.seakan-akan semua orang mentapmu.
2.seakan-akan tak seorangpun melihat kepadamu.
3.seakan-akan kau tak peduli pada apa pun.
4.seakan-akan kau nyaris hendak menangis. (hal 48)

7 Desember 1941, peristiwa pemboman Pearl Harbour oleh tentara Jepang. Beberapa orang jepang (orang Amerika menyebutnya Japs) yang diketahui sebagai pemimpin kelompok ditangkap. Diantaranya adalah Paman dan Kakek Sumiko. Mereka berdua dibawa ke suatu tempat oleh haji (istilah jepang bagi orang yang berkulit putih) ke suatu tempat. Keadaan pascapenyerangan itu membuat hidup mereka tidak nyaman. Beredar kabar bahwa para petugas akan merazia benda-benda yang berbau jepang. Karena itu, seluruh orang Jepang di lingkungan mereka membakar apa-apa saja milik mereka yang berbau Jepang. buku bacaan, lukisan, surat-surat dan sebagainya dibakar oleh mereka.

Pengumuman dari pemerintah menyerukan supaya orang-orang meninggalkan tempat tinggal mereka. Warga Jepang di komunitas nelayan misalnya, diberitahu bahwa mereka harus meninggalkan wilayah mereka dalam waktu 48 jam dan hanya boleh membawa harta benda yang bisa dibawa. Banyak orang berbondng-bondong ke wilayah itu dan memborong semua perabotan yang indah dengan harga yang murah. Sama juga di rumah Sumiko. Selendang sutra yang tadinya akan ia berikan sebagai hadiah ulangtahun kepada Melrose, ia jual hanya satu dolar (Pamannya membeli 4 dolar).

Akhirnya tibalah juga bagi mereka meninggalkan rumah selamanya. Bersama dengan warga jepang yang lain, mereka dikumpulkan di gelanggang. Mereka dikirim ke kamp-kamp. Sumiko dan keluarganya ditempatkan di kamp di Poston, di tepi Sungai Colorado. Sumiko akhirnya bersahabat dengan teman-teman baru disana. Ada Mrs. Ono, ada Mr.Moto, ada Sachi. Yang terutama ia bertemu dengan Frank, seorang pemuda Indian. Ternyata kamp tempat ia tinggal adalah pusat konservasi bagi suku Indian. Mereka sering bertemu di kebun. Sumiko membawa es batu pada Frank, sembari mereka bercakap-cakap.

Suatu kali Frank meminta pada Sumiko supaya dipertemukan dengan sepupunya, Bull. Frank ingin memperkenalkan kakaknya, Joseph pada Bull karena Joseph ingin belajar membuat irigasi. Joseph mendaftar menjadi tentara Amerika dan segera ditugaskan. ia berharap kalau keluar dari dinas kemiliteran, ia akan bertani, untuk itu ia belajar pada Bull, karena orang Indian itu melihat irigasi yang dibuat oleh penduduk kamp itu sangat bagus.

Berita mengejutkan tiba. Ichiro dan Bull mendaftar menjad tentara, kedua sepupunya juga akan meninggalkan bibi dan sumiko dan tak-tak. Bibinya juga memutuskan untuk pergi keluar dari kamp. Akhirnya Sumiko pun meninggalkan kamp beserta seluruh sahabatnya, sementara sepupunya ikut berjuang bersama tentara Amerika lainnya.

Dari catatan penulis, diketahui bahwa Tim Kombat Resimen 442 yang terdiri atas warga amerika keturunan Jepang merupakan unit yang yang paling berjasa bagi Amerika. Mereka menjadi legenda karena keberanian mereka berperang. Para serdadau yang terluka bukannya beristirahat di rumah sakit, tetapi kabur dari sana untuk berperang. Selama perang dunia II ribuan orang Indian yang mengerjakan tugas-tugas yang berkaitan dengan perang.

Inilah karya dari novelis Cynthia Kadohata. Sebelum novel ini ia telah menulis novel: 1) The Floating World, 1989 2) In the Heart of the Valley of Love, 1992 3) The Glass Mountains, 1995 4) Kira-Kira, 2004. Novel Weedflowers bercerita tentang kamp internir Poston dimana ayahnya dipenjarakan selama Perang Dunia II.

