This is a tragic yet triumphant story. It is interesting to read it from the viewpoint of a young Japanese girl who lived in the heart of World War II. It’s mind boggling to see how people were treated; almost as if they were inhuman. I cannot imagine how painfully it must have been for them at the time. I can only envision the pain she experienced after everything was over and her parents were dead. I acknowledge the courage it must have took to write this book. The author wrote it with such truthfulness and from the heart instead of sugarcoating her thoughts and feelings, even if sometimes it didn’t put her in a good light. Sometimes I wondered why Ko was so harsh on Yoko. However, towards the end I see her learning to do things and appreciate things that much more. Even though towards the end, Yoko was still suffering one way or another she made the conscious choice to stop complaining and be more thankful for what she has.
It does make me upset after I read about Yoko’s journey to Japan and then all of her classmates make fun of her (even though they didn't know her story). It takes a lot of courage to put up with that . I must say I give a lot of credit to her mother and her sister who help her strengthen Yoko with some tough love. They really help her be the better person and not stoop to their level. I am surprised that Yoko never mentioned anything about her story in class. I am glad that she made two close friends: Naido and Corporal Matsumura. She is pretty smart at picking real friends. As she knows from firsthand experience, you can’t judge a book by its cover, which she never did with her friends.
I cannot even fathem the impact this journey had on her, especially as only an eleven year old child. I am surprised they didn’t spend much of the mother’s money after she died and were able to save it. Most importantly, I am glad Yoko had instilled in her to take rejection and use it to make her a stronger person. It really shows you when it comes down to it that material items and possessions do not matter so much in the scheme of life; it is family that matters. Family is what makes people whole and complete. Family is what keeps us going on the inside. After all of this happened, Hideyo, Ko, and Yoko must have shared and indescribable bond. All they had left for family was each other. It really makes me think about the hardships that I think I have and be tremendously thankful for the freedom and shelter I have.
This book is not worth reading because it was made for international political purposes, not for education. Most of the facts are distorted in this book:
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So what do we have left from this novel? Just a fictional book that distorts history in a very ironic way (Considering the fact that the Japanese soldiers RAPED and MURDERED Korean women at wartime for pleasure. They actually had the nerves to call these women 'Comfort Girls'). The book title should be renamed as "So Far from History and the Truth"
It's like Hitler claiming that he was tortured by the Jews in the Holocaust. Sounds like a nice book for young kids and adults eh?