Reviews: (by author)

Kadohata, Cynthia. Weedflower . New York : Simon and Schuster, 2006

The only time Sumiko doesn't feel lonely and out of place is when she is working on her family's Southern California flower farm. She is proud that her uncle says hers are the only hands good enough for grading the flowers to be sold in the market each day. Having lost her parents at a young age to a car accident, Sumiko feels especially grateful to be living with her Grandfather, Uncle, Aunt, and little brother Tak-Tak on their farm instead of in an orphanage. But her feeling of safety will not last long.

Weedflower is a portrait of a Japanese-American family trying to stay together as the impact of the Pearl Harbor bombing devastates their lives. Told in third person mostly from Sumiko's eyes, Kadohata has created a graceful heroine that tells the story of thousands of Japanese who were sent to internment camps during World War II, including Kadohata's own grandfather.

Sumiko is the only Japanese girl in her sixth grade class and has no friends. When she is invited to Marsha Morton's birthday party, she is elated. Unfortunately, not everyone in her community shares her excitement. As Sumiko stands on the Morton's porch in her new dress bearing a fancy gift, she ss told she can not enter the party. That night at home she cries herself to sleep asking, "Is it just because we're Japanese?" As Sumiko struggles to understand, more trials loom for her family.

The day Pearl Harbor is bombed, Sumiko's family, in fear of being imprisoned or killed, burn all things Japanese in their home. Sumiko watches in despair as her favorite picture of her dead parents burns in the fire. Her family is taken away anyway. It starts with her grandfather and uncle who are taken to South Dakota . Not long after, all the family possessions are sold off. And the rest of the family is brought to an internment camp in the harsh Arizona desert.

Sumiko blocks out her loneliness and the harshness of the world by daydreaming. She dreams of owning her own flower shop someday. In Arizona there are no flowers, just intense heat and dust. She longs for the scent of the clove scented Kusabana , which the local farmers consider to be a weed.

Eventually, Sumiko is able to make the Arizona desert home and makes her first real friend- a Mohave Native American boy named Frank. Sumiko learns the meaning of compassion as she bonds with Frank over their shared racial discrimination. Even the war can't strip Sumiko of her strong, sweet spirit, as she makes the Arizona desert bloom with her beloved Kusabana. In the end, Sumiko must make a decision that, either way, will result in her losing something she treasures. Young readers will be able to identify with Sumiko's struggle to belong.

Kadohata uses crisp, simple prose that moves along at a nice pace while still making an impact: "Japanese people walked here and there. Some of them looking dazed. So she really was here, in a town enclosed by stone walls, and everyone else was out there. It all reminded her of something..The place was like the dioramas her class had made for geography once."

The plight of the Japanese Americans during this time is well-portrayed through the heart of sensitive, gracious, courageous Sumiko. Her sweet yet powerful voice is sure to give young readers the chance to emotionally understand the impact of these difficult times. Weedflower is an important piece of literature that will enlighten and educate children on the travesties of history and how they affected kids their own age.

Shelley Moreno, December 2006

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