Selama Perang Dunia II (1943-1945), Presiden Amerika Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) menandatangani signed Executive Order 9066 pada 19 February 1942. Isinya memerintahkan untuk merelokasi etnis tertentu atau kepercayaan tertentu ke suatu kamp, termasuk didalamnya etnis Jepang dan Indian. tujuannya untuk melidungi Amerika dari serangan teroris dan mata-mata musuh. Peratiran itu dipandang sebagai pelanggaran besar terhadap hak sipil dan masa yang suram dalam sejarah Amerika.

Menyusul perintah Presiden Roosevelt, keturunan Jepang Amerika diarahkan untuk melapor ke stasiun kontrol untuk mendaftar. Dari sana mereka diminta untuk memindahkan seluruh keluarga mereka ke salah satu dari sepuluh interniran kamp yang terletak di California, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, dan Arkansas. Ayah Cynthia Kadohata diinternir di kamp Poston di Sungai Colorado Indian Reservation di Gurun Sonora . Karena mereka hanya boleh membawa apa yang bisa mereka bawa, sebagian besar orang Jepang Amerika harus menjual sebagian besar barang-barang mereka. Banyak orang mengambil keuntungan dari situasi dan membeli barang-barang, seperti mobil, pada harga yang sangat dibawah harga pasar. Harta benda mereka juga dicuri dan rumah mereka dirusak, yang akhirnya menghasilkan jutaan dolar kerugian harta.

Antara 1942 dan 1945, sekitar 120.000 orang (banyak di antaranya warga negara Amerika atau Nisei), tinggal di kamp-kamp interniran, yang kadang-kadang disebut sebagai kamp-kamp konsentrasi. Semua tahanan diminta untuk menandatangani sumpah kesetiaan kepada Amerika Serikat meskipun mereka tidak dibebaskan setelah penandatanganan. Mayoritas langsung setuju untuk menandatangani karena mereka ingin menunjukkan kesetiaan mereka. Namun Beberapa menolak, dan sebagai hasilnya sekitar delapan ribu orang Jepang dideportasi, kembali ke negara mereka. Mereka yang tetap terus menunjukkan kesetiaan mereka ke Amerika dengan mengibarkan bendera Amerika dan menghormat bendera setiap pagi dan sore. Pada tahun 1943, sebagai upaya perang memuncak, pria Amerika Jepang bahkan direkrut menjadi US Army. Unit Jepang Amerika diciptakan, termasuk resimen 442 Combat Team, yang dianggap sebagai salah satu unit militer yang paling dihormati dalam sejarah AS.

Pada tahun 1988, Kongres AS menciptakan sebuah rancangan undang-undang yang secara resmi meminta maaf kepada seluruh Jepang interniran Amerika dan keluarga mereka. Setiap individu yang telah magang di salah satu dari sepuluh kamp ditawari satu kali kompensasi sebesar $ 20.000.

Novel ini dibuat dengan beberapa riset dan direviu oleh orang-orang akademisi. Hal itu dapat dilihat dari kata pengantar Cyntia. Tak pelak lagi, ini adalah novel yang mengingatkan kesalahan pemerintah Amerika pada keturunan Jepang-Amerika.

Novel ini agak membosankan karena kejadian yang amat kelam tersebut dipandang dari sudut pandang anak 12 tahun. Selain itu, banyak Jepang yang digunakan tidak dibuat glossary nya sehingga menyulitkan pembaca manakala ingin mengetahui artinya dengan segera.

Namun, novel ini membawa khasanah wawasan kita kan suasana perang dunia II di kamp Amerika, dan bisa menyadari pentingnya menghargai dan mengakui keberadaan manusia sebagai sesama di muka bumi.

[Morgan]

this book I would not recommend to anyone. there was no climax and wasn't interesting.

[Roos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sumiko (12th) dan adiknya Takao lahir di Amerika dan sudah yatim piatu sejak ayah dan ibunya meninggal dalam kecelakaan mobil beberapa tahun yang lalu. Tinggal bersama Paman-Bibinya dan 2 orang kaka sepupu laki-laki, Ichiro dan Bull serta Kakek yang sangat mencintainya Jiichan. Dibesarkan di perkebunan bunga di California, Sumiko sangat mencintai Kasubana (bunga liar) dan bau tanah di perkebunan, bahkan dia menjadi ahli pemotong dan pemilah bunga yang dihandalkan oleh perkebunan bunga pamannya. Sumiko lebih menikmati pekerjaannya di kebun daripada pergi ke sekolah. Dia juga bercita-cita ingin mempunyai Toko Bunga sendiri nantinya kalau sudah besar.

