This was such a powerful story from start to finish. I seemed to like this a lot better than the Year of Impossible Goodbyes. I loved how the author left us yearning for more information on what happened to the brother. I felt like the end was a little rushed but at the same time the brother took a path we had already read about. I thought for sure the brother was going to die as he took off by himself to find his family.

Yoko is so strong and self motivated. even after the death of her mother she powered though her life and made perfect marks in school and excelled at everything she did. It makes me sad that she had to grow up so fast in her life. She saw horrible things and managed to do whatever she needed to do to stay alive. Not only did she survive the war but she survived the relentless teasing by her classmates. It just makes you really think about some of the kids you went to school with and wonder how bad they really had it. You may have looked down on them for some reason or another but they may have been twice the person you are because of what they had to do to survive.

This book was really powerful and the journey alone kept me interested. The side plots and the two separate stories really made my mind jump around with excitement. I would recommend this book to anybody who wants to see the struggles of war and what it can do to a family. I was really mad that we didn't get a solid lock on what happened to the father. I was really wondering what happened. I thought he probably died halfway through the book but I was looking for closure on the issue. The horrors of war are evident in this book but the love of family is also very strong too. This is a great book and a must read.