Weedflower
Cynthia Kadohata
Simon & Schuster 2006 (hardcover), 2009 (paperback)
272 pages (hardcover), 260 pages (paperback)
Ages 10 to 14
Sumiko and her younger brother live on their aunt and uncle's California flower farm with their cousins and grandfather in the early 1940s. Sumiko's family lives happily, but often endures prejudice because of their Japanese heritage. After Pearl Harbor is attacked, Sumiko's grandfather and uncle are taken by the authorities to a detention camp. Shortly afterward, the rest of Sumiko's family is sent to an assembly center before being interned in Poston, Arizona, on the Colorado River Indian Reservation. Throughout her journey, Sumiko confronts the challenges of internment, including making new friends, enduring harsh physical conditions, staving off “the ultimate boredom,” and of course coming to terms with how the United States treats her people. Her most notable adventures include forming an unlikely friendship with Frank, an Indian boy living on the reservation, and teaming up with a one-eyed internee to cultivate a beautiful garden in the barren desert of the camp. Ultimately, Sumiko and her family find an opportunity to leave the camp, their future tenuous but hopeful.
An especially poignant part of this novel is the interchange between Sumiko and Frank, whose ethnic groups are both suppressed by the power system in different ways. In order to form their friendship, Sumiko and Frank must explain their respective cultures to understand one another. The authorities who forced the two groups into Poston could have benefited greatly from the cultural interchange these two adolescents learn to use sitting in the bean fields of the Arizona desert. Weedflower would make an excellent piece of literature for a civil rights unit. The novel would also be an excellent choice for a unit on America during World War II.
Kadohata uses highly accessible prose, and masterfully balances portraying the thoughts of her young protagonist believably with rich descriptions of the physical setting. Her characterizations are equally rich, using colorful descriptions and dialogue paired with complexity in motivation. The book also makes effective use of foreshadowing, motif, and symbolism.
Many students will relate easily to Sumiko, who is undergoing many of the social difficulties of late childhood/early adolescence but is not defined by them. The book will appeal more strongly to the younger end of its target audience, and more to girls than boys. The story does not have many escapist qualities, and is unlikely to attract readers outside of school assignments.
Weedflower received a starred review in the School Library Journal, and was nominated for “Best Books for Young Adults” by the American Library Association, in addition to numerous other awards and nominations. Kadohata is an acclaimed children's and young adult novelist specializing in stories involving Asia and Asian-Americans, having previously received the Newbery Award for Kira-Kira. Her most recent book is A Million Shades of Gray, published in 2010 and set in in the Vietnam War.
5 Hats of Historicity: 
4 Quills of Quality:
3 Apples of Appeal:
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