Keadaan berubah sejak serangan Tentara Jepang ke Pearl Harbor. Pemerintah Amerika mencurigai semua warga Jepangnya sebagai mata-mata Kaisar. Kakek dan Paman Sumiko ditangkap karena termasuk Nikkei (orang Jepang yang tidak lahir di Amerika) dan diasingkankan bersama Nikkei yang lain ke daerah Reservasi di North Dakota. Menyusul Bibinya, Sumiko, Takao, Ichiro, dan Bull bersama 'Japs' terpaksa diasingkan di Gelanggang Pacuan Kuda di San Carlos. Kemudian dipindahkan ke daerah Resevasi Poston, Arizona. Daerah yang 10 kali lebih panas dan sering terjadi badai debu yang hebat, dan ternyata Poston sebelumnya adalah area Reservasi untuk Suku Indian Mojave dan Chemehuevi. Suku-suku Indian penduduk asli Amerika yang merasa tersingkir namun tetap tinggal diarea tersebut.

Meskipun merasa mati kebosanan di kamp, Sumiko akhirnya berteman dengan Sachi, sesama gadis Jepang yang suka berbohong padanya dan Frank seorang Indian Mojave yang kadang suka melihat-lihat Kamp Jepang, juga Mr.Moto yang bersedia membagi lahannya untuk berkebun, dengan syarat Sumiko harus mengajarkan cara menanam buncis. Sumiko memanfaatkan kesempatan itu untuk menanam "Bibit bunga Jenis Sumiko" yang semapt dikembangkan oleh pamannya saat di California. dan usahanya dengan Mr.Moto tidak sia-sia, karena berhasil mendapatkan juara 3 saat lomba berkebun di kamp diadakan.

Berlatar belakang kehidupan orang-orang Jepang di Amerika tahun 1942-1946, tepatnya masa Perang Dunia II sebelum dan sesudah serangan Tentara Jepang ke Pearl Harbor. Daerah Poston yang sebelumnya panas dan susah mendapatkan air, sejak ditinggali warga Jepang atau Japs berubah menjadi daerah pertanian dan peternakan yang subur. Para Japs ini tidak mau diam menunggu nasip yang tidak menentu dikarenakan sikap Pemerintah Amerika yang masih balum percaya untuk memberikan hak-hak mereka sebagai warga negara Amerika. Maka selama tinggal di kamp reservasi tersebut para Japs ini membuat sistem irigasi untuk mengairi area pertanian mereka di kamp dan membudidayakan berbagai tanaman pangan. Bahkan hubungan dan interaksi dengan kaum Indian-pun membaik disebabkan oleh persamaan nasip. Yaitu tidak mempunyai hak suara atas diri mereka sendiri.

Dari catatan akhir buku ini, ada Tim Kombat Resimen 442 yang melegenda dikarenakan Tentara Amerika yang berisi warga keturunan Jepang, sebagai Tim Kombat yang paling berjasa dalam sejarah Amerika. Dan dalam waktu itu juga tercatat ribuan orang Indian yang meninggalkan daerah Reservasi mereka dan masuk menjadi Tentara, yang tercatat juga dalam sejarah Amerika sebagai kepergian serentak terbesar yang pernah terjadi di daerah Suku Indian.

Buku yang bagus karena Cynthia menulisnya dengan melalui research yang dalam dan melakukan berbagai wawancara dengan warga Jepang dan Indian yang hidup dimasa perang dunia II. Meski alurnya yang lambat buku ini tidak kehilangan sisi indahnya diakhir cerita. No sad or happy ending. Dari sisi terjemahan juga enak dibaca. Lalu bagaimana nasip Sumiko? Apakah dia berhasil mempunyai Toko Bunga seperti yang dicita-citakan? Yang jelas diakhir buku ini, Sumiko menyadari bahwa Kakeknya Jiichan pergi dari Jepang ke Amerika bukan untuk mencari kebebasan tapi untuk bekerja keras demi masa depan. Masa depan siapa? Masa depan anak cucunya termasuk Sumiko. Sumiko menyadari bahwa Jiichan mencintainya bahkan sebelum dia dilahirkan. Nice story...jadi kangen ma Eyang Kakung nih.

[Heatherblakely · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I had read this as a kid. We tend to focus on Europe in WWII, and we should be taught more about Japanese internment camps. This book follows a girl whose family is forced to leave CA and move to Arizona. Their camp is on a Native reservation (which, to be completely honest, I did not realize was something that happened and now I want to learn more about this). The protagonist learns how to deal with her new life and tries to understand what's going on and why, and she makes friend with a Native American boy (which is a big deal because she doesn't have any friends because none of the white girls at her school in CA wanted to be her friend because she's Japanese, which made me SO SAD. Little kids who don't get invited to parties and don't get valentines and don't have anyone show up at their parties make me so damn sad).

Anyway, I think this is an important book for kids to read.

[HazelK_E2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the themes in Weedflower is to dream big. The main character Sumiko dreams of owning a flower shop. To most people, this might not seem very ambitious but to Sumiko, it's everything. To explain this, Sumiko's family doesn't come from a wealthy background and her family owns a small flower farm. Sumiko then experiences a bunch of obstacles (but that's a story for another time) and she still ends up going for her ambition and leaving her "home" to succeed it.

[Lyla B · Rating 4 out of 5]

IT was pretty good but I didn´t like the ending.

[Tracy Challis · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a relatable story that introduces students to a culture they may not be as familiar with and a time in history that is not as well known as it should be. Internment camps were a terrible representation of just how far people run by fear will go. My students understood and empathized with Sumiko.

[Hira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weedflower is about a Japanese-American teenager named Sumiko. Sumiko and her family are flower farmers in California when the attack on Pearl Harbor takes place. After that, Sumiko and her family live in constant fear of what may happen to their family as neighbors start to disappear and all of her Japanese possessions begin to burn.

Eventually, Sumiko and her family are sent to an interment camp. The little belongings they have begin to get left behind as they try to create normalcy within the walls of the camp. Soon, Sumiko meets an Native American boy named Frank. Through their interactions, Sumiko begins to see that there is more to the events happening around them than meets the eye. The only questions remains is: Will Sumiko every taste freedom again?

Although this book was a great introduction to the topic of Japaneses interment and the racism that followed, it lacked a sense of realness. Even though Sumiko and her family's struggles were heartbreaking, there was not enough build-up and I found no real investment in Sumiko and her life in the camp. Overall, it is a simple story that gets straight to the point, but I felt like there needed to be more character building when it came to Sumiko and her family.

[Courtney Konopacky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very insightful book that I learned a lot from. Sumiko and her family are much more traditional than families in other books about Japanese internment that I have read, so that added some new perspective. I also had my interest piqued about the Poston internment camp. The paralleling of the Japanese experience with Native Americans was also very interesting. While the two experiences might seem very different on the surface, they really do have some common undercurrents.

[Katherine 黄爱芬 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sumiko adalah gadis remaja peranakan Jepang yg tinggal di Amrik. Saat pecah Perang Dunia II dan penyerangan Jepang ke Pearl Harbour, dunia Sumiko langsung jungkir balik. Sumiko dan keluarganya dibawa ke kamp konsentrasi di gurun Amerika.

Terpisah dgn paman dan kakeknya, dan hidup bersama bibi dan sepupu-sepupunya serta adik laki-lakinya membuat Sumiko harus mandiri. Sempat kebingungan dgn tiadanya kegiatan yg berarti di kamp, untunglah Sumiko membawa bibit bunga yg disimpan pamannya, dan Sumiko mulai menanam bunganya. Sumiko juga berteman dgn Frank, pemuda keturunan Indian Mohave yg sblmnya saling tidak menyukai.

Plot cerita lumayan menarik dan kisah rsahabatan Sumiko yg indah. Sayangnya, karena sebelumnya saya sudah membaca "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys - yg benar-benar menceritakan perjuangan utk bertahan hidup - saya rasa levelnya novel ini masih di bawah BSG. Sumiko gak sampai susah payah utk mencari makanan utk sekedar hidup (walaupun di awal kisah Sumiko di kamp agak mengenaskan juga makanannya). Sumiko juga gak kesulitan menjalin persahabatan. Konfliknya cuma soal kebangsaan sbg keturunan Jepang yg pada masa tsb dicurigai oleh pihak AS dan xenophobia dari warga kulit putih, pilihan utk membela AS atau Jepang dari para etnis Jepang di kamp konsentrasi.

Yg layak dicontoh adalah Sumiko dan banyak warga keturunan Jepang lainnya adalah keuletan dan kerajinan mereka utk mengolah tanah di gurun tsb menjadi kebun yg indah. Tidak ada yg mustahil bagi mereka yg terus berusaha.

[Tiny Shen 沈帝妮 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weedflower ~ Cynthia Kadohata 🌟🌟🌟


Weedflower menceritakan ttg keturunan Jepang yang tinggal di Amerika di masa Perang Dunia. Adalah Sumiko, gadis cilik yang kehidupannya berubah drastis setelah Jepang mengebom Pearl Harbour.

Sumiko harus berpisah dari Paman dan Kakeknya. Pindah ke kamp di gurun beserta adik, sepupu juga bibinya. Pada akhirnya Sumiko bisa menerima kenyataan dan sibuk berkebun. Sebelum kejadian Pearl Harbour, Sumiko sibuk membantu keluarganya di perkebunan bunganya.

Dibanding novel bersetting di zaman perang dunia, jujur saja novel ini kurang "mencekam". Tidak terasa suasana perangnya kecuali memang terisolasi dr dunia luar dan kehilangan harta benda. Bahkan anak2 pun msh bs berlarian bebas.

[Joshua · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was trash.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book it talks about the World War 2 and Pearl Harbor but had talked about Pearl Harbor more. Pearl Harbor is a U.S. naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii. World War II has begun, Europe and Asia for two years now. The empire of Japan was trying to take over as much of Asia and worried about the navy base in Hawaii.
Not wanting the U.S. to attack them, Japan thought if they take out Pearl Harbor. The navy base would fail so they wouldn’t attack however, they were mistaken and the attack on Pearl Harbor was a complete surprise. There many casualties, but the Japanese had made terrible damage to the navy. The U.S citizens were in shock by the attack, they didn’t want to face the war. The Japanese thought the war would break the Americans but it just united them. The next day, December 8th, 1941, the US declared war on Japan, the United States was now a major part of World War II.

Sumiko is a girl from California living on a farm with her brother. She feels like an outcast, since she is the only asian in her class. While she was attending school she got invited to a birthday party. Sumiko has never been invited to anywhere from her classmates. When Sumiko arrives at a classmate's birthday party, the hostess ask her to wait outside, then asked her to leave. The reason why she was asked to leave was the horrible effects on Pearl Harbor, the americans think Japanese people are all spies for the emperor. Even if they were born in the United States, the american grow suspensions. Sumiko and her family find themselves being shipped off to a camp in one of the hottest deserts in the states.

[Carmen Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weedflower tells us the story of Sumiko and her family. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japanese-American families were separated and put into camps. Sumiko is a 12 year old girl who is suffering discrimination at school for being the only Japanese girl there. She feels rejected and ridicule by her classmates and feels that she would have more friends if she would go to a school with other Japanese students. The only thing that makes her happy is the family flower plant where she works after school. She takes pride at her job and responsibilities handed to her by her family.

Sumiko's life changes after the bombing of Pearl Harbor when her family, and other Japanese families, are force to abandon their belongings because they are being force to move to prison camps. Because her grandpa and uncle are consider leaders of the community, they are sent to a different camp than the rest of the family.

Sumiko and her family are sent to Poston Arizona where her permanent camp will be. Here, once again, she feels lost without anything to do. She is able to make good friends including a boy named Frank and her neighbor named Mr. Moto. She helps Mr. Moto grow a garden and she takes great pride on the end result.

I enjoyed reading this story. There were scenes that make me mad, others made me cry and others make me smiley. For me, it was an eye opening experience of the unfair treatment of the Japanese American community. Young readers will be able to relate in the sense that is coming from a young girl telling her true feelings about the misfortune of her community.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.
That all changes after the horrific events of Pearl Harbor. Other Americans start to suspect that all Japanese people are spies for the emperor, even if, like Sumiko, they were born in the United States! As suspicions grow, 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...if he can ever stop being angry about the fact that the internment camp is on his tribe's land.

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.

[DubaiReader · Rating 5 out of 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.

[Catherine Wall · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the start of WWII, after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour, thousands of Japanese families living in the US were forced out of their homes and into internment camps. Many lost everything they owned - land, homes, pets - as they were forced to sell these things at ridiculously low prices or risk leaving them behind at the mercy of their neighbours. This is the story of Sumiko, a 12 year old girl born in the US to Japanese parents who is forced with her Aunt, Uncle, cousins and brother to leave their farm and move to one of these camps in Arizona (Sumiko's parents have recently deceased). The book is based on the experiences of Ruth Okimoto, a resident of the Colorado River Indian Reservation camp in Poston, AZ. The camp was built on Indian land, so not only were the Japanese displaced but so were the Indians. The relationships between Whites, Japanese and Indians is discussed in detail and it is very interesting.

I have always wondered what it was like for these children. And this book covers it beautifully!! I loved the look at it through a child's eye. This chapter in US history is not discussed much and I thought that the author handled it so well. How difficult it must have been for these folks, the conflict of torn loyalties!! To have your home country bomb your new land? I can't even imagine what they would have felt.

I recommend this book highly for Young Adults and grown-ups alike. I even had a tear at the end. Really great stuff! Enjoy.

[Remy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I highly recommend this for middle-grade readers interested in learning more about the Japanese-American experience in the internment camps during World War II. We have the chance to really get to know Sumiko, the main character, as her family is forcibly removed from their flower farm in California to a reservation in Arizona. Internal strife and racist attitudes--not only towards the Japanese but also between the Mohave, the Japanese and the mostly white government--are unflinchingly portrayed.

On a personal note, I listened to this as an audiobook and then followed up immediately with Julie Otsuka's When the Emperor was Divine. It was immediately apparent that they are written for different audiences, and I'm definitely more in When the Emperor...'s target readership than in Weedflower's. I think this is one of the complications of buying books online. Those tiny little cover icons on Audible convey less information than, say, walking into the YA or adult fiction sections of Powells or Barnes and Noble.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Weedflower is the story of Sumiko, a Japanese-American born in America. She and her brother live with her grandfather, aunt, uncle, and cousins after the death of their parents. Weedflower is the story of how her family struggled with discrimination and mistrust during World War II. We follow Sumiko through her normal school days and trying to fit in and make friends through discrimination and racism, intentional or unintentional, brought on by fear and doubt, and eventually into an internment camp in Arizona where she meets a Navajo boy and learns that discrimination isn't just limited to the Japanese.

Sumiko's story is still relevant today. No matter how far we've come, racism and discrimination are still prevalent issues, and Weedflower is a wonderful story of perseverance, tolerance, and finding yourself.

The Japanese words used in the book are readily explained in a way that does not detract from the story. My only issue with this story (the audiobook) was that the narrator has no connection to the culture and often mispronounced Japanese words, sometimes grossly so.

[Mery · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sumiko adalah gadis keturunan Jepang yang lahir di Amerika. Dia yatim piatu, hanya bersama adiknya Tak-Tak, lantaran orangtuanya meninggal dalam kecelakaan. Dia tinggal bersama Kakek, Paman, Bibi, dan kedua sepupunya. Mereka memiliki kebun bunga. Hidup mereka cukup bahagia, walau sebagai orang berdarah Jepang, banyak kesulitan yang mereka hadapi.⁣
⁣
Kemudian, Jepang menjatuhkan bom di Pearl Harbor. Kehidupan Sumiko dan orang Jepang di Amerika pun berubah.⁣

Kakek dan Paman dibawa pemerintah ke tempat pengungsian khusus orang Jepang, karena mereka tidak lahir di Amerika. Dan karena Kakek dulunya adalah kepala sekolah Sekolah Jepang.

Buku ini ditulis menggunakan sudut pandang Sumiko, sehingga isinya lebih tentang keseharian dia saat di kamp pengungsian. Di sana dia membangun kembali kebun bunganya, bertemu teman baru anak Indian. Ceritanya juga lebih ceria dan lugu, dan tidak kelam seperti kemarin aku baca Mata Malam.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coming from someone who hated history classes in school, Weedflower is an engaging way to view World War II and the bombing of Pearl Harbor from another's point of view. This story follows the life of a twelve-year-old Japanese-American girl named Sumiko who is trying to find a balance between her Japanese and American cultures. She wants so badly to fit in with Marsha and Marsha's group of friends at the predominately white school she attends while also trying to follow her family's Japanese culture of respecting the elders. This is, until her family gets relocated to Poston, Arizona at a Japanese-American camp after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. How does the family cope with the hatred towards Japanese people? With loosing their beloved flower farm? With being separated from one another? With struggling to prove they are just as American as they are Japanese? Read the story to find